Pizza Monster

My boys are definately just like me when it comes to an unheard of love for pizza. They both started eating pizza before a year old, and to this day, it's one of the very few meals that Tyler will not throw on the ground. Brayden will ask for it almost every day ("I need pizza!"), too. On Mondays, our local Mazzios has a carryout special - one large one topping pizza for $6.99. Well, that's about as much as cooking a meal from scratch would be, so we will order a pizza on Mondays quite often. ANYWAY - last night we got the pizza and the boys ate theirs while John and I polished off the rest (less one piece). I got the boys from their chairs for bathtime after all was said and done - but John and I didn't pick up our 'mess' in the living room... Well, I got Tyler out of the tub, diapered and dressed and set him loose while I took care of Brayden. I thought John was still in the living room.... I come in about 5 minutes later and this is what I found. Guess Tyler wasn't done eating.


He had crawled up onto the coffee table all by himself to get that last piece of pizza.


He has problems biting the crust, so he eats it this way...


I love my little pizza monsters.

FIREPROOF

John and I just got back from our date day... After church today the youth group offered free babysitting for people in the church to be able to go see Fireproof. We had 125 people go (the church reserved a private showing for their members/guests)! It was a great turn out.

So right after church, John & I went to eat at Buffalo Wild Wings (we were in and OUT within 30 minutes!!!!) and then headed to the theater. We were the first ones there - we didn't plan on lunch being so quick - so we just sat and played some quiz games on his iPod. So the movie finally got going...

If you haven't heard of Fireproof yet, here's a link to the official movie site: http://www.fireproofthemovie.com/



Here's my official review:

The acting starts off a bit like Facing the Giants - a little "B" class (although, John and I both thought that Kirk Cameron's acting in the movie was phenomenal), but it quickly fades into the background because of the strength of the story. The story was very powerful and true to life. There was quite a bit of "preaching" in it, but none of it felt inappropriate. In fact, it was very refreshing and eye-opening, even to those who feel that their relationship isn't struggling. It opened some great discussion doors and makes you realize that no matter how much you're putting into your marrige, there's probably more you can do. I think my favorite part was comparing dating and marriage to education... When you're dating and wooing each other by learning what they like, dislike and prefer, you're working on your high school degree. When you get married, the rest of your life is spent learning more about your spouse - getting your college degree, Masters and a Doctrate. I really think that every married couple could really benefit from watching this movie - Beliver or not. Marriage is something that constantly takes your energy, effort and work - and love. It must be rekindled daily. And with the divorce rate in our society, the most important message of this movie is so important - in a fire you don't leave your partner behind. (And just because something is fireproof doesn't mean that it won't be tested by fire.)

Whew!!!!

So... after about 2 hours of slight edits, uploads and previews, I FINALLY got a new look on my blog. I'm still not happy with the seams, but I'm giving up and calling it good.

I've been semi-busy today other than that. I've been doing laundry, dishes, and trying to keep the boys entertained. I put the Cars tent up in Brayden's room earlier. They thought that was great. But of course it quickly led to screaming and tears from one or both boys. So we had lunch, and then laid down for naps. Which worked for Tyler, but not for Brayden. So we have one 2 1/2 year old who hasn't had a nap today. Not fun. But one bonus of him staying up - everything in the house (toys, juice cups, trash, etc) got picked up by Brayden... Of course, it's all inside the tent.

We're all sporting our OU gear and waiting for the game to start (against TCU). Brayden got a quick lesson on the Razorbacks earlier today... Arkansas was playing Texas. It's funny to listen to him try to say new words. But - the REAL news - USC AND Florida (Miami) losing this week!!! As long as we win against TCU there's a really good chance that we'll wind up in the number one slot. I told John that knowing the way the polls operate, USC will remain in the top ten even though they have a loss. We hate the stupid pollsters, it's NEVER fair to non-Pac 10 conferences. And here's another conundrum for you, though - why is no one throwing out Sam Bradford's name for Heisman? Not that I know THAT much about all this gunk, but it just seems kind of weird to me. One of these days John and I are going to drive 20 minutes down the road and actually go to an OU football game. Well, he's been to two, but I've not been to any since we moved here... Which by the way, next month begins our FOURTH year of being here at Camp Sooner. Wow. Where does the time go????

A long day without batteries.

