controlled chaos

i'm back

2011-06-06T21:45:00.000-07:00

... and the only reason is because i have beach pictures. let's be honest, who cares what i type - the point is photos.

8 years is entirely toooooo long to wait to go to the beach. ben had never been to a real beach. he loved it. caleb and sarah were certain they were the ONLY kids left in Williamson County that had not been to the beach in over a year (i'm pretty sure they were right...)

weather was perfect, water was warm, kids didn't fight as much as i expected and we didn't get a ticket down there or back so it was definitely a successful trip.

these are just a few of my favorite pictures... the ones without me in them :)

i took a LOT of pictures because i got a new camera for my birthday and i could not be more excited.

summer is here. baseball has started, soccer just ended - and already started again so it looks like my new camera will be getting quite a work out.

20 + years

2009-10-14T20:07:00.001-07:00

20 years....and that's just from high school graduation. these girls have known me a LOT longer than that.

our high school reunion was last weekend and i'm not sure what is more amazing:

1. we're still friends
2. we all like each other's husbands
3. the husbands all like each other
4. we ate mexican food for every meal
5. i didn't bring my camera
6. none of us wore pink to the reunion

the truth is, i pray my kids have friends like these. the kind of friends that after 20 years...lisa is still on time to dinner, kerry is nothing if not prepared, the only one with a camera and me, well, i was late to dinner and i downloaded this picture from kerry's blog.

some things never change. and that's not a bad thing.

"better than Disney..."

2009-09-20T20:11:00.000-07:00

No, I'm not kidding. at least that's what our kids said.

this year we decided it was time to try camp. we figured since none of our kids have ever experienced camp we would go for family week. there are several families from our church who go to Pine Cove and seeing that the camp is in Texas we knew it HAD to be good.

we had no idea...

it was camp...lots of camp type stuff like crafts (my favorite!), swimming, zip lines, canoes, horses and songs. BUT THE COUNSELORS ... they are worth every minute/hour in the car down and back.

i could type for days on how the camp really worked for each of us...the speaker we had as parents, the counselors and how they poured into our kids all week, but the only way to sum it up, the only way to help you understand how good it really was...

kids: "but we don't want to go to Disney next year...we want to come back to Pine Cove"

us: "seriously? we want to go to Disney"

kids: "this is waaaay better than Disney"

check it out. www.pinecove.com

and yes, they have "theme nights" for dinner...and yes, you dress up. and yes, rob is wearing coconuts.

pump it up

2009-09-02T20:30:00.000-07:00

you know that feeling you had when you were little and got that ice cream cone...two scoops. remember how excited you were...and how all that excitement drained from you immediately once the ice cream hit the cement.

i'm there.

ben learned to pump himself on the swings. just this weekend....i was very excited. i've been pushing kids in swings for over 11 years now...

plop.

now that he CAN pump....i find myself wanting to push him. (or hold onto him....)

back to the blog

2009-07-27T08:02:00.000-07:00

you would think that with all my spare time blogging would be easy.....can't.....stop....laughing....

I am blogging my own iphone commercial. here are pictures that i have due to my new phone. i can no longer carry my phone and the bazillion other things i need and my large camera. i just can't....just like i can't keep up with laundry, get enough work done while the sun is up and lose 10 lbs.

i have a camera bag application that enhances my photos. of course it helps that my kids are incredibly cute. (just sayin)

please keep all hands in car while riding...

2009-07-08T19:59:00.000-07:00

I have been held hostage by my new iphone....i think i'm in love. now if i can just fix the 'sender invalid address' i can work my e-mail too!

rob recorded this with his iphone ... ben on the roller coaster at Six Flags.

seriously the cutest thing ever. be sure your volume is on.

:)

happy birthday!!!

2009-05-29T15:03:00.000-07:00

we can't BE there to eat cake and drive 'em crazy....but we can wish LAUREN A HAPPY BIRTHDAY! (of course it took a few tries)

belated....

2009-05-02T15:25:00.000-07:00

rob turned 40 a few weeks ago...and of course i did exactly what he wanted. nothing.

his birthday fell on Easter this year and of course that is one of the busiest times at church so a surprise party was just NOT an option. i've tried before...it wasn't a good thing with his schedule.

SO....i did do ONE thing. i bought the worship & arts staff shirts with rob's FAVORITE saying, "I can't think of anything worse." he says it in response to most questions...of course, I added the number 40 to rob's shirt.

monday, after this birthday, rob walked into his staff meeting only to be greeted by a roomful of black I CAN'T THINK OF ANYTHING WORSE t-shirts.

now he can wear his new shirt while watching his real birthday present.....a new tv. that works...!

a LOT of work...

2009-05-02T15:14:00.000-07:00

it's 80° and raining but it's Christmas at the Howard house...Christmas MUSICAL time that is...

CAMEL LOT.

i've decided we're nerds...we listen to the kids' music on itunes, watch their shows and movies...and we enjoy it all. guess that's why rob enjoys putting kids' musicals together. both caleb and sarah worked in the studio this time and a week later i had them working in the yard...yep, they both like the A/C studio more. big surprise!

anyone want to come over and help pull weeds?

(if you want to hear caleb or sarah on the recording you have to go to rob's blog...he's all fancy and posted the audio. he's smart like that)

saturday

2009-04-19T21:06:00.000-07:00

i know some parents roll their eyes when the game schedules are posted...i, on the other hand, love it. (maybe because i know i can't be at the ball field and in the laundry room at the same time)

here are some pictures from our saturday...and sure enough, no baseball pictures. maybe it's because i was so distracted by SOMEONE asking about snacks every 3 minutes through the double-header. (and honestly, ben had plenty of snacks...and breakfast before we even got there!)

we started off with caleb's double header (no pictures)...then sarah's soccer game (ben was finally a little tired so he sat)...straight to the kids' fun run (5k) and carnival with the Predators hockey mascot, lots of fast food, cotton candy, things that inflate and dunk booths...i'm so ready for summer!!!

my mission...if i choose to accept it

2009-03-29T21:26:00.000-07:00

ben obviously wanted something he couldn't reach...he worked his way up a chair and two beanbags to his desired destination. he was so excited to claim victory ... until he realized he needed to tell me something.

"MOM!"

(again) "you need to dust up here..."

thanks ben...now tell me something i don't know.

(can you tell we live in tennessee? wow. nice accent.)

seriously....?

2009-03-16T21:00:00.000-07:00

i think all i said was, "just a minute...let me grab my drink before we play legos."

one of those weeks...

2009-03-12T22:23:00.000-07:00

you know that feeling you get when you call the doctor about your sick child, the nurse says "go ahead and drive to the emergency room..." and your heart races. well, today was kind of like that....except it wasn't my child, it was the hard drive on computer and it wasn't midnight...it was first thing in the morning and it wasn't the hospital, it was Mac Authority.

after what seems like an expensive medical bill my "baby" has been upgraded, uploaded and unpacked, plugged in and is running just fine. whew.

if you are wondering how much of my work was on that hard drive....check out the picture from my late night work schedule and just take a wild guess.

(for the record...i am not complaining about work....or working, getting work or needing to work just in case someone i may work for or with or WANT to work for is reading this - is that politically correct enough to stop my rambling now)

computers...can't live with 'em...can't pick them up and throw them through the wall without unplugging them first.

no one believes me...

2009-03-08T12:27:00.000-07:00

i know i've been busy...spring is just crazy with kids, work and school...so things suffer...laundry, dusting, grocery store runs....and now the blog. i think i'll start by updating the blog first although doing laundry just sounds so fun.

i did get an e-mail from the "blog police" inquiring about updates...nice to know someone misses our dysfunction and chaos.

i told practically everyone our Christmas tree stayed up for a looooong time. too long. no one believes me. here's proof. we decorated it for valentine's day.

sad to say we finally took the tree down. not that we couldn't find more decorations for the coming months (do you know they actually sell eggs that you can hang...weird).

dance dance...realization

2009-02-07T20:14:00.000-08:00

the new dance craze is, of course, a video game. one you have to buy...

the school board in our county owns a DDR (dance dance revolution...for you rookies out there) and passes it around to the different schools for gym class. not a bad idea actually. the kids LOOOOOVE it.

the parents were 'invited' to join the kids and play. honestly, caleb won fair and square. granted i AM a little competitive but there was something inside me that thought...being a boy and losing to your mom infront of the whole 5th grade.....yeh, not a good thing. sarah also beat me...although she wouldn't give me a high five afterwards, she was all business.

i did laugh at the difference between sarah and caleb in gym...2nd grade girl....5th grade boy.

i promised both of them i wouldn't do anything that resembled real dancing...i wouldn't shake anything or clap my hands. they obviously got together and discussed my being "allowed" to go to their class...they agreed on a list of do's and don'ts. nice to know they can get along when they need to.

lately...

