Guess what this is... [ANSWERED]

Can anybody take a guess as to what this is? [ANSWER NOW BELOW]

This was Davis's idea on how to keep Libby off the couch. Make a "DON'T" sign. Brett had put her on the couch the day before & she fell off. (don't worry, she was okay) So I talked to the boys about not picking her up & putting her on the couch. Davis studied "DON'T" signs in preschool this year so he got the brilliant idea to make a sign for Libby so she wouldn't get on the couch. They rushed off to go color & I thought for sure they forgot about their project. But lo' & behold, the next time I walked by the couch, I saw this sign. Cracked me up! I think this one is actually Brett's... I found another one abandoned at the table which I'm guessing was Davis's, but that he got frustrated.

Davis loves the "DON'T" signs, though. He knows that the ones that have a baby face & 0-3 on them are for "NO BABIES ALLOWED". So he is SURE to not let Libby play with anything that came with a "No 0-3" sign. I have a feeling it's that he's more excited over having a reason not to let her play with his toys & do certain things, than he is concerned about her safety. But I might be wrong.

I do love how he thinks that Libby would get the concept of the "DON'T" sign. This is the same kid that when Libby was an infant & I'd talk to her, he'd always remind me "Mom... REMEMBER?! Libby can't talk." The tone in his voice was always as if he was annoyed he had to keep reminding me. Davis keeps us all on our toes...we don't get away with anything!

Me & Kyle - our first date, 1998

Are you ready for this one? :)

This is me & Kyle on our FIRST DATE.



My sorority (the DDD's) had a Date Party... and I invited my new crush who I had just met 5 or 6 days before... Mr. Kyle Twenter. Although, I think at the time I thought his last name was "Twinters". Anyway, this is me & Kyle outside of "the Fieldhouse" in Columbia, MO. We were on our way in, our 1st date had just begun! So I guess you could say, this photo is "the beginning of the beginning". I'm so glad the "Party Pic Guy" was there because otherwise I know I wouldn't have this photo. I would've been too embarrassed to get one of the 2 of us that early on! I believe the date was September 1, 1998. How cute were we?

the Mail Lady

Sooooo what kind of good-fortune do you think is making its way to our mailbox tomorrow? This evening I found this little gal on my mailbox. I'm taking it as a sign that good things are coming in the mail tomorrow... I'll let you know! :) Hopefully it's something more exciting than Val-Pak coupons... but even those I love! (Free Espinaca @ Cactus Grill!) We'll see!!!

***UPDATE***
Jo-Ann's coupon! YAY! 40% off one regular priced item. LUCKY ME!

Krispy Kreme - Here we come!

Yesterday I promised the boys that this morning we'd go to Krispy Kreme! The boys were so excited to wake up & come get me, it was like Christmas morning. Last night we had laid out their Krispy Kreme t-shirts, all ready to go. :) We used to go all the time in Corpus Christi... it was one of our "activities". According to our photo archives, we hadn't been to a Krispy Kreme since June of 2007. Which means poor Libby hasn't been since she was 3 months old. But today she got to go & actually join in the fun.

Libby stuck with doughnut holes... it was less messy. Every flavor was a hit, except for the blueberry cake... which is Mommy's favorite! One of the workers was "sweet" on Libby and couldn't resist handing her her very own original glazed doughnut hot off the press right before we left. It made Libby's day.

We got many stares & giggles for donning our own Krispy Kreme t-shirts. (This particular store doesn't even sell them) What can I say? We love our sweets! When we left we were literally covered head to toe in glazed goodness. Brett had it on his leg & Libby had it in her hair. Doesn't get any better than that!

Nephew-sitting

Today I got to babysit my precious little nephew. We had soooo much fun. We got to play on the new playset! Is it not huge?

Roman is such a GREAT KID. I'm glad I got to spend so much time with him today. He is sooooo smart. I heard him say 10-20 new words... and he has the "L" sound perfected. My kids don't even have the "L" sound down. But Roman very clearly said "Louie" (dog#2) & "Hello". (And his dad said the "L" sound is not in the Russian language... so I'm really impressed)

Today I also learned that Roman is a neat-freak. He saw Libby getting into his Mama's flowers & kept yelling "No no" in her direction. :) hee hee He finally ran over to investigate & was not happy to see the mess on the patio. He went to get the brush (from the outdoor firepit) & attempted to sweep it up. Cracked me up!

