MOCHA MORNINGS

It's amazing how a kid's mind works. The things they recall at such a young age and the way they express it.   Little League Football has returned to our home.  There is a gap between the teenagers and the littles, so it's been a few years since we have sat on the side lines at a little league football game. I'm not going to lie, it's a little painful. The disorganization. The confusion.  The whinning.  And then there are the tired parents sitting in their camping chairs who you know have only three things on their minds.  What am I cooking for dinner?  I'll never get them to do their homework.  How do I keep them awake long enough to get them bathed?  Ethan is QB for his 4th grade team.  He's doing great for his first year and he does great at remembering plays and making long passes to the receivers.  He scored his first touchdown last night, which was really cool.  However, once we got home and the hype had settled down, the dram...

My project for the day! Love capturing memories with my boys! And to all you Veterans out there; Thank you and God Bless! Happy Veteran's Day!

Really? It is 8:40 a.m. and I am ready to throw in the towel for the day. Getting up at 5:30 a.m. stinks, but the Freshman has to be at Zero Hour by 6:00 a.m. to lift weights and this gives me enough time to make a cup of coffee and get his lunch made. As I'm spreading the peanut butter on his sandwich I noticed the Keurig is done, so I grab the creamer, get my cup from the brewer and there are only a couple of tablespoons of coffee in my cup. WHAT THE CRAP!?!? I fool with it for a few minutes, could tell there was water in the dang thing, try and dump it out, it pours out on my arm, scolding my wrist which is now red and blistered! I finish making the kid's lunch, text him and tell him to 'GET UP' and proceed to make coffee in the regular coffee maker. Gross. It was way to strong and had coffee grinds in it! ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!? The teenager drags himself upstairs at five minutes til 6, says it is too late to go, (which translates into i'm tired and I don...

Here's to the last day in 2011 that you can officially get away with wearing white! Time to switch the wardrobes over to Fall and to dust the cobwebs off the crock pot. Hope your day has been filled with some relaxation and the making of some final Summer memories.

t he smurf boat Buy the boy a piece of PVC pipe at Home Depot and it becomes a horse, a sword, a baton and a Cane...and that's while your walking through the store. Go to a restaurant and the jelly packets become a skyscraper or a train and the salt and pepper shakers are army men fighting each other or riding on the jelly packet train. After making homemade macaroni and cheese last night he asked for the Velveeta box, so I said, "sure!" Five minutes later he has a boat built with all the essentials that a smurf might need while riding in it. You know, a belt, couple of hot wheels, a Lego block and a tech deck.  Complete with plastic forks and knives for the sails and artillery.

This is a year of firsts...first year of high school, first year of middle school, and the hardest, first day of kindergarten. E was super excited about his first day of school, until we got there. All of a sudden he didn't feel good and the child that never shuts up was absolutely silent! Like all Mothers do, I hung around for a bit in the hallway and then stuck my head in to make sure he was surviving, and all seemed well....for today.

This post is dedicated to my son, D, who sits and laughs out loud every time he watches this video.  Certain days of the week my sons get stuck watching "mom" shows that I've DVR'd, like the Bachelor, Wife Swap, Dancing With the Stars, Kate plus Eight , etc., etc.  I remember when this episode aired and the boys watched with me.  This was, by far, the CRAZIEST Trading Spouses we had ever seen.  Recently, while hanging out in the family room, Dillon finds this video on YouTube and we both laughed through the entire clip, (this is the very end of the show when the mom's go back home to their families and they find out what they get to do with the $50,000 they are given.)  What did we ever do without YouTube?  Kids are always embarrassed by their parents, at some point in time, but I hope that after seeing this it makes my boys a little more thankful that THEIR mom isn't THIS crazy.  

I carry it in my purse and they fear it. I love it.

t he 14 year old's epic breakfast creation this morning. and in all honesty i just now realized it has a hot dog in it. weighing in at 141.8 lb, he is 6'1" and wears a size 13 1/2 in a men's shoe.  With basketball summer workouts starting last week, he is burning the calories as quickly as he consumes them. must be nice to eat like this and still lose weight. aw, to be a teenager again..... s o, as I sit here and watch him devour his cheesy, meaty sandwich while watching "epic meal time 84 egg sandwich" video on YouTube,  I will sip on my cup of Joe and eat the remainder of my apple.     

