Um.....Thank You, Thank You Very Much!

"This award is for those bloggers who are nice people; good blog friends and those who inspire good feelings and inspiration. Also for those who are a positive influence on our blogging world. Once you've been awarded please pass it on to 7 others who you feel are deserving of this award."

I was quite honored when my friend Stacey gave me this award. I have enjoyed blogging so much because it has allowed me to reconnect with some friends and also make new ones. Now the hard part is that I can only give this award to 7 people. Just 7? I could write something about every person listed here under "Blogs I Read" ........that's why they are on that list! But, I must pick 7 so here it goes. (Fischer and Jenna, I will not repeat since Stacey already gave one to you) If I don't award you then hang tight. I'm sure you will get your award in no time.

1. Laurie at http://www.lauriesthreesons.blogspot.com/ (okay, I admit that I don't know how to make the names the link. I'm horrible with computer stuff!) Laurie is a loyal friend and mother of 3 precious boys. We are raising them together and learning as we go. I'm so glad that Brady and Hudson are friends and I see many sleepovers in our future. (sigh)

2. Megann at http://megannupdates.blogspot.com/ Although Megann is no longer with us, she was a true example of friendship. She was a beautiful person and she is deeply missed by many.

3. Pam at http://b4gang.blogspot.com/ I have enjoyed getting to know Pam through our Bunco group at church. She is witty and always has a funny comment to post. I love that she takes her boys camping in the family RV.....fun times!

4. See-Dub at http://see-dub.blogspot.com/ See Dub is super sweet and a UT fan. Who couldn't love a die hard UT fan? This girl bleeds orange. She too is a loyal blog commenter and usually has a few tips to share since her kiddos are a tad older than mine.

5. Tami at http://tamiandthomas.blogspot.com/ I went to ACU with Tami and then reconnected with her when she and her husband joined our church. She's just as funny as she ever was and she makes our Bunco nights fun with her presence. Thank you Tami for starting the Heritage Hotties, although I've yet to become a "hottie" (double sigh)

6. Tammie at http://tamandscott.blogspot.com/ Tammie and I have been friends for a few years now through church. We are blessed to be in the same small group with this family. Our boys are the same ages and I'm so glad they will grow up together. Also, if you ever need a VBS room decorated in a single day, then she's your girl. (smile)

7. Wade at http://wadesrantings.blogspot.com/ I'm so glad that I was able to reconnect with Wade after several years of losing contact. We knew each other in college and he is one funny guy. Thanks for all the laughs you have to offer on your blog. You keep me in stitches!!

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For those of you that have been reading my blog for a while and have heard many tales of the Monkey Boy then you remember the day when I removed the bumper pads. I did it because of the bites on his face but we kept them off because he was starting to climb on them in order to escape the crib. Well, the last 2 days he has let out a horrible scream during his nap. I went in both days to find his legs stuck between the slats. The first day, he was laying down and pretty much unable to move because his legs were stuck. Yesterday, I heard the same scream so I grabbed my camera on my way inside. This picture looks like he is just hanging out but really, he is stuck! It took some maneuvering on my part to squeeze those chubby little thighs out. He had bright red marks for quite a while. So, which is worse? Put the bumper pads back on and give him those few inches that he needs to clear the bar and land on the floor.......or leave them off and deal with the limbs getting stuck and causing his naps to be cut short because now he is wide awake? It's a toss up I tell you!

Disco Balls

The other day, Hudson and I had some time to kill before heading to a family function. We stopped off at Kohl's to just look around. As we were walking, Hudson said "hey mom, I saw some lights over there." So we went to find the lights. It wasn't just a light, it was an entire table full of rotating disco balls and lava lamps. My child was in heaven! We stood at this table for 20-30 minutes looking at all the lights and I told Hudson that he could pick one. See, he never asks for things. He never asks for toys or anything hardly for himself. I knew that this was right up his ally and he was so excited when he knew he could get one. He chose a multicolored rotating ball and carried it to the front all by himself. He was very proud of his new "toy." So, if you are ever in the neighborhood and you feel like Disco dancing, then just come on over.......I really wish the pictures turned out. We had most of the lights off and the disco ball was turning around and around and bright lights were dancing on our walls. Just another example of how we CAN NOT get both kids in a picture. Here is a lovely example of Cooper throwing a fit- arching his back and screeching to get down. Nice. Dad is less than impressed.Playing together- what a rare sight!
Just how many can fit on daddy?Peek-a-boo

