Spit Up

Blogworthy Day

2009-04-01T21:06:00.002-05:00

I keep promising to get better about posting, but I don't seem to ever find the time to sit down, collect my thoughts, and post. I even have a list saved on my phone of all the things I need to blog about, but something happened today that motivated me to actually type.

Here is the letter I recieved from Barrett's teacher at pick up. The envelope read, "To the parents of Barrett Schmidt".

Mrs. Schmidt,
Today during rest time we had two little girls playing "show and tell" of their privates. Barrett was watching the "show". I just wanted to let you know ~ we told them this was not ok to be doing and Barrett smiled and hid his face in his blanket. I just knew he would probably come home and tell you about it.

I really didn't know if I was supposed to laugh, discipline him, or judge the moms of the obviously wild girls. It will be no surprise to any of you who know me in real life which way I went with this one.

I did talk to the teachers in case I was supposed to be upset, but they assured me he was just watching and he was not interacting with them. I struggled to withhold the comment about him handing them folded dollar bills and managed to make it to the car without any inappropriate comments. But, as soon as we were in the car, I did get the whole story from Barrett.

You'll be relieved to know that he wasn't at all interested in the naked girls, he was more fascinated by one of the girls panties that had Hello Kitty on them.

After I thought the discussion was over and we were quietly driving down the road, Barrett asked, "Mom, can you get some of those kitty panties?"

Go ahead, analyze that one.

Happy 2nd!

2009-02-16T17:18:00.002-06:00

It's hard to believe my little man is two today! I would write more, but I am enjoying playing with him. Maybe you'll get more about him tomorrow.

Happy Birthday my Fisher Man!

Valentine's Pictures?

2009-02-14T14:02:00.003-06:00

Every year, I take a Valentine's picture to send out cards to all the people we love.

I was discussing with Barrett what he thought we should do this year because I couldn't find any cute Valentine's shirts. I joked that I could dress him as cupid, and he looked a little irritated or it might have been confusion. I then said that Fisher could be cupid because he loves to shoot. I thought I was so funny, and then all of the sudden, Barrett got all excited and yelled, "Yeah, he can be Cupid and I'll be Donner!"

I never thought of that. Who is the goof that named a reindeer Cupid?

Anyway, back to the pictures.

Unfortunately, this year it hasn't happened.

I had great intentions. The clothes were bought, and the set up idea was done, but my three year old just didn't cooperate.

Barrett literally made it impossible. He never cooperated. He didn't even cooperate enough to get a picture of him anywhere near the red bucket we use every year.

The day we stopped and bought the adorable Valentine's cupcakes that were going to be a part of our photo shoot, Barrett grabbed the bag, swung it around, and slammed it into the side of the cart. I'm a fan of logical consequences, so Fisher and I ate all the destroyed cupcakes in one sitting while Barrett did not get any.

I still plan on getting photos, and I guess I will be posting a late Happy Valentine's on line.

I hope everyone has a great Love Day!

Mommy v. The Tank

2009-02-11T11:46:00.002-06:00

Back at Thanksgiving, everyone wanted to know what to get the boys for Christmas. I really didn’t have many ideas, but I did have one.

I knew one thing that would thrill Barrett, and I decided to reserve it for Uncle Ray.

Uncle Ray and Almost-Aunt Kristin, gave Barrett his first pets, two goldfish.

Before I continue the story, let me be sure you understand that the fish were my idea. I harbor no hard feelings towards Ray and Kristin. They only did what I told them to do.

The first week with Bubbles and Fishy was great. Barrett was overly responsible, and it was all perfect. After all, the fish were my idea, and I am so smart.

By week two, the pump on the aquarium died.

The boy and I ran to the pet store, and they were great about replacing the messed up pump.

Later that same week, I noticed the water was nasty again. Since they are Barrett’s pets, I had him help me replace the water in the tank.

All was good. Bubbles and Fishy were happily swimming in clean water, and I am still brilliant for the fish idea.

Two days later, the water was nasty again. Barrett and I did another water change. I begin to think I am not as smart as I thought.

We decide to head the pet store and discuss our issues. We leave with some new, special food and drops for the water.

Within another couple days, they need another water change, and Bubbles isn’t acting like she feels good.

I told Barrett not to help this time because secretly I know that he must be doing something wrong. After all, I had two fish growing up, and they lived a long time.

While I was moving the tank, somehow I broke it. Water was flying everywhere, and Bubbles and Fishy weren’t too thrilled that the water level was dropping at a ridiculous rate.

Here’s a little fact for you: Goldfish can breathe sideways if there is only a centimeter of water in their tank.

We move the fish into a bowl of water, throw in a few drops of the stuff that apparently make the tap water safe, and we load up to head to the pet store.

I learn a few new things on trip number three.

1. Goldfish are the dirtiest fish in the world. They poop more than any others which makes lots of ammonia.

2. Ammonia is bad for fish.

3. Ammonia makes water nasty.

4. A two gallon tank is WAY too small for 2 goldfish.

5. Fish are not an easy, cheap pet.

When we leave the store, we now have with us a new 10 gallon tank, ammonia drops, ammonia test strips, and a new tree thing for the tank.

We get home, set up everything, and wait for Daddy to get home and roll his eyes at the amount of money two goldfish have cost.

All is good until I find Bubbles floating in the tank.

Barrett and Daddy bury her in the back yard. Barrett is not happy that Fishy is all alone which leads to trip number 5.

We leave the store with Bubbles II and a new sucker fish that Barrett names Dorothy after his Nana. Apparently, we joke about her being a sucker too often. The fish guy assures me that Bubbles probably died as a result of the trauma of all the water changes. The only good part of the trip was when fish guy thanked me for being honest with Barrett about Bubbles death.

We bring Bubbles II and Dorothy home, and they seem happy in their new home, the ammonia test is good, and for a brief moment I think to myself that this was still a good idea.

A few days later, Dorothy is not right. (The fish, not the mother-in-law.) She is swimming weird, and Barrett tells me he doesn’t want her to die. We pray for Dorothy’s health. I even overhear Barrett praying for her on his own. Dorothy still dies the next day.

Daddy and Barrett bury Dorothy next to Bubbles I, and we head out for trip number 6. This time, we take in a water sample.

The fish guy informs me that our water is toxic. He then asks where I live. He informs me that the tap water in my neighborhood is almost impossible to make safe for fish, and that I need to buy Spring water. I put bottled water for my family on my mental grocery list, and decide that I am done.

I ask if there are other fish we can get that aren’t toxic poopers, and after much discussion with Barrett, we agree on what has to be done.

We go home and load Bubbles II and Fishy into a jar, and drive to Nana and Paw’s house. We put them in the cow trough, and they swim with all the other happy goldfish.

We clean out the tank at home and start all over again. We now have clean water in our ten gallon tank and just yesterday, on our 7th pet store trip, we bought 4 new, tiny guppies.

Fish Guy assures me they are hard to kill…

So, if you are wondering why I haven’t blogged in a month, it’s because I have been dealing with fish every free moment. Sounds fun, huh?

The Whole Christmas Season in One Post

2009-01-09T09:59:00.016-06:00

This is going to be a long one, but I figure I owe it to those of you who are actually still checking to see if I update.

Ok, going backwards a couple months...

Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving was great. Lots of food. Really that's all to say about it.

Thanksgiving night at midnight, I did something I honestly never thought I would do.

I went shopping.

I am not a sale person. I don't like digging through cloths. I don't like the stores when there is more than 5 people in them. I don't like lines. I have no patience for any of those things. So, why in the world did I agree to go shopping with Leanne at midnight?

Three reasons:

1. The outlet mall is in my backyard. If it was too crazy, I could easily go home.

2. I hear people talk about shopping after Thanksgiving and that it is a fun kind of chaos.

3. Gymboree was having $5 pajamas. Since I have a jammie obsession, I had to go.

To say that it was a crazy experience would be an understatement. There were people everywhere, and I think every mom in a 50 mile radius wanted jammies too.

Leanne and I were the 5th people in line, and we had a game plan. Ok, we really didn't until the people all around us did. The goal was for us to grab all the jammies we could in sizes 2T, 2T, 3T, and 4T.

It was crazy! I did have a lady grab pajamas out of my hand, but, in the end, we surpassed our goal.

As we headed to the back of the store to survey our arm loads of jammies, we were like two kids in a candy shop. We decided what we "needed" and got in line.

We were amazed that the line was half way around the store. While we waited in line for over an hour, we kept taking turns leaving line to shop more since everything was on sale. We ended up with as much as we could hold. After checking out, we walked the mall a little more, and we were home by 2 am.

The next morning my arms were actually sore from holding all my loot in line, but the stacks of jammies were worth it. My boys each had 6 pairs of Christmas jammies and some others as well. They are well dressed little sleepers. :)

It was definitely an experience. I'm not sure if it's worth doing every year, but I am pretty certain Leanne and I will try again because we laughed A LOT.

Thanksgiving weekend was so much fun for the boys because Daddy was around to play.

On that Sunday, we went to the church where Uncle Ray and Kristin are getting married in March. The were being blessed by the church.

While I am sure the little blessing was wonderful, wrestling two kids during a Catholic church service isn't very fun.

The real high point was Barrett observing the things about the Catholic Church that are different from our church. Since I was raised Catholic, it was all normal to me, but Barrett asked me who the bleeding man on the cross was. I told him it was Jesus, and with a very upset face he said, "Why doesn't Ray and Kristin's church like Jesus?"

Needless to say, when we left to go for a walk because he was restless, I explained, as best as I could to a three year old, that Catholics love Jesus. They didn't nail him to the cross. I'm pretty sure I made it as clear as mud for him.

After the service, we went out to eat. We had used the video camera to tape the blessing for Kristin's parents since they couldn't be there. The disk holds 30 minutes, and the blessing lasted about 2 minutes. I hated to waste the rest of the disk, so I had Barrett sing while we waited for our food. After he sang, I was going to tape Fisher a little too for Kristin's mom to see.

As I started to tape him way, he choked on a chip and puked into his bowl. Nana was mortified that it was on tape, and she was even more upset that we all thought it was funny. I think she recovered ok until I told her you can't delete what you record. I am sure Kristin's mom, who had 6 kids, got a great laugh out of that little moment. Is it wrong that I never questioned sending it to her?

The following week, Barrett was so excited because Santa was going to be at his school. Both boys were so good the morning that were going to see him. Normally, I spend most of the morning playing referee, but they happily sat next to each other and watched tv while I packed us up for school.

I'm pretty sure Fisher was clueless, and he was just following Barrett's lead which tells me who causes the problems in the mornings.

Once we got to school, the hardest part was making them wait their turn. Once they got to Santa, Barrett was ready to tell him what he wanted. His list was really simple, a kitchen and a jeep. The jeep was the coached gift that Santa had already ordered. The kitchen was all Barrett. Doug tried to convince him he didn't want a kitchen, but he was not successful.

When Santa asked Fisher what he wanted, Barrett piped in with, "He really wants a kitchen."

I should have left well enough alone. I should have said thank you and walked away, but instead, I said, "Barrett, Fisher can talk. Fisher tell Santa what you want."

Fisher smiled, looked right at Santa and said, "Bullets. Shoot pigs. Shoot deers. Boom, Boom."

Yea, that's not embarrassing at church.

After seeing Santa, Fisher was obsessed with the man he called, "Claus". I am not sure why he only referred to him as Claus, but it cracked me up.

The following weekend, the preschoolers were going to be singing in church. I don't know what possessed me to think that Barrett would be fine seeing me. Instead of getting cute pictures of my kid in his first performance, I have a picture of him sitting and watching everyone else.

While I am a little sad that my son didn't want to perform the songs he has been practicing for two months, I am glad that Barrett wasn't the one that caused the entire sanctuary to gasp.

No, that honor is left for Leanne's eldest, Logan.

Logan didn't even want to go into the sanctuary. I ended up carrying him in, and having him sit on the floor beside me. I asked a couple of times if he would like to stand by his friends, but he was positive that he didn't want to go up with everyone else.

I was surprised when he just stood up and marched up the stairs of the alter. I still don't know what he was so interested in. The flowers? The piano? What I do know, is that he was not interested in facing the audience. (You can see him on the top left.)

Had he chosen to turn around, it might have prevented what came next.

I'm not sure how it happened, but moments after I took this picture, I heard the gasps of the entire congregation. I turned to see Logan coming down the marble stairs - head first.

Just as the congregation got quiet, his head hit the marble at the bottom of the stairs with a huge THUD.

Apparently from some angles it looked like I caught him, but I am sorry to say, I didn't. Luckily though, I was there and was able to comfort him quickly. He only screamed a couple of times.

His mom didn't even get to enjoy his big moment. She was sitting in the other service waiting for the preschoolers to arrive. Needless to say, Logan did not perform there either.

So, that is Barrett and his buddy's first church performance. Leanne and I are so proud...

Barrett and Fisher also experienced their first snow. It wasn't much, but the boys were excited.

I think it's time to visit Gigi in Colorado. They will be amazed at all the snow at her house!

We did finally put our tree up by the middle of December. They boys had so much fun helping with the tree. I think that is the longest Fisher has ever stayed focused on one activity.

And yes, those are Gymboree jammies!

I really think what the boys liked the most was climbing on the step ladder. They kept running to it with ornaments trying to beat each other to it.

Fisher really wanted to put the star on top of the tree, but he just wasn't big enough. After Daddy got it up there, Fisher was thrilled to just touch the star.

After the star was on top, both boys cheered that our tree was decorated!

Every morning the boys would wake up and immediately turn the tree lights on. I am so happy they enjoy the Christmas stuff as much as I do.

Barrett has enjoyed being funny lately. He thought he was hilarious in this drum. (Oh, and yes, those are more Gymboree pajamas.)

What he did not think was funny was that he couldn't get out. Fisher and Daddy laughed and laughed which made Barrett even less happy.

Fisher is quite the little funny man too. He loves putting on accessories. He especially likes the work goggles that came with Barrett's tool bench, but he is a little confused. He puts them on and then begs to swim in the pool. I don't think a one year old understands the concept of it being too cold outside.

Yep, more Christmas jammies!

The weekend before Christmas we headed to Dallas to my Aunt Jeanne's house. Barrett had a blast helping Jeanne make soup. My dad felt the need to "help" so as Barrett added things, my dad would name them.

Unfortunately, he wasn't saying what they really were. The corn was canary poop, and the ground beef was elephant poop. I'm not sure how many different poops there were, but it was a lot. My poor aunt now has to deal with being teased for serving Poop Soup.

Jeanne and all the little boys make birthday cakes for Jesus each year. Both of my boys loved it, but for different reasons.

Barrett liked decorating his with all the icing and sprinkles.

Fisher just ate the icing.

The boys got lots of great gifts at Aunt Jeanne's but the clear favorites were the disk shooting guns and the animal masks. Even big cousin Tyler thought the masks were fun!

There have been numerous times that one of my boys is wearing an animal mask and the other is hunting.

After spending two days in Dallas, we came home to have Christmas with Gran Gran and all Doug's cousins on his dad's side.

As usual, Gran Gran's decorative bath tub was the place to play.

It's always fun when all the kids get together. They did their typical cowboy stuff, but Leanne got a gift all the boys enjoyed.

Leanne had her own little beauty salon, and Barrett was so happy about his blue finger nails.

Daddy was not so happy.