So this morning, I'm lying in bed ever so peaceful. I had just had a dream which wasn't too bad and was able to convince my mind of the "real" outcome as I was beginning to wake up. I could hear big trucks driving up & down our driveway and then remembered that the electric company was to be here today to install the 3-Phase lines for the camp. I woke John to let him know what was going on (he could sleep through a tornado), and he semi-reluctantly got out of bed. Good thing, too. Just as he stepped out of the bathroom there was a knock on our front door. They were coming to let us know that we were very soon going to be powerless. This wouldn't be a big deal at all if it weren't for a few factors. One: The boys were still in bed (it was 7:30 am), and they both sleep with fans. No electricity means their fans would be shut off. That equals two little boys being ripped out of dreamland. Two: We're on a well. No electricity means no water. But they said the job should only take roughly three hours. So no biggie.

Tyler woke up first. He had some cereal. Then he had some more cereal - which wound up on the floor. Then he ran around the house like a crazy person. 8:30 rolls around and Brayden's still not up. So I decide to go make sure he's okay. I wind up cuddled next to him in his twin bed and let him finish up his sleeping. Until Tyler wandered in and crawled in bed too... Well, more aptly, crawled ON Brayden. We finally all make it out of Brayden's bed and head for the living room. Of course the first thing Brayden does is try to turn on the lights. We try to tell him that the lights aren't working right now. He looks at us with raised eyebrows and says, "Need batteries?" Well, sort of. So he goes around the house trying to turn on different things and informing us each time that it "Needs new batteries." This is all fun and then the novelty of it wore off. We read books, rolled around on the floor, listened to Daddy's iPod, watched Backyardigans on the laptop and had fishes a few too many times.

SIX HOURS LATER... we have power again. Whew. That morning seemed to last FOR-EV-ER. But we're now one step closer to having the HVAC units installed at the dining hall!!!!!

My cooking...

So I've never considered myself a GREAT cook or totally health conscious, but dang. I'm feeling very, VERY... um... inferior right now. On my mommy boards one girl just asked about menus for the week. Now, it must be said that most weeks I make a few more 'fancy' meals, but they are NEVER anything like what these people make and I am left wondering what is wrong with me. I know I'm a picky eater, and so I usually cater to my own preferences, but I don't see how you can have these (what I would call) fancy meals every night of the week. Am I that lazy? Or are they really easy meals and I'm just uncultured?? I grew up in a home where my mom fixed homemade meals 7 days a week, but we never had anything that I'd consider gourmet. But it was always FANTASTIC. There have only been a handful of meals that my mom's made in 30 years that I thought were inedible (to me at least, everyone else liked it). And so it brings me around to think - why do I berate myself for feeding my kids the foods that they enjoy eating even if it's not "creamy tomato sauce with orzo, steamed broccoli and chicken sprinkled w/ herbs, cooked in olive oil, green onions, & garlic in skillet" (no offense Lindsay, that's just an example)??

I guess I'm open to some new (EASY) recipes....

Well, I'm off to put some chicken nuggets and fries into the oven. Haha.

Where the Wild Things Are

Don't know if you've noticed, but off to the right there, I have a little sidebar thing that has artwork from classic children's books. The one today caught my eye. Brayden and I have been reading "Where the Wild Things Are" every night for almost a month now. He asks for it every time he goes to bed. I love hearing him read along with me (finish the sentences). But probably the funniest thing is on the second page - where Max was making mischief of one kind.... and another. Max is running down the stairs with some sort of fork thing in his hand and he's chasing the dog... Brayden always says, "Gonna git in tuble!" It's so cute that he knows that Max is being bad. So I'll say, "Yeah, he's going to get in tuble." Which he follows up with, "Gonna git a 'pankin!" He's always so adamant that Max needs that spanking for being bad. He won't let me turn the page until I agree that Max needs to be spanked. So anyway... I just thought it was fun to see this picture of the Wild Things. Makes me want to roar my terrible roar, gnash my terrible teeth, rooooooolll my terrible eyes, and show my terrible claws. hehe.

What's your kid's favorite book of the month???

Pigeon Finds a Hot Dog

I thought I should maybe share Tyler's favorite book, too... I got this from the library the other day. I've seen these Pigeon books at Sams and always thought they were sooo funny. I actually got this for Brayden, but Tyler's the one who loves it - which is kind of strange because he NEVER sits still for books. But if you've never picked up any of these Pigeon books, I highly suggest you do!! They're right up there with The Stinky Cheese Man in my opinion (but geared more toward the little mind).