2009-02-05T21:11:00.000-08:00

i usually post cute pictures of my kids...but lately this has been my child - my computer. i've been limping through the last few weeks dragging my computer behind me. every click brought me closer and closer to panic until TODAY....

ta-daah! it's fixed. whew. rob did something fantastic...he asked someone else how to fix it. it's almost as good as stopping for directions.

so i'm back. back working at full speed (once i get my daily diet coke) and back trying to figure out what to post on my blog.

i hope you missed me.

time

2009-01-28T20:53:00.000-08:00

my computer is just not feeling ok lately. i think it's the hiccups but i'm worried it may be something more terminal so i spent last backing up everything. EVERYTHING. everything.

i ran across a few million pictures on my iphoto and unlike some people i will not mention by name (only because i'm married to him) i backed up the photos 'correctly' onto an external hardrive and pulled a few to share. i would post more but i'm sure the blogging world has a limit. i just thought these were pretty eye opening when compared to us 'today.'

sarah's first recital...she didn't even play, she sang the "how to hold your violin" song. she just graduated from Suzuki Book 1 this week. WOO-HOO!!!

ben...he was soooo little. this picture was taken the winter he was so sick that he just didn't grow and they ran test after test. this week he just ran and tested me over and over.

caleb...today we went to see a movie and caleb helped watch the younger kids. caleb hasn't changed much in the way he looks in this picture but he sure has grown up.

wow. time flies. well, except when your computer isn't working...then it's like time stands still.

Christmas 'miracle'

2009-01-17T21:17:00.000-08:00

why post these pictures from Christmas....!? because it's almost one month later and these toys are STILL being played with daily. seriously.

sarah asked Santa for twin babies, "you know, the real ones from American Girl with curly hair"... Caleb asked "Santa" (he winked when he said it) for video games, "I dunno, all of them" and Ben asked for "Cars cars...the WHOLE set."

Seeing that the Christmas tree is STILL completely decorated and up...go ahead, laugh but I don't see you offering to watch the kids or come and help clean up...I realized the toys are still out and being played with which, to me, is a little bit amazing.

mini-vacation

2009-01-09T21:49:00.000-08:00

i love blogs....i tend to "waste" time in the computer world....here are some favorites. trying to live in the design world requires a little research and updating daily so i visit several places to connect with others (ya know, something or someone other than lego, american girl of video games....call me crazy).

here are some favorites:

decor8
scrapbooks
stacy
design aglow
making it lovely

of course there are some sites that are more 'businessy' but that's no fun. enjoy.....the procrastination. :)

shutterbug

2009-01-08T21:01:00.000-08:00

this is what happens when caleb gets hold of my camera.

happy new year...finally

2009-01-06T19:29:00.000-08:00

the Christmas tree is still standing....fully decorated – so wishing you a Happy New Year seems right on time if you ask me.

worth a try

2009-01-05T19:54:00.000-08:00

so with ALL that i have on my "mental" to-do list i am adding another project. well, maybe.

365 give away

this scrapbook kit is quite a thrill for those of you who scrapbook. stop laughing....i know i don't "officially" scrapbook but i do use this stuff for art projects and the only way to win this 365 kit is to blog about it on my page so i will be entered in the drawing.

i know. i never win these things either.

oh well, i did buy a lottery ticket over the weekend. i'm bound to win something.

remind me....

2008-12-27T21:15:00.000-08:00

well, sure enough it happened again. Christmas cards not mailed. I have about 20 envelopes staring at me.....mocking me.

note to self: new years's cards.

here's what they looked like if you haven't received yours yet....sorry. don't hold your breath.

sooo cool!

2008-12-24T19:34:00.000-08:00

we took the kids to see Grinch in Ice....it was incredible. the entire concept is still mind boggling but the final product was just awe-inspiring. i'm not over-selling it... it was 9 degrees but the kids just kept asking to stay longer. we all were frozen but we've never seen anything like it.

(and yes, i did make the kids hold hands like the who-ville kids.....i thought it was funny. they did not)

the video is of the little slide....it was a huge hit!

this!

2008-12-16T22:30:00.000-08:00

it drives caleb nuts that i post stuff like this.....we are WAY too close to the teenage years to impose on his "coolness" but THIS is worth the risk.

no doubt ben and millie are friends....ben and sarah are definitely playmates...but ben and caleb don't always find time to themselves. caleb asked ben to "sleep-over" and usually ben is too attached to his own space/bed but he jumped at the chance to "tuck in caleb."

THIS is what it's all about......(remind me later....when i forget).

what's up

2008-12-14T21:56:00.000-08:00

rob started this (let's be honest, it's always his fault)...but he hung up one of ben's monkeys on the bunk bed....and now, we have this.

an entire zoo hanging from ben's bed. brings a whole new meaning to "clean UP your room."

2nd grade...

2008-12-12T20:00:00.000-08:00

sarah is in 2nd grade this year...lots of drama. i don't remember being allowed to have drama...i just remember passing notes with a boy in class and having to stay in from recess to clean up toys.

that's me, on the top row, big shock...

thanks to facebook i am actually able to get in touch with a few kids in this class! can you believe that!

ahhhh, 2nd grade.....recess, buying lunch and spelling tests.

(i may need to take this picture to my hairdresser.....i really like the color of my hair.)

finally, a post NOT about my kids...

2008-12-08T22:14:00.000-08:00

Are you Martha or Maxine?

• Stuff a miniature marshmallow in the bottom of an ice cream cone to prevent ice cream drips.
• Just suck the ice cream out of the bottom of the cone, for Pete's sake! You are probably lying on the couch with your feet up eating it, anyway!

• To keep potatoes from budding, place an apple in the bag with the potatoes.
• Buy Hungry Jack mashed potato mix. Keeps in the pantry for up to a year

• When a cake recipe calls for flouring the baking pan, use a bit of the dry cake mix instead and there won't be any white mess on the outside of the cake.
• Go to the bakery! They'll even decorate it for you!

• If you accidentally over-salt a dish while it's still cooking, drop in a peeled potato and it will absorb the excess salt for an instant 'fix-me-up.'
• If you over-salt a dish while you are cooking, that's too bad. Please recite with me the real woman's motto: 'I made it, you will eat it and I don't care how bad it tastes!'

• Wrap celery in aluminum foil when putting in the refrigerator and it will keep for weeks.
• Celery? Never heard of it!

• Brush some beaten egg white over pie crust before baking to yield a beautiful glossy finish.
• The Mrs. Smith frozen pie directions do not include brushing egg whites over the crust, so I don't.

• Cure for headaches: take a lime, cut it in half and rub it on your forehead. The throbbing will go away.
• Take a lime, mix it with tequila, chill and drink! All your pains go away!

• If you have a problem opening jars, try using latex dish washing gloves. They give a non-slip grip that makes opening jars easy.
• Go ask that very cute neighbor if he can open it for you.

• Don't throw out all that leftover wine. Freeze into ice cubes for future use in casseroles and sauces.
• Leftover wine??????????? HELLO!!!!!!!

type casting

2008-12-04T18:57:00.000-08:00

sarah's teacher is pretty creative...which is a great fit for sarah. they do a lot of reader's theaters to encourage more reading. sarah got to choose her role and she picked the part of the donkey...

caleb's exact words, "well that's just perfect."

that time of year...