He really is an amazing kid. I'm so happy he's here.

Enjoy the photos of our fun day. Brett even captured a photo of me with his trademark finger!

The C:ulprit

Just now I tried to upload some pictures from today & I got an "Error!" message. I clicked to read the details... my C: drive is full. Old news. I found that out 2 weeks ago.

I did some investigating. Knowing "My Pictures" folder had every digital photo taken since December 24, 2003 (before Davis was born), I knew my photos were probably hogging a lot of C: drive space.

Here's the breakdown...

"My Pictures" folder:
Size: 22.7 GB, translates 24,419,963,337 bytes.
Contains: 17,280 files, 116 folders.

Yikes. Kyle's been trying to get me to transfer everything to the external harddrive but hasn't shown me how. So I'm starting to clear up some space by deleting blurry photos & pics w/ people's eyes closed. Oh you don't think that'll make a difference? Ever hear the story of the man & the starfish on the beach? You have to start somewhere...

10 on Tuesday

1. I can't believe I've successfully posted 5 days in a row. And that I remembered today is Tuesday. :)

2. Brett lost his tooth! He handled it very well. The tooth fairy came after making him his handmade tooth fairy pillow & left him with some $. He wants to buy an FA-18 jet. (Here he is checkin' himself out in the mirror. Love this pic.)

3. Brett's been taking my camera & randomly taking pictures. Most of them are of his fingers since he doesn't know how to hold the camera. But here's a good one he took of me. Definitely a "framer". I just might get it blown up to an 11x14 to give to Kyle for his Birthday.

4. I just got the boys some new superhero PJ's. Davis posed for me showing me his muscles, then demonstrated how strong he is.

5. You can tell Libby has brothers. She's going to be one well-rounded little girl.

6. Our "C" drive is full on our computer. I've never heard of that. I feel like the guy on the commercial who is told that he has surfed the entire internet & has seen all there is to see. Who fills up their C drive?

7. Last night we let the boys stay up to catch lightning bugs. It was so fun! Our kids grew up in Jacksonville, Florida & Corpus Christi, TX... we did NOT have lightning bugs down there. I got some cool pics... but don't have them uploaded yet!

8. I'm having trouble coming up with 3 more things. So this comment will just have to pass as 1.

9. Let's see here... I'm about to go & work on laundry. Kyle's usually "laundry man". He completes the process, unlike me who leaves the clothes in the washer, dryer & laundry baskets.

10. Ummm... we got Kyle a hammock for Father's Day. Fun fun fun!

That's it for this Tuesday! Hope you have a good one! :)

Interesting... it certainly is.

So today I got a forward-syle e-mail titled "This is interesting"... Any time I get an e-mail like that, I'm curious to see if I agree w/ the statement or not. :) So this was the challenge...

This is so funny that it will boggle your mind. And you will keep trying it at least 50 more times to see if you can outsmart your foot. But you can't!!!
1. While sitting at your desk, lift your right foot off the floor and make clockwise circles with it.
2. Now, while doing this, draw the number "6" in the air with your right hand. Your foot will change direction!!!
I told you so... And there is nothing you can do about it.

I followed the instructions & easily mastered the challenge. In fact, it was a "no-brainer" for me. I read over the instructions a few more times & kept trying, getting the same results every time. I was stumped... but for a different reason, apparently, than everyone else who had tried the challenge.

Curious, I then reversed the entire challenge.

1. While sitting at the desk, lift your left foot off the floor & make counter-clockwise circles with it.
2. Now, while doing this, draw a backwards number "6" in the air with your left hand.

Sure enough my left foot started reversing the direction of the circle [I failed]. So when I attempted the mirror-image of this, I truly was stumped... but the "normal" version, wasn't a challenge at all, I passed with flying colors. Now, obviously, I've got to be a minority... or this freaky, eerie phenomenon wouldn't be spreading like wild-fire over e-mail. So it makes me wonder... a) Who else can pass the challenge with flying colors & b) What is wrong with me?

I MUST be wired differently... which wouldn't be much of a surprise. I know I can write letters and words, of an entire sentence backwards (right to left) almost as fast as I can write a sentence frontwards (left to right). Is that a freak-a-zoid skill that is related?

So I want to know (please leave a comment) if 1. You are stumped by this challenge & 2. If you have any theories on why it works for some people & why it doesn't work for others. (and like in my case, why I have no problem with it, except when I fully reverse the challenge).