Fisher wasn't interested in a manicure, but he did manage to have fun in a gift bag.

The next night, we had Christmas with my dad and sister. Barrett had a blast with his cousins. Tyler made a great bull for him to ride, and Fisher loved getting to shoot the bad bull!

The higlight of the night was when Barrett opened his diner from Papa. Barrett and Fisher couldn't wait for me to get it put together. It took a while, but I did manage to finish.

Christmas Eve was a blur. Since I am the nursery director of the church, it was a busy day for me. I loved every minute of it. There is nothing better than kids on Christmas Eve. They all looked adorable and were contagoius with excitement.

I was able to be home with the boys to put out cookies for Santa and tuck them in.

Barrett was so happy when he woke up Christmas and Santa had gone.

I almost felt bad when the very first gift he found in his stocking was a toothbrush, but he was thrilled.

Fisher was happy with his farm animals,

but he was most thrilled with Chicken Little. He loves the movie, and he was almost shocked when a Chicken Little was in the box. He immediately wanted to just snuggle him and drink milk. He didn't even care about other presents for a few minutes.

The big Santa gift was left outside, but I don't have any pictures only video. Santa gave them a jeep to share. They jumped in right away, and Barrett attempted to drive. Fisher was so funny with his cap gun in hand shooting. Later, when Fisher was driving, he ran into the tree, attempted to shoot the tree, and then told Nana to cut it. I don't think he even considered driving around it.

Ok, so I made it through Christmas Day, and that's as far as I can go right now because I am tired of typing.

Besides, I want to go check on my floors that are being installed as I type. Woo Hoo! I'll post pictures when they are done.

Coming Soon...

2008-12-24T12:55:00.003-06:00

My blog will be returning soon.

I have so many stories to tell that I am ready to write.

I hope you all have a blessed Christmas, and as soon as the holidays have slowed down, my blog will be back. :)

Blah

2008-11-30T16:56:00.002-06:00

I don't know why I haven't blogged lately. I'm sure there are things to write about, but I just haven't felt like it. I think I am taking a blogging break for a while and maybe I'm not. I just haven't felt a lot like talking lately. Everytime I sit down to blog, the fun, happy stuff isn't what's on my mind. This blog was intended to be a place for the funny stuff, so I would rather not blog than to complain here. :)

I am hoping the holiday spirit stuff kicks in soon, but so far, it hasn't. I don't know. So, if I don't blog for a while, it's not that I'm quiting completely. I just am in a funk right now.

Who knows, maybe I'll be back to me soon...

The Barrett Version

2008-11-14T06:22:00.002-06:00

There are so many different versions of the Bible, and I typically will have at least two versions of it with me when I am doing a study. I like that when something is unclear in one version, it might make more sense from a different one.

With that being said, I never expect the story to change, but Barrett seems to have found his own version of the Bible.

Here is a conversation Doug and I had with him a few weeks ago:

We were driving, and Doug asked Barrett what he learned at school that day. Barrett proudly said, "I learned about Goliath, he was a GIANT!"

So, Doug asked the obvious question, "What did you learn about Goliath?"

"He was really big and mean, and Jesus shot him."

As Doug and I tried not to laugh, Doug then asked him, "How did Jesus shoot him?"

Barrett quickly replied with an air of confidence that suggested we weren't very smart, "With a bird gun."

We asked him if there was a man named David in the story too, and it's like a little light went off in his head. I breathed a sigh of relief and waited for him to now give me the story as it is in all of my Bibles, but here is what we got.

The Barrett Version of David versus Goliath

Goliath was a big, mean giant. Jesus used his bird gun to shoot a bird off of Goliath's head, and then David threw a rock at him and killed him.

His teachers claim this isn't what they taught him. :)

My Week in a Glance

2008-11-07T14:35:00.002-06:00

On the 29th, Doug left for Colorado to go hunting. So, keep in mind, all the following happened with NO spouse. (In his defense, I am fine that he went. It's really the only thing he looks forward to.)

Sunday:

My first official day as the nursery director.

Oh, I might not have mentioned that I changed jobs. It's not really a promotion or demotion, just motion. I am super thrilled because I love our nursery staff, the nursery building, and the giant private office I get. ;)

With the time change to help me out, I made it to church early with both kids. Everything went amazingly smooth until the 3rd service hour. I fed a 13 month old a graham cracker who apparently has never had any kind of food. The dad was cool, the mom seemed upset. Luckily, the mom returned later and wasn't upset anymore. Note to all parents: tell people if your kid can't eat things. I went to the baby room after that because it's my happy place. I was puked on by a not-so-happy baby.

Overall, it was a great first day, puked on clothes and all.

Later on Sunday, Nana babysat so I could pick up my mom from the airport. I love the grandmas!

Monday:

I had a meeting at church, and then I went to lunch with friends. After school was over for the boys, mom and I played with them then we went out to dinner. It was a great day!

Tuesday:

The result of Barrett's ENT appointment that I demanded was surgery. In fact, he was so bad off that the surgery was scheduled as soon as possible. So, a babysitter appeared at 6:30 am (thanks Sarah!), and the grandmas, Barrett and I headed to Texas Children's for him to have tubes put in and his tonsils and adenoids removed.

Thank God I went to Texas Children's. The day sucked, but the staff there was great with Barrett and his nervous mommy.

Barrett was a trooper. He put on his cool doctor jammies they gave him. He didn't want to tag on his leg, but he eventually gave in when they explained that's how they make sure he goes home with his mommy. Even Peanut went with him and got a tag that matched Barrett's.

** Barrett is still wearing his tag. I tried to take it off to keep it, but he said that if he takes it off, he might lose me. I think the nurse might have done too good of a job explaining why he had to wear it and leave it on. I don't know how he'll react when it comes off.

When it was time for surgery, he picked bubble gum to smell in the mask, got into a wagon with Peanut, and waved with a big smile as he rolled away. Honestly, it broke my heart to see him go into surgery when he was in such a good mood.

After the 30 minute surgery, I went back to recovery. It was HORRIBLE to see him unconscious with wires everywhere, a tube in his mouth and a mask on. I was so upset, and then his doctor said," Everything went well, but does this look familiar?" He was holding a plastic container with a green bead in it. Apparently, it was in Barrett's ear. It wasn't there when we visited his office two weeks earlier. The doctor said it isn't that uncommon for kids with really bad ear pain to try and relieve the pressure by sticking things in their ear. I was just glad to have a little comic relief.

When he woke up, he freaked out. He was screaming and crying. We put him in my lap, and he fell back asleep. When he woke up the second time, it was worse. He screamed and tried to pull out the IV in his hand. They put some really good drugs in his IV, and he went back to sleep. While he was asleep, his oxygen level would go to low, and the nurse would come over and shake him and hit him to breath. After a few rounds of that, I would hit him when I saw the level drop. I was not thrilled with having to smack my kid so he would breath. When he woke up for the third time, he was still unhappy, but it wasn't nearly as bad. He drank some apple juice, and they moved us to the "almost ready to go home" area.

We just got settled in the area, and he puked. I mean PUKED. All over me and all over a nurse. It was gross.

After cleaning him and moving him to Nana's lap, I went to clean up and take a much needed mental break.

He slept for another hour or so, and when he woke up, it was great. He ate two popsicles, and sang "Hey Good Lookin'" to the nurses. We went home shortly after that.

Night one at home was not easy. He slept ok. I stared at him all night.

Wednesday:

This day sucked. He was miserable. I was tired. It just wasn't good. I was thankful for codeine and Fisher having school. The night was awful. He didn't sleep. I didn't sleep.

Thursday:

Barrett and I were up early. He was grumpy. Fisher slept late, yeah! When Fisher woke up, we discover he puked in his bed, boo! Fisher can't go to school. Gigi, Barrett, and I are tired. Fisher is full speed. Gigi and Fisher go shopping, and Barrett whines. Late in the day, both boys are better. Both boys actually eat some dinner. Fisher then has a nasty poop, but Barrett is in a great mood. The night goes a lot better. Barrett still wakes up for water every hour, but he's not screaming at me.

Friday:

Fisher again wakes up with puke in his bed. He does not go to school. Barrett wakes up in a great mood. Barrett and I go to see his first movie, Madagascar 2, while Gigi and Fisher hang out at home. Barrett loves it. He is amazed by the giant tv. He only asks me to pause it once so he can go potty. While attempting to explain that I cannot pause a movie, he tells me to be quiet because he is missing the movie. I guess he forgot about the potty.

We are now home and Fisher is not napping in his bed and Barrett is not napping on the couch while Gigi runs to the outlet mall to shop.

I am officially exhausted. I know I told Doug that it was fine to go hunting, but he is still going to owe me big for this one. I really hope he's had fun because when he gets home on Sunday, it's all downhill for him! :)

Saddle Up

2008-11-01T21:44:00.005-05:00

I officially don't like Halloween.

Don't get me wrong, there are parts of it I love.

I love all the pumpkins everywhere. (Fisher loves pointing to all the "pun-kins" too.)

I love having an excuse to eat all kinds of candy.

I love the cute Halloween t-shirts at Old Navy.

I love seeing kids in costumes, specifically my own kids.

But I hate dealing with two kids that are beyond sugared up. I hate listening to them beg for more candy. Seriously, who came up with this tradition??

We did have a great Halloween though. The boys had a blast trick-or-treating.

Fisher was a perfect horse. He even did a strange little galloping neigh thing. He was just too cute!

Barrett was also a great cowboy even though he carried a pink pumpkin bucket. He obviously wasn't a real tough cowboy. That was really evident when a dog was running in the street. Barrett squealed like a girl and wanted to quit and go home. Luckily, a quick reminder that we were collecting candy gave the cowboy back some courage.

When we came home both boys dumped out there buckets and started eating. They were in heaven!

I hope everyone else had a great Halloween!

The Class Pet

2008-10-26T15:06:00.004-05:00

Barrett's class this year has a class pet, Rocky the raccoon. Thankfully, he's just a stuffed animal. The kids take turns bringing him home for the weekend, and the parents get the "honor" of journaling his weekend. So, to not waste my efforts, here are the pages we added to Rocky's journal.

(click on the pages to see them in a bigger format.)

Has It Really Been Two Weeks?

2008-10-15T20:31:00.005-05:00

I have no good excuse for my lack of posts, but I'll give you my Top Ten Excuses of why I haven't posted in forever.

10. Fisher has discovered writing utensils, and he loves to write. Specifically, he likes writing on himself, the walls, carpet, furniture, and Barrett. Because of his new hobby, I cannot turn my back on him at all. If he's awake, I can't be typing. (By the way, I am amazed at the number of sharpies in my house, and all the locations I apparently chose to store them.)

9. New tv shows have started. When I have spare time, I am watching all the shows I have taped on the DVR. I am a total tv junkie. It takes a long time to watch all my shows even when I skip most of the actual show to get to the "scenes from our next episode".

8. I have been busy at work. I "work" almost every day the kids are in school. If I didn't end up going out to lunch with work people all the time, my job wouldn't take long at all.

7. I haven't uploaded pictures lately, and I like posts with pictures.

6. I helped with a retreat with the high school and junior high kids two weekends ago. I was worn out. I am not young anymore. The only thing that made me feel young was when I scraped a dead skunk off the road for extra points in a scavenger hunt. It only made me feel young because it was stupid. Stupid = Young.

5. Doug has been working WAY too much. I think it is to prepare for his upcoming hunting trip to Colorado for 12 days. I will complain about that in future posts.

4. Fisher and Barrett have decided it is fun to take all the toys out at one time. Having them clean up their own mess takes forever. I think cleaning for them will be better for me. It'll get done fast and right. It will suck for their wives one day, but it's really all about my sanity at this point.

3. The boys are obsessed with the computer. They both play with it all the time. Basically, I can't leave it on or they will destroy it. Without the computer on, blogging is hard.

2. Barrett doesn't nap at school anymore. He is HELL when we get home. All I want to do once he goes to bed is curl up in the fetal position and cry.

And the #1 reason I haven't written...

1. Barrett is on day 17 of antibiotics for an ear infection. When he has an ear infection, he doesn't sleep. He has had ear infections since July 7th pretty much non-stop. I haven't slept in weeks. I am exhausted. The doctor wants to wait to go the ENT. We go to his doctor tomorrow. She will be referring us. If she doesn't refer us, we'll be going anyway. He has an appointment on Monday with an ENT everyone recommends. I sure hope his pediatrician recommends him too. :) If I get more sleep, I might be in the mood to share their funny stories. Right now, nothing is amusing.

Both boys are asleep for a moment, so I need to sleep while I can!

Bouncy, Bouncy

2008-09-29T18:16:00.002-05:00

I realize I have been a terrible blogger lately, but things are just crazy busy lately. I don't even have time to write much now, but I will at least give you a little story to tide you over until I have time to write all the things on my list to blog about.

A week ago, we went to a bouncy place and met up with my Mothers of Preschoolers group. Since all the elementary kids were out of school because schools still were without power, there was no mothers day out either. All of the moms had been home for over a week, some with no power, so instead of cancelling our normal meeting, we went to Pump It Up.

We had our own room and 53 kids playing. The moms and kids had a blast! Barrett, Fisher and I definitely had fun. We were all playing the whole time. Fisher hung with the bigger kids with no problem, and Barrett just ran from place to place laughing and jumping.

When we got in the car to leave, I asked Barrett if he had fun. He said, "Yes, can we go again today?"

I then asked him what his favorite thing was about Pump It Up.

Did he say the slide?

No.

Did he say the basketball bouncy thing?

No.

Did he say the potty since we went 4 times?

No.

My lady-killer had an answer I don't think many 3 year old kids would have.

"I liked the mommy's boobies when they bounced."

Yes, you read that right.

My three year old is a boob man.

Ugh.

yIKEs

2008-09-16T15:00:00.002-05:00

Sorry for the lack of posts, but we were busy preparing for, sitting through, and recovering from Ike.

We were very lucky. We lost our fence, a tree, and our power.

We actually were there for the storm, but the boys and I are now at my aunt's in Dallas since we have no power.

I will have pictures and stories once we return.

Please pray for all the families that were not as lucky as we were. There are not words to describe what some people are having to deal with.

Woo Hoo!

2008-09-08T21:06:00.003-05:00

My cousin was called up by the Astros today! On his first pitch in his major league debut, he hit a homerun.

I'm allowed to brag.

That's little Mark on the left. :)

How cool is this?!

Cool Days

2008-09-07T15:53:00.004-05:00

The boys started mother's day out last Wednesday. Barrett was so excited to be going back to "old school days" as he calls it.

Fisher didn't really know what the big deal was, but he was excited because Barrett was.

I tried to get a good first day picture at home, but it didn't go to well.

I also tried outside the house, outside at school, and again inside at school. Fisher was a little tired of it.

I finally managed to get a decent picture although the boys wouldn't stand together and Fisher is sporting his "pretty" smile.

Once it was time for Barrett to go into class, I told him to tell Fisher good luck on his first day. He was so sweet telling him good luck, and he even added his own I love you. Then, to make it all better, he asked Fisher for a kiss.

They both had a fantastic week. Fisher even asked for "cool" when he got up on Saturday. When we didn't get dressed to go, he brought me his shoes and socks and was saying, "go, go, cool."

I love that my kids love school because I sure love when they go!

Barrett's 3rd Birthday Party (2 weeks ago...)