2008-12-01T20:40:00.000-08:00

caleb had waaaaaay too much energy last weekend so i said "go rake leaves...." and had no idea he would do it. oops.

so that took the rest of our day.....37 bags later (just the backyard). the kids had fun, i considered it a work out, rob marked it off his list, millie played and i had something to post on my blog....not bad for one afternoon.

caleb asked for the camera to take a picture of the bags - probably to document the work and to use against us later when he needs money for something.

oh, and sarah finally lost her top front tooth (you can't really tell since her other tooth has already grown in quite a bit).

it's not rocket science...

2008-11-23T20:57:00.000-08:00

this is the closest we'll ever get to being compared to einstein...or anyone that smart. this is caleb in his 'professor' costume. he loved being on stage...funny since his sister is the one with all the drama, if you know what i mean.

i can't believe i didn't bring my good camera so this is all i've got...caleb/einstein and sarah dancing...or whatever they did with that hula hoop.

ben loved it and totally recognized caleb in his costume and waved at him for the first 20 minutes of the performance.

the past 2 weeks have been hectic so i have more to post....tomorrow, when i wake up.....from a looooooong sleep.

rock on!

2008-11-10T10:47:00.000-08:00

www.littlebigstuff.com

well, if you haven't heard already...you are hearing it now...or you will when you click the link.

rob's 2nd musical is wrapping up and we, like all good americans, totally hired our own kid to work in the studio. yep, nepotism at it's finest.

caleb has several solos (he's getting the hang of it...) and sarah got a few lines again this year. she's very "understanding" about the fact she's too young to be in the studio full-time. yeh, right. she's STILL not over it and at this rate...i think she has enough drama to do every character herself!

even ben is singing these songs so i hope you buy, um, i mean, like it!

(caleb has a solo in #2 - the papparazzi line...and then is also the "bad" audition, song #3)

what's mine is....

2008-11-04T21:52:00.000-08:00

i ran across this picture from the disney show we went to a while back. i forgot to post it (gee, i don't know why i didn't get around to it!)

we shared the box with a friend of a friend so other kids were there....and one little boy REALLY liked the snack ben had ... so ben watched the entire show with his cup holder closely guarded.

tricky...

2008-11-01T19:54:00.000-07:00

ok. so i'm SUPPOSED to post pictures of the kids in their costumes....yeh, i don't have any.

seriously. rob is still in peru so getting 3 kids in costumes, um, and myself, took a little time considering the following:

1. caleb is too cool to go trick or treating BUT he still needed help with his bling. (he WAS going to be Erkel but decided he didn't LOOK like him...hmmm, wonder why. so he decided to be a rapper...he seemed to have a 'theme' this year.)

2. sarah needed her hair to look like a fairy...she wasn't EXACTLY sure what that was BUT we tried about a dozen hair-dos and don'ts. not sure if she was ever really happy but i'm sure we took out a layer of the ozone with the pink hairspray.

3. ben doesn't like costumes despite the fact he plays dress-up almost daily AND his costume was Handy Manny which required jeans, t-shirt and baseball hat. he finally decided 2 hours into the party that he was ready for his costume.

4. jinkies...my costume was pretty easy. a friend took this picture on her phone to send rob...i'm sure he was really excited to get it. i can hear him roll his eyes all the way from here.

i'll post pictures of the kids when my friends send them to me...they had cameras...i had 3 kids in 10 different directions!

tag...

2008-10-27T19:04:00.000-07:00

nice to know we never grow too old for games. i've been tagged (actually twice...but who's counting. i was just tooo slow to post my tag so i'll do it now)

RULES:

So here are the rules if I tag you…

1. Link to the person that tagged you.

• already done (both april and kerry are linked)

2. Post the rules on the blog.

• ta-daah

3. Write six random facts about yourself.

• i can totally make a face that looks just like the grinch. seriously.
• sonic diet cokes...my biggest weakness
• the guys at satco know me by name
• i still crack my knuckles
• i have kissed the host of the bachelor (ok, we were 9...but it counts)
• at one point in my life i could jump my own height

(wow. i didn't realize i was so boring)

4. Tag six people at the end of your post.
(i'm tagging some cool blogs that i love drooling over....because i don't have 6 friends)
• decor8
• creative thursday
• mintandsage (go to their website too...cool pics)
• my sister-in-law
• my friend martha
• another mom friend sonya

5. Let each person know they have been tagged.

• i'll try

6. Let the taggers know when your entry is up.

• okey-dokey

cry baby

2008-10-20T11:42:00.000-07:00

for spirit week at school the kids all wore jerseys....of course ben had to wear one too even though he was just staying home with me.

he cried...maybe it's because he didn't get to go to school with the big kids...or maybe it's because he was wearing a Chiefs jersey.

sorry honey.

these boots are made for...

2008-10-18T20:56:00.000-07:00

running the mile apparently.

the last day before fall break sarah dressed for school in boots for their class fall party...totally forgetting that she had gym (and why would i keep track of that, it's not like i'm her mom...)

i was stopped by the gym teacher in the hall after the party...she told me to ask sarah what she did today. immediately my mind raced with "uh-oh" and she just laughed and said, "no, it's not bad, just ask her"

so i did.

she had to run the mile...in her boots.

she did it...like it was no big deal. i guess there is a little texas blood in her.

that's my girl.

duh...

2008-10-12T21:09:00.000-07:00

it's called music city for a reason. tonight we got free tickets to a concert...i thought it was just a choir concert (no offense choir people) but it was so much more.

it was the 25th anniversary celebration of michael w. smith with MANY guests including 3 american idol favorites (phil stacy, melinda doolittle and jordin sparks) plus wynonna judd - she was great and definitely owned the stage! ricky skaggs and amy grant....

i was extremely surprised by the music...i felt pretty cool until....this happened.

we had great seats, down front...very cool. after phil stacy sang rob said outloud to his friend sitting next to him, "wow, that was great. makes me wish i would have voted for him on american idol..." ha-ha.

we were sitting DIRECTLY behind phil stacy's wife. duh.

nice.

and for a side note, we ate dinner afterwards (we HAD to, we had a sitter....woo-hoo) and i saw kelly pickler!!! i wanted to jump up and take our picture together to boost my blog rating but i didn't react quickly enough. if you don't jump and take advantage of the moment at the time or recognizing a famous person you immediately drop from fan to "weird person staring at famous person."

silence is golden...

2008-10-01T21:07:00.000-07:00

sarah had her fist violin workshop over the weekend. i remember a few from when i was young, they were fun (mostly because i didn't know too many songs so i got to run around a lot)...but i was a little worried that it would be too much of a good thing for her (like stuffing your mouth with marshmellows...they taste good one at a time but too many and you just gag.)

anyway, she loved it...all of it. wow. surprised me!

here is one of the reasons / teachers...not your typical teaching style. it may seem weird to you but after being told over and over what to do and what not to do (by me or rob of course) this teacher just walked up, said nothing and just started 'doing'....and they followed along better than they had all day.

yes, he eventually talked...and laughed...i just thought sitting there, observing the kids, how amazing it was that the kids just set up and jumped right in (and i didn't even have to boss anyone woo-hoo!)

sarah's actual teacher set up the entire workshop and it wasn't until saturday at lunch that all the parents realized we did NOTHING to help...she didn't ask us to bake cookies or anything and the whole workshop was unbelievably organized (so there's your first hint that i didn't help). wow again.

if you can't pick out sarah she is on the far left in the brown shirt - you know, the cute one.

milestone

2008-09-30T21:03:00.001-07:00

if you have a girl you'll get the significance of this post...sarah can FINALLY fix her own hair. she worked and worked to get these 'ponytails' just right...she wanted them to look kind of messy and tucked in so this is actually the "look" she was going for - it's been a looooooooong road for us.

i did cringe yesterday when she said she wanted to learn how to braid.......by the way, this is exactly what rob would look like if he had pigtails. seriously.

artist in residence

2008-09-25T19:53:00.000-07:00

our kids draw..they love it and sometimes they even use paper.

ben loves to draw. at his 3 year check up the nurse asked him to draw a circle so he did ... a circle with eyes, hair, ears, a mouth, nose and legs, arms...

that brings me to this picture ben drew at lunch. he was VERY proud of it. he couldn't wait to tell the waitress ALL about it, every part...EVERY part. he named each part, the eyes, the ears, the hair, the 2 arms....the 2 legs and the other "leg".

that poor waitress...how do you respond to a 3 year old giving an anatomy lesson during the lunch rush?

we haven't been back to that restaurant yet.

blog wars

2008-09-22T07:09:00.000-07:00

long long ago in a galaxy far far away...rob and i argued about "who gets what" on the blog. (it's our own competition...number of visitors, hits per day, you know, the superficial no one else really cares kind of stuff).

because i got the latest blood shed with ben rob laid claim to sarah's debut at church yesterday...

there is no rule against linking....so here she is

unfortunately....she LOVED performing. yikes. we can't afford another musician in the family. we just got another .05¢ royalty check again the other day.

