Who's your favorite Uncle?...

This question has been asked of the tribe quite a lot lately. You see my brother, their Uncle Bob, likes to ask them this question each time he sees them. Being that we stay at my mom's house when I'm working he sees them quite frequently. Well this question has turned into one BIG joke. You see we have a set of funny bones in the family, namely Avery, that likes to tease her Uncle Bob. She knows how important it is for him to have each of them say he is their favorite that she teases him ALL the time. I think in the beginning he just wanted them to be able to say his name but now I really think he wants to be their "favorite". On Thanksgiving Uncle Bucky, Daddy's brother, had his name thrown into the hat as well. SO now not only does Uncle Bob have to contend with Uncle Rick he now has Uncle Bucky to worry about. Just wait until Christmas when all the Uncle's are around. Uncle Bob is going to have some MAJOR competition! LOL! Little does Bucky know that after spending the afternoon with him when asked Brendan said he was his favorite! awhh... Whatever this is, joking, teasing, brainwashing, etc... these kiddos thoroughly enjoy the attention. They LOVE being asked this question & love yelling out a name, sometimes it's the name he wants to hear & some times it is not. When their is four kids the ratio shifts quite frequently. Three could swing either way but Avery is a lock, she almost always gives an automatic "Uncle Rick" response. Funny thing is that Rick does not have to do anything to get them to say his name. You think it could be due to the fact that he is her Godfather? It is strange that she is the one that usually always shouts out his name! hmm... It does not matter what Avery is doing, she will not even turn her head she just shifts her eyes, and says "Rick". TOO, TOO funny! Like I said it has become quite the joke! She really does see how important it is to him & she, as my mom would say, wants to get his goat. I have to share a funny story that happened recently. One morning I dressed both of the "twins" in the same exact dress. Being that they are identical it is VERY hard to tell them apart. I was trying to get an extra leaf put in to Grandma's table so Uncle Bob helped me. In fact the entire tribe tried to help! There sitting at at the table across from one another & next to Uncle Bob were the "twins". For the life of him he could not tell them apart. He later said that he decided he would ask the one next to him who their favorite Uncle was and if she answered him he would know it was Lindsey. Well he asked the question and the girl to his right said "Uncle Bob". He then said "Hi Lindsey!". She smiled & then giggled. Little did he know that the real Lindsey was seated across the table next to me! She had fooled him yet again! We all had a good laugh over that! See what happens when you keep asking...

Who's your favorite Uncle?...

a stylist...

This has been a LONG week. We ended up staying at Grandma's longer than anticipated. My hair was telling me "I need a haircut" SO Daddy made me a hair appointment since she lives closer to civilization than we do. Grandma & I trekked down to the mall with the tribe for me to accomplish this task. Finding a place that gives a good cut & is reasonable is VERY hard to find! While there we decided to get the girls haircuts too. This was their very FIRST haircut at a REAL salon. I cannot believe how well they behaved. I have taken their brother to get his hair cut & he did not behave as well. In fact he shed quite a few tears! Pat, my hair stylist, brought out kid sized robes & a booster seat for them to sit on. They climbed up & sat perfectly. Wouldn't you know I forgot about needing to take pictures until AFTER Camryn had hers cut! arghh...




I do not even think they really needed me to be there except I wanted those pictures!!! Trust me I took plenty! (= They ended up getting about an inch taken off their back as well as getting their bangs trimmed up! They SO needed this! I must say that they looked SO cute when she was done! Once Lindsey was finished Pat made sure each one of them got a lollipop for their effort. That was all they cared about! They kept their eyes on the prize & were quite happy once they had a sucker in their mouth! Even Brendan who did NOT get his hair cut got one! He enjoyed that perk! (=


I think after seeing Pat cut their hair with scissors they finally realized exactly what they were for. They were a well hidden secret till today! Well you know how they say "knowledge is power", Miss Camryn took it literally. You see today while I was changing Avery's diaper Camryn found Mommy's scissors & proceeded to "trim" Lindsey's hair. Yes she cut a few strips of hair off someones head! After process of elimination I know it was Lindsey she sheared by the color & length of the pieces I found. For the life of me I cannot find where on Lindsey's head she cut it from! I guess since her hair still looks good we could say that Camryn might have a future being...

a stylist...

the case of the missing camera...