2008-09-06T15:37:00.008-05:00

Barrett had to have his birthday party at the gymnastics place. He had no second choice, so Barrett had his first "kid party" this year.

He was so lucky to have so many friends come to his party. He was so excited the night before that he didn't sleep.

He normally naps at 1:00. The party was at 2:00. Do you see where this is going?

No sleep the night before + no nap = grumpy birthday boy

Actually, he was happy for about the first half of the party. He just loves jumping into the foam pits!

Fisher had a ball too. He loved to hang from the bars.

Once we rotated to the mountain room, the kids really went wild. I didn't get many picture because I was trying to keep up with Fisher. He was a crazy little guy.

Barrett didn't play on the mountain much. He just wanted to jump on trampolines with one of his school friends, Chloe.

At our third rotation, Barrett was done. Coach Eddie tried to cheer him up, but he was too tired.

After we made it through all the rotations, we went to the party room for cake and drinks. My friend, Michelle, made Barrett's fishing themed cake and not only was it cute it was REALLY good.

Here is a picture of the table decorations. (I know no one cares, I just want it somewhere because I had to hunt down those giant fish!)

Somehow, Barrett perked up after a capri sun, and he was excited to have everyone sing to him!
After eating, we opted to keep playing instead of opening gifts. I think the only disappointed people were Barrett and one of the Daddies.

We'll call this Daddy the Pister. Barrett got a little confused because sometimes we call him Mister and sometimes we call him Pastor because he's one of our Pastors, and he called him Pister once. It cracked me up.

Pister is a great guy who my son has an interesting love/hate thing with. Barrett loves his daughter, and Pister hates that...

Pister was really excited about Barrett's gift because it was "a message".

As soon as we got home, Barrett was ready to open his gifts. I can't lie, Doug and I were both curious about Pister's gift.

When he got to the bag from Pister's daughter, we had NO idea what to expect.

Barrett dug into the bag, screamed, and pulled out his hand with a bloody finger.

What kind of message is that?

It turns out there was a battery package inside that he cut his hand on. So, those of you that go to my church, no, Pister did not purposely harm my kid.

Once we bandaided the finger (conveniently, he had just opened some Curious George bandaids from Nana), he came back to the package.

Then, he pulled out this...

Apparently, Pister is serious in his constant threats that he is watching Barrett.

Unfortunately for Pister, Doug and I both quickly thought that in high school, that will come in handy when he is sneaking to her window to profess his love. :)

I think the cut finger was more of a message than anything. Poor kid... all he did was fall in love.

There were two clear favorites among the gifts.

Again, Steve, Christi and Mary found him something he loves. He was so excited, he hugged the gift.

Then, the last gift he opened has been played with by all three boys nonstop since we got it.

If you are having problems with imaginary deer, hogs, and coyotes roaming your house, let me know. Fisher and Barrett get 'em every time.

Thank you to everyone who made Barrett's day special!

Our Florida Trip (three weeks ago!)

2008-08-31T15:56:00.011-05:00

We had so much fun on our trip to Florida for Papa and Mary's wedding.

Barrett was so excited when we told him we would be flying on a plane, but it wasn't Barrett who was thrilled to see all the planes, it was Fisher.

"Pane, pane, pane," is all we heard while we waited.

Barrett was just ready to get the beach and see the dolphins, fish, and turtles.

We couldn't convince him that we probably wouldn't see the sea turtles.

We didn't get to Captiva until right before dark, but we stopped at Papa's beach house and ran to see the beach. Barrett seemed a little disappointed, but we assured him it would be more exciting in the morning when he could see the waves.

We then drove across the street to the house Papa rented for us to share with my sister and her family. Barrett and Fisher were thrilled to see their cousins when we got there. While "we" unpacked (I unpacked clothes and stuff & Doug unpacked his fishing junk and went straight to the dock at our house), all the little boys relaxed while watching the Olympics.

As you can tell, Fisher really likes my nephew, Tyler.

The following morning, Fisher was up well before anyone else, so Doug and I were playing with him in the living room. He was obsessed with the crazy little windows that overlooked the pool.

They were really weird, but the owners of the house were pretty proud that the house had been in Architectural Digest. Since the windows were the only really different thing about the house, I guess they were special.

Each day, Mary sent over little gifts for the boys to help keep them entertained. (Apparently, the beach, bay, two pools, two dogs, fishing, and people to play with might not have been enough!) The first day's gifts included something Barrett, "NEEDED!"

He was so happy to have some "gaggles" that fit him. Even Fisher had a pair.

While we were all getting ready to head to the beach, Fisher amused himself in his other obsession of the week, the cabinet...

Once we organized ourselves, we headed over to Papa's house to play at the beach.

Barrett didn't like the waves or the seaweed,

and Fisher HATED the sand.

Needless to say, the beach lasted about 10 minutes before we headed to Papa's pool.

Barrett had so much fun swimming by himself with his life jacket on. He would jump in, swim to the side, and jump back in over and over again.

Fisher was just happy to wash all the sand off of him and be held.

My cousin, Jeff, flew in with his parents. He was going to stay at Dad's house, but decided to stay with us instead. We are so glad he did. Barrett and Fisher both loved him and he was a huge help.

Fisher thought he was so big riding on Jeff's shoulders.

Barrett just wanted to do whatever Jeff, or "that big boy Jeff" as Barrett called him, was doing.

This is just a great shot of Fisher's pretty smile. Hopefully, he'll our grow this look.

That next day was the wedding. I didn't take any pictures because there was a photographer. The only picture I have is one of us before we left for the beach wedding.

The day after the wedding, Tyler and I went parasailing. This is us...

We had so much fun. I never get to just hang out with Tyler anymore, so it was fun to have him all to myself for a while. We literally hung out! We also convinced Papa and Mary to go to. Papa wasn't too thrilled with the idea, but he claims he enjoyed it.

Later that afternoon, we again spent all our time swimming and playing. Fisher wouldn't leave Tyler alone, so Tyler was a great sport and entertained him. He even taught him to show his muscles.

While Fisher was working on poses, Barrett was mastering his jumping techniques. Maybe it was watching too much Olympic gymnastics and diving, but he seems to be pointing his toes?

Because we weren't able to have the complete ceremony the night of the wedding (let's just say the weather didn't cooperate!), we decided to do the shell throwing part the next night.

Barrett's part in the wedding was to hand out shells to everyone.

After each person had one, we were to go to the edge of the water and say a prayer for people that weren't with us. After we prayed, we threw them into the ocean. Well, everyone but Fisher. He clung to his like it was his life source.

Barrett was very excited to throw his in the water.

After the shell toss, we all just hung out on the beach playing in the water and sand. Quite a few of us were hunting for shells. Apparently, Captiva is the shelling capital of the world? It seemed like we really were just pulling pennies out of a fountain since we all just tossed shells out that we were then finding.

The best part of that night was that Barrett got over his fear of the ocean. He was having so much fun playing in the water, jumping waves with Daddy, and making things in the sand.

Fisher, on the other hand, was still not a fan of the beach. He was happy to just sit on a mat with my Aunt Jeanne and hold his shell.

That night, Fisher was all about Tyler again. He didn't really care what they did as long as Tyler was touching him. It didn't take Tyler long to figure out he could play his games and amuse Fisher at the same time.

Our last day there, Doug went fishing with a guide, and the boys and I swam.

**Doug has fished for his entire life, but he caught something he's never caught before, a bird. I always worry if I cast near a bird, and Doug always tells me there is no way I would hook one. Well, he was wrong. He hooked one in the neck, and reeled it in. He was happy to hand the pole to the guide and let him deal with that catch!

The highlight was Barrett swam without his life jacket! By the time he swam all morning, he was able to swim pretty far without any help.

Later that afternoon, Austin and Barrett were swimming for gold in their own Olympics. Daddy would say,

"On your mark, get set, shake your booty,

take a deep breath,

go!"

Barrett would jump in and swim to Doug. Doug would then help him across the pool, and Barrett would swim the last 6 feet on his own and climb out. He was such a big boy!

The only real problem was that Fisher would walk to the side of the pool, say go, and step in.

We had such a great week, but we were exhausted when we returned. Thanks Papa and Mary for a great "bay-K-shun!"

Wow, Life's Been Hectic

2008-08-23T09:09:00.002-05:00

Here's what's been going on:

Barrett had an ear infection and didn't sleep for a week
We went to Florida , on a plane, Fisher was a "lap" child
Barrett learned to swim without a life jacket
Fisher learned to walk into a pool without a life jacket
Fisher learned to wear a life jacket
Barrett turned 3
Fisher turned 18 months old
I worked my 20 hours from last week and this week's 20 hours in 4 days.
We had our Back to School Rally last night at church. All I can say is that Keith Coast is a great entertainer and an awesome person to host.
Barrett's birthday party is today at 2:30.
Tonight is a benefit for our friend, Kim Dennison, to help with medical costs.
Tomorrow is the busiest day for my job with all kids being promoted to their new classes.
Tomorrow at noon, my life slows down A LOT.

So, now you know why I haven't blogged.

I'll give more details about Florida and Barrett's birthday soon!

Who's Your Daddy?

2008-08-05T07:46:00.002-05:00

This morning, I was trying to get a few things done before Fisher woke up. Barrett was happy to just follow me around and talk. When he finally realized that I wasn't really listening, he decided to sing some songs.

He went through the usuals, Hey Good Looking, Baby Bumble Bee, Old Man Noah, Jesus Loves Me, and ABCs, and then he started one I hadn't heard before...

"Sneaky snake, sneaky snake, drinks root beer in the afternoon."

Huh?

So, I asked him who taught him that, and this was his response, "My dad, not Drott, Douglas."

I'm not sure when we have ever implied that Drott, our neighbor, is his dad, but apparently he felt the need to clarify it for me.

What a way to start the day.

Eye Wear

2008-07-30T21:44:00.003-05:00

The boys seem to be obsessed lately with glasses.

Fisher has broken TWO pairs of my glasses. He broke my good ones, and then while I was wearing my old ones as the others were being fixed, he broke those too.

A friend of mine told me to not put them where he could reach them. Unfortunately, they were on my face both times he got them. I have yet to find a way to keep him completely away from my face. Now, I just wear contacts from before he gets up until after he goes asleep. So far, my glasses have survived.

Barrett always "needs" his sunglasses in the car, and he freaks out if he can't find them. Typically, he doesn't need them for more than a few minutes. He now thinks his glasses need to be in the holder that is in the car where I used to put my sunglasses...

When I was on a weekend get-away a few weeks ago with the high school girls, I found some really cute, cheap kids sunglasses that were supposed to be for Barrett.

Fisher claimed them before Barrett had a chance.

He loved their special feature.

Two minutes after these pictures were taken, the glasses were broken.

This past weekend, I went on the leadership retreat for my MOPS group. It was wonderful, relaxing, and productive which I was not expecting! (Hoping for, yes, but not expecting.)

When I came home, I was exhausted from all the fun, but Barrett was worried about me getting him some "gaggles". He talked about them for a good 30 minutes. I told him we would discuss it in the morning.

Tuesday morning, I was given the full report.

Apparently, Barrett HAS to have goggles for our trip to Florida. Barrett's explanation went like this:

"Daddy said I need gaggles. I need gaggles to swim in the pool and the ocean. Daddy took me to Target, but they didn't have any that fit me. After Target, we ran (ran??) to HEB. HEB had gaggles, but they didn't fit either. Daddy kept trying them on me, but they hurt my nose. Then Daddy took me to Walmart, but they didn't have any gaggles at all. Now Daddy says you have to buy me gaggles that don't cover my nose for our bay-k-shen."

Daddy's version of the story:

"Barrett was swimming in the backyard, and Sydney came over with her goggles. She told Barrett he needs a pair. I told him to ask you."

I didn't really think Doug went power shopping for goggles.

Barrett has got quite the imagination!

Summer Fun?

2008-07-23T21:47:00.004-05:00

Summer is more than half way over, and I really can't say we have done a whole lot.

My new "part time" job is pretty much keeping me busy on a more full time basis, but I am loving it. I especially love that I am with the preschoolers on the weekend, but I help with the various other children's stuff during the week. How many people can say that they are paid to do things like this...

Yep, I had 80 elementary age kids digging through giant bowls of ABC spaghetti-O's to write words. I know most people wouldn't see that as a good job, but it totally fits me.

The boys have been having a blast at their summer mother's day out, and while I am excited to start back at our church in September, I will miss all their great teachers they have right now.

Fisher continues to be a wild man. He pretty much has two modes: full speed or asleep.

The other day, Barrett begged me to buy a cupcake at the grocery store. He picked pink for himself and blue for Fisher. After Barrett ate a little of his icing, he was ready to give it to Fisher. The wild man didn't disappoint his brother, and Barrett was the one who told me that I had to get the camera.

Fisher is talking more and more. Unfortunately, he speaks a language that we don't know. Barrett claims to understand, but when the translation ends up being that Fisher wants Barrett to have skittles, I am pretty sure Barrett doesn't understand him either.

Barrett has grown up so much this summer. He is quite the little man, and if he would quit throwing fits throughout the day, he'd be really fun to be around all the time.

He is really into organizing things now, and I love it. He has "homes" for all his toys, and if something is in the wrong place, he is quick to correct it. I know it sounds like a wonderful thing, but he has had more than a few meltdowns when Fisher has decided to help pick up.

Barrett is also very excited about our upcoming "Bay-K-shun". We are headed to Florida in a couple weeks for Papa and Mary's wedding. I've tried to explain that to him, but he is focused on the beach, the pools, and his cousins. Although, he was super excited about the attire that Mary requested he wear. Here he is modeling the two options he has.

Notice the surfer hands that Katie, his babysitter/ swim teacher taught him. He thinks that it is really cool to do.

Other than that, Barrett is still singing "Hey, Good Looking" to most girls he sees, and he has become the ring tone on quite a few cell phones at church. :)

I wish I had more time to write, but I need to send out more recruiting emails. If you are wanting more updates and you go to my church, sign up to teach preschool Sunday school, and I'll have a lot more free time!

I'm Back, Kind of

2008-07-18T22:20:00.003-05:00

I apologize for the lack of posts, but shortly after my last post, my computer died.

I now have a new computer, but I am too tired to write.

I promise there are stories to be written. They just won't be written today and probably not tomorrow...

Fourth of July

2008-07-05T15:56:00.006-05:00

Fourth of July started out as a really boring day. I got a few things done for work, and then we all went to Walmart. Luckily, the neighbors were having a family party and invited us to join them.

The boys both had a lot of fun, but their favorites of the day could not have been more different.

Doug was trying to eat some ribs while Fisher begged him for food. Doug kept trying to give him beans, but that's not what he wanted.

Let's just say that if we took Fisher to an all-you-can-eat rib dinner, we would definitely get our money's worth. I honestly have no idea how much he ate, but he ate rib after rib for a LONG time.

When he was finally finished eating, he was happy to show off his BBQ face.

After dinner and playing, it was time for the fireworks. Barrett was just a little excited as you can tell in the picture.

(Honestly, I don't know why he was so excited because he didn't have a clue what fireworks were.)

The first things we did since it wasn't quite dark yet were the smoke bombs.

Fisher was really curious about them, but it had nothing to do with the smoke. He just wanted to play with the "ball".

Once they were lit, Fisher thought it was really funny, but he was still mad that he couldn't hold it.