:)

the rest of the story...

2008-09-21T20:07:00.000-07:00

i didn't want to go to press until i had the full story...i had no idea i had such a captive audience.

here's what "supposedly" happened...

sarah and our other daughter/neighbor were playing with ben...they zipped him up in a folding chair carrying bag and were holding him and walking around. of course, he loved it, he had their full attention and could "breathe, mom, we didn't zip his head, just to up above his elbows."

the girls put him down ("please put him down girls, you might drop him and he could get hurt") and when they put him down he tried to take a step...in the zipped up bag. ouch.

that's it, nothing too unusual...except that everyone actually had the same story, even ben.

of course he fell on the playground this morning at church....and i'll give you ONE guess what he hit.

yep.

join the club...

2008-09-17T07:00:00.000-07:00

the new family trait...stitches on the chin. i had them (thanks anya for throwing me in the pool, i almost made it to the water). sarah got her chin stitches a few years ago when she tripped at a restaurant and hit the table. tonight ben joined the club (actually, i guess he's an honorary member because they used surgical glue instead of stitches. i hope our insurance covers "glue.")

ben is such a trooper...amazing. he was so excited when the assistant tried to take his blood pressure with the infant device and said, "man, your muscles are too big, i can't use this one..." ben smiled REALLY big like, that's right.

ben went to bed with his favorite buddy, bobby...after he applied matching spider-man band-aids.

caleb went to bed wondering when it'll be his turn and after rob's day (check out his post) i'm thinking he may be next...

like mother...

2008-09-14T21:39:00.001-07:00

SCENE: ben walking through the hall at church - he spots the bucket of chocolate kisses on the sign-in desk...

ben says (or yells, whichever)
"CHOCOLAAAATE....me, me, me"

I say (in my best parenting voice since we ARE at church...)
"what do you say?"

his reply: "i want TWO!"

now and then...

2008-09-10T20:02:00.000-07:00

for caleb's 5th (and final grade) at the elementary school we have the option to put a little ad in the directory so of course we did...

i pulled some old pictures and couldn't believe how much he looks the same but different...

and to have the same group of boys in the neighborhood has been the best thing ever!

Mr. Happy

2008-09-04T11:46:00.000-07:00

with caleb and sarah in school all day ben is a little bored...his entertainment is gone.

thankfully our church has a little kid-care going this year and ben gets to go to "big school" just twice a week for a few hours. he has 3 years until kindergarten...3 years til caleb is a teenager, 3 years til sarah hits double digits, 3 years til millie stops chewing stuff...3 years til the house is clean.

this was ben on his first day at "big school"...we got there early, seriously, i did. we played on the playground for a while before class and he got to hang out with kids his age. wow. what a concept!

i know what you're thinking, "he's really dressed up for his first day..." well, his new favorite shirt is Mr. Happy and in order for him to BE Mr. Happy i didn't really fight him on his wardrobe.

good clean fun

2008-08-26T08:33:00.000-07:00

you know those days when you're trying to get stuff done around the house and you just want the kids to entertain themselves for a little while...well, this is what i get for cleaning the house. i'll never do that again!

clean house, filthy kids.

cutting it close...

2008-08-21T21:22:00.000-07:00

notice ben's recent handywork? yep. right before the wedding ben heard us talking about a haircut and he beat us to it. we disguised it as best as possible last weekend and assumed ben wouldn't stand still long enough for anyone to really notice.

wedding crashers

2008-08-19T07:27:00.000-07:00

we spent the weekend in kansas city. rob's neighbor growing up FINALLY got married (no pressure). they were brave enough to ask the kids to be involved. (even the wedding photographer thought the blonde kids were mine and the brunettes were my sister-in-law's...we still think that's funny.) as you can see the kids had plenty to do while we were waiting...

HERE'S HOW THE WEEKEND PLAYED OUT:

- caleb and hogan lit candles (thankfully, nothing else) and survived wearing a real tux (after much eye rolling)

- sydney and sarah would have worn their dresses all weekend if we let them...they were in the wedding party and greeted guests and passed out programs

- ben was the ring bearer...he took his job VERY seriously and got to the end of the aisle, looked up at the groom and back down at the fake rings on the pillow...then proceeded to rip them off the pillow to hand over

- the kids danced til midnight...seriously, even ben

- sydney caught the bouquet

- caleb caught the garter

- we caught a flight home sunday night

- we're all hoping to catch up on some sleep

in moderation...

2008-08-09T18:57:00.000-07:00

please keep in mind it was his birthday so we let him have full access to the cheese...not a typical treat so he REALLY enjoyed the freedom...obviously a little too much.

if you think you know...you don't. just watch...until the very end.

(germ-a-phobes beware)

best day ever...

2008-08-07T20:15:00.000-07:00

i'm sure you've been worried about me all week...and i thank you for your concern. we kicked off the week with ben's 3rd birthday and i crashed with an ear infection and am recovering slowly. i don't mean to sound like a whiner...but wow, it was bad.

back to ben...ahhh, to be 3 again. his birthday wishes included:

DONUTS (can't blame him)
BOUNCY BALLS (the people at Old Navy thought we were nuts...we walked in with an empty bucket and $4 in quarters...ben thought it was HYSTERICAL!)
SWIMMING
PIZZA (at chuck e cheese of course!)

we threw in a big balloon of his hero 'Pablo' from the Backyardigans and ta-daah. perfect day.

we just finished off his birthday cake yesterday and he was running down the hall yelling "it gone...gone, we neeeeed cookie cake with Pablo on it."

i'm so proud.

taking a 'break'

2008-07-30T22:04:00.001-07:00

with 3 kids 'employed' here at the home office i KNEW this was going to happen. my desk broke. i'm not sure if it was the amount of dust that finally made the faux-wood give way or the kids climbing on it...

either way we had to finally fix the problem. we decided to clean the office (well, i didn't 'decide' to do that but really just got forced into it...)

we moved the my work space to a niche in the office and made room for caleb's drum set. yep, not enough noise around here already.

anyway, we built a desk. seriously, in our spare time.

here are a few pictures. rob chopped down a tree, split the logs and sanded them down.

ok. not really...but he did size and cut the boards and secure them together so i could do this cool stain and pour a few coats of poly (that thick clear coat like you see at bars...um, that's what someone told me).

well, i LOVE it. i guess now i have to work. darn.

ain't no mountain high enough...

2008-07-24T07:23:00.000-07:00

ok. so rob posted on his blog the trip he's taking, the hike of his life, the mountain he will conquer...blah, blah, macho, blah, mid-life....good idea 6 months ago.

so, here's my mountain to conquer. actually, it's only one of many mountains in the area...very treacherous. i'll be brave and count on my decades of experience in this area to help me through the monotony.

it's not as breathtaking as Colorado (well, i take that back...phew)...and I won't be sending any postcards.

YES, we wash it...

2008-07-22T20:58:00.001-07:00

gee whiz. we may live in tennessee but we do actually wash things...like ben's blanket. way too many comments on the germs people...like i don't have better things to worry about!

fyi...the number one germ collector (according to on-line news) - drum roll please....your purse!

think about it, you carry it everywhere, put it down in and on everything (including the counter or table after it's been on the floor at a restaurant or bathroom.) i just wanted to pass along something for you germ-o-phobes to think about...

happy cleaning.

sorry, i have no picture to post today, i'm steam cleaning my camera.

linus...