We have have a "mystery" on our hands over the past day or so while staying at Grandma's house. SOMEONE, we will not name names, misplaced mommy's camera. One hint, it was not me! Second hint, the culprit is under three feet tall. Third hint, they weigh about 23 pounds. Those determinants narrows my list down to four possible subjects. I have cornered each one of them & none of them will spill the beans. This is one tight lipped bunch! I keep hoping that one of them will miraculously appear with my camera behind their back but so far no such luck. They could have hid it ANYWHERE! I think we have looked in just about any place a two foot something could reach. Oh to get into the mind of a two year old. This is the time it would be SO worth it! LOL! My Mother in Law says to put a glass upside down on the counter & the missing object will return. You say silly old wives tale, but let me tell you, it works! We turned a glass over when Camryn lost her earring & about 3 days later we found it. So on Grandma's kitchen counter there sits an upside down glass! LOL! I think I will try just about anything just to not lose those precious photos my camera holds! Until we find the MIA camera or a "Camera Fairy" pays us a visit I regret to inform you there will be no recent pictures on our posts! I know, BOO HOO! (= {Please pray that we find the camera} I think a certain tall older fellow is happy about this because he dislikes having his photo taken ever so much. Maybe this is a conspiracy. Maybe it is fate. I just hope Santa remembers that this Mommy needs a new camera come Christmas morning! For now I will not rest until I solve...

the case of the missing camera...

teacher work days!...

Today we had some surprise guests at our door. Well the people were not the surprise rather than the time of day they arrived. Today being a Friday & a school day made it also surprising. You see one of Grandma's neighbors has three daughters & they came a knocking around 9 am to play with the tribe. They even brought a friend so their was plenty of hands to go around. YAY! If I did not already know that they had off from school I would have been worried. But they were here to play & that made me happy. (= These girls are the BEST! They come over quite a lot to see the tribe, keep them entertained & even give us hand me down's galore! They even help out as a "Mother's Helper" on days that I work. It will be Grandma & them watching the tribe till Daddy arrives. It is ALWAYS great to have help when you are raising a tribe! hehee! SO they came over this morning & I was SO greatful! Gotta love a teacher's work day! Their occupying the tribe gave me opportunity to get quite a few projects finished. Hubby hates when anything is done "half-assed". His words not mine. So here I am posting about our day. The girls had them playing "dress up", turned on their "show", took a walk outside & even had them play in their own "band". Their music might not have been in tune but it was quite amusing to watch! They LOVE it when they come over to play! So even though the tribe's not school age yet we can still appreciate one of the perks...

teacher work days!...

a day off with Daddy...

I must say that we LOVE it when we have our Daddy home with us mid week. Such a treat that does NOT happen that often! The only bad part of this equation is the reason he is home, he is sick. In fact we both are sick. He is worse off than me & for him to take a sick day is a feat within itself. He by far is the WORST patient ever! When he is feeling under the weather he is like my sixth child! ugh! {Do you think that is why God chose women to give birth instead of men? hmm...} (= So even though it is nice having him here it really isn't much fun! We made him some of my Uncle's famous "Greek Soup". SO SO yummy & great to eat when you are sick! Nothing like chicken soup when you are feeling ucky!

Now if I could just get some of my "to do" list accomplished I'd be a happy camper. Never seem to get those "things" accomplished so I am going to try & sneak a few things in today. It's a rarity to have an EXTRA set of hands, especially ones belonging to Daddy, that I better take advantage of it. Even if Daddy has to "watch" them while lounging on the couch I AM CLEANING TODAY! There is SO much crap to sift through and get rid of. Sigh... It seems that we have an over abundance of "stuff". Especially with Christmas & their birthday coming up! We need to de clutter! They will not even know what they are missing! Right? I just need to get their Daddy to assist me in this activity. That is going to be difficult! ugh! If he can keep them occupied long enough for me to accomplish my goal I'll be SO happy! Oh to have...

a day off with Daddy...

six plates!...

There has been a growth spurt going on in our house lately. It all started the other night when I made a pork roast & our new favorite, jasmine rice for dinner. LOVE that stuff! YUM! The aroma of the roast filled up the house I think it was intoxicating to the tribe because they could NOT wait for their daddy & D to get home to eat it! They kept saying "Eat, Eat". I guess they wanted to make sure I got their point LOUD & CLEAR! LOL! There I was in the kitchen making up their plates before 530. {We usually eat around 615} Rice is one of those dishes that you LOVE to eat but is a HUGE mess to clean up. When you have toddlers you learn to choose wisely in the food dept! I never really know which way it is going to go when I put a plate of rice in front of them. Some days it is a disaster where they fling rice like animals & get it EVERYWHERE or other times they surprise me & eat like royalty all proper & dainty! Well that night was a good night! They devoured pretty much every morsel! Camryn especially! There she was munching down, plate after plate. Yes she ate every last bite on her plate & then asked for more! AMAZING! Now why can't Mr B do this!? He is the one that needs more meat on those bones of his! LOL! Either she was VERY hungry or she is having one MAJOR growth spurt! When dinner was finally done she had cleaned off more than her fair share...

six plates!...

trying a different approach...