Here is Hudson's "Booster Ant Catcher 4000"

Lately Hudson has been saying "oppose" a lot. (instead of suppose) Like "mom, I oppose we can go outside and blow bubbles." Although he isn't pronouncing it right, it still sounds so big boy. The last few days I've been telling him that school is about to start and explaining how much fun he is going to have. He has not been excited about this but I know once it starts he will love it. He just keeps saying "I oppose I can just stay home with you."

Botanic Gardens

On Saturday, we planned to take the kids (and my 36 year old kid named Jason) to the Star W*rs exhibit at the Fort Worth M*seum. Unfortunately, we didn't plan ahead and buy tickets online so when we got there and discovered that the line to purchase tickets was out the door, we had to scratch that plan. There was no way that the kids would sit for 1-2 hours while we waited to pay and then still have enough energy to walk the exhibit. We wanted to do something though since we were already out so we took the boys to the J*panese Gardens. It was beautiful. Hudson really enjoyed feeding the fish. It was crazy to see how many would come up as soon as you started throwing food. They had "fish food" vending stations throughout the gardens. At one point, I put my quarter into the machine, only to get a handful of ants with a few pieces of food. So, I spent the rest of our trip brushing ants off my arms and I still had that feeling that something was crawling on me. (you know how you feel when you walk into a spider web?) Checking out a small waterfall

This is not the best picture as far as lighting but I love the smile on Hudson's face

It was absolutely impossible to get both boys to look at the camera. I'm sure the 100 degree heat didn't help.

I would highly recommend taking the family here- there are some great places to take pictures. Maybe just wait a while for it to cool down so that you can spend more time outside, enjoying the views!

Birthday, Invention, Donuts and Hook-Ups

Last night, we took Jason's mom out to dinner for her 60th birthday. Happy Birthday Mimi!

Daddy giving some tickles to Cooper

Looking cool in my brother's shades

Yesterday afternoon, Hudson asked me to look at his new invention. I was in a hurry, trying to get our things together so that we could walk out the door. I looked at it and saw nothing more than my cookie cooling rack and a Lego piece. He said "no, mom..........just like the pedal in your car!!"

The other day, I picked up a package of powdered donuts for Hudson. He was SOOO excited and could not wait until breakfast the next morning. This was a big treat for him (no real occasion) because we don't eat them often. It's so funny to see something so simple make him so happy.

This boy managed to eat 7 of them! Gotta love the bed head and all.....

Look at this handsome man!

Every morning, I love walking into Cooper's room because he is always so happy and is already bouncing up and down- so excited to get out and start his day. The last few days though, I've walked in to see this- except this is now the picture taken with the mattress lowered. He used to be able to get about half of his leg over the bar. I told Jason that it's a matter of time before this kid falls out. We now have it on the lowest notch, the lowest it can possibly go. What next? You may see us with that huge net contraption they have that is designed to keep monkeys just like him in his bed. So for now, we will settle for only the piggies being able to reach.Friday, my mom came over so that we could work on Cooper's room a little bit (pics will be posted when it's finished) I've had this huge "Hudson" sign up and Jason finally got sick of looking at it......17 months after Cooper came into the world. I know I'm a bad mommy for not taking this sign down earlier and replacing it with something for him but I just have not had the creative juices flowing and I was not sure what I wanted to do. Anyway, mom and I were looking for some nails and the hammer. Cooper and Hudson were in Cooper's room playing and Hudson came out and announced that "someone in there has the hook-ups........" I had to think for a minute and then I finally heard the little "hook-ups" coming from Cooper. He had a round of the hiccups.