2008-07-21T16:17:00.000-07:00

blanket goes with us everywhere...even bowling. (i'm sure you are calculating the germs right about now)

i guess it's better than being charlie brown. ben just loves his blanket. it's more like a fuzzy companion...a good friend. ben was MORE than excited about wearing REAL bowling shoes, he asked over and over before the party, "my oooown shoes bowling mommy?"

ahhhh, simple pleasures. of course, they were several sizes too big but no one was going to tell him that.

we finally "celebrated" caleb's birthday...4 months late and went bowling. any excuse for more cookie cake! caleb was VERY patient and knew with funerals in the spring that we were going to celebrate a little late...we were just glad to find some friends home for the summer. most everyone is off to camp or vacation.

not us...we're off to the garage to clean. i'll be sure and send you a postcard.

complaint department...

2008-07-14T20:59:00.000-07:00

someone, who shall remain nameless but still married to my neighbor, complained that I hadn't updated my blog lately. well, I'm sorry Mr. Have One Kid And No Dog, let me be sure and supply you with what's going on here...like you don't already know.

Rob spent the weekend with the kids, the vet and the guy at the drum store...that should give you a hint as to the happenings at my house.

• now were are broke but the vet isn't, everything is coming out ok....if you know what I mean.

• we are now really broke but we're assuming caleb's world wide tour will cover any expenses we may have down the road. just keep your ears open for the drumming pianist...it'll be a big hit, i promise. i'm sure simon will just love it. if not, there's always paula...

• ben is starting to love baseball...his batting practice lasted a really long time today...until all the water balloons were gone. that's when i started my sweeping practice.

• sarah is continuing to get taller every day, which is just great...she's already outgrown her 2nd violin. "no thank you sir, we'd rather buy, not rent, she'll be playing this one for at least 2 years..."

• now we don't have enough money to buy a new scale, mine is obviously broken...

so there. nothing too exciting to report but I thought I better post something...I would hate for "someone" to stop reading my blog... that would cut my audience in half!

oh say can you see...

2008-07-09T19:22:00.000-07:00

we have a hundred july 4th pictures...but this is just a sampling of the American spirit we put out every year. it's great, it's over the top, could be considered obnoxious, but we have so much fun we really don't care. of course, it did take 3 or 4 days to get the blue off ben's scalp...

talk about a ride...

2008-07-07T20:54:00.000-07:00

we always go to atlanta for july 4th (in fact, last year caleb asked "why don't we have fireworks in nashville...?" because we've not been here to see them that he can remember) i thought that was funny...

anyway, we spent a day at six flags - ben saw thomas the train (an all-time family favorite around here!) and it didn't rain so it was a perfect day.

FACTS FROM THE TRIP:
ben rode his first real coaster - for kids 36 inches tall
sarah rode her first BIG kid coaster for kids over 42 inches
caleb didn't throw up...and he rode everything!
one $13 free-refill plastic six flags cup can feed family of 5 + cousins ALL day

we have a lot of pictures. the video is of sarah's last ride of the night. the park was closing and we decided to ride one more coaster...sure enough, no one was in line, sarah and her cousin sat in front and they let us ride it 4 times in a row...that was really cool.

if the crown fits...

2008-06-29T20:26:00.001-07:00

yes, we have other children besides ben but caleb is "too cool" for pictures lately - other than the ones on the baseball field and sarah is starring on rob's blog monday...

here they are, the 2 friends playing "Pretty Pretty Princess" board game.

ben collected the earrings, necklace, ring, bracelet and crown....i'm not sure if that means he wins or loses :)

of course, millie played along - do you think dogs need therapy?

tug of will, i mean war

2008-06-23T21:22:00.000-07:00

i'm not sure millie understands ben is not her puppy. then there is ben, who thinks millie is his toy.

these two really seem to be big friends...works for me, at the end of the night they are both exhausted.

and yes, ben picked out his own pajamas...aren't they cute.

summer is slipping away...

2008-06-22T20:51:00.000-07:00

yes, terrible pun but i gotta go with what i've got.

and, believe it or not, ben does not like going down the slip and slide...now, if it were in the middle of the street or something more dangerous i'm sure he'd try it.

(and in case you are new to the family blog....the 3 on the left are ours)

knock some sense...

2008-06-20T20:39:00.000-07:00

ben dented the coffee table with his head the other day. he is very proud of his bruise / bump.

amazing the difference between the 1st and 3rd child when it comes to injuries. caleb SCREAMED the same if he stubbed his toe or fell out of a tree.....ben gets more upset about the fact that i pick him up to check the damages than the actual injury.

recycling

2008-06-17T20:50:00.000-07:00

summer.....low key, lots of cleaning, some camp and i'm working. i usually don't carry any freelance projects into the summer but this year i did. oh joy. nothing like working at home with the kids here.

i just felt like i needed to post to prove i'm still here. if i get too creative in posting then i feel guilty, like i should be using that creativity for my work, if i use too much time to post then i think i should be spending that time with the kids...if i don't post, i feel guilty because i like to journal our ever-so-exciting lives.

here are some pictures of ben's version of recycling....he's digging coins out of the fountain at the neighborhood mexican restaurant. we're so proud.

maybe he can collect enough to help pay for rob's new mower.....or the margaritas.

he said / she said

2008-06-09T07:00:00.000-07:00

it's sunday and this morning i was thinking...how quickly can we maneuver out of the church parking lot and grab lunch? i wanted to go to the pool. we don't have a pool...we want a pool...but we don't have one.

but we DO have a family pass to the local rec center - which includes the pool. it's no country club but it's better than the plastic kiddie pool we have in the backyard.

i was thinking, now THIS is summer...the kids were ready to swim, the pool was crowded, but manageable, and ben actually entertained himself quite easily in the little pool. not much whining at all - from anyone. i even told rob to turn the car around and grab his book...i didn't roll my eyes or sigh as if to signal the fact that taking the kids to the pool would actually require any help from him.

sun was out, pool was open, kids were happy...half-full.

well, my cup anyway.

check out rob's cup...recoveringperfectionist.typepad.com/

dog days of summer

2008-06-03T20:03:00.000-07:00

i'm not sure if it's a good thing that our child and the dog-in-law were entertained by the same thing...

(well, you know what i always say...they get their good looks from me...this must be from rob's side of the family.)

just play the video over and over and over and over and over...and that is what we did for Memorial Day.

$150.00 dog toy

2008-06-01T14:17:00.000-07:00

well, we've had a little problem this week.....

ben flushed millie's dog toy down the toilet. yep, $150.00 later the plumber fished it out (after our many failed attempts).

i will say i am amazed that after 10 years of kids that this is the first call to the plumber with this kind of situation. not bad.

by the way, the plumber said it was officially the first pink octopus he has ever pulled from the toilet. we're hoping it's our last.

shameless plug?

2008-05-22T22:36:00.000-07:00

it's my birthday...no, don't feel bad. i didn't expect you to remember. it's thursday night and i'm trying to wrap up some work so i can get out of here and enjoy my weekend but when i realized it's officially past midnight (the 23rd) i thought i should at least commemorate today.

so far it's shaping up to be a great weekend (despite some unexpected drama that i can easily sweep under my emotional rug because with age comes perspective - can i hear an "amen!")

- caleb's team won...he got in to pitch the last 2 innings and did really GREAT!

- sarah's first grade class had an end of the year pool party...they had snow cones for the kids and adults...who doesn't love a snow cone. (ok, i admit, our snow cones had a little different flavoring....)

- ben threw millie's toy in the toilet, not exactly in line with the caleb and sarah's stories but i found it funny. ben was really heartbroken when rob told him that wasn't a good idea - ben was honestly shocked at that reality.

anyway, it's my birthday and i plan on celebrating all weekend. IKEA here i come!

so what good is a post without a picture...i found one of my favorites. it was 1974...i was 3. (do the math...) as i flipped through my book of old pictures i realized i had this dress on A LOT, with the boots, must have been a favorite.

life is good...