I guess the title of the e-mail was true... "THIS IS INTERESTING".

Our Daddy

The boys helped me put together a list of the favorite things they like to do with Daddy:

• Going to the swimming pool & getting the giant cookies.

• Jumping off the diving board.

• Playing catch with daddy.

• Playing blocks at home.

• Going to the soccer games.

• Going to the bowling alley & get candy & play bowling.

• Help mow the yard with daddy.

• Going in the backyard & daddy cleans up all the poop.

• Going to the bowling alley and then the grocery store and then the bowling alley again and getting a bouncy ball.

• Going to Sea World & to see snakes... and the King Cobra.

• Taking us to see & hug Mickey Mouse.

• Going to the carwash & the going the bowling alley & then get a toy.

• Going to baseball & I "won" at 3rd base. [the time B got praised for the good play he made]

• Letting us help you building things.

I think they did a pretty good job covering all the bases. Thank you for being the BEST. I know on Father's Day you're supposed to say that... but you really are the best. Our kids are so lucky to have such a hands-on dad that participates in every single area of their lives.

I never was a huge fan of the song ("Love without End, Amen"), but this is the song that you always turn up, blast & sing to the kids. And how can you NOT be a fan after watching that? :) We love you! Love, Brett, Davis, Libby, Daisy ... & Mommy, too.

Our "Pappy" & Our "Grandpa"

We wanted to wish mine & Kyle's dad a Happy Father's Day. We are so incredibly lucky to have them as our dads. Kyle's dad raised 3 wonderful, smart & talented boys and mine raised 3 wonderful, smart & talented girls [myself included - ha].

Kyle's dad (aka "Pappy") comes over to salt the driveway for us, brings us TCBY "just because" & is always there for us to get us out of a pickle, whether it be needing to borrow a car, running an errand for us, or even his babysitting services. :) In the almost 10 years that I've known him, I've heard thousands of stories that would make you laugh, cry & shake your head. My favorite ones, however, are the stories about him as a coach for all the various sports teams his 3 boys were on. A couple years ago I heard a story where the other team had a boy with special needs. He never got much of a shot with the rest of the kids always wanting to give the game their all. Connie saw what was happening & towards the end of the game talked to the other coach. He knew how much it would mean to the boy & his parents if he got a chance to do what every other kid wanted to do - have a shot in the spotlight. So Connie talked to his team & told them they were to let this kid get on base & score a run. I know it probably made that kid's year & his parents will probably never forget it. Knowing I just heard the story a year & a 1/2 ago from one of Kyle's friend's dads, I can only imagine how many of the other kids & parents were affected by that. Your kids are lucky to be able to call you their dad, and those kids were lucky to call you "coach".

My dad (aka "Grandpa) always has a lap waiting for someone to snuggle up in, gets an absolute kick out of his grandkids, has a laugh that will make you laugh, and doesn't bat an eye when you ask for something. My favorite story about my dad, was freshman year of college. I was having a rough 1st semester ... and found out I was nearly failing a 5-hour course. I called him at work crying. Dressed in his suit, he left work in St.Louis & drove 100 miles to Columbia. He picked me up outside of my dorm, took me to lunch, helped me figure out a plan of action to get out of my predicament, then dropped me off at my dorm before hitting the road again. He drove over 3 hours round trip just to spend an hour with me when I needed his help. There are some things your parents do for you that you will never forget, and that was one of them. I know I have never told you how much of an impact that had on me, dad, so I wanted to do so now. I love you, daddy!


"I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did,
but people will never forget how you made them feel." - Maya Angelou

Brett, Davis & Libby @ 1 year

For those of you new to the Blog World (myself included), there's another "theme" I've been dying to try out. I could pick between "Way Back Wednesday" or "Flashback Friday". Since it's Friday, guess which one I chose?

My little Bretty-Brett at about 10 months old. Love this million dollar smile.



















And my sweet Baby Davis. Man oh man, even at 12 months old you could see his little wheels turning.


















Okay, so Libby-Doodle's is only a "flashback" to March, but this photo is so cute & happy! Plus, I wanted to see all my kids roughly around the same age. (I'll give her more of a "flashback" next time!)




















Looking at the photos of the boys makes me realize how quickly time goes by ... and oh how I remember back when they were babies, that I used to always want to rush to the next milestone, the next stage. I wanted to rush to see what they were going to look like at 3, 6, 12, & at 18; what their personality was going to be like; what their talents were going to be. I wanted to watch them play sports, be able to go to the movies as a family, have pizza parties on Friday nights.