Barrett just liked running in the smoke.

Once it got a little darker, some of the adults started setting off big fireworks.

Barrett was in awe.

Barrett and Sydney had fun sitting together on the curb watching the fireworks.

But it didn't take long for them to want to do their own again.

After about an hour and half, all the kids had gotten tired of the noise. Doug took Fisher in and put him to bed because he was not happy, and after trying cotton balls in Barrett and Sydney's ears, Doug solved the noise problem for them.

After another hour, Barrett was DONE, but he wouldn't admit it. He kept insisting he wanted to keep watching.

A few moments after that picture was taken, the melt down began. Within 15 minutes, he was inside, changed, and tucked in bed.

As I was leaving, he said, "Mommy, I love you this much. I had so much fun today. Can you tell the fireworks to be quiet?"

"Oh, I wish I could..."

Forget Golden, Silence is Scary

2008-07-03T12:39:00.003-05:00

Most of my days are filled reminding my boys to be nice to each other, so you can imagine my concern the other morning when neither boy was making a sound.

I thought Barrett was in the playroom and Fisher was watching Baby Einstein, but Barrett had apparently decided Fisher's show was better than his cows.

If only they could get along this well all the time!

Sometimes Having a Kid is Helpful!

2008-06-28T15:04:00.005-05:00

Most of the time, Barrett is so much like Doug it's just scary. Barrett wants to shoot things, play golf, watch Discovery Channel shows about surviving in the wild, and be outside in 100 degree heat as much as possible.

BUT, I have managed to train him to do something that Doug doesn't do. Doug might now how to do this, but I have never seen proof that he is capable.

If he could only reach the knobs, It would be perfect!

Back to Work

2008-06-24T14:04:00.002-05:00

As of tomorrow, I am back to work.

After lengthy back and forth discussions with various leaders at my church, I was named the Director of Preschool Ministries this morning.

I am really excited about this for so many reasons, but there are two reasons that this is perfect for me.

One: I have a true passion for working with kids and watching them grow especially in their relationships with Christ. I am so thrilled to be getting to help our three, four, and five year olds start on their faith journey. It is equally exciting that Barrett will be entering the preschool program this Fall, and I'll get to see things from the parent perspective as well. Although, if I hate something, I'll have to complain to me!

Two: My part time job doesn't change the time I am with my kids at all. I will work while they are at school at the church, and I will work Sunday mornings which is nothing new to my family. I will have other responsibilities, but they are all things that I already do!

I have been wanting to "do something" for a couple of years now, and I really feel blessed that this has fallen into place.

Hopefully, I am still this excited when I actually start the job. :)

The Beast

2008-06-21T21:50:00.000-05:00

Fisher has been out of control lately with his fits. He gets really mad and throws himself on the floor. The fits last so long that I am sure that half way through them he doesn’t even know what he is so mad about.

This morning, Doug and I were discussing what we should do when he acts like this.

Here’s the solution we came up with.

What do you think?

Maybe caging him all alone is cruel.

What about this?

Ok, before you call CPS on us, we wouldn’t really cage them. We are dogsitting, and the cage came with Gizmo.

Fisher is fascinated by the cage, and it is almost impossible to keep him out of it. When I started laughing and taking pictures, Barrett had to be a part of it.

The funniest part of it all was Gizmo watching them inside of it. He almost seemed happy to have them caged up.

I think they are wearing him out with all the love he’s gotten.

What Is Going On With the Boys?

2008-06-20T21:15:00.000-05:00

I am too busy to look back over what I have already told you about the boys, so here is a quick recap of what they are up to. This is really more for me than you, so sorry if it’s boring.

The Biggest News:

Barrett: He is completely potty trained. I have no horror stories about it. Doug went out of town, I put him in big boy underwear. We were done. Seriously, he has had two accidents in three weeks. One was when he had the stomach bug and one was when he was in a lot of trouble. I think it’s impressive that he had a stomach bug and still only had one accident with that much poo.

Fisher: He still walks weird. The doctor wants him to see a specialist, but we are having trouble finding one that will see him at only 16 months old. A lot of people comment how “cute” his walk is. I think that is nice people talk for, “What is wrong with that kid’s legs?” The doctor actually thinks it might be his hips or it may be nothing at all and that he will grow out of. As soon as we find a pediatric orthopedic surgeon that is on our insurance and will see him, I’ll know more. For now, if you know me in real life, please don’t comment on it. Do you think I haven’t noticed??

Their Favorite Foods:

Barrett: He doesn’t eat unless it’s chicken nuggets, strawberry LaCreme yogurt, fresh fruit, peanut butter crackers, and a couple other things.

Fisher: He’s my eater, well, my vegetarian eater. He really doesn’t eat any meats. It’s fun to finally have a kid that mesmerizes people with the amount he can consume. Pretty soon, he’ll out weigh Barrett. He also still sucks down too many bottles a day, and I know I should be getting rid of those.

Their Sleep Habits:

Barrett: In bed at 9:00 if we’re lucky, up by 6 on a good day. He typically is up once a night and sometimes it is as many as 5 times. It sucks. He will nap for an hour and a half, and I am thankful for that!

Fisher: He’s ready to pass out at 8:30, but he’ll keep going full speed if you let him. He’ll sleep until anytime between 6:30 and 7 unless it’s a good day, which could be as late as 8.

Their Toys:

Barrett: He loves all things animals. He’ll play with other stuff, but if he spots a farm, Noah’s Ark, or any other animal thing, he zones in on it. He currently is obsessed with cows. Which seems harmless, but when he is quizzing me on whether a cow is a Hereford, Angus, Brahma, or whatever other kinds there are, I really wonder if the obsession is healthy for a two year old.

Fisher: Fisher wants whatever brother has. He also loves cars and balls. He pretty much wants to play with whatever we tell him is a “no no”. It’s not really a toy, but lately he always wants a “baby” with him which is actually a blanket. He has a favorite camouflage one, but he really isn’t that picky about which one he has.

Current Sayings:

Barrett: Barrett is always talking, so narrowing down what he says the most is impossible. He’s been using ridiculous, hilarious, and absolutely a lot lately. He also told a cow at Paw’s house the other day to, “Back up damn cow!”, so we’ve been working on words you say and don’t say. He now asks about every new expression he hears if it is ok to say. He has decided that “Dern it” is not ok, but saying “Dern the luck” is ok. I realize that “dern” is a replacement for “damn”, but it’s not a big freaking deal to me if he uses it. :)

Fisher: He doesn’t talk much, but he has mastered puppy, cracker, bottle, mommy, daddy, Nana, PaPa, Paw, Gigi, NeeNee, candy, night night, please, and thank you. Oh, and how could I forget, he loves the word, “mine!”

My Favorite Things:

Barrett: I love putting Barrett to bed at night. He always wants me to sit right next to his bed and sing with him. I used to always rub his head, but now he rubs my cheek while we sing. I wish that would last forever.

Fisher: He’s been grumpy a lot lately. He throws the worlds worst fits. I don’t even want to think how much worse they might get. BUT, even when he’s in a bad mood, if you tickle him, he laughs. It’s not the normal laugh. I can’t explain it, but it is the happiest laugh in the world. Doug and I have to tickle him to get the laugh, but Barrett can get him to do it pretty much whenever he wants. I hope he always laughs like this.

Ok, so I know that this is not all that interesting for most of you, but this blog is their baby book.

The boys are almost out of the bath, so I have to get the towels ready. I don’t know why Doug can’t seem to dry them off without me, but that’s a whole other story.

Quick Update

2008-06-12T19:06:00.002-05:00

VBS is over tomorrow.

We are just 3 kids shy of 600.

I am exhausted.

I interviewed for a part-time job yesterday afternoon- I think it is happening. More on that later.

Since boys are outside with Daddy, I am going to enjoy the quiet for a moment.

I promise to have more to write when VBS ends, and I have recovered.

2008-05-28T07:24:00.002-05:00

I know I have mentioned how much Barrett loves to sing songs, and that definitely has not changed.

Barrett will sing in the car, while he is playing, when he is supposed to be napping, and any other time a song pops into his head.

Lately, he has been picking up new songs everywhere, and there is one song that makes me laugh more than any other.

We still don't know who taught it to him. He claims it was Daddy, but Doug said it wasn't him.

Barrett not only knows it makes me smile, he also has learned that when I am upset with him, singing this works wonders.

He also likes to change songs up a little with his own re-mixes. You'll hear one of his changes in this video.

Enjoy!

"Smack"

2008-05-27T16:15:00.002-05:00

Fisher loves to give kisses, but for a long time, he couldn't figure out how we made the kiss sound.

Lucky for him, he's pretty resourceful and found his own way to make a kiss.

I have been trying to get it on video forever. He actually does normal kisses at the beginning, but the last kiss is how he first figured out how to give kisses.

I am almost sad that he figured out the right way and doesn't still always kiss using his finger. It is so cute!

Shoes

2008-05-26T11:54:00.002-05:00

Fisher loves to point out shoes.

When Doug is putting on his socks and shoes, Fisher runs to him, points, and says in his whispering voice, "shoe."

Doug has been working very hard on teaching Fisher the difference between shoes and socks, and for the most part, he is starting to get it.

Last night, we had a block party at our neighbor's house.

Barrett was very excited about swimming in a big pool, but he was not excited about the two dogs that live in their back yard.

Barrett immediately panicked when he saw them, and because Fisher mimics everything Barrett does, he screamed when the dogs got near him too.

Once Barrett and Daddy were in the pool, Barrett was in heaven. He would get out on the side and jump right back in. Sometimes he wouldn't wait for Doug to be ready causing a momentary panic attack in the water. Apparently, Barrett wouldn't be that upset about the extra seconds he was under water because he would get out and do it again without hesitation.

The only real problem was when the dogs came up beside him when he was about to jump in. He would scream and run into the pool. If he were capable of walking on water, it would have happened then.

Fisher, on the other hand, did not enjoy the pool. He wanted out the moment he got in. It might have to do with the fact that Barrett splashed him repeatedly, but whatever it was, Fisher only lasted about two minutes.

The best part of the party for Fisher was the food. I have no idea how much he actually ate, but I know he had at least one and a half hot dogs, two pieces of cake, a pickle, three glasses of kool-aid, a cup of blue jello, and millions of Doritos.

Fisher pretty much had food in his hands at all times which led to a problem.

When a kid is that short combined with a little unstable and is carrying food around, he quickly becomes the dogs' best friend.

Fisher did not share same love for them. He would scream and get mad at them usually throwing his food.

It was a vicious cycle.

Finally, Jill, the neighbor, told the the dogs to go away by saying, "Shoo!"

She even told Fisher to say, "Shoo," when they were bothering him.

A few handfuls of Doritos later, the dogs came looking for Fisher.

Fisher looked at us, looked at his Doritos, looked at the dogs, looked back at us, smiled, and then loudly yelled at the dogs, "Socks!"

The dogs went away, we all laughed, and Fisher sat there with his Doritos beaming with pride.

My Little Potato Heads

2008-05-21T19:12:00.002-05:00

Yikes, I am WAY behind on blogging, and to be honest, I'm not sure when I'll be able to get back into it. I am co-directing VBS at my church this year, and it is a HUGE commitment. We are expecting 500 kids, and I have been using every free moment I have to work on it. So, the blog has been put on the back burner for now. I promise after June 13th, I should be able to post more.

One of Barrett's favorite parts of "VBS" is when I have a meeting at the church. We meet in Theresa's office which is a little kid's heaven. She has a gumball machine, millions of magnets, and most importantly, a huge potato head collection.

Barrett and Fisher love playing with the potato heads, but not in the conventional way.

Fisher typically can't get the glasses on his face, and he ends up with them stuck on the back of his neck. It's "ill-air-eeee-us" according to Barrett.

What Did He Say?

2008-05-05T22:13:00.003-05:00

Fisher has a new word which sounds just like, "Baaa - beee". Most people think he is saying baby, and to be honest for a while I did too. Until I realized he was pointing at Barrett everytime he said it.

So, Fisher's name for his big brother sounds a lot like, "baby."

I'm sure when they are teenagers, Fisher will think this is funny.

The Sounds of Brotherhood

2008-05-05T16:20:00.003-05:00

Most of my day is spent telling Barrett to stop abusing his brother.

I can hear Fisher's muffled squeal and without looking, I know Barrett is on top of him.

"Barrett, get off of your brother!"

If Fisher grunts, Barrett is pulling on some part of him.

"Barrett, let go of your brother."

If I hear a smack, followed by Barrett saying, "No," Barrett has just spanked Fisher.

"Barrett, you do not spank your brother."

If Fisher laughs but quickly get really quiet, Barrett has smothered him with something.

"Barrett, take the stuffed animal/pillow/blanket/whatever off of the baby!"

If Fisher screams then throws himself on the floor (thud), Barrett has taken something away from him.

"Barrett, give Fisher back the toy!"

So, the other day Fisher made a sound while they were playing I had never heard.

I went running.

Here is what I found.

Apparently, Barrett can play with his little brother without injuring him.

Who knew??

broom broom

2008-05-01T15:01:00.003-05:00

I realize I have been bad about updating, and it's not that nothing has been happening, I just haven't had a chance to write.

I wish I could sit here and write about all the funny things the boys have been doing, but I can only get so much "me time" a day. Since I have a very limited amount of time, I'll just give you a quick set of pictures I took of Fisher the other day.

Fisher is in love with any form of transportation. He especially loves to be on the four wheeler with Paw or Daddy, but when that is not an option, he likes to sit in his truck.

When Daddy is home, he'll push Fisher across the room, and Fisher will just laugh and laugh.

When Daddy is not home and Mommy is not in the mood to play, Fisher has to find other fun things to do in the truck...

...Like show how flexible he is...

...or snack on his toes.

He is such a silly, little man!

Photo Attempt

2008-04-21T12:40:00.002-05:00

I tried to take pictures of the boys together last week.

This is the only one where they are both even close to being together, their eyes are somewhat open, and no one is crying.

I think it will be a few years before they look sweet and innocent at the same time.

Eating Yogurt

2008-04-14T14:43:00.004-05:00

Fisher has always loved yogurt. Recently, he has decided that he can eat it on his own, and he does not want our help.

He actually does really good at first.

It's when he realizes how good it feels on his hands that the mess really begins.

By the time he finishes, there is more yogurt on him, the highchair, and the floor than there is in his tummy, but he is so proud!

Did You Know?

2008-04-09T12:22:00.004-05:00

This is an actual conversation that Barrett and I had in the car a few weeks ago. I had written it down when we go to where we were going, but I forgot to blog about it until I was cleaning out the car yesterday and found it.

Basically, Barrett did ALL the talking.

"Mom, did you know I have shoes on?"

"Mom, did you know that boogers are sticky?"

"Mom, did you know that I am going to Miss Leslie's and Miss Diana's class today, and did you know that today is Tuesday so I see Miss Barb sing too, did you know that?"

"Did you know that I have 5 fingers. Did you know that?

"Did you know that there is a big truck over there? Did you know that it has a little door on the back big door? Did you know that means it has cold stuff inside?"

"Mom, did you know that Taco Cabana has red chips. Did you know that is so silly? Did you know that?"

"Did you know Fisher is playing with is milk? Did you know that?"

"Mom, did you know that Jesus loves me? Did you know if I am sick, he can make me all better?"