2008-05-21T22:30:00.001-07:00

maybe i relate to ben so easily being a 3rd child myself (are you putting the psychological puzzle pieces together....)

he's just glad to be along for the ride, included, and part of the crowd. here is his set up for field day...a little shade, some processed artificial sugar and dirt...just happy to be there. the bag on the chair says it all...life is good.

and yes, that's my sonic diet coke, of course.

slacking...

2008-05-19T20:48:00.000-07:00

ok. so ROB says, "why haven't you posted lately....?" (as i looked around the room for something to throw at him i thought this is why....)

end of school!!! forget exams, this is much more difficult. try to work this equation:

1 mom travels 100 mph in every direction and 3 kids travel 100 mph in every other direction (to dance recital, school, baseball field, school parties and picnics, football camp, cheerleading clinic - go ahead and laugh at that one, i did...) At what point does "mom" collide with kids?

of course, i love chaos. really. like that is a secret. all these picnics and ballgames....i just love it. ben loves to just hang on my hip and be around the kids (the gym teacher at school keeps checking for his legs, she swears she's never seen him walk). so FINALLY here is today's post - pictures of the1st and 4th grade picnics.

caleb's friends just love ben, they've gathered around him to get ben to sign their yearbooks....he obliged with many circles. i pulled the wagon from one picnic to the other and ben was entertained by 1st grade water games and the 4th grade kickball playoffs.

i may be slacking....but the fun definitely never stops.

published illustrator!

2008-05-14T20:54:00.000-07:00

it figures, caleb gets a book cover published before his own mom...

the 4th graders have a contest every year to choose the cover design for the school phone directory. i never did post that they chose caleb's design back in the fall. he was VERY proud of the fact that he beat the girls...he worked and worked on the cover and poured through the cartooning books we have at home.

he decided to title it himself - 'Lipscomb Talks A Lot.'

gee, that hits a little too close to home...

hi-ho silver!

2008-05-11T16:32:00.000-07:00

needless to say the last few days have been difficult...just watching rob's sister and her family soak up all that has happened and realize now is the just the beginning of life without Luke.

we're thankful we live close enough that we could just load up the SUV and drive...and THANKFULLY we work with people who "get it"...that some things are just more important BUT, for us, mainly rob, his wheels hardly slowed down in that little brain of his. rob's "to do" list continued to grow while we were in atlanta - at the top of his list, the lawn.

the lawn is not a priority because we are up for yard of the year in our neighborhood association...or because we just had our landscaping done...ha. rob knew our jungle needed to be tamed. PLUS we JUST got an invisible fence and mowing would be quite an undertaking because he would have to take ALL of those little marking flags out of the grass and then replace them (must be about 75 of them AT LEAST).

yep, all 5 hours back in the car he knew he wasn't going to get back in time to jump start that lovely broken lawn mower....and then we pulled up to our house.

it was as if angels were lining the driveway....someone mowed our yard. someone moved ALL those stinking invisible fence flags and put them back (sorry, i bet they didn't count on that when they drove over with their good intentions...) SOMEONE didn't leave a note or message.

i'm assuming we'll find out who came to our rescue...but for now, know that when you have one of those crazy ideas of "gee, what could i do to help"...make sure you drive by their house first and see if they just got one of those invisible fences...then just send a nice card.

thank you lawn ranger.

not about us

2008-05-06T19:50:00.000-07:00

Well today was not about me, the kids or even the dog. Today was about our nephew Luke. He was almost 11 weeks old and quite an evangelist even though he never spoke a word or even left his bed. His story and the faith of his parents and brother and sister will live forever. Luke passed into Heaven this afternoon...he's running freely without wires and tubes and nurses.

We've buried Rob's 100 year old grandmother and now we are traveling to the funeral of our nephew...not even a full 3 months old. I guess there is no magic age, no special number of days, week or years that will make you feel good about saying good-bye.

Believing in a loving God doesn't mean that things like this are simple. It just means that we admit we are not perfect and that our ways are not best and that as good as this life gets it still hurts. In the comfort of our air conditioned homes and spiffy (yep, I said spiffy) cars this world is good and sometimes pretty cool, but not great, it is not home and is not eternal.

In the midst of their sadness they are able to say it's not about them either....they have asked:

"Susan & I request that instead of flowers that if you feel led to send something, to please donate to the children's ministry at New Hope or to our Nigerian Mission Project which provides medical care & water to our friends in Nigeria, just designate one or the other. You can send a check payable to New Hope Baptist Church the website is www.newhopebc.org & the address is 551 New Hope Rd. Fayetteville, Ga. 30214 & just put a note in the memo."

(These pictures are from the many visits to the NICU in Atlanta...this is Sydney and Hogan with their little brother.)

lizard life....

2008-05-02T12:06:00.000-07:00

who doesn't love a field trip to the zoo!?! the weather was perfect, the kids were wound up and i had a diet coke....it was a perfect day. our group of 4 stuck together pretty easily which was a good thing...there were over 2,000 kids from different schools at the zoo the same day.

we only had 1 boy in our group so we didn't stay very long in the reptile house...although i'm thinking the life of a lizard is looking pretty good to me (i think i'm definitely in summer mode.)

only 3 more mondays til summer then i will be sunning myself on a rock too.....or crawling under it.

s"cool"

2008-04-29T20:17:00.000-07:00

well, it's not really school ... it's more like 8 days of "organized playtime." works for me!

our church has tuesday / thursday Bible study and now that it's over for the spring they offered those same hours for pre-schoolers for the next 4 weeks. perfect timing.

spring is busy ... very busy with lots of fun stuff (oh, and work) so it's good for all of us. ben has loved it so far ... nice to hang out with someone besides our dog. today ben felt pretty cool because he was able to sneak over to his backpack and take out his big Linus blanket and his monkey. mission completion.

notice the lunch box in the picture. they don't eat lunch at "school"... he gets picked up by noon ... but he HAD to take it because sarah and caleb carry a lunch box. 3 more years til kindergarten ... i think i can wait.

marathon...

2008-04-28T09:24:00.000-07:00

where did the weekend go? we really didn't do much past friday night's marathon (both caleb and sarah finished their 26th mile...ben had enough energy to out run everyone!)

i start my marathon again today (work, kids, laundry, errands, work. kids, laundry, errands - repeat 26.2 times.) i'm hoping for a medal at the end of my race too...

social geeks...

2008-04-22T23:19:00.000-07:00

high school....remember it? well, i loved it, yep, LOVED it and here are they are, the reason i loved high school.....

kerry, lisa and dana...the extra kids in the pic are thomas (kerry's), grace (lisa's) and ani (kerry's again)...

we always called ourselves social geeks...it seemed to fit us well. we knew we weren't IN the crowd but we were perfectly happy with our awkward little crew. we have way too many memories at the barn, stories of 'dinners' and bad songs from the 80's that still somehow end up on my voicemail periodically.

we've stuck together through big hair, bad mistakes, 4 weddings and a funeral (we still tell Jed stories when we're together...someone out there reading this is probably whistling a Beatles song.)

so, why post this? it's 1:30 in the morning and i'm working and listening to some seriously bad music...Best of the 80's. i've got enough diet coke in me to last through at least 1988. all i need now is some aquanet hairspray and i'll be set.

all i have to say is...hey, hey, you, you, get outta my dreams and get into my car...

sun up, sun down...sunday

2008-04-21T19:15:00.000-07:00

the sun was up and so were the kids...so we headed to krispy kreme for a good dose of sugar. are you asking yourself, "hmmm, donuts before or after church?" well, the answer is, instead of church.

our church challenged us to "BE" the church instead of just "GO" to church so we spent saturday working with a small hispanic church in our neighborhood. we painted, weeded, planted, cleaned...basically everything i haven't done at my house lately.

our community group is starting a relationship with this church that we plan to continue after this weekend. it was a busy day and believe it or not NO PICTURES!!! crazy, i know....

so that left sunday open. after our healthy breakfast and quick lunch at SATCO (san antonio taco company) we actually had a church worship service at the park in the amphitheater. the weather was PERFECT, the kids were wound up and the music was loud. it was a great night.

the evening finished when the sun went down and everyone and everything was packed in the wagon...

i can't wait til summer...no one wanted to get up for school this morning...including me.

beat you to it...