Life here has been a bit rough lately. Rough is putting it mildly. Things are a changing & I do not like it one bit! There are growth spurts & there are brain spurts. I think we are having a little bit of both! These "spurts" are changing the tribe's behavior & with change there is havoc! I am no big fan of change so that makes matters even worse! The biggest change has centered around what we call "nap time". It is becoming non existent! Some days are different than others. This week has been a "no nap" week. They have had mini cat naps in the car coming home from an errand & that is it! This is NOT a good thing for me & my sanity! I have tried MANY things to get them sleep longer or better yet to just "rest their eyes". This is a FAVORITE saying of my mother. I used to LOVE it when we would catch her sleeping & she would say "No I wasn't, I was just resting my eyes". Well these children of ours do not even do that these days! They have WAY too much energy & just when they should be resting they are raring to go! Today I did the unimaginable, after going into their room for the fifth time, I climbed into the "non sleepers" crib to snuggle. Yes it was a sight to see! Amazingly they held my weight & we did not have a catastrophe! LOL! I think the "twins" knew I meant business because they were the only one's sleeping when I attempted this feat! They were SO adorable all snuggled up in their crib. Yes, they still share a crib. We will NOT go there! (=It was a CRAZY idea, me in their cribs, but I am up for trying anything to accomplish my goal! I figured if the cribs held me then me being in there would give them some comfort which in turn would let them fall asleep. You have to admit that it was a good theory! They loved it for about two minutes until they realized that they would not be getting away with anything having me there & promptly asked me to leave! It was more like a shove & I got the hint! I ended up putting Brendan in our bed. I was washing the linens so I got creative with his covers. There he was with one of his sisters pink cat hooded towels as his "blankie". It worked like a charm & I got him to sleep!For some strange reason he does MUCH better all by his lonesome & falls right to sleep when he is in our bed. That is what I tell myself. I know he just wants to sleep in his momma's bed! On the other hand Camryn never did sleep. She wreaked havoc in their room, broke a picture frame, tossed around many a blanket all while her sisters slept. When they are asleep they can sleep through ANYTHING! LOVE that! This seems to be a routine occurrence these days! Some afternoons they even tear down the verticals! We have some CRAZY CRAZY children! LOL! I take these pictures so my hubby can truly see what I am up against! ha!I ended up taking Camryn out of there before she woke them up & thoroughly ruined my day! Having only one "non sleeper" is better than having four of them! ESPECIALLY if they were woken up, not a pretty sight! So I was a bad mommy & let her watch her "show", ie: Nick Jr formerly Noggin. She LOVES to sit on the couch & watch what she calls her "show". She will even bring me the remote! She is the child that feels that she is OLDER than the others! I must say that she is definitely our TV girl. She can sit still & watch a show more than any of the others. Bad mommy & all I'd do practically ANYTHING to keep her quiet so I could accomplish something off my "to do" list!The list keeps getting longer & longer! sigh... I figure that I'll eventually get to the bottom of this no nap business before they start high school! Remember there is four of them so I want there to be naps until eternity! LOL! Most of all don't fault me for...

trying a different approach...

hog tying them or paying for preschool X4?