Crazy Hair

I got Hudson one of these little Chia Head people. We've been watching it for about a week now and it's really beginning to take off. Every morning, Hudson asks to see it and he will look at it, laugh and say "crazy hair!!!" as he runs into the living room. After it gets long and thick, the directions say we can cut and style it however we want. When I bought this, I was not (and still not) a huge fan of the one earring but the picture showed it decorated as a little pirate. We may have to do that so that Jason doesn't have a fit before this is over. He keeps making little comments about "nice earring" and really can't enjoy the hair growth because of it. I mean, when he's sixteen and asks to get an earring- will it be because we had a Chia Head when he was 4 that had one? Come on honey!!

I'm sure we will have fun with this little guy for many more weeks!

Well, Cooper has officially started the temper tantrums. Hudson started them way later and for a couple of reasons. First, he wasn't even walking by this point so many of the things we have to stop Cooper from doing were not even an issue with Hudson at this age. Another thing, by this time, Hudson was speaking in 4-5 word groups and was very capable of communicating his needs. I think a lot of Cooper's frustration is that we don't understand him or he just can't tell us what he wants or needs. He will screech and arch his back when he doesn't get his way or if we remove him from a dangerous situation. He's a strong little booger and some days I'm just beat. Today we had an embarrassing time at Babies R' Us. I took the kids and it was one of those days where Cooper didn't want to sit in the basket. I even tried to put him in the larger section where Hudson sits and he wanted no part of it. I was not able to look at anything and it made my trip basically worthless. I did find a super cute Halloween shirt but they didn't have his size so I asked a lady to check in the back. While I was waiting, he was pitching a huge fit and I was so tempted to just walk out but felt bad just leaving the girl since she was so nice to check for me. In the end, they didn't have his size so we just left, empty handed and I was a huge sweaty mess! I'm sure there was a big round of applause when we walked out.

This morning, Hudson was playing with his Legos and he had 2 little pieces that were stuck together really tight. He said "mom, can you get this Lego out for me?" I used my fingernail to seperate them and handed them back to him. He looked up at me so sweetly and said "you sure are a great outer, aren't cha?" I've had many compliments in my life but never one for this. Ahhh, the joys of mommyhood!

Fun in the sun......or more like, blistered in the sun!

My dad and step mom are in town for a while so we headed to their lake house today to hang out with them for a bit. We did lots of swimming and jet skiing. I was really good about spraying my kids down every 30 minutes with sunblock but guess who I forgot to spray? Me! Well, not exactly true. I sprayed myself when I first got there but after being outside for more than 3 hours, this little white girl was toast. Over the course of the evening, my burns have intensified and I've slathered myself with some major aloe. What was I thinking?Hudson had already gone out the door and Cooper thought he was being left behind. What a pitiful look! Hudson and Papa
My dad went to UT and is such a big fan that he has these Bevo stuffed animals in one of his rooms. Cooper was giving them big kisses, which made Papa very happy. He'd love nothing more than for him to be a future Longhorn!
Introducing, the Super Sonic Food 3000................

Yesterday at lunch, Hudson created the Super Sonic Food 3000. He spent quite some time telling me how this machine would take his food from the table and carry it down the conveyor belt and then onto the plate. He was very proud of his little invention. Do any of you watch Wow Wow Wubbzy? Everything on there is the "blank 3000" depending on what the new invention is so Hudson decided to copy the lingo from that show. Crazy kid!