2008-04-18T06:36:00.001-07:00

this week rob threatened to take a picture of my closet and post it on his blog. i laughed, said "i dare you" and went on with my "schedule" - which, by the way, did not include cleaning out my closet.

here it is in all it's glory. a friend of mine in texas called last week and said they got hit by a tornado, i replied, so did we...just hit the inside of the house. weird.

as most of the people around me know....spring is my busiest time with work so i always prioritze...kids, work, diet coke, shower, sleep is further down the list and the house is somewhere dead last.

for the first time in a long time rob actually sees something half-full....problem is, it's the closet. oh well, gotta start somewhere.

AND....why would i post this on my blog for you to roll your eyes and say, "i can't believe she would post her mess"....let's be honest here. i don't care what you think of my mess, my mess doesn't define me.

i'll quote rob when i say (from his blog) “the older I get” the more comfortable I become with who I am, and who God has created me to be--regardless of what you think.

i think i'd be more embarrassed if my closet was clean and my kids were a mess.

leader of the pack...

2008-04-15T19:41:00.000-07:00

caleb loves skipping church.....ok, that doesn't sound right. caleb likes missing HIS class to work with me and the 2 - 3 year olds. i'm sure you can imagine how easily a 10 year old can relate to a bunch of toddlers (same basic potty humor, a burp can send them all running and giggling).

here he is keeping them entertained at the end of the class with bubbles. i'm not sure who was more excited...caleb, the kids or me and the other teachers (who were able to sit for 5 minutes!)

FUNeral...

2008-04-13T21:37:00.000-07:00

we just got back from Rob's grandmother's funeral...this time it was on his dad's side - Nanny Howard.

we drove down to Portageville and explained to the kids we were going to a very small town (best example Rob could come up with...Radiator Springs from the movie CARS, it worked, although ben did ask to see Mater...)

we drove by the house Rob's dad grew up in, his grandpa BUILT it, didn't just buy it...something our kids will never really grasp. the 2 stoplights in town blinked and everyone pretty much knew the Howard family. the thing that amazed Caleb the most...more people attend our church than live in Portageville.

it was an emotional service...mostly because the Howard family is incredibly close and very outspoken. i would have typed obnoxious but most of them read this blog and i don't want to get in trouble... but that's why i loved the weekend. my favorite quote from the funeral is when rob said, "i grew up around a burly group of uncles who are not afraid of sitting in their own puddle of tears."

i think it really hit me because this was the Howard family and it was like we were burying another piece of my father-in-law... Bob died 9 years ago and seeing his brothers and hearing them argue and laugh is a great reminder of him.

we were surrounded by 3 uncles and 1 aunt with enough cousins, 2nd cousins and other relatives to overflow the only catfish restaurant in town (ok, so it wasn't in town...we had to drive 7 minutes down the highway). i tried really hard to take some nice pictures with the family together and this is what i got...the 3 stooges picking up their "big" sister ... and let me remind you, their not 'young' anymore (and YES, i know you guys reading this...)

not that funerals are supposed to be fun, but when you are ALL staying in the 1 motel (not hotel) in a 2 stop light town with 3 uncles...what do you expect.

(Uncle Truman, I couldn't figure out how to turn off the audio so everyone wouldn't hear you say, "whoa, that was a heavy load...." but i doubt anyone will be able to understand you so don't worry.)

i'm sure i'll have more pictures to post...after A LOT of editing.

the only thing (or person missing) was my sister-in-law and her family. i'm sure we would have laughed more and slept less with them around. they stayed home to be with Luke in the NICU. their family was prayed for during the service and talked about at every meal. (their link is listed as aunt susan and uncle eric).

grammy said...

2008-04-10T21:35:00.001-07:00

i'm not even sure where to start....

it was a long day, school to baseball and violin and then out to dinner for caleb's birthday then race home to have cake at 9:00 pm. in the back of my mind i kept thinking...not good, too much food and we definitely don't need more cake this late at night....BUT it is a birthday and you have to blow out candles on your birthday.

we finished singing and caleb said "i'm just gonna stick my face in the cake" and, of course, we laughed and grammy said, "well, go ahead"....KNOWING that caleb would never do something like that...he's too....what's the word.....i don't know, safety sam, by the rules...first child.

and he did it.

voluntary face plant right into the cake. i laughed....we didn't need to eat more anyway....and good for him....break the rules. although i did roll my eyes when he said, "grammy said i could."

anyway, i'll have to tell my neighbor we don't have any left over cake.

of course sarah didn't want to miss out.....or millie. ben was, surprisingly, on my lap, clean and eating what was left.

bearly 10...

2008-04-09T21:50:00.000-07:00

yes, very corny but i don't care...

caleb is 10 today. he is going to really be mad when he sees what i've posted so let me go ahead and be honest with you, no, he does not sleep with this teddy bear....yes, i put it in his arms for the picture. rob will claim that posing for blog photos is "illegal" but i couldn't resist.

it is the same bear and the same kid. i can't believe it.

caught pink handed...

2008-04-08T21:10:00.001-07:00

i was pretty proud of myself, i had ben settled in his room for a nap, he was quiet and i was downstairs in the basement doing laundry. i think i may have even been whistling...

i went upstairs to put new sheets on the bed (don't be impressed...i'm sure the kids spilled something or worse...) and there he was...in OUR bed playing sarah's new nintendo video game...quiet as a mouse.

i'm not sure who was more surprised me, or ben. i didn't hear him get up and sneak around to find her brand new game (which he was told MANY times already it was new and hers...and she had been saving for a very long time...read that with a lot of drama, you know, like sarah)

well, i stopped whistling, i think i started laughing. it figures, the minute i think i'm getting parenting under control something like this happens and i realize i'm not in control, i'm just along for the ride.

animal instinct

2008-04-07T20:56:00.001-07:00

our dog millie has adopted one of ben's favorite stuffed animals as her own. she chews on the kids' toys quite bit so i seriously doubt she really picked this one for the obvious reasons but i'm going to go ahead and pretend she's an extremely intelligent puppy (that tried to walk through our glass door today....duh).

gift (?) of gab...

2008-04-01T21:24:00.000-07:00

ok. so i talk a lot. at least i know it.

sometimes it's because i'm bored or need someone over 4 feet to acknowledge me...or maybe just because no one else is talking. like right now, i'm not talking but i'm pretty sure typing is a form of talking.

my sister is a talker, we talk a lot. mostly about stuff that doesn't matter...entertainment news. sometimes about family, but mostly about E! news.

i talk often to my sister-in-law too. especially lately with her son being in the hospital. i don't ask for medical type stuff...just the basic updates, then i'm off, rambling about catalogs and swimsuits....TJ Maxx and Target. i don't think she cares what i'm talking about...but we sure can fill up the time it takes her to drive home from the hospital. my friends sitting by me at sarah's dance class today listened to most of our conversation (my side of it) and when i hung up asked for another update on luke. i didn't have much to offer but laughed to myself when i thought i could tell them susan bought 2 new pairs of pants that fit finally...you know, the random things.

as i continue to busy myself and my 3 kids with "daily things"... i realize i have raised talkers (which is good...right?) all the way home from dance today everyone was talking...all of us, even me. i'm not sure it was one conversation with 4 participants...i'm pretty sure we all had our own thing going.

we've talked about everything and everyone lately....today's list included luke, spiderman, april fool's pranks, dog training, Jesus, Texas, swim lessons, running, airplanes, crunchy ice, frogs, birthday cake, flip flops, backyardigans, starbucks, cheese, medicine, haircuts and homework....i know there is more but believe it or not, i'm actually getting tired.

since the saying goes, "a picture is worth a thousand words"...i'm not posting a picture today. i think i already reached my limit.

final flop...

2008-03-30T21:49:00.000-07:00

we filled out our family sweet 16 brackets and i was hoping to take texas to the final game. oh well.

i even had ben prepared for the play-offs! (don't plan on him singing rocky top anytime soon...)

oh the places you go...