"Did you know there is a bird up there? Did you know?"

"Did you know I can spell my name, B-A-R-T-T, Bart? Did you know that?"

Ugh, after a few more, I finally said, "Barrett, did you know that you say, 'did you know,' about a million times?"

Silence......

Ahh, sweet silence. Seriously, there was silence for a good minute or two.

"Mom, what's a million?"

"That is a really big number. Way bigger than 10."

"Oh, thanks."

Silence again for about 20 seconds.

"Mom, did you know that a million is a REALLY big number? Did you know that?"

I H-A-T-E Change

2008-04-03T11:52:00.003-05:00

For a while now, people have made fun of me for two things. Ok, they make fun of a lot more than two, but there are two things about Barrett that most of my mommy friends harass me about.

One of those was his use of the bottle at 2 and a half years old.

He only had them at home, and since they were full of his carnation instant breakfast, I wasn't in any hurry to stop him from maintaining his weight. Besides, it made his happy in the mornings when he is GRUMPY.

It wasn't the questions from judgemental moms that made me take away the bottle a month and a half ago, it was the dishwasher. I could not stand reassembling all of Barrett and Fisher's bottles anymore, so one day I just told Barrett we were done with bottles. For two mornings, he complained, but since then, he hasn't even bothered me about it. He still gets carnation in a sippy cup, but he doesn't drink as much.

The other thing I was harassed about is the fact that Barrett was still in a crib, so a week ago, he moved to a big boy bed.

Honestly, the decision was not mine.

The other night while Doug and Barrett were playing puzzles in Barrett's room, Barrett told him that he wanted his bed to be an "in and out bed". So, without consulting me, Doug got his tools and converted the crib into a toddler bed.

I walked in about half way through the change, and Barrett was dancing around telling me all about what his daddy was doing.

I gave Doug THE look. You know, the what-the-hell-are-you-thinking-look.

I asked Barrett if he knew what to do if he woke up and it was still dark outside, and he answered without hesitation, "Go back to sleep." He followed up on his own that if it was "light time", he would come find mommy.

I guess he understood more than I gave him credit for.

After we left Barrett in his room to practice getting in and out and in and out and in and out, I explained to Doug that he would have to deal with this one.

That night, Barrett got in bed and went to sleep.

Fifteen minutes later, he came running out glowing with pride - and sweat (When he falls asleep, he sweats A LOT).

He happily danced and announced that it was light time. We pointed outside to the obvious darkness. His little shoulders dropped. We both felt so bad that he thought he had done it, but we also were struggling not to laugh.

Doug took him in his room, so Barrett could show him the light he saw. There was a street light glowing right in his window. Once Doug explained that the whole room had to have light for it to be light time, Barrett agreed and crawled back in bed.

At 7:30 the next morning, he walked into our bedroom to announce it was light time.

Huh?

I informed Doug that we were just lucky. We are in the honeymoon phase of this change. It was going to get bad at some point.

Over the next 5 nights and naps, there was no drama. He occasionally came out once right after we put him down, but nothing more than 5 minutes.

Doug was so happy to point out that I was wrong.

I didn't want to blog and brag because I knew it couldn't be that easy.

Then, it was Tuesday night.

We couldn't get him to stay in bed, but by 9:45, he apparently was out for good.

At 11:45, Barrett came strolling out saying he was ready to play.

For the next 4 hours, we battled. We, meaning, Doug and Barrett.

I was in bed irritated that I all I could hear was Barrett screaming, but I also felt a little vindicated. After all, I knew there would be issues.

At 3:45, Doug came and got in bed. I asked if Barrett was asleep, and Doug said he didn't know or care.

Fast forward to 3:47, Barrett is standing at the side of the bed telling his daddy that it's light time.

Doug pulls Barrett into the bed between us. Barrett tells me hi and asks why I am not up yet. I just roll over away from him.

I hear Doug getting up, and I assume he is taking Barrett back to bed.

Yeah, the old saying if you assume you make an ass out of u and me- whatever- assume and you make an ass out of Doug.

The bedroom door shut, and I am in bed with Barrett alone.

Barrett and I were up until Doug's alarm went off.

Barrett went out and woke him up, took a shower with him, talked to him the entire time he got dressed, and screamed when Daddy left.

I got out of bed and went to lay on the couch with him to watch a show.

Barrett finally dozed off around 7:00.

Fisher woke up at 7:05.

Did I mention I was sick that night too?

Thank God for my in-laws. They came and took the boys for the day while I threw up, slept, and prayed the Tami-flu would kick in.

So, my question is, why in the world do people think kids need to move into beds they can get out of?

Although, we have had no issues since that night. Does that mean it's over?

(No need to comment and tell me it's not over. I know there will be more nights of free roaming.)

Ugh, I really hate change.

Easter Weekend

2008-03-28T11:44:00.005-05:00

Last Saturday, we were taking the boys to Gran Gran's house for Doug's family's Easter. So, I dressed them in cute, little matching outfits that were somewhat "Eastery", but that they could where in the hot weather.

Since they looked cute, I attempted to take a few picture before we left.

Barrett was doing his goofy smile in most the pictures, and Fisher just wanted to go. (Notice Fisher is pointing, as usual, in the second picture.)

Once we were at Gran Gran's the boys loved playing with all their cousins. After we ate, Barrett went down for his nap, and Fisher enjoyed playing outside.

Fisher loved playing on Will's tractor. He wouldn't even look at me for a picture. He was too busy laughing and making tractor sounds.

Once Barrett woke up from his nap, it was time to have another egg hunt.

Just like at the church egg hunt, Fisher just liked carrying the eggs around.

Barrett ran around as best he could to find eggs, but his older cousins were a lot faster than he was. With Nana's help, he was able to get his basket filled up too.

After the hunt was over, it was time for Fisher's nap, and Barrett played outside. Barrett decided he wanted to dye eggs like the older kids had done earlier, so I stripped him down and let him play.

Not only did he make his eggs nice and colorful, but his hand was pretty and green too.

By the time we headed home on Saturday night, both boys were exhausted. Barrett pretty much went straight to sleep, but Fisher fought me for a couple of hours. I think he was so tired he couldn't even sleep. By 11:00, he FINALLY passed out.

On Easter morning, Barrett was so excited the Easter bunny had come and left him candy, a bunny, and a new tay-toe head. He was also excited about Fisher's duck.

It didn't take long for him to realize that the empty plastic eggs he left for the bunny were now hidden around the house.

Once he picked one up, he was really happy to find quarters in it.

He was so happy, that he hugged the egg saying, "I love these eggs."

Fisher even manged to find one of them.

Later in the day, we all headed down to the beach for Easter with my family. Of course, the warm weather from Saturday was gone, and Barrett was disappointed to not be able to swim in the ocean. Once he got over the disappointment, he had a blast playing with his cousins there.

Overall, the weekend was so much fun but I am exhasuted. Holidays were a lot more relaxing before I had kids!

Good Friday

2008-03-28T11:29:00.003-05:00

I realize I am a little behind, but things have been pretty busy around here. I couldn't tell you what has been keeping me busy, but somehow, I just have NO free time.

Last week, Friday wasn't just Good Friday, it was a great Friday.

I had a hair appointment in the morning, so Tay Tay came to play with the boys, and they couldn't have been happier.

At lunch time, not only did I come home, but Daddy did too. (I LOVE that he only works half a day on Fridays now!)

We ate lunch then loaded up the boys to go to church for the Easter egg hunt. Barrett was SO excited.

After the super cute puppet show, Barrett was still happy, but he was started to drag a little since it was already two hour past his nap time.

Fisher had a blast hunting the eggs. Ok, he really just liked holding an egg. We would convince him to put it in the basket, but then he would take the same one back out to hold. He was REALLY proud of his one egg.

Barrett flew around collecting eggs, and even helped Fisher by putting some in his basket too.

By the end of the hunt, Barrett was done, D-O-N-E.

Here is a photo of all my boys at the end, notice Barrett's enthusiasm.

When we came home, Doug and I decided it was too late for Barrett's nap, so we just played outside on the new fortress. The neighbors came over, and the boys had a blast.

Later in the evening, my friend, Misti, that NEVER comes to see us, actually came over.

Barrett and Fisher had lots of fun playing with her.

When I was putting Barrett to bed that night, he said that it was a "cool day". He also asked if Aunt Misti could come back tomorrow.

So, Aunt Mist, when are you coming back?

Go!

2008-03-26T14:34:00.003-05:00

Fisher is definitely on the go, and he expects you to be too.

He is constantly pointing to wear he wants to go, but he wants everyone to go with him.

It seems like he spends most of his time pointing, and then getting VERY upset if you don't go where wants you to go.

He's just lucky that he is so cute that everyone usually wants to follow him. :)

Friday Afternoons

2008-03-16T14:35:00.006-05:00

While a lot of the country is still in the middle of winter including my mom who is buried in snow, we are in the middle of a warm spell.

Friday afternoon, Doug was home from work since it was his last day at his job with the home builder. He will start his new job on Monday at the engineering firm that he worked at right out of college. One of the perks of the new job is that he will only work until noon EVERY Friday! So, we considered Friday a practice run for what life will be like now.

When we got Barrett home from school, we filled up the pool and got ready to get the boys in. While the weather was really warm, the water was not.

Barrett didn't care how cold the water was. He was so happy to be back in his pool again!

Fisher was happy when we first put him in,

but as soon as Barrett started splashing,

Fisher was not happy.

I took Fisher out of the pool, and he was happy to go help Daddy with the finishing touches on the fortress he has built.

With his baby brother out of the way, Barrett was able to splash all he wanted. Even though he said he wasn't cold, his reaction to the water when he first got really wet says otherwise.

Barrett really wanted a playmate, so little Ava from down the street came to swim with him. They had so much fun splashing, sliding, and running all over the place.

They even played up in the fort. Ava's Daddy was over too, and he busted Barrett trying to kiss Ava up in the fort. Her Daddy took this picture with his phone as he told Barrett to be good up there with his little one!

We are in for lots of mad Dads with this little ladies man!

Friday was so much fun. We are looking forward to many more afternoons with Daddy!

Egg Hunting

2008-03-13T00:02:00.000-05:00

Barrett and Doug were talking as they were in the bathtub tonight.

Doug was telling Barrett that this weekend, Barrett was going to go to Nana's to color eggs and then hunt them.

Instead of cheering his typical, "yeah!" cheer, he made a really sad face.

Doug asked him why he didn't want to go hunt eggs at Nana's, and Barrett said, "Nana would be sad."

Doug looked a little confused until I clarified for him.

Barrett was thinking that Nana would be sad if he shot all her eggs.

We explained that "hunt" can also mean to look for something that is hidden.

After he learned that you can hunt without the kill, Barrett was ready to hunt Nana's eggs.

Bunny Picture

2008-03-12T15:25:00.002-05:00

We had a very odd morning.

As I was planning out the day, I was talking with a friend on the phone. I told her that I was going to take the boys to get haircuts and then to the mall to take bunny pictures.

She laughed and said, "I'll check your blog later because you are setting yourself up for a good one."

So, we went to get haircuts. Two different barbers cut the boys hair at the same time. Both boys sat quietly through the haircuts with no complaints. The whole process took less than ten minutes.

When we got to the mall, the Easter bunny was not there yet. Barrett was fine waiting.

When it was our turn, both boys got on the bunnies lap, looked at the camera, and grinned. (The crappy person taking the picture NEVER snapped them smiling at the same time.)

All the other moms were amazed at how wonderful they were. I just took the compliments like they are always this good.

We went to play and then to eat at the mall with nothing but good behavior.

When we got home, both boys went straight to bed with no argument. They have been napping for 2 hours.

I could just look at this as a wonderful , blessed morning, but that wouldn't be like me.

All I can think is that I am in for one hell of an evening.

Hmmm

2008-03-11T08:27:00.005-05:00

I was trying to get organized this morning to get Barrett to school while both boys play in the living room.

As I was going to Barrett's room to get his clothes out, I noticed he was in the bathroom holding a toy cow and a washcloth.

I stopped and waited to see what his plans were.

He saw me and very quietly said, "Mommy, you don't see me."

So, I just walked away.

In a few minutes, I might actually go back and see what happened.

Update:

Barrett just informed me that he has poop. I guess he and the cow were doing their business in there. I don't know what the towel was for!? I'm just excited that Barrett went into the bathroom to poop. Now, if he would just go in the toilet instead of the pull-up.

Our Trip to the Radio

2008-03-11T08:05:00.006-05:00

Last week, Nana, Paw, and I took the boys to the rodeo, or radio as Barrett calls it.

Barrett was so excited to see everything, and he was just as excited to wear his new cowboy boots.

There were so many fun things to do, and Barrett loved it all!

Barrett loved seeing all of the animals, especially the cows. I don't know why the cows were so exciting considering he can see them anytime at Nana and Paw's house.

He was just as happy with the dressed up cow as he was the real ones.

Fisher, on the other hand, wasn't too thrilled when Paw took him to meet the moo moo.

Fisher was much more comfortable near the real cows.

After seeing all the cows, pigs, roosters, chicks hatching, rabbits, and a baby kangaroo, Barrett was ready to ride a horse.

Barrett loved every second of his pony ride. He would pet the pony's mane and tell him he was doing a good job. Normally, Barrett wants me to take a picture then leave him alone, but he kept bugging me to "take another picture" of him on the pony!

Barrett also loved playing in the barrel that the clowns hide in during the bull riding.

It looks like Barrett is too busy flirting with a cute girl in the front row to try and help the cowboy who is flying off the bull. I guess he doesn't have much of a future as a rodeo clown.

Fisher even enjoyed getting in the barrel- with a little help from Paw who is hiding below!

After all the activities in the livestock show, we headed to the carnival.

Fisher and Barrett rode the pink elephant ride with mommy.

Barrett and Nana rode the carousel. Barrett waved to me everytime he went by.

Mommy and Barrett rode the Ferris wheel. Barrett thought it was funny how little the pink elephants looked from way up in the sky.

Mommy and Barrett spun a whole lot on this dragon ride thing. (Mommy did NOT like this ride.)

Paw even got in on the fun. He rode this giant slide with Barrett.

Barrett liked the whole carnival, but there was a clear favorite ride that he rode over and over again. If you ask him about the rodeo, he'll tell you about the best thing there...

Barrett keeps asking if we can go back to see the pink elephants. Daddy is planning on taking him this weekend, and I think I know what their first activity will be!

Old Video

2008-03-02T14:49:00.003-06:00

I completely forgot to upload this video when I took it about a month ago, but it's too cute not to show.

This is Fisher walking when he was first figuring it out. He really liked walking on his knees better than on his feet, so when we would try and get him to walk, that is usually what he would do. He was just as proud of walking on his knees as he was walking on his feet.

Of course, since it's been a month, he is now walking without being quite so awkward!

Mom was Right??

2008-02-29T08:20:00.005-06:00

When I was in high school, I usually didn't make the best choices when it came to friends. My mom pretty much had to deal with the fact that she really didn't have control over who I hung out with. I was friends with the good kids, but I was also friends with the bad ones too.

You never really knew who I would hang out with because I was pretty much plugged into EVERY group. I had no click.

There was one "group" my mom really disliked...the long haired boys. Now, at the time, I didn't get why having long hair meant you were up to no good, but now, I understand.