Going Home

The last few days my mind has been full of memories and thoughts of my friend's dad. He was such an amazing man- a true example of what a father and husband should be. Over the years, I have been somewhat envious of my friend and her relationship with her dad. He always had a smile on his face and he was a wonderful example of someone that lived, not just talked about, being a Christian. Yesterday, my friend Robyn and I were driving to the visitation and we were talking about what a great person he was and what a great family they are. I've been bothered and upset since I got word of his passing but it was not until I saw my friend that it really hit me. Talk about empathy. Once we made our way through the receiving line and reached our friend, the three of us just feel into each other and sobbed. It's so completely horrible watching my friend grieve and feel this much pain. She looked at me and said "I don't want to do this" and I wish more than anything that she didn't have to. I wish it was some kind of crazy dream that we could eventually wake from. When I got to her mom, she looked at me and said "you girls have been through so much together." And she is right. We have experienced a few deaths together- one being Robyn's mom while we were in college and then grandparents and other relatives along the way, all of our weddings, the births of our children, and many wonderful experiences. I'm so lucky to have these 3 great friends that I can share these life experiences with- good and bad. Fischer, we missed you!!

At the funeral today, I was especially emotional as I watched my friend and her family say good-bye. I had a hard time controlling my tears (I'm sure the man next to me thought I was a HUGE mess!) but the preacher said something that made me stop. It's not like I have not heard this before but he said that P lived his entire life preparing for this day. Sure, this day came WAY too early but all his Christian life he has prepared for the day that he gets to "go home." While none of us like the separation part of death, it is so comforting to know that we all have the chance to be with him again one day. I want the H family to know that the service was wonderful and that P had a big impact on many, many people......even me.

Hudson has enjoyed checking his "blood plessure" with Jason's machine. He's a bit scared of the squeezing part so he just blows it up manually himself. Maybe we have a future doctor in our family? Nah.....

Monkey climbed onto the couch and got stuck in between the wall and the couch and had a hard time getting out. This boy keeps me on my toes! Lately, he's been into closing a bedroom door and then getting upset because he can't open it back up. He's had his fair share of ice cream this week and will even smack his lips when you say the word "ice cream." It's too cute!

Secret Confession

Okay, I have a confession to make. I have been thinking about this for some time now and once I made my "100 things about me list", I decided it was time to come clean. My secret is......I've never made a roast before! I know, I can practically hear all the gasping right now as you read this. Yes, it's quite sad but true. I'm a terribly picky eater and unfortunately I'm very intimidated by things that I don't personally eat. They may seem normal to most people, when in fact, they are foreign to me. I realize that my pickyness is and will continue to rub off on my boys if I don't make a change. So, last week I decided to face my demon head-on and make a roast. I'll share this very simple recipe with you:

1 (2.5 pound) boneless beef chuck shoulder roast, trimmed
3/4 teaspoon pepper
1 (14-oz) can low-sodium beef broth
1 (10 3/4-oz) can cream of mushroom soup
1 (1.0-oz) envelope dry onion soup mix
2 tablespoons cornstarch (or just use some flour)
2 tablespoons water

Sprinkle roast with pepper, place in a slow cooker. Add beef broth, cream of mushroom soup, and onion mix. Cover and cook on HIGH 1 hour. Reduce heat to LOW, and cook 7 hours or until tender. Transfer roast to a serving platter, reserving juices; keep warm. Whisk together cornstarch (or flour) and water, slowly whisk into juices. Increase heat to HIGH and cook uncovered for 1 minute or until slightly thickened. Makes 6-8 servings.

I started the roast the morning I left for Canton so that it could cook all day long. My mom made mashed potatoes and steamed veggies to go along with it. Jason called me that night going on and on about how good and tender this roast was. He was in heaven!

Today, I've got my crock pot going again- this time, making Barbecue Beef Sandwiches. If it turns out good, I'll post that one too. I'm really trying to get better about making things that are out of my comfort zone.

Cooper is such a joy these days and taking in everything around him. He will point to something and say "wzat"...which is his way of saying "what's that?" He loves to flip the light switches off and claps afterwards to show how proud he is of himself.

Hudson had been enjoying computer time, especially sites like Noggin.

He's really into Wubbzy these days so building these robots were really fun for him.