2008-03-27T21:12:00.000-07:00

if you haven't seen the latest dr. seuss movie (horton hears a who)....go. it's worth the popcorn and a coke. we loved it...all of us from age 2 - old.

to top off the movie we headed to ihop to eat from their dr. seuss menu...as you can see it was a huge hit. come on...who doesn't love pancakes with a lollipop.

we went to a movie
and went out to eat
and out we all went
we all thought it was neat
out out out we all went

the movie was perfect
down to each little who
and what and whatever
in our seats we were glued

but once it was over
we just couldn't stop
so a trip to eat pancakes
with a pink lollipop

we liked the pink goo
and the blue syrup mess
red and blue jell-o
in the sprite was the best

we liked the things we got to do
we liked the movie and the pancakes too
yes, we liked them and so would you

"not so super" hero

2008-03-26T22:40:00.000-07:00

we have spent a lot of time talking about our cousins lately because our youngest cousin, baby luke, is still in the hospital. when we were visiting with them in atlanta we played a lot of video games and i'm proud to announce to cousin hogan...you have inspired a new guitar hero!

ben loves "playing" this video game (guitar hero) and he definitely thinks he's just like hogan and caleb.

(just what we need, another music major. can't wait for more of those .05¢ checks. good thing we have a basement that ben can move back in to when he's out of college and out of a job.)

shoot

2008-03-25T21:00:00.000-07:00

tonight was one of those nights where everyone fell asleep EVENTUALLY, no one started off in THEIR own bed and i had to move a few stragglers in order to find my own pillow.

because we have tomorrow off from school we watched a movie and then tried to get everyone to sleep. well, truthfully, i tried to put ben to sleep before the movie, but failed miserably. all that to say when bed time rolled around (later than usual) everyone was too tired to really put up a fight - talking about me and rob. the kids all picked a bed and finally passed out.

i didn't have a problem until just now. i tried to move caleb out of our bed. tonight i realized he's no longer my little boy - and that's an understatement. i got to really laughing as i "wrestled" him in the right direction and tried to "pick" him up once he landed diagonally across his bed.

i know he's getting older, growing taller and all that...but tonight was it, he crossed the line.

and then i realized...i can wear his old t-shirts, his old shoes - well, if i wanted to, and remember the days when you would let your kid win at basketball? gone. i can no longer carry him to bed and he is easily tall enough to ride in the front seat of the car. he was watching the ncaa tournament and not disney channel last weekend.

this is a clip of him at batting practice last week...i thought "he looks so cute playing ball - i'll grab my camera"...and now i realize as i watch it again...wow, he's not so little anymore...

shoot.

one, two, wheeeee!

2008-03-18T21:39:00.000-07:00

it's spring break so we took the day to "break" since we are staying in town all week. we headed to the park for some walking (pretend hiking) and we were hoping the kids would run off some energy. we jumped out of the car, ben grabbed sarah and caleb's hands and you could see he had a plan....

"one, two, wheeeeeee!"

boy, some things take you right back to childhood. everyone did this growing up...it's nice to know some things don't change when it comes to kids. (puddles, bugs, sticks, swinging, driving your brother and/or sister nuts, anything that has to do with potty, laughing until milk comes out of something other than your mouth, stickers, crayons...)

oh, i'm not trying to sell you on us being the perfect family today...far from it...halfway up the hill i bossed caleb about holding the dog leash, ben slipped and fell, sarah...hmmm, sarah just made caleb mad (which made sarah happy), rob convinced us that he found a "trail" that led through some trees...i'll let you guess how that one turned out.

we had our moments...some good, some not so good, but that pretty much sums up our parenting. i'm hoping the kids will remember the "wheeeeeeee".

my answer to Rob's helpful hints

2008-03-17T20:39:00.000-07:00

so, if you visit rob's blog you'll notice a lovely picture of dishes in our sink (my apologies to my mother-in-law). this is my answer to rob's idea of cleaning the kitchen.

now if i could just figure out how to wrap those swiffer cleaning things around Millie's paws we'd be in business!

art major + music major

2008-03-12T22:09:00.000-07:00

there are so many things wrong with this i'm not even sure where to start...

yes, this is a check for .05 cents.

no, it is not a misprint.

here is most everything (edited) that ran through my brain when i opened the envelope...

1. do i seriously drive to the bank and cash this?...gas is $3.00 a gallon
2. how much do stamps cost?
3. i SHOULD drive to the bank and cash this (or should i say coin?)
4. should i ask the bank teller for all pennies?
5. our poor mailman has the flu...i hope he doesn't find out he just delivered a .05¢ check
6. how do you tithe 10% of 5 cents?
7. i'm assuming this is after taxes
8. so this is what my dad was thinking when i told him i was dating a music major in college

and yes, i deleted our mailing address from the scan...i was worried someone might come and steal our riches.

all .05 of them.

i've got to start playing the lottery.

monday is over...whew.

2008-03-10T21:39:00.000-07:00

copyright infringment

2008-03-10T12:01:00.001-07:00

i'm just saying...i think Cartoon Network owes us a little percentage of the royalties.

Your News First...

2008-03-07T14:02:00.000-08:00

first grade that is...today was the first grade program, "wild and wacky weather." perfect for this week in nashville since we started wearing shorts on monday and it's supposed to snow tonight.

sarah had the part of the news caster...they covered all four seasons and ended with an all out boogie to "I'm Walking on Sunshine."

if you are wondering, she learned her princess wave from dad...

parade of fools

2008-03-06T12:24:00.001-08:00

i always knew sarah was a leader...this takes the cake (and the wagon and the sled and the basketball and her little brother). the best part was, which you can't see, sarah put a jingle bell bracelet on ben's right arm and told him to shake it and cheer while she pulled him. sure enough, that's exactly what he was doing. he's going to make a great husband. ha.

yes, the goggles were the only form of safety gear issued for this ride. ben could have fallen off the sled and busted his head but at least he would have been able to see the ambulance coming.

rush more...

2008-03-05T09:36:00.000-08:00

sarah had an American project due. oops. "we" forgot.

i happened to check the messages that morning and heard my friend asking if the kids were supposed to write a few sentences describing their American project ... panic.

i turned on my calm voice and quickly told sarah we had to have craft time before school. she LOVED that.

play-doh + lightbulb box + 15 minutes = Mount Rushmore

she was proud of her art work.

i was proud no one melted down.

ben was proud of his all his play-doh spread out on the kitchen table (until he realized it was going to school with sarah).

all in all i think sarah's Mt. Rushmore project was pretty appropriate ... after all, that's what i do day to day...rush more.

you bet...

2008-03-03T18:25:00.000-08:00

yes, i cropped myself out of the picture and this is why ...

i was feeling pretty good about myself today, i worked out, did plenty of laundry, didn't yell at the kids (yet), finished up a school donation project, didn't have to clean up any potty accidents from the dog or the two year old, finally went to the dentist and also picked up one more freelance design project.

yep. it was monday and i was clipping along just fine ... then ... i went to school to drop off some stuff and run carpool and sure enough, there SHE was — american idol superstar Carrie Underwood (or as one of the first graders asked...."excuse me, did you say your name was Carrie Underwear?")

Carrie's sister is a teacher at our school so she stopped by to read today for "read across america day" ... all made up and looking pretty cute ... and there i was, looking like i just cleaned out the garage (which is exactly what i was doing an hour before this picture).

of course ben wouldn't stand next to her so I HAD to stand next to her holding ben. that's my hand. i didn't look that cute ... in fact, now that i think about it ... i probably didn't smell that cute either.....hope she thought it was ben.

am i really that vain that i would crop myself out of this picture ... you bet.

"point" of grace

2008-02-28T21:11:00.000-08:00

you know those neighbors with the annoying kids who always come over and raid the cabinets and mess up your house.

well, we're those neighbors.

here is ben in our neighbor's pantry... an almost daily ritual. thankfully they seem to think our kids are cute...and they are more than gracious with their snacks and wii.

and, because i love dropping names, this is our neighbor (who will be mad at me for posting this picture)...she is one of the singers in Point of Grace - duh, the whole reason i was clever in my blog title.

please excuse the overzealous double blog posting today. i am not trying to compete with "those other blogs"...you know, the ones that are all 'deep and meaningful' - posting stuff that is relevant today's culture and spiritual renewal blah, blah, blah. (no offense rob...)