We're getting awfully close to "that place", but as I get closer I realize I'm going to miss the baby days... and with the sports & activities will be kids who are too cool or too busy to go to the movies w/ "the fam", or have pizza parties with mom & dad on a Friday night! :) Hopefully not. But just in case, I'm going to hang on & embrace every bit of 15 months, 4 years & 6 1/2. :) My friend Nikki recently wrote about "living the dream" (her boys are B & D's ages) & it inspired me to quit thinking about everything GOOD, EASY & BETTER being "some day". I sometimes need to remind myself of it, but LIFE now is pretty sweet.

Ten on Tuesday

Following the lead from one of my Blog Mentors (Mariah), I'm copying her list of 10 things on Tuesday. (Mariah + anybody that wants to use my new graphic, go right ahead. I've seen some of the bad clip art out there & it makes me cringe. So I will single handedly start a new generation of clip art - it just might be my life's calling.)

1) Brett has his 1st loose tooth. I am anxious to see how he handles it... the loss of the tooth, the stringy, mushy gums... STAY TUNED. I can't believe I have a child old enough to lose a tooth. The tooth fairy better figure out what he/she will be bringing!

2) Last night & I had 2 helpings of a divine treat that I randomly put together... a Chocolate pudding cup w/ a mound of whipped cream on top. Wait, did I have 2 or 3? Yikes... that's bad I can't even remember, which means I probably had 3. {Note to self: do not buy Reddi whip again. You love it too much. Don't even act like you bought it just to go with a nice, healthy dessert of strawberries when mom & dad were in town. You got it so the rest of it could be in the fridge waiting for your sweet tooth moments. Naughty.}

3) Yesterday I asked Davis if he had fun at CAMP & he told me "it wasn't camp." When I asked him to explain, he told me "it wasn't camp. I didn't go in a tent." I love that kid.

4) Cute Libby story... the other day I was playing with my hair, holding a pony tail up with my hands & Libby was watching my every move. As she watched my hands she started tugging at her own hair. Then I made a clicking sound with my mouth... and she made a clicking sound. I love that she thinks I'm cool enough to copy. I know this won't last long... But the other day, she thought her mom was the COOLIEST.

5) I don't think Kyle "gets" the whole blog thing. He checks it every once in awhile just because he has to, but I'm sure he thinks I'm random. We'll see if he comments... then we'll know if he checks afterall. :) hee hee

6) My Japanese Maple is making a come back. After every last leaf dried up & shriveled after the big transplant, I thought it was a goner. Returned from San Diego to find new, soft leaves! I rock at transplants! {knock on the trunk of the dying transplanted evergreen}

7) Kyle ran a 1/2 Marathon this past weekend! He finished 323rd out of 1812. NOT BAD, honey. NOT BAD AT ALL.

8) I hate the dentist. Let me reword that in case my fave dentist from Jacksonville tracks me down & follows my blog. :) hee I hate DENTAL WORK. I'd rather deliver a baby w/o an epidural (& I had 3) than get a shot of novacaine & have teeth filled. MAJOR PHOBIA.

9) I'm a night owl... not a great match-up with my up & at 'em boys! But Libby definitely takes after me... that girl loves her SLEEP. Most of the time when we lay her down in her crib she GLADLY rolls over on her belly, tucks her legs & feet up underneath her, sucks her fingers & goes nighty night.

10) I love the randomness of "10 on Tuesdays"! :)

Good Times in San Diego

Just got back from a family trip to San Diego. We stayed downtown on the bay & had a fantastic time doing everything expected of a tourist: Coronado Island, the Beach, Sea World, San Diego Zoo & Seaport Village. What a fabulous place. The weather really can't be beat. You start & end the day with a little jacket, getting plenty of sun in between.

PHOTOS:

• Me & Libby outside of the Hotel Del Coronado, just before we hit the beach.

• Kyle & the boys walking to Seaport Village, where we rode the carousel, shopped, ate dinner & ice cream.

• The boys in a tree at a playground on Coronado Island.

• Libby enjoying the park (& her Goldfish snack)

• I LOVED the palm tree shadows all over the park. Just picture perfect... pretty much like the rest of Coronado Island.

What a perfect start to summer. Happy Summer everyone!