Fisher has a buddy. We'll call him Will. Will has long hair. It's not long like Axl Rose, it's more like Willy Wonka long (not the new Johnny Depp one, the original Willy).

Will came over last week to play while his mom went to the doctor, and you won't believe what he taught my innocent little angel.

I was going to take pictures of the friends playing, and when I returned from getting my camera, this is what I found.

It's bad enough he was drinking, but he peer pressured Fisher into it too with this fun little "cheers" game.

It wasn't long until they were both drinking from Barrett's shooting game bottles. (Yea, my kid has a gun game- get over it.)

In a matter of moments they were both obviously intoxicated. I mean look at Fisher here, and Will is trying to sneak out by climbing out the window!

If all that wasn't bad enough, look what that long-haired Will talked Fisher into after all those drinks...

Mom was right.

Long hair = Bad.

Killing Time

2008-02-28T07:37:00.004-06:00

Doug has been working late every night the past two weeks, and every night, I get more and more desperate for ways to entertain the boys.

Barrett has been really difficult without his Daddy time in the evenings, and one of the things he has been missing is playing in the tub with his dad.

I convinced him I could be more fun than Daddy, so we added bubble bath to the tub and turned the jets on.

Barrett was laughing and screaming so loud. He was having a ball playing in the millions of bubbles.

When I got out of the tub, he kept turning the jets back on which made more and more bubbles. At one point, he started to panic because they were getting over his head- when he was standing up!

I had to scoop bubbles out and put them in the shower. Once we got them to a manageable amount again, he was happy.

When I was putting him to bed, he asked me if Daddy was still at work. When I told him, "yes," he said, "can you show him my bubbles when he comes home?"

I guess I didn't distract him as well as I thought.

No One to Blame

2008-02-21T20:22:00.002-06:00

I hate when things happen, and I have no one to blame but me.

Barrett wanted to color today. He insisted that he used markers.

I have no fight left in me because Doug has been working until at least 8 every night this week.

I let him color with markers.

I didn't force him to sit in the high chair. (Refer to reason above.)

While he was coloring on a tv tray in front of the tv, I noticed that Fisher stunk.

I went to Fisher's room to change his diaper and paused while I considered taking the markers.

It was then I made the fatal mistake.

I didn't get the markers from him. I thought I'd be quick.

Fisher's diaper wasn't the problem. It was the poop all over his pants and shirt.

As I was cleaning the HUGE mess, Barrett came in with marker all over his legs.

I reminded them that we only color on paper, and his response was, "oops," as he ran out of the room.

Honestly, I was elbow deep in poo so I didn't really worry about his blue legs.

After Fisher and I were clean, I came into the living room, but I couldn't find Barrett.

I saw the paper and markers sitting on the tray.

I called to him, but he said he was in time out.

When I asked why, he just said, "I'm sorry. I will only color on paper."

It was then that I noticed the couch with it's blue squiggles ALL over the cushion.

I couldn't even get mad. I had to fight letting him see me laugh. After all, I really could only blame myself.

Fisher's Party

2008-02-18T14:17:00.010-06:00

Fisher's birthday party was so much fun even though the weather did not cooperate at all!

We were lucky that lots of friends and family braved the potential tornados and came to the party.

All the kids had fun, and even though we did not have any organized games, the kids seemed to love making laps around Nana's house.

Their running game became really fun when they decided to add bunches of balloons the their laps. I have never seen balloons be so much entertainment!

Even though Morgan and Barrett seemed to have the most fun with the balloons, Fisher liked them a lot too.

After we had all eaten way too many of Doug's yummy fajitas, it was time for Fisher to have his cake.

My friend, Michelle, made his cakes, and she did an amazing job for my little monkey man!

His personal little cake was the cutest banana!

I would post the pictures of him covered in the cake he smashed everywhere, but it didn't happen like that.

He was just like Barrett. He looked at the cake and waited for us to help him eat it. Once we gave him a fork, he ate the cake and loved it, but there was no mess at all.

He really just liked everyone staring at him. He just kept looking at everyone and grinning. I guess being the second child he never really is the center of everyone's attention.

Although, after the party was over, I put him back in the high chair and let him eat his cake. That round was a whole different story.

Fisher loved all of his presents, but he definitely had a couple favorites.

He loved his chair just like his brother's that Kristin gave him. He was trying to sit in it before I could even get it unwrapped all the way.

He also liked playing with the monkey rolling backpack that his cousin's Will and LeeAnn gave him. He thinks pushing the handle up and down is so funny.

There was a clear favorite toy. His cousin Austin picked it out just for Fisher.

He has been playing on his firetruck every moment that his brother isn't taking it from him. Mater, Barrett's favorite toy from his first birthday, has somehow become a favorite again now that Fisher has a toy like it.

Overall, Fisher's party was perfect. Little Monkey even slept all night that night!

Happy Birthday Fisher!

2008-02-16T21:32:00.003-06:00

Happy First Birthday, Little Monkey!

(Excuse the boo boo. Fisher pulled my camera down on his head the other night.)

Fisher had a great birthday party today. I'll post more pictures and details later when I am not exhausted.

Valentine's

2008-02-14T16:39:00.001-06:00

I'll write more later about Barrett's Valentine's with all his girlfriends, but both boys are screaming at me right now.

(If you click on the card, you can see the images blown up.)

How Do You Like Your Eggs?

2008-02-05T13:45:00.000-06:00

Most Saturday mornings, Doug makes french toast for breakfast. Barrett has always liked helping him stir the eggs and dip the bread, but a few months ago, Doug taught him something I had no idea a two year old could master.

(Notice who messes up! It's not Barrett. Oh, and excuse the booger comment. Barrett is booger obsessed.)

Seriously, should a two year old be able to crack eggs?

PJ Day

2008-02-03T14:04:00.000-06:00

Last Friday, Barrett had a dilemma.

Ms. Leslie his teacher on Tuesdays and Thursdays had told him that he needed to wear his jammies to school on Friday. He was so excited about wearing jammies to school, and he told EVERYONE about it.

On Friday morning, we got him dressed in the jammies (and slippers) he chose.

As we were driving to school, I asked if he was excited to see Ms. Jeanette and Ms.Sheri, his Friday teachers.

He immediately started screaming, "No!"

After I calmed him down, I asked him why he didn't want to go to school. He explained that he wanted to go to Ms. Leslie's class in his jammies.

I spent the majority of drive convincing him that PJ day was only in Ms. Sheri's class, so if he wanted to go to Ms. Leslie's we'd have to go home and change.

As I again said, "If you want to go to Ms. Leslie's, we'll have to take off your cute jammies and get new clothes at home."

His response was not what I expected.

In his most "junior high attitude" voice, he said, "Well then , U- turn!"

So much for the reverse psychology crap.

Luckily, once we got to school and he saw his friends in jammies, he was ready to play.

Here he is with his two favorite girls.

He talks about these two all the time. It is so sweet that he has little best friends at school.

Even Fisher had fun in Barrett's class while I took pictures of the kids!

He's Out

2008-01-31T07:00:00.000-06:00

Gotta love when the doctor says, "Give him Benadryl every 6 hours."

Barrett NEVER falls asleep while he is watching his shows, but apparently the insane anounts of benadryl he is taking for this crazy hives/rash thing he has were stronger than his love of Diego.

He had some sort of reaction to something, but we don't know what it was. He is doing a lot better now, and the rash is almost completely gone.

Does that mean I can't give him a little dose every now and then? ;)

Fisher's Favorite

2008-01-27T16:23:00.000-06:00

Fisher has a definite favorite toy. Here is a video of him playing with it back at the beginning of January. I just love listening to him laugh and get all excited.

Barrett Has an Idea

2008-01-27T14:59:00.000-06:00

One of Barrett's new things is telling me he, "has an idea." Usually, the idea is that I give him candy, play in the playroom, or we watch Diego, but yesterday, he was really thinking.

The weather here has been horrible lately, and yesterday the sun appeared for the first time in a week. We had to go to Walmart (which I dreaded doing on a Saturday with both boys), so as we were driving, Barrett and I were talking about it finally being sunny.

When we got to Walmart, I had to drive around a while because there was NO parking. Apparently everyone else needed stuff too.

As I drove around, Barrett asked me, "Mommy, why aren't you parking?"

I explained to him that there were no spots, so he started looking too.

I heard him in the back commenting on there being lots of cars when he got all excited and said, "Mommy, I have an idea!"

I asked him what is was, and here is his plan...

"We can ask Jesus to make it rain because nobody shops when it is raining."

I love that his first thought is to turn to Jesus.

I don't know that Jesus would make it rain so I could park, but I am pretty sure He heard Barrett.

As I headed down yet another aisle, I woman waved at us and then pointed to her car in the very front row.

While I was getting Barrett out of the car, he said, "Hey, we don't need the rain now."

As we walked in, I couldn't help but wonder if he was telling me we didn't need rain or if he was telling Jesus.

Four Eyes

2008-01-19T08:21:00.000-06:00

You know how some people look really good in glasses...

Barrett is not one of those people.

He thought he looked so good. :)

Another Day in Paradise

2008-01-18T06:37:00.000-06:00

I just read a post that my friend had written about feeling bipolar because she's now a stay at home mom and in a matter of seconds she goes from loving it and feeling blessed to wondering why she stays home. So, to make Karen feel better, here is a recap of yesterday in my life.

January 17th

midnight

I am in Fisher's room rocking him after he has screamed and cried for no apparent reason. He falls asleep, and instead of throwing him back in bed immediately, I take the time to look at him sleeping. I LOVE my little man.

12:45

I crawl back in bed next to my sick, snoring husband. (I do not look at him and think about how much I love him while he sleeps.)

1:30

Barrett is screaming for his Daddy. Daddy is sick. Mommy gets up. All he wants is a sip of milk. As I leave his room, he tells me he loves me. I'm a little mad I'm up, but he is so sweet.

2:10

Crying? Who is crying? I cover my head with the pillow.

2:20
Ok, I can't ignore it anymore. Fisher is awake again. I make a bottle and head to his room. He is standing in the crib which is never a good sign in the middle of the night. He is WIDE awake. It doesn't take me long to realize that he's crying because his bed is wet. There is pee everywhere. When I change his diaper, it is soaked. How can a kid pee that much in two hours? I change the sheets and mattress pad while mumbling words kids shouldn't hear. I stop to be thankful Fisher can't talk. Fisher is screaming the whole time, but somehow Doug is able to sleep through it all. Since he is sick, I'm not too bitter. I rock Fisher to sleep again. I do not pause to think about how much I love him.

3:15

I crawl almost crying back into bed.

4:00

Barrett is screaming for Daddy. I kick Doug and tell him Barrett needs him. Luckily for him, he gets up without saying anything.

5:00

The alarm goes off. Seven minutes later, it goes off again. I tell Doug he has to get up or sleep in because I hate the alarm.

5:30

Doug makes so much noise getting ready that I really want to yell at him. I'm too tired.

5:45

Doug comes and not only says goodbye, but he thanks me for taking care of the boys all night. I decide not to yell at him for waking me up again.

6:00

Barrett is screaming. I am so afraid he'll wake Fisher up, I run to get him. I step on one of those STUPID alphabet fridge letters. I yell a bad word. When I get in Barrett's room, he asks me if I said, "Shit." I'm too tired to lie. I apologize for using a bad word, and I take him into my room. I tell him we'll snuggle.

6:15

Barrett is back asleep. I actually enjoy watching him for a few minutes. Just as I start to fall asleep, Barrett kicks me in the face. I give up and get out of bed.

6:45

I already have laundry folded and the dishwasher emptied. Barrett is packed for school, and the diaper bag is ready to go.

7:00

Barrett gets up. He is very demanding. We watch Diego. He wants the one with the dinosaurs. I have seen this episode so many times I want to die. Barrett tells me not to answer the questions. I answer them louder. He tells me to leave the room. If I had only known that would work....

7:45

I am "dressed" for the day, and Fisher is up.

8:00

Barrett has a massive poop. I will not go into details.

8:30

I am done cleaning. Yes, it took 30 minutes.

8:40

I argue with Barrett about what he's wearing to school. He does not want to wear pants. He does not care that it is 40 degrees outside. I let him go out in a diaper. He decides pants are ok. I throw Fisher in his carrier in his jammies, and we load up and leave.

8:50

I forgot Barrett's nap mat. U-turn.

9:15

I walk Barrett into school, tell him I love him, and leave as fast as I can.

9:15-12

I look everywhere for invitations for Fisher's first birthday. I already found ones I love that are too expensive. Fisher is not happy about getting in and out of the car over and over again. He screams constantly. After driving all over the world and spending a million dollars in gas, I go buy the ones I really want.

12

We go home so Fisher can run around. Fisher just wants to be held. I hold Fisher while trying to get anything done. Nothing gets accomplished. Fisher is still not happy.

1:15

Fisher finally wants to get down and play. It's time to leave because I have a meeting at church. I realize he's still in his jammies. Oh-well.

1:45

I meet with a lady that irritates me. She makes me madder. It's church, so I bite my tongue. (My tongue still hurts.)

2:15

I get Barrett from his room. Barrett is mad at me because some other mom put a note in her daughter's lunch, and he did not get a note from me. Seriously? As we load up the car, he is still unhappy with me. I give him a piece of candy. He's not mad anymore.

2:30

We go to the grocery store. It takes about 10 seconds to realize that Barrett did not get a good nap at Mother's Day Out. Fisher is also napless. We need groceries. I'm screwed.

A woman in the baking aisle tries to talk to Barrett. He tells her to go away. I apologize, but she gives me a dirty look anyway. I giggle because it was funny.

Barrett throws a tomato on the floor. It makes a mess. I have him get down and help me clean it up. He cries the entire time, but I am proud of myself for making him clean it up.

Barrett throws another tomato. No one sees. We leave the mess. I'm too tired to be a good role model.

I decide that we have enough, and I go to check out.

Barrett has a melt down about M&Ms. He does not get them. He did not earn them. The checker tells me where the M&Ms are. I tell her we don't need them. She tells me again where I can find them. Did she not hear me? I don't care if everyone around me is willing to buy them, we're not getting them.

3:30

We get home from the store. Barrett has another meltdown because we got home 5 minutes too late to see the big kids get off the school bus.

3:40

The kids, groceries, all the other crap, and I make it into the house.

3:41

I call the neighbor to see if her daughter can play. She says yes! Barrett is happy. They even want him to come over there. Woo Hoo!

4:00

Barrett is at the front door. Sydney has ballet to go to. He is not happy.

Both boys are unhappy. We go into the playroom. I want to cry too. Why in the world am I staying home when I could be working?

4:10

Both boys seem happy. I run to check email. While I am on the computer, I check local school districts for job openings. There is a position I would like. Before I can start applying, Fisher is screaming.

Fisher has a busted lip. Barrett tells me he hit him. There is blood on the carpet. I want wood floors.

4:20-5:30

Barrett goes to time out over and over again. Fisher is crying. I am trying to make dinner. I call Doug to see how close he is to home. He's still at work.

I cry.

6:00

Barrett is happy in his chair with markers. Fisher is occupied watching Mickey Mouse and chewing on things. I am getting dinner made. This mommy thing is easy.

6:20

Fisher wants to be held, Barrett wants something that he doesn't even know what it is, and I burn the meat.

I put Fisher in his bed, Barrett in the playroom, and I hide for a few minutes to regroup.

