My 30th Bday is Sat...Will you do me a favor????

My THIRTITH birthday is Saturday (11/1)... With buying the new minivan, we've kind of had to tighten our belts to get the tags/title/tax paid which means that I'm not really getting a big birthday. (But I DID get a van, so....)

I just entered a digital scrapbooking contest to win a Bamboo Fun - which is a tablet thing that I can use to write on my scrapbook pages and stuff... You guys have NO idea how much I want to win this! I was going to get one for my birthday, but... well, see above... If you guys could help me WIN this, then I'd still get my bday present AND not have the financial stress!!

Just click here:



I WOULD BE EVER SO GRATEFUL!!! If you wanna post my link on your blog or anything, that'd be awesome.

VOTING ENDS TOMORROW (10/31), SO PLEASE DO IT NOW. Thanks so much!!

here's what it looks like:

Pumpkin Patch

So we FINALLY made it to the pumpkin patch... we've driven by it a million times, but never had the camera, and I didn't want to "waste" the stop. Well, Mom & Dad were here Saturday because they were flying out of OKC early Sunday morning to go to Hawaii... So when they got here, we all piled into the new minivan and went to the patch. I think they had fun doing that, too.

There was a little train thing for the boys to ride (which they loved), a few small games (like a beanbag throw), and wagons to put the pumpkins (or kids) in. I think they had a great time running around, picking up pumpkins, and enjoying the beautiful weather. I'm sure this is going to become a yearly thing...

Here's the scrapbook page of the outing...

Lori Dabbles in Politics

I've never been too into politics, in fact, I used to CRINGE whenever my dad would change the radio station to Rush Limbaugh (side note, my sister even dubbed that station as "the voices" as in, "Dad, please turn off the voices!!"). But lately I find myself turning to AM talk radio every time we're in the car. The way our economy is going, the moral direction our country is headed... it just all gives me a major sense of unrest. I am scared for our country. Not because of what is happening now, but what I feel may happen next Tuesday. I am scared out of my mind that Obama is going to win this election and starting on Wednesday we will become France or worse (a socialist country). I can't believe how some of my friends, who are devout Christians, say they are voting for Obama. The reasons they give are beyond ludicrous in my mind - they have no FOUNDATION!! They say, "Well, I feel that any politician who has drawn our generation into politics the way he has will be good for our country and the way it's viewed by other countries." Um... but what about his stance on abortion, the redistribution of wealth, taxes, healthcare and so many other things? I could ramble on and on and on and on, but I'm not going to. I just want you to really think about the implications of voting for a man who has blatently said that he bemoans the fact that the supreme court has not "overcome" The Constitution of the United States of America. Please... think about the next four years not just focus on this man's age, race and smooth talking.

What happens when I Wordle??

get your own: http://wordle.net/

Brayden & The Sooners

Yesterday we were in our car and headed to Norman. On the way there, Brayden didn't have a paci, so he was more talkative than he usually is in the car. He let us know that we were going to "Mornan" and told us about everything he was seeing out his window. We finally got into town and he pointed at the National Weather Service building and said it was a house. We told him that it wasn't, but instead of confusing him, we just told him it was OU and that's where all the football players were. He got excited and started talking about football and "Too-ners." We asked him if he was going to play football... this is kind of how the following conversation went:

Us: Are you going to play football?
B: Football.
Us: For the Sooners?
B: Tooners.
Us: Well you need to get big, first! (sub conversation begins between John & me)
(Brayden mumbles some stuff to himself for a while with a few coherent words here and there then all of the sudden)
B: I play football. I help the Tooners.

John and I decided that we needed to document this day. Our 2 year old son already has visions of grandeur and has made the statement that he will someday play football for the OU Sooners.

Brayden & Tyler

I haven't written much about the boys lately...

Brayden is growing like a weed - he's so tall and skinny, but he eats more than I do. This does not bode well for the future. He's picking up new words every day; yesterday we taught him how to say, "Texas sinks" with his longhorns down. :D


Admit it, you love it. We caught him saying, "Maybe..." yesterday too. It's funny how many things you learn you say too much when your toddler starts talking. A few of our not-so-favorites are, "Stop that now!" and "Do you HEAR me?" but the cute one is, "Um.... how 'bout..." He's so creative with things and has a little too much energy. I think he has a hard time focusing on what we want him to do, but I'm hoping it's just a stage. He's definitely in the terrible twos - tantrums abound in our house. We're trying to work on the difference between "want" and "need." That seems to have finally sunk in. But now we're working on asking for things the right way instead of demanding them. So his sentence goes like this, "Um...may...I...have...some...paci........pweese." (It's not a question, it's a statement - always. And it's always "some" never "a" or "the.") He has really figured out that he can pick and choose what he wants now, too. He lets us know every day that he has an opinion (and a very STRONG one at that). Oh, and when you ask him where he lives, he says, "Camp Fire" (we tried to teach him to say Camp Sooner, but he kind of got confused).

Tyler is a horse of a different color. He's fairly laid back, but is an instigator. Seriously. He will walk into a room all giggles and smiles, saunter up to Brayden and then shove him as hard as he can. All this is fun to him until Brayden retaliates. Of course, Brayden is close to twice Tyler's size... He's such a sweet, cute little guy that I find it hard to take Brayden's side in the fight. I mostly just let them go at it - I want Tyler to learn that he shouldn't dish it out if he can't take it. He's talking more and more every day, too! His favorite thing to do is sit around and tell himself "Gink ewww, elkum." He LOVES the Little Einsteins... He's Rocket's biggest fan. He does the pat, pat, pat, and puts his little arms up and then (sometimes) says "baa-ffff" (blast off!), but always says, "GOOOOOOO!" (when they say, "Here we GO!"). He's so funny when he watches anything on TV - he'll either stand right under the TV and stare up at it...