Summer is here and the reading program at our local library is up and running at full speed. The first program was yesterday and this balloon man, who goes by the name of Mister Jazz, was there to perform some balloon tricks and creations for the kiddos.  As he was preparing for his big finale, I wish I too had prepared myself and gotten my phone set to record video. By the time I realized what this crazy cat was doing, I was only able to get about 46 seconds of his performance filmed with my phone.  The kids LOVED it, but personally, it was a little creepy to me. Summer brotherly love is also up and running....and crashing and burning here at home.  Four brothers under the same roof, all day long, for an entire week has been quite the adventure to say the least.  I have heard the names Barbie Girl and Sissy Baby at least 100 times in the past five days.  However, the funniest "name calling" that is taking place is coming from the five ye...

i  ordered these cute little socks for my little j axon and I was so excited when I came home and saw the package in the mailbox.  He, of course, took one look at them and HATES them!  "I don't want these socks, I want my socks!"  Today I found them hid behind the swinging dining room door. What the heck is the deal with my kids and their socks? ?   Wonder if our insurance pays for sock therapy? photo from: The Children's Place !

t he year of 2011 has so far been a big one for starbucks.  first they announce they are  changing their logo and now, starting today in the great state of texas, among others, we can now get a super sized amount, the Trenta, of our favorite iced coffees!  however I am totally bummed that we don't have a starbucks in our town, otherwise I would be running out this a.m. to snatch one of this up, just because.  p hoto courtesy of www.starbucksmelody.com  a great unofficial page for all you Starbucks lovers like myself!! after preheating my oven i kept smelling a burnt rubber stench.  i continued whipping up my cornbread batter and then it dawned on me, a little boy had gotten caught earlier that day with the oven door open. i threw open the oven door and out rolled smoke and the most horrible smell.... t hese truly were some Hot Wheels ! barump bump!

Hmmm... *sigh*....ahhh.....as i sit here and ponder over something witty to say about this, the only thing that really comes to mind is, well, the truth.  daddy was "watching" (and i use the word 'watching' very loosely) the kids while mommy was out and when i got home the shift button on my practically new lap top was missing.  according to the hubs, this wasn't the only key that got tampered with,  but luckily he was able to get the other's popped back on.  *deep breath*  the kid responsible for this is only two years old and is currently unemployed, so looks like the cost of this repair is coming out of daddy's pocket. this picture makes me laugh. life is such an adventure and just looking at this picture of my husband and our two youngest sons sitting in this car made out of balloons puts a smile on my face. of course, the 13 year old wouldn't DARE join in on the fun, but little does he know that one da...

If you are ever in Magnolia, Arkansas I suggest you eat at The Backyard Bar-B-Que .  Honestly, I don't know why anyone would ever really have a reason to go to Magnolia as there really is nothing exciting there to see or to do. But, if you are passing through on your way to a bigger and better place, stop at this dive, like we did, and get some ribs... they are the bomb! When leaving Arkansas we had some time to kill, so when we got to the state line, I made the boys jump out of the car so I could get a pic of them in front of the state welcome sign.  Clearly, they were not excited... ...so, I made them run across the street and stand in front of the Louisiana sign as well, just to torture them. They are just lucky I didn't make them pose for me when we crossed back into Texas! Just sayin'!

t his is little jax's favorite game at chuck E cheese. putting his token in the slot, he jumps in excitment as the machine lights up, starts making the "ding~ding~ding" sound, and those yellow balls roll down the slot. after several attemps of rolling...and tossing...and launching them up the lane, he figures out that it is much easier to just climb up the skee ball game and put the ball in the 1,000 point hole. it's amazing what you can get away with when you're 2 .   

my third son, the picky eater, the guy who wants cereal and yogurt for dinner, loves green eggs.  he also loves hot wings, which is odd to me for a four year old, but that is a different post.  so, after reading green eggs and ham i decided to whip some up for the family.  i didn't eat any because I just can't get past them being green, but the hubs and my boys ate them up.  however, if any of you decide to serve these to your little ones, i don't suggest you let them eat large portions like i did.  that green food coloring can do some wicked things! 

d uring a recent walk in the park, my boys, as always, picked every wild flower in site to give to me. normally, i put them in my hair or behind my ear, however, on this particular day there were so many i had to find an alternate way to display these little tokens of affection.  so, what is a mother to do, but to hurridly gulp down the remaining drop of her diet dr. pepper becaue everybody knows a can makes a perfect on-the-go vase!

"Left foot, left foot, right foot, right...." d irty feet is more like it! how in the world can one little boy's feet get this dirty? and the funny thing is, he is soooo proud of them! b oys! d irty feet, pockets full of rocks, jars filled with worms.... everyday is an adventure around here. i couldn't imagine it any other way.