6:30

I collect the kids again. It is still not pleasant. Gretchen calls and laughing says, "You should hear what your house sounds like over the phone!" If I could slap through the phone, I would.

6:35

Sydney comes back to play. She amuses both boys. I get laundry put away, dinner finished, the kitchen clean, and toys a little more organized. Doug gets home and it looks like I have it all together.

7:00

We eat dinner. Fisher eats a ton. Barrett eats two fish sticks. I clean up and tell Doug I need time alone.

I spend 10 minutes in the tub before I hear screaming. It doesn't stop. I get out of the tub to find Barrett in time out and Fisher upset. Doug says it's under control.

8:15

We attempt putting Fisher to bed because he is so cranky. I realize he's still in the same jammies, but I don't care at this point. Barrett is watching Diego. We decide that Fisher is not tired, so Doug brings him back into the living room. He projectile vomits ALL over the place. I go to start cleaning, and he pukes more and more and more. Barrett is fascinated. I take off his jammies and put him in the tub. He's happy.

Doug takes a shower, I clean the carpet as best I can. (I really want wood floors.) I also clean the entertainment center and two chairs. Barrett keeps asking what the bad smell is. Fisher is crawling around happy.

9:30

We finish cleaning and put both boys in bed.

9:45

I crawl in bed just glad the day is over.

10:30

Fisher is crying... I pretend I don't hear him, and Doug gets up. :)

So, that is a day in my life.

I think every Mommy goes back and forth between loving being a parent and wondering why in the world they had kids. Even though there are times I wish I had my old freedom, I can't imagine not having them to love. My heart would just be empty without my little men.

I can say that because it is 7:50 in the morning and Barrett is playing on his own and Fisher is sleeping. :) I might feel differently in ten minutes.

Overwear?

2008-01-11T12:33:00.000-06:00

Even though Barrett is not potty trained, he loves his big boy underwear.

He is very good at going on the potty, but even if I wanted to really make the effort to completely train him now, I can't find big boy underwear that fit his tiny little body.

So, he likes to wear his underwear over his diaper, and that is just fine with me.

Last night, Daddy had already gotten his diaper and pajama bottoms on when Barrett remembered that he needed underwear on. Daddy was too tired to take the pajamas off and put the undies on, so Daddy convinced Barrett that "overwear" is as good as "underwear".

It was all funny last night, but this morning when we were getting dressed for mother's day out, Barrett wanted to wear his overwear over his jeans. Luckily, I convinced him to wear them under his jeans but OVER his diaper, so they were still overwear.

In other Daddy news, he exposed Fisher to his powdered sugar donuts again yesterday. Fisher not only loved them, he wouldn't stop licking his lips afterwards.

Fisher was a sugared, happy boy!

Three Little Steps

2008-01-05T13:59:00.001-06:00

Last night, Fisher took his first steps. His first three steps to be exact.

Barrett and I were playing on the floor, and Fisher was standing at the end table. All of the sudden, Fisher was standing next to me. It took me a moment to realize that he had walked over to us. I asked Barrett if he just saw Fisher walk, and he said, “Yep Mommy, Fisher walks now.”

I looked over at Fisher, and he was still just standing there without holding on to anything. He didn’t fall until I started clapping which made him clap too.

I don’t think he knew what he did that made me so excited because he kept standing up, clapping, and then falling because he clapped.

This morning we went to Gran Gran’s house, and he was holding on to her walker. When Barrett took out a toy Fisher wanted, Fisher let go of the walker, stood there for a few seconds, took two steps, stood a little longer, and then dropped to his knees to crawl across the room.

It’s only a matter of time…

Other Fisher news: We have two right side top teeth that have broken through this week. I know that teeth come in at any random order, but I am happy to finally have some on the right side. I be lying if I said that having only left side teeth didn’t worry me!

Christmas Part 2, Santa Came

2007-12-30T15:34:00.000-06:00

When Barrett woke up Christmas morning, he was ready to see if Santa had come.

He had to wait to open the presents until Nana, Paw, and Ray came over, but he knew exactly which one he wanted to open first... the big one.

Once Nana was here and he had told her all about Santa eating the cookies and the reindeer eating all their food, we told him he could open whichever present from Santa he wanted.

He went right to the big present.

Once he got it torn a little, he peeked inside.

As he peeked inside, he started jumping and saying it was a "stampoline".

He's never been on a trampoline or around one, so we were surprised at his reaction. We knew he'd love it once he knew what it did, but we had no idea how excited he would be just by seeing it.

He climbed on it as soon as most the paper was off.

He started jumping on it like he'd been jumping for years.

I guess all the practice on our bed and the couch really helped out.

After he jumped for a few minutes, he remembered there were other presents too.

He chose to open the other big gift, and he again tore enough paper to peek inside. He seemed surprised to see a Diego big wheel, and he turned to tell me what it was.

He also told Nana that he got a bike just like hers. (No, Nana doesn't ride a big wheel, she has a Diego ride on thing at her house for Barrett.)

It took him a while to get all the paper off of the big wheel, but he kept working on it until it was done.

Santa also brought toys for Fisher, but he was more interested in Barrett's toys.

Even though Mommy and Daddy weren't exchanging gifts, Daddy still had a couple things from Santa. Here is Daddy showing Barrett the shirt Santa gave him.

Fisher really wasn't too into the opening of the gifts, but he did find two things on Christmas day that he really enjoyed...

The boys had a wonderful Christmas day with Doug's family being here in the morning and mine in the evening. By the end of the day, they were both exhausted, but they did manage to find the energy to jump a little more before they went to bed.

Christmas Part 1

2007-12-28T13:46:00.000-06:00

We've had lots of Christmas celebrations over the past week, and we still have one to go this weekend. I'll try and cover them all, but I'll start with the first one.

Last weekend, we drove to Dallas for our Christmas with my Aunt Jeanne and her family. Even though we have to drive four hours in the car with the boys, it is still probably my favorite part of Christmas.

Friday night, Aunt Jeanne let all the boys open one present.

They were laughing so hard at each other. It was too cute. Fisher didn't get a hat, but he had a good time trying to get to a present.

On Saturday morning, all the men went to play golf and the little boys stayed home with the girls. Jeanne was brave enough to make cupcakes with all the boys. Her former kindergarten teacher came out as she had them all helping make the batter.

After the baking fun, Aunt Jeanne sent Gretchen and I off for pedicures, and we gladly accepted the pampering! It was wonderful to totally relax in the middle of the chaos of Christmastime.

Once nap time was over for Barrett, the boys were ready to sing Happy Birthday to Jesus, but some of the adults were otherwise occupied...

After waking up the adults, we sang Happy Birthday and blew out the candles.

Fisher was the first to open a present, and as soon as he could see the toy through the torn paper, he said, "ewwww!"

Barrett loved his presents from Aunt Jeanne, but his Noah's Ark was by far the favorite. (I have to admit, I like it more than the instrument set too!) This picture isn't the best, but his expression is priceless.

He has played with his Noah's Ark nonstop. Unfortunately, he can't find Noah or one of the elephants which is causing him some major issues at times. We tried to put Joseph from the nativity in the boat, but he knew that wasn't right.

We had so much fun at Aunt Jeanne's, and Barrett complained about leaving for the first half hour as we drove home. Once we explained that we were headed to Gran Gran's for another round of presents, he recovered and settled in to watch Diego for the five hour drive!

Parrot Boy

2007-12-20T06:10:00.000-06:00

The boys and Christmas have been keeping me so busy, that I just haven't had time to blog. There have been so many times I've had something blogworthy happen, but getting myself to sit and write just hasn't happened. As I looked at my list of things I must accomplish today, I decided to procrastinate by typing.

Fisher is growing like crazy. He is getting steadier on his feet everyday, and we've seen him standing without help more and more. He wants to walk so badly that it's probably not far away.

He has mastered climbing. If you don't pay attention, he'll be on the couch, coffee table, or toy box within seconds. His brother is even nice enough to help him climb up when he gets stuck.

He is still eating everything he can get his hands on, and his brother is more than happy to help him with that too. Yesterday, Barrett not only shared his lunch with him, but he also shared a couple of stickers, a leaf, and some paper. Our Christmas tree is becoming bare on the bottom due to Fisher's desire to eat all the ornaments. Most have been moved up on the tree, but all the legless gingerbread men have been laid to rest.

While his eating habits are the complete opposite of Barrett's, he does seem to have Barrett's love of talking. Fisher tries so hard to talk, and he will attempt to mimic anything you say to him. He's figured out a few words like Mama, Dada, no, uh-oh, hey (used as hi), moo, and baba, but his newest addition to his vocabulary he can thank Nana for.

Nana was holding him the other morning, and Paw was in the kitchen looking for something. Nana was a little irritated with Paw, so she said with a lot of attitude, "HELLOOOO!"

Not but a split second later, the parrot on her lap said, "hellooo." It was as clear as it could be.

I guess we need to watch what we say around him now too. :)

Santa Drives a Car?

2007-12-07T07:18:00.000-06:00

Yesterday, Santa was at Barrett's school. It is so nice to get to see a great Santa who actually talks to the kids, get to take my own pictures, and pay absolutely nothing for it!

Barrett was so excited to get to school to see Santa that I had a hard time convincing him to let me get dressed.

Once we got to the school, he literally skipped all the way in.

Since we got there early, there was no line, and Barrett walked right up to Santa. He wasn't the least bit shy or nervous. He climbed on his lap and told him all about the bike at Walmart that he wants.

I wish the photo taking part went a little better, but he was WAY to into Santa to stop to look at me.

I tried to get a couple of both boys, but that didn't go to well.

Fisher did really well once Barrett was off Santa's lap, but Barrett was upset that Fisher couldn't tell Santa what he wanted for Christmas.

I told Barrett to tell Santa what Fisher wanted, and can you believe that Fisher wants a bike from Walmart too?

After pictures, Fisher and I ran errands all day, and then headed back to pick up Barrett.

Barrett's teachers informed me that while Barrett's class was on the playground, Santa was leaving the church. They all went running to the fence to see him, and to their horror, Santa got into a car.

They all waved as he drove away, but there was mumbling that Santa was supposed to have a sleigh with reindeer.

While his teachers were about to come up with a story, Barrett turned to his little group and said that he's probably just going to feed the reindeer. Apparently, they all bought Barrett's story because they all went back to playing. :)

Tree Trimming

2007-12-03T07:05:00.000-06:00

I was going to wait until much closer to Christmas to put our tree up, but part way through the day Saturday, I just couldn't wait anymore. Decorating the tree is one of my favorite things to do, so Saturday night, Doug got all the boxes out of the attic.

Barrett was so excited that he was running around screaming. I don't think he even knew why is was excited, he just knew I was.

I had the stocking that my mom made hung before anything else. I told Barrett they were stocking and that Santa will put presents in them when he comes. When Doug came in, Barrett screamed, "Look Daddy bean stalks!"

I guess my Texas accent makes "stockings" sound like "staulkings"? We've corrected him a bunch of times, but he keeps calling them bean stalks.

While I was setting the tree up, Fisher was climbing and chewing on the boxes, and Barrett was watching my every move. When I had the tree part way up, Barrett noticed the needles that had fallen off. He was VERY concerned about the mess on the floor. I told him I would vacuum once I finished, but he was not happy with that. He ran off frantically looking around while mumbling about the mess.

Here is what he was looking for:

Even though he didn't clean up the mess at all, I think it made him feel better that someone attempted to vacuum. (He's so my kid!)

Once we had everything ready, it was time to decorate the tree. In my visions of what having a family would be like, it always included the family decorating a tree. Since Doug and I have been together, he's always left to house while I decorated. I was so happy to have Doug and the boys here to help.

I put the boys in their matching Christmas jammies, popped cookies in the oven, gave Doug the camera, and we started decorating!

Barrett was immediately drawn to the big bag of gingerbread men. Here is he putting the first ornament on the tree.

Because all of the ornaments were all being put on the bottom foot of the tree, we brought out the step stool for Barrett to use. He loved standing up "tall like a big boy" to put his ornaments up, and Fisher loved trying to climb up with him.

Barrett worked so hard to get all the ornaments unwrapped and on the tree. He would get so excited to see all of the ornaments especially the ones with his picture in them! He worked until the whole tree was done.

Fisher had an entirely different mission.

Fisher wanted the plug to chew on so bad. He kept crawling back there, and Doug kept pulling him back. I finally went and got out a stack of wrapped presents to block it, and so far that has worked.

Since Fisher was unable to complete his plug chewing mission, he found other things:

It was a perfect day. It was exactly how I wanted it to be. Hearing Fisher laugh and clap as he chewed on everything. Listening to Barrett talk about the ornaments and bean stalks. Laughing with Doug at how cute our boys are.

Even if the rest of the season gets crazy and hectic, it's ok. I've already had my Christmas. :)

Backyard Fun

2007-11-29T13:02:00.000-06:00

Last night, we went one of Barrett's favorite parks, our neighbor's backyard.

The kids were having so much fun kicking all the leaves, that I ran to get the rake and make them a pile to jump in.

They had a blast!

Fisher wasn't too thrilled about the leaves, but he had fun watching them. He would clap every time they would jump in!

The Story of Jesus

2007-11-29T12:40:00.000-06:00

I've mentioned before how much Barrett enjoys talking to Jesus, and now it's gone to a whole new level.

He now recognizes Jesus every time he sees him somewhere. Basically, any white man with a brown beard is Jesus. He loves pointing him out to everyone around.

The other night we were at a visitation service at a funeral home, and as the son-in-law was tearfully talking about his father-in-law, Barrett jumped up, pointed at the stained glass, and said, "Look Mommy, it's Jesus!" Luckily, he didn't yell and only the people right around us heard him. After that, we went outside to walk around for awhile.

After the service had ended, we went back in and Barrett wanted to look at Jesus. He asked a million questions about his appearance and insisted on giving him five because Jesus wanted him to. (Jesus' hands were spread open, so in Barrett's defense, it did look like he was waiting for a five.)

Since he has this obsession with Jesus (I hope he always does!), he is very interested in the Christmas story this year.

My Aunt Jeanne sent him two books about Christmas, and he was so excited.

After reading the books a few hundred times, I brought out the Little People nativity and we set it up together.

He loved setting up the scene and listening to me explain the story.

He also thought it was so neat that his books had all the same characters as the nativity set.

He's been playing with all of it constantly, and Fisher has even chewed on Joseph when he can get him.

Last night, NeeNee the neighbor was over, and something happened that just melted my heart.

As I watched, Barrett told her the story of Jesus' birth. After he was finished explaining who all the people were and why they were there, he told her, "that baby growed up to be a big boy that loves me."

My Favorite Jammies

2007-11-23T15:09:00.000-06:00

When Barrett was about 7 months old, I bought him the pajamas that have been my favorite, and since my kid doesn't grow fast at all, he was able to wear them up until a few months ago.

I was so sad when it was time to put them away (even though he wore them for 17+ months) not just because he would never wear them again, but because they were too stained and worn for Fisher to get them as a "hand me down".

Now, for a complete change of subject that will make sense in a minute.

Since yesterday was Thanksgiving, I wanted to list ten things I am thankful for:

1. God

2. My family- ALL of them, even the ones I want to disown at times

3. Having a group of friends that are amazing Christian women to go through motherhood with

4. Being born and raised America

5. Being lucky enough to be a stay at home mom

6. My friend Dawn - not just because she was able to bring her baby, Ben, home from the hospital this week, but because she is THE most inspirational Christian woman I have ever met. (Read her blog from the past two months if you need a little inspiration!)