...or he'll lie flat on his back right under the TV (and stare up at it). It's too funny. He's also been on a major drinking kick. It seems as though he's CONSTANTLY thirsty. I can't even begin to tell you how many times I hear "ooose" from him in one day. We're working on getting him to say please, but Brayden usually says it for him. He's drinking a big sippy of chocolate milk as I type. We've discovered that Tyler is a great soccer player. He actually understands that he can't touch the ball with his hands, and he has great kicking reflexes. It's really cute how he follows through with his kicks and tries to do crossover kicks (like Daddy). He's just so skinking adoreable!!!

I guess that's about all for now... I need to go start fixing lunch for my two little bottomless pits (and their daddy, too). I'll share more later!

Happy Birthday, Troy

Sort of a Catch Up?

I've talked about it before, but I've got a digital scrapbooking website that I use to do get almost all of my supplies and some other fun (ScrapGirls.com). Well, for about the last two weeks they've been holding me hostage. I'm not really joking, either!! haha! They've been having 'events' over there that involve games, chats, layout contests, and PRIZES!! Now, with things the way they are, any type of prize is a good prize... But the other day when I saw a game (aptly called "Needle in a Haystack") that was offering a $25 gift certificate as the prize, well, I couldn't pass that up. And it was NOT an easy game. They gave us this sheet of thumbnails and then you had to figure out where that thumbnail could be found in the boutique like the second image:



So anyway - this was NOT an easy task, but I couldn't possibly pass up $25 because I really wanted to be able to take advantage of the boutique sale that's going on right now (22.4% off everything!). So I stuck with it for a few too many hours, but I WON!! And on top of all of that, on Saturday, I got the daily newsletter and one of my layouts was in it!! I've been published!!!!! It's been a good week for me!

Here's the layout that was in the newsletter:



It's so much fun when you find a hobby to be involved with. It really helps me stay sane - but it's also nice knowing that I'm doing something productive for the boys. Speaking of hobbies, though - be looking for an upcoming blog on John's newfound obsession. haha

Is it really....

Is it really already the MIDDLE of October?!??! Oh my goodness where does time go? The boys are getting bigger every day: Tyler's talking more; Brayden's is in the throws of the terrible twos... But it's getting more and more fun to watch them play and interact with each other. Just tonight, Tyler was playing shadow to Brayden's antics. At a few points, I was absolutely SURE someone was going to get hurt, but thankfully that never happened. Brayden is just so much bigger than Tyler - not only because of age, but because he's a 75th percentile kid and Tyler's a less than 10th percentile boy. We call him Itty Bitty Ty. He just had his 18 month check up at the pediatrian the other day... The ped was a little concerned with Tyler's weight. But I'm not - I mean, look at the HUGE family he comes from (tongue in cheek). My dad's high school letter jacket fit me when I was in 7th grade... I'm not sure my grandma EVER weighed more than 110 lbs.

Speaking of my boys, though... I'm trying to blog while watching them take a bath... My laptop has already been sprayed by splashes and now Brayden's busy trying to pour water on the floor when I'm not staring him in the eye. So I guess I'd better go before we all get fried. I need to get some more pictures posted and some new layouts done... Maybe tonight after the boys go to bed???

The Big 12 and Middle East Politics

A friend of mine posted this on Facebook today and I laughed like crazy. Like her, the Middle East makes much more sense to me now after putting it in "Big 12" perspective....

TEXAS: Iran. Somewhat of a controlling power in the region but it will all come crashing down because they have a highly functioning retard as a leader.

KANSAS: Kuwait. Tons of riches and unrealized potential, but still vulnerable to Iran.

NEBRASKA: Iraq. A wealth of history but the country as a whole is going in the tank and they will kill themselves off before it's all over.

OKLAHOMA: Saudi Arabia. A proud kingdom, once torn up by fighting but known for historic past and prosperous future, surrounded by Iran and Iraq, with fanatics in Al-Qaeda (see below) who'll stop at nothing to bring them down.

MISSOURI: Syria. Evil schemers who will stoop to whatever level they need to win. No real history to speak of but thinks they are the cradle of civilization.

OKLAHOMA STATE: Al Qaeda. No real country, just a movement of fanatics who live to destroy the hope of those more fortunate. No other goal in life than to bring down the House of Saudi Arabia. Terrorizing that country in the late 90's and early 2000 years is the crowning achievement in their history. Signing day was a major setback to the movement. They are fanatically loyal to their new leader.

KANSAS STATE: Palestinian territories. No one really cares or worries about them unless they can be of some use (i.e. winning a battle once in a while against Iran that causes a bit of shake up in rankings)

IOWA STATE: Qatar. Where is Qatar? Is it in our area?

TEXAS A&M: Afghanistan. Not much going for it other than the crazy commoners.

BAYLOR: Israel. None of the others understand why they're in the area. Just leave them alone. What did they ever do to you?

COLORADO: Morocco. Not really part of the Middle East. Has other things to do than fight (or play football). Rumor is you can always go there for a good time.

TEXAS TECH: Libya. Has a charismatic leader in a land of nothingness who will rattle his sword but knows he doesn't have a whole heck of a lot to back it up. Pulls the occasional sneak-attack and cries "Victory!"

Wanted: Pizza Thief

I said I'd do a layout with Tyler's pizza thieving... so here it is!!! I actually did this as part of a challenge on ScrapGirls.com. I need to get some pics off our camera and do some updating here. We've had John's birthday at my parents' and then at Tulsa (which included a trip to the State Fair and a get-together with a BTB girl). Lots to post!!! But this will have to be it for right now.