A day of rest... Wait, what's that?

Sundays are always a very "off" day in our house. Why? Because it's the only day of the week that we actually have to be on a schedule in the morning. (Excluding summer camp.) This morning started off ooooooh so wonderfully, too. The alarm goes off, and after grunts and groans issuing from both sides of the bed, I realize I hear Brayden in his room. But his light's not on. Never a good sign. So I jump up, run in there and... yep... the diaper is off and there's poopoo all over the bed (again). What in the WORLD will it take to get this kid to learn that we DO NOT take off diapers?!?! Sigh. So I stripped down the bed, threw the sheets in the wash - with the delay timer set so we could get showers - and then helped Daddy get the boys their breakfast. While we were trying to wrangle the boys into the kitchen, I caught Brayden by the arm and asked him if he knew why he got a spankin' a little while ago. Here's the conversation:

Me: Brayden? Look at me. Hey. I'm trying to talk to you. Look at - okay. Do you know why you got in trouble?
B: In tuble.
Me: Yes, trouble. Why were you in trouble?
B: Hey - look!
Me: No, look at me.
B: Whas that? A car-pit cleaner?
Me: yes, that's the carpet cleaner, but we're talking and I need you to listen to me. You took your diaper off again, and that's a no-no. Especially because it had stinky poo in it.
B: Stinky poo?
Me: Yes. And stinky poo is yucky. Right?
B: (Makes grunting noise) Stinky poo. Right. Go (grunts again), like that?
Me (trying not to laugh): Yes, that's how you go stinky poo, but it's supposed to stay in your diaper. Only Mommy or Daddy get to change your diaper.
B: Hey - whas that?!
Me - gives up and feeds the kid breakfast.

...but we made it to church on time. :D

Fall is sorta here and other thoughts

I've been kind of random lately. I feel like my thoughts (and feelings) are all over the place. I wake up in the morning and it's cool outside and I'm blissfully happy and content. Then, as the day wears on, the sun bears down and my soul is dragging. I hate the heat. Kind of weird, then, that I have a job that requires the most of me in the summer, huh? I think I would love it somewhere north - but not so north that it'd be COLD all the time. I'm a very mild-on-the-cool-end climate kind of gal. Fall has always been my favorite time of year. With the holidays approaching including, but not limited to, my birthday, and the smells that greet you in kitchens, ahhhhhh what more could you ask for???

I got to put the boys in their windbreakers this morning as we headed out the door to go to Forest Hill's youth group's fundraiser garage sale (wow, what a mouthful), and I was SOOOOO happy. They look so cute in jackets. Of course by the time we left the garage sale, it was too hot for the extra layer, so they were stripped of their adorable additions. Thankfully they are still cute even without the extra padding. ;)

I would love to converse with you some more about how much I love the cool and how I'm looking forward to the upcoming weeks and months, but my laptop battery is letting me know it's about to die, and I'm no where near my plug. I will try to get a scrapbook page together, though to show you my feelings. .... until next time

"I need a paci!"

A line I hear much too often in this house... Brayden is now 31.5 months old and he (still) *needs* his paci. He sounds like some sort of adict - "Brayden do you want some milk?" Response: "NO! I NEED to find a paci." Well... we got back from Fletcher on Monday and Tuesday afternoon I couldn't find Brayden's paci. It was nap time, and I was freaking out. He does NOT go to sleep well without it. So I calmly went into his room and told him that it was nap time. He said, "I need a paci." I proceeded to tell him that I couldn't find it. I told him it was gone. He looks at me with pitifully wide eyes and asked if it was far, far away. Yes, I told him. It was gone far away. He looks at me and then cups his little hands around his mouth and yells, "Come back, paci!!" (I about laughed out loud at this, but I didn't want to make fun of his plight.) I told him that I thought the paci was too far away to hear him - it was probably lost for good. He sighed a tremendous sigh and looks at me forlornly - "Far, far away?" he asked again. Yes, my love... it's gone. He sighed again. I asked him if he thought he could take a nap without it. He seemed to think about that for a second and then said, "I need juice." So I got him a cup and that was that. Three hours later I had to go wake him up from his nap - without his paci. This could be the start of a great thing.