Everyone warned me that the three's are the new "terribe two's". I did not believe it, I filed the info away & really thought OUR kids would be different. I thought they would just skate through toddlerhood & it would all be a blur like their infancy was. Boy was I wrong! The tribe will be three in Jan & have become WILD children! They have been little busy bodies these past few weeks, getting into stuff they never would have gotten into. They climb out of their cribs & just plain make my "job" even harder!My mom jokingly tells me I need to tie them up when they are bad! Now that's an idea! LOL! Then my brother says they need to make Velcro pajamas so they'll stay in bed! Oh the things we all could come up with to deal with WILD children! (= I just continue to talk to them like they are little adults. Asking them why they want to make mommy's life harder than it already is. I really thought I was getting through to them! ha! I know, they are TWO year olds, but this is how I cope! LOL! It seems that I am SO overwhelmed lately! Things I used to be able to get away with I can no longer do. Just today I took them shopping WITHOUT their stroller & all in ONE shopping cart. What was I thinking? They were completely awful! I know what it is to have soon to be three year old's with me on a shopping trip but those poor customers at Home Goods had NO idea what they were in for. They either ALL Wanted to sit in the only seat up front, wanted me to "Hold you", wanted to walk or better yet cried. Yes they have turned into cry baby's. sigh... I finally relented & rotated who got to sit up front & who walked beside the cart. Remember EVERYTHING in this household is about taking turns! A simple shopping excursion turned into a truly a memorable experience, one that I will not forget for a LONG LONG time! LOL! People always ask me how I do it, or better yet say that I am one brave woman to bring them out by my lonesome. What people do not understand is that I would forever be locked up inside these walls of our home if I waited to have someone go with us. There are VERY few people that know what it is like to raise these munchkins of ours & VERY few people that offer to help. Those people who do help are AMAZING, they know who they are & we love them to death. We would not be able to function with out them! I just cannot wait till they are old enough for school. Sad but true. I love them immensely however they are just TOO busy for even me, the queen of multi tasking! I dread the cost of enrolling all four into some sort of preschool but I get excited over the thought of having "me" time. I need this VERY badly! I just need a break from this full time "job" of mine. At this point I wonder which would make my life easier...

hog tying them or just paying for preschool X4?

adventures in cardboard box land...

Don't you hate it when you go to your local wholesale club like Costco, buy a TON of stuff & cannot find a box to fit everything? This happens to me a lot! I find that I am always looking for that "perfect" box. Then you have to have the box fit in our vehicle! sigh... When you are feeding a tribe like ours you tend to shop BIG so Costco is our place! LOL! On our latest trip to Costco I got SO excited because the clerk gave us the BEST box ever! {LOVE it when that happens!} It was the perfect size to house ALL of our purchases. Not only was it the right size for the milk, eggs, cheese & various non perishables BUT it was the PERFECT size PLUS sturdy enough for the tribe to play in once it was empty! Yes to most a box is just a means to get items from one place to another. To me it becomes a new "toy" for the tribe! hahah! The minute that empty box hit the floor they all jumped in it! To watch them explore made me feel good!It amazes me how they have more fun with this plain ol' box than any toy in our house! I guess it is very true that give a kid a box & it will entertain them for hours! We've gotten more out of this box in the last 24 hours than I can say! I have caught myself sitting back trying to imagine what they think the box becomes each & every time they climb into it!I am sure it is something SPECTACULAR! (= I just wish I could tell by looking into those cute little faces of theirs what exactly it is at that precise moment! Does the box transform into a race car? Maybe a roller coaster? Could it be a train? Better yet a spaceship? Oh to be two years old, have an AWESOME imagination & be able to have...

adventures in cardboard box land...

Writing yet another post!...

Today has been one of "those" days. It was suppose to start out SO wonderful by me getting a well needed EXTRA hour of sleep. You know, Daylight saving time, Spring forward, Fall back. I don't like when we lose an hour but I certainly like when we gain one! (= What a great night to get it too, HALLOWEEN! I had every intention of getting some extra rest since I would be working a double today. Halloween was SUPER busy & the tribe was EXHAUSTED! You'd think that their mommy would be too but no... I wanted to take full advantage of that hour by doing our Halloween post! That must be the multi tasker in me! LOL! Most of the chatter on FB or Twitter last night was if the time change was going to effect their kids sleep patterns. I wondered do they have that internal clock that people talk about having? Time changes can wreak havoc on your life when you have children. Having your child wake up earlier than necessary is a BIG deal for a momma when you are on a schedule! I LOVE that the tribe wakes up at 8am, no way do I want to now start waking up at 7! YIKES! SO there I was worrying if the tribe would keep to our schedule or sleep in. But even with me worrying about it their Dad would be the one dealing with it since I'd be at work! That's what I do most weekends, WORK! Well needless to say that Halloween post was never finished & I was up WAY later than expected. Then all I did was toss & turn ALL night long. I kept worrying that I did not set the alarm clock correctly or I would sleep through it. That has happened on a few occasions. Basically I could NOT fall asleep if my life depended on it. When that alarm clock finally sounded this morning I was NOT a happy camper. I dragged the ENTIRE day! Could not wait for my shift to end so I could go to bed. But where do I sit?...

Writing yet another post!...