Summer Fun

It has been a wicked hot summer and I have absolutely loved our porch for this reason. I fill up the baby pool on the back porch and throw the kids outside in their skinnies and some sunblock. The best part which you can't see is that there is an awning above his head that I use a nice little remote control to put out and retract. It is fabulous for getting the kids outside when they complain that it's too hot outside and I want them out of my hair.

Extended 4th of July celebrations!

So, the little town we live in didn't do it's 4th of July Celebrations until the 16th of July. I'm not really sure why but it was nice to have some activities later in the month. The Fire Department which is a few blocks from our home holds a little carnival at the park down the street from us. Luckily Jason had one evening off so we took the kids down.They rode a few rides.We walked around a bit but since we are cheap, they didn't really get to play a lot of games and such so we headed home. We lit up the fire pit for some s'mores.And the kids wrestled. Really is it playing outside without slamming your brother to the ground? Paisley has learned to participate as well. Though she typically tries to be in a position where she can quickly escape.
And would it really be playing outside with boys if they didn't feel the need to relieve themselves? Apparently going inside to the bathroom was too far.

So Proud!

Poor Jason is going to have to put up with a proud wife for a moment. A while back Jason received his medical license. It has been a long road for him but I dare say it has been worth it and is beginning to pay off. It is funny how I am surprised every other Friday when we get a deposit into our account! Holy cow, I forgot what it was like to get regular paycheck. So proud of you dear!

So Pretty!

So, while we were in Spain we picked up these tiles to spell our name. It seems like everything is written in tile there. Street names are in tile on the sides of the buildings vs. have street signs (this is very annoying when you are driving). House numbers are in tile on the homes/buildings. A lot of people name their homes and those are in tile on their gates, etc. So we picked up some tile in a little shop to bring home. During a trip to my parent's house, Jason used my dad's tools along with some of his expertise to build this frame thingy for the tiles. I love love love it. It currently resides in our kitchen!

Happy Birthday Paisley

We celebrated Paisley's birthday in July...only about a month late and I am posting this only about a month later...sigh. We have good reasons. We've been busy ok.

In the move we lost the battery charger for our camera and so all of these pictures are from Jason's Iphone, thus the crappy quality. It is really hard to get the kids to hold still enough to get a good picture and it is hard to get Jason to hold his hand steady enough for the same purpose...so forgive the quality.

First came the cake. Paisley has been obsessed with M&M's lately so when I saw this cake somewhere on the internet, I knew that I had to make it. Lucky for me it was the easiest birthday cake I've ever made for one of the kids! Then came presents. Teasing her a little bit.
I made her a bunch of different princess dresses. I love this picture even if it is blurry. She loved them so much she was snuggling it!And I made her this little boa.There were bracelets.
She was all decked out. The dresses are a little too big, just perfect for growing into.The only disappointment expressed by her and her brothers (who were rapidly changing her into the various dresses) was that there wasn't a crown. Bad mommy, didn't I know that every princess deserves a crown. Sigh...

Our First "House Project"

A little while back we set to work on our first house project. We decided that the front room needed to be painted in a bad bad way. It was beyond ugly in my opinion. See.So Jason and I set to work to transform this room with a little paint. Well, a little turned into a lot, which turned into, I hate painting and hope to never ever EVER do it again. Hello, do you see all of the freaking molding in that room. Crown molding, chair rail, windows, floor and, and, AND there was molding on the freaking corners too. Sigh...Finishing up... I was putting the face plate back on the light switch. Ignore the little bum who was supposed to be getting in the bathtub. (And we have since decided to paint the wood stained trim on the doors white too. I just don't have it in me right now. Anyone want to come do it for me. I'll make you yummy food or something.More of the room. And the stinker.And some stinkers dancing.
These brushes served us well, but if I never had to touch them again, I would be a happy woman.

Bubble Bath

Jason recently gave the kids a bubble bath in an effort to keep them out of my hair while I was painting the hallway outside of their room right before bedtime.