7. Target's dollar bins

8. Tylenol & antibiotics for kids- I don't know what people did to get through ear infections in the olden days! :)

9. Cold fronts

10. Outlet stores

#10 on my list is where this whole blog ties together.

If it wasn't for the Gap outlet, I would never have been able to have these picture of my favorite jammies:

I literally danced in the store when I found them!

Serenading Fisher

2007-11-20T17:41:00.000-06:00

I haven't put a video on in a while, so here is one from about a month ago. Barrett loves to sing songs, and here he is singing his current favorite.

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Share Photos - Free Video Hosting

Hmmmm

2007-11-19T07:14:00.000-06:00

I don't know why I haven't blogged lately. I just haven't been able to sit at the computer for any length of time to type anything. So, sorry if you've been checking the blog only to be disappointed.

So, as I sit here holding Fisher who is less than happy, I'll try to give you a brief update.

- Fisher now has 7 teeth. He has the two top and bottom middle ones like a normal kid, but the other three are all on the left side, two on the top and one on the bottom. Hopefully, the right ones will appear, but right now we're enjoying his crooked smile.

- Fisher is apparently left handed. He favors his left hand when grabbing, pinching, and feeding himself. Since I am left handed in everything except writing, I think it's neat. Doug claims it's hard to teach a lefty to shoot. I would be fine if Fisher never shot a gun.

- Fisher's doctor is a little concerned about his left eye. It seems to be a little lazy. She said we'll look at it at his one year visit and decide if he needs to see an eye doctor.

- What is up with his left side?????

- Barrett talks ALL the time. I couldn't even begin to list his vocabulary. See Webster's dictionary if you're interested.

- Barrett has always been a ladies man, but he has taken it to a whole new level. On the playground at church there is a plastic tree thing the kids play in. Barrett's teachers for Mother's Day Out, MOPS, and the church nursery have all noticed that he likes to be in there with the girls. He has been seen on many occasions kissing them in there. They are about to redo the playground and the teachers are all joking about what Barrett will do when the kissing tree disappears.

- Barrett has two little girls he loves playing with more than any others in class, Abby and Chloe. I hear about them all the time. While he does kiss them daily, his new interest is Elizabeth. She's the cutest little thing, but there is a problem. She is one of our pastor's daughters, and Mike is feeling a little threatened by Barrett. Barrett told Mike that he loves Elizabeth, and Mike warned him that he was watching him. Barrett of course was oblivious to the threats and ran in class to hug Elizabeth.

- Fisher is all over the place. He can crawl at an amazing speed. Barrett at times loves his brother's ability to move and at other times, he hates it.

I realize that was as run through random things, but that's all I have in me right now.

Ugh, Barrett just woke up and wanting out of his room, so I am off to watch Barney, Dora, Mickey Mouse, Clifford, or Tom and Jerry!

Have a great day!

Did He Just Say That?

2007-11-05T15:32:00.000-06:00

Barrett ate more for lunch today than he ever has.

We drove through Chick-Fil-A and got him his "chicken-bawk-bawk" and fruit, and before we were home, he had already eaten three nuggets.

Once we got home, he ate the other nugget and all of his fruit. He then asked for peanut butter crackers.

Half way through his first cracker, he obviously was trying to poop.

I asked if he needed to go poop on the potty, but he said no.

I told him that I was pretty sure he was pooping, but he said he wasn't.

I then could smell that he had pooped, so I again asked if he was pooping.

His response to my persistence, "No Mommy, I am not pooping, I am making room for more food."

He did end up eating all the peanut butter crackers, so I guess he really was making room.

He just cracks me up!

Trick or Treat

2007-11-01T07:30:00.000-05:00

Both boys seemed to really enjoy Halloween last night.

Nana came over early to help convince Barrett that he needed to eat dinner. After he ate one nugget, she gave him his Halloween present. He has been begging me for this ball at Kroger for about a month, so without even knowing it, Nana made him REALLY happy.

Barrett was really excited to put on his costume. He was roaring the whole time.

Fisher was a little less than thrilled with the costume, but he was a trooper. I don't think he really wanted to sit still for pictures. I think he just couldn't move. :)

Both boys seemed more excited about how silly the other one looked. They kept looking at each other and smiling.

After we took a few pictures, Barrett was ready to get candy. The kids on the street were all waiting until later to go as a group, so we let Barrett go to one house. My neighbor, Laura, dressed up as the witch from Wizard of Oz and was sitting in her driveway with a cauldron of candy. Barrett wasn't too sure about her, but once she handed him candy, the witch wasn't so scary anymore.

We only went to a few houses when Barrett said he was ready to go to his house. He was ready to get out of his costume because he was hot, but he was also ready to eat some candy. So, we took a couple more pictures at the spider in the front yard, and then we headed in.

Barrett and Nana sat on the floor looking through his candy. Barrett would get her to open a piece for him, and as he ate that piece, he was looking for what he would eat next. I'm not sure how much he ate, but I know he was loving his Nana!

Barrett also loved seeing the big kids come to the door for candy, and he at first thought he was going to give them his candy. I was surprised that he was ok with that, but he did seem pretty happy that I had different candy for them.

I'm pretty sure Barrett loved Halloween, but I know he over candied himself. He had opened a lollipop when Doug said it was bath time. Barrett ran to the trash can, dropped the sucker in, and ran past me while saying, "Yea, I take a bath, I throwed my candy in the trash." Normally, he would NEVER throw away a sucker.

As we were sitting on the couch last night right before bedtime, Barrett was telling Doug and I all about Halloween. He told us how he wore a lion costume and Fisher was a duck. He talked about the other kids and getting candy from the witch. He got all excited telling about the big kids at the door. He also added in how he shot two coyotes in the living room? (He's had quite the imagination lately.)

He went to bed last night with a huge smile on his face. So, I know some people think Halloween is bad and evil, but they obviously haven't seen it from my little angel's perspective.

Pumpkin Carving

2007-10-31T14:48:00.000-05:00

Barrett has been ready to carve the pumpkin ever since he and Daddy picked it out at the pumpkin patch.

Barrett was so excited when I told him it was time yesterday afternoon.

He was sitting next to the pumpkin as I carved the hole in the top, and he couldn't contain himself. He sat there with his "green shovel" in his hand ready to clean it out.

Then, he saw the inside.

That is as close to the pumpkin as his green shovel got. Barrett wanted no part of the big mess that was in the pumpkin, but he liked watching me clean it out. (Just like every other mess!)

After I finished carving the pumpkin, Barrett just sat next to him and clapped.

He was so happy to have his own "pumpkin face" as he called it.

He is going to have so much fun tonight trick or treating!

The Beach

2007-10-22T13:59:00.000-05:00

Barrett has been looking forward to going to the beach and playing in the water for a long time. Yesterday, he finally got to go.

My family was getting together at a beach house, so after church, we headed to Surfside.

Barrett was so excited when we got there. He was ready to go straight to the beach, but we convinced him we had to go into the house and say hi to all the cousins.

The weather couldn't have been better, and Barrett's expression as he saw the waves and the sand was priceless.

He ran straight to the water, but then he wasn't too sure.

After he adjusted to the way the water and sand felt, he was ready for Daddy to take him in the water.

While Daddy and Barrett were WAY out in the water jumping waves, I let Fisher put his feet in the sand and water. He really did not like it. He held his feet out of it as much as he could.

When Daddy and Barrett were coming back in from the water, Barrett was so excited to tell me all about the big waves. I don't think I have ever seen him run that fast.

Cousin Austin decided that it was time to dig in the sand, so he borrowed a shovel from a man nearby on the beach.

I went to Doug's truck and got his big shovel, and everyone enjoyed watching Doug and Austin dig big holes to bury the big kids in.

Even Barrett who doesn't like to get dirty wanted to help bury people.

Overall, Barrett's first experience at the beach when he could actually play was a HUGE success.

As we drove home, Doug was trying to figure out when we are going to rent a beach house for a week next summer. I think Daddy had as much fun as Barrett did.

Chef Barrett

2007-10-21T20:33:00.000-05:00

Last week at school, Barrett learned about cooking in the kitchen.

On Thursday when I picked him up, he was excited to show me his cook's hat he wore. I thought it was so cute that I promised him we could make cookies when we got home so he could wear it again.

Here is my little chef baking his cookies.

He was so proud of his sprinkled cookies!

The Window

2007-10-18T18:32:00.000-05:00

If today is any indicator, I am pretty sure that Fisher is going to love being outside as much as his brother and daddy.

Fisher spent close to an hour at the back window today looking outside. He would stand up, look outside, "talk", lick the window, and then play with farm animals for a few minutes only to repeat the process over and over again.

When I went up beside him and looked out the window, he got so excited. I'm not sure what we were looking at, but he was thrilled that I was seeing it too.

My next move did not make him happy at all. He was so funny licking the window that I wanted a picture from outside looking in at him.

He was not amused at all that I went outside without him, and he never even blinked so the licking picture didn't happen.

I did make it up to him by taking him for walk a few minutes later, but when we got home, he went right back to the window.

Throwing in His Two Cents

2007-10-17T07:07:00.000-05:00

Since Barrett's has mastered talking, he now likes to yap every moment that he's not asleep.

Here are a few examples of things he says:

We were driving through McDonald's to get the apples that he had to have. I pulled up to the window and the boy working reached his hand out and said, "$1.07." As I handed him the money, Barrett loudly and clearly said, "That man did not say hello, that is not nice. He is not a nice man."

We were stopped at a stop light, and Barrett noticed a bird sitting on a sign right next to us. His conversation with the bird went like this, "Hi birdie. Are you happy birdie? Do you fly? Please don't poop on Mommy's windows. That's yucky. Oh-no, you fly away."

I was getting ready to take Barrett to school yesterday,and since I wasn't feeling well at all, I didn't mess with fixing my hair. I just threw on a baseball hat. When I walked out of my room to take him to school, Barrett said, "Mommy, are you sick?" I told him I was fine. He corrected me and said, "No Mommy, you don't feel good." I again tried to lie to him and say I felt fine, but he said, "Mommy, you are wearing a hat, so you are sick." He's an observant little guy.

And my recent favorite...

Doug was asking Barrett what he was going to say on Halloween, and Barrett replied, "Trick or treat, give me something to eat, CANDY!"

Doug and I started laughing, and asked him who taught him that because we'd only worked on the trick or treat part. He tried to change the subject and ignore our questions, but after a while he realized we weren't giving up. Since he apparently didn't want to tell on Nana and Paw, he smiled an evil grin and said the person that taught him that was, "Santa Claus."

It's almost like he knew we couldn't get in touch with Santa. :)

Where's Daddy?

2007-10-15T08:02:00.000-05:00

After taking their bath with Daddy last night, both boys were following Daddy everywhere he went.

Doug was trying to replace the air filter, and he kept having to ask for help because his helpers were in the way.

When Daddy went into the garage to put the old filter in the trash, I had to yell at him to not open the door because it was blocked...

Barrett and Fisher LOVE their Daddy!

All About the Fisher Man

2007-10-14T16:01:00.000-05:00

Fisher has been keeping me so busy lately that sitting down to type is a luxury I just don't have anymore.

He cut his top two teeth this past week. The top left came in last Saturday, and the top right came in on Tuesday. You can't see them very well yet, but you can feel them. You can really feel them when they sink into your shoulder!

Fisher is also on the move at all times. He will crawl all over the house and pull up on any and everything he finds. He even managed to get on the couch the other night. Doug and I still don't know how he did it even though we were both sitting there.

His other favorite thing besides moving is screaming and talking.

Barrett loves this too, so it is quite normal for the boys to be screaming back and forth while laughing. It's cute to a point, but on a long drive, it sucks.

Fisher had managed to say a few things. As much as I hate to admit it, he has mastered, "Dada." I'd like to say he just knows the sound and not what he's saying, but when Daddy is around, he says, "Dada," a lot.

Luckily for me, he did finally say, "Mama," with LOTS of coaching/bribing on Thursday. It's amazing what this kid will do for food.

The other big news in Fisher's world is that he no longer wants anything to do with baby food. He wants to eat whatever we have. We have yet to find a food that he spits out. He even liked my broccoli the other day!

Ok, that's all the time I have to type because his afternoon "nap" apparently has ended.

Does 20 minutes even count as a nap?

Time Out

2007-10-08T15:14:00.000-05:00

Lately, Barrett has spent a lot of time in time out.

He loves to play with his brother, but he also loves to push his brother over.

This morning, I was switching a load of laundry when I heard Fisher start to cry. When I ran into the living room, Fisher was on his back in the middle of the room crying, and Barrett was already in the corner.

(Is it wrong that I think he looks so cute standing in the corner?)

When I asked Barrett why he was in time out, he said, "Fisher is crying."

I asked him if he pushed his brother, and he said, "No, Fisher fell over."

I had to explain to him that he only had to go to time out when he hurt his brother not when his brother hurt himself.

Later on, Fisher fell over trying to stand up on the couch, and Barrett said, "I don't go to time out. Fisher fell all by himself."

How long do you think it will take Barrett to figure out that he could claim he didn't do it when he actually did?

We're Back!

2007-10-02T12:07:00.000-05:00

Even though I haven't been able to post due to technical difficulties, you're probably glad I couldn't. All that you would have heard about is Fisher being sick, Barrett being sick, and me being sick.

Fisher was first. He started with a fever and bad mood. Two days later, Barrett was running a fever too. The following morning, I woke up sick.

We all three apparently had some virus that mainly just causes a fever.

Fisher ran a fever for about a week, but besides that, he was his usual self. The only real impact him being sick had on us was that he slept through the night. Luckily, he's fever has been gone for quite a few days, and he's still sleeping at night. :)

Barrett wasn't as lucky as Fisher. He ended up with gunk in his lungs, diagnosed as pneumonia, and had to do the whole breathing treatment thing along with a bunch of meds. He loved the breathing treatment mask. He would wear it around the house and call it his costume. Somehow he also ended up with ringworm on his back , so we treated that too.

I ended up feeling the worst of the bunch. I had the fever thing and pneumonia, but I also got to enjoy pleurisy. My doctor was convinced that if I would just rest, I would feel better. (She doesn't have any children, much less two sick ones.) Once my doctor loaded me up on steroids, antibiotic, and vicodin, I've been feeling better and better.

Now we are all well, and Barrett is at school today. If I could just convince Fisher to take a nap, I might actually try to tackle the mountain of laundry.

Testing

2007-09-29T14:28:00.000-05:00

Ok, I have been having some blogger issues, but the "blogger man" said that they are resolved.

I would post, and then the post would disappear after a few hours. So, this is a test. If this post remains, then I will update.

P.S. Thank you Blogger Man for all your help getting the glitch fixed :)

Where are the Blue Man Group Auditions?

2007-09-16T13:56:00.000-05:00

Even though I don't understand the fascination with the Blue Man Group, I think they could use a Little Blue Man.

We'll need to work on getting better coverage, but I think Barrett has real potential.

(I realize the color looks more green than blue in the picture, but trust me, it was very, very blue.)

Luckily, after Daddy found a new use for the tub tints, he was able to easily rinse it off.