Here is a funny story....my sister was with me in Canton when I got my ears stapled. She wanted to do it too but kept going back and forth about it. I finally convinced her to do it. Before the day was over, she had already scratched at one of her ears and caused the staple to become really lose. She had to have that one redone, which she said hurt so bad- talk about *#@! words!! The day after we got them, she was complaining about them and I was giving her a hard time that she wouldn't even last the rest of the week with them. I got an email from her yesterday telling me that she's sick of them and will have her friend take them out for her (she's out of town on business) So, last night she calls me to tell me that her friend was running late, she got impatient so she pulled them out herself. The first one came out, no problem. The second one got lodged and would not come out. She called me from Care Now to thank me for talking her into this lovely adventure. So, a huge shot and $40 later she had her staple removed. What a dork!

Finally, one of my dearest friends lost her dad this week. I'm leery to put too much information on here since I'm not sure how she would feel about that. So, I will just ask you to please say a prayer for my friend "L" and the "H" family. They are having a very hard time right now. It's so hard to watch your friend hurt so deeply.

Catching Up

Well, thankfully I survived the heat out in Canton. I swear, this is the hottest I've ever been. I'm sure I said the same thing last August but either way, it was HOT. As most of you know, we've had a booth out in Canton for a couple of years. In December, I handed the business over to my mom and sister because life at our house is just so busy. My mom wanted a break from Canton during the summer. She offered to come keep the boys so that each month I could take her place. I know she enjoyed the break, my kids loved seeing her, and I enjoyed doing something different. Yes, it's hard but I also get 4 nights to myself (okay, a few of them I spend with Julie) but I get 4 nights of laying in bed at 7pm, flipping through gossip magazines, channel surfing on TV and not listening to the monitor buzz in my ears. It's good stuff.

On Saturday night, we got a call from my mom. She was very upset and let us know that she had to put her dog, Nikki down. This was VERY unexpected and she and my step dad are a wreck. A decision had to be made very quickly so they had little time to process what was happening. My mom got Nikki the fall after I left for college. She just couldn't handle the quiet house so getting a puppy was the perfect answer. Yes, all along we have given my mom a hard time about how she spoils that dog but deep down inside, I loved her as well. I know it sounds silly to ask for prayers for this but please say one for them. I know they will get through this but they are having a very hard time right now. Those of you with pets know what I mean.

While I was gone, Jason began the work on the swing set. You may recall that we bought the boys a really nice swing set for their birthdays (since they are both in March) With all the rain, tornadoes, and storms over the last few months it's been pretty difficult to find a weekend to get this done. On the weekends that seemed dry, we were either out of town or I was gone and he was unable to work on it. So, Jason took off on Friday to get it organized and had wonderful help from my brother-in-law, Brad, on Saturday. It's still not complete but most of the 2-man work is done so Jason can work on it here and there and get it finished.

Daddy with his little helper.....wrench and all.

Lots of pieces still left to assemble.

While I was in Canton, I had a brilliant idea (ha!) to get my ears stapled. No, I'm not crazy. I met a registered nurse that is licensed to do this. It's a form of acupuncture and she can target a few areas on your ears that can control smoking habits, stress/tension, and weight loss. I obviously need the weight loss one so I thought "what the heck?" Now, she may be laughing all the way to the bank with my $50 but I wanted to at least give it a shot. Did it hurt? Of course! In fact, I said a few *#@&! words in my mind that are not acceptable on this blog but it wasn't so bad that I'd never do it again. I just pray that I don't scratch it or accidentally pull it out. She stapled both ears and sent me along with some ointment and a handy remover in case I need to take it out. It can stay in up to 3-4 months. It will send signals to my brain and cause me to get full faster and not have cravings. At this point, I've lost focus on my WW so I need a push in the right direction again. I'll keep you posted. Pray for no infections.

When I got home, the boys looked huge to me. I know, I was only away 4 days but they just seemed taller and bigger to me. I always love seeing them again.

Tonight, I was having a hard time getting Hudson to eat. I often pretend that I'm going to eat his dinner so that he will get "interested" again. I walked over and acted like I was going to take a bite and he said "Don't eat it all..........I'm a lot a bit hungry!" He keeps me in stitches!