It was pretty enjoyable for them and for us. Benton is always good for a laugh. He is hands down our silliest kid.Tab had a good beard going.Even Paisley gladly joined in. So serious in the bubble application process.
Ta da!

Quiet Time

While Benton and Paisley nap, Tab is required to have quiet time. This is usually how he spends at least an hour of it. He is such a good reader. The only problem is that now he is trying to read faster than he can and tries to skip words or will just look at the beginning sounds of a word and guess the rest so that he can move on rather than take the time to read the word. We have to force him to back up and read the words and tell us about what he is reading so that he will slow down. I don't know why he thinks he needs to be in such a stinking hurry.

First Sewing Project

On a recent trip to my parents house I was working feverishly at my mother's serger so that I could make some princess dresses for Paisley for her Birthday. Tab kept asking if he could sew something. Finally I gave in and said yes. He decided that he wanted to sew a blanket out of "soft fabric". So grandma gave him some fleece from her stash and we took it home with us. After a few days of non-stop pestering we started to make his blanket.

First we cut out a million and one squares. I tried to convince him that we could just cut out two big squares and sew them together. But that wasn't good enough. He wanted it to be like a quilt. So we set to it. Then we began sewing all of the squares together.He got it down pretty quickly. Backstitch... sew....backstitch...The only problem was that he insisted that my machine stay set at the slowest setting. It made me kind of nuts. It was WICKED slow.But eventually, we finished.
And a closeup.
Benton couldn't be left out. He needed to show off his "blankie". We did not however make his. His was made by Jason's Cousin's wife, Harmony for Tab. Benton just adopted it as his own.

Helping Out!

The kids have really been trying to take advantage of the time when daddy is home. Jason was out mowing the lawn and Benton just wanted to help.Jason was patient enough to let Benton mow the entire front and side lawn with him. Benny absolutely adored him for it.

Ain't Much Sweeter...

... than a daddy snuggling his girl. As I've mentioned Paisley is quite the daddy's girl. Well, Jason had been working 2 PM - Midnight shifts so he leaves while Paisley is napping and she doesn't get to say goodnight to him. This is pretty much killer for her. So she was particularly sad on morning. Than daddy came in and climbed right into bed with her. I'm pretty sure it made her day!

Banana Splits!

For some reason Tab got it in his head that we needed to have banana splits. So after a few days of persistence, we obliged. And for some reason, everything is more special when you get to do it on the living room carpet. I'm not quite sure why we allowed this, but they were very happy about it. At least Jason put the Beach mat down underneath them. Gratefully, there were no spills or disasters to report.

Big Brother!

Though Tab gets in his fair share of trouble for being too rough with his siblings or for teasing them, he is a good brother. Tab went in to get Paisley up from her nap. He was taking a bit too long so I decided to check out what was going on. This is what I found.Apparently she was a little grouchy and just needed some loves. So he took it upon himself to deliver. What a good stinkin' kid.

Big Girl!

Paisley has finally been upgraded to a big girl bed. She was so excited for her bed.She laid right down and was ready for her nap! She hasn't given us any trouble with the transition. I think having the rails on the bed make her think that she is somewhat still trapped though. We shall see. It has been about a month and she hasn't gotten out of bed yet. Knock on wood.

Ahoy thar!

Just some more of your every day run of the mill, pirates. I just happen to think that they are extra cute pirates.This one is especially cute and absolutely loves when her brothers include her. Good thing she is getting princess dresses when we finally get around to celebrating her birthday. I think the pink cowboy boots are what make the outfit... lol.

Backyard T-ball!

There's not much better than a family game of backyard T-ball. Tab is getting pretty good.Though he doesn't quite get the idea of a base. Everything to him is a home run!Jason had a lot of run chasing them around with the ball.Tab was going in to tag Benton. I think we forgot to mention that T-ball isn't exactly a full contact sport.Jason, Paisley and I participated as well, but as I was the one taking pictures...well, you know how it goes...