Save the Birds

We have a bird's nest in our roof. It is in the most inconvenient spot and it's not something we enjoy having in the front of our house.

Birds are constantly laying eggs which result to baby birds. We can't get them to leave!

A few days ago the baby birds got stuck. T.J. was all about leaving them there to fend for themselves but Chelsi (my niece) was too worried. She couldn't stand to see them suffer. T.J. pointed her to the ladder and said if she wanted to get up there and save them, she was more than welcome!


Chelsi saved them.




...but five minutes later, they got stuck again.

She went up there one more time



but when they got stuck for the third time, she just let me be!

Poor birds, no one else tried to save them!

Closing Cermonies

Cody played his last baseball game last weekend. The team ended up coming in fourth place. The baseball league he plays for had their closing ceremonies at the Triple A Ballpark downtown. All the little kids got to walk on the field and receive either their trophies or medals. Only first through third place received trophies so our team got medals. To three year old boys, that is just as good! After they received their awards, we got to stay and watch the Redhawks play!

Walking on the field
(Cody has the black hat on)



The team after getting their medals



Cheeseball!



We then went to eat with Tristin's family at Coach's. It's the restaurant that is connected to the ball field so you can still watch the game while you eat!


Cody and Tristin



Can't leave without dessert!



McKinly snagging some



Cade cheering on the Redhawks



Cody feeding his brother some dip n dots


Cody watching the game from the best seat in the park


The best part of the night was that Uncle Clay and Grandma Kathie met us at the game. They were driving to Utah from Houston and stopped to stay the night with us!

Uncle Clay sharing is Popsicle with Cade
(Chelsi playing on the computer in the background)


The kids all had a great time (Ty doesn't like baseball so he didn't want to go to the game, he stayed the night with his Mimi) and all stayed up past midnight. The next day wasn't as fun with a bunch of tired kiddos but it was well worth it.

My Beautiful Boys

Don't let the photo fool you though. Right after I snapped the picture, Cody took Cade down...but in a loving way! Cade later head-butted Cody trying to give him a hug.

The Joy of Boys...and there is about to be another one!

Growing like a Weed

T.J. is always working out in the yard. So naturally Cody is right out there behind him. The other day, Cody noticed some weeds growing in the yard and he wasn't going to have that. So, he went in the garage and got the Round Up and decided to do something about it on his own!

looking around for more



found some!



ahh, his work is done...for now!

Turner Falls

This weekend we made our annual trip to Turner Falls. The weather was perfect, the kids were great and T.J. was able to tag along with us this year. He has not been able to go for the past three years so it was a nice treat to have him there.

Ty checking out the rocks in the water



Cade hanging out with Jonathan, his cousin's uncle. My family is very confusing.



Cody tubing down the river. He loved it even though he looks scared in the picture.



Cousin Meghan's turn!



McKinly didn't want Cade missing out on tubing



Cade loved throwing rocks in the water



But he loved being in the water with his daddy even more



I think the watermelon topped everyone's list!

Yummy



We love getting to hang out with my family all day.

Cody with his cousin, Meghan


I just wish I would have gotten more pictures of McKinly and Ty. They are just at the age where they run off with their cousins and I don't see them unless they need something!

We ended our day with a snow cone and then headed home.

LaVonna sharing her snowcone with Cade


We can't wait till next year when we'll have all five kids with us!

Reading Ribbon

Since it's summer and we're always looking for things to do, especially on rainy days when we can't swim, I decided to introduce Cody to the library. I knew Cody would love it, he has always loved reading books.

They have a summer reading program going on at the library and all the kids are signed up for it. When we were signing them up, Cody asked if he could be signed up too. I thought it was only for school aged kids but the librarian said as long as someone is reading to him, he's more than welcome to participate!

She must have known if you tell a three year old no, there might be a loud meltdown so it's better to just let them receive a reading packet as well.

The summer reading program goes like this...

Every time you read 8 books, or 8 hours, or 800 pages, you get to enter your name in for a drawing.

The first time you accomplish this goal, you receive a ribbon.

A few days ago we turned in Cody's reading log and he received his ribbon. The child could not have been happier!

He loves checking out books and getting to play on the computers while we're there. Now he comes home and wants to read so he can turn in a new reading log every time we go back. He has already asked me three times this week if we could hang out at the library.

What's even better, is Cade loves the library too. He can walk around, grab books off the shelf, and sit and have someone read to him...as many books as he wants.

And then the librarian has to re-shelf them, not me!!!

We Survived

Last Friday was our trip to the zoo. I didn't know if I was going to make it. I had eight kids in tow, all by myself. Seven of them did fantastic, one got on my every.last.nerve!

She wouldn't pay attention to me, I had to yell out her name at least a hundred times. She thought she knew everything and if one of the younger kids said anything, she was quick to tell them how wrong and dumb they were!

That DID NOT go over well with me!

So, when we were looking at a Jaguar and she called it a cheetah...I was quick to point out how dumb wrong she was!

I know, I'm very mature!

If you recall the last time we went to the zoo, we learned Cody is deathly afraid of Elephants! It wasn't a surprise when he almost had a meltdown because we were about to enter the building where the elephants are located! Much to his enjoyment, the elephants were out of town. They were sent to Tulsa to mate but I didn't explain that part to him!

After that, he was in zoo heaven! All his favorite animals and the one animal he hates, was out of town! His day couldn't get any better!


McKinly and Cody looking at the Rhinos! Cody's favorite!

McKinly cooling off in the misters

There was a bear playing in the water and the kids watched him for about thirty minutes. They were just amazed at everything he could do.


McKinly likes to think he was waving at her


Finally right before lunch, a friend of mine showed up with her three kids! Cody was very happy because his best friend, Tristin was there to play with!

Tristin's older sister has a disability. I am not totally sure what all she has but all I know is the kids are fantastic with her. They make sure she is involved in everything they do. They play really well with her and best of all, they don't treat her any different.

The one who is the best with her is Ty. I was a little surprised at first. He's a seven year old boy who doesn't care to play with girls in the first place (besides Laney) yet he is phenomenal with Destiny! I was so proud watching him with her! It makes me realize what great kids we have. Before they showed up, McKinly and Ty explained to all the other kids what she looked like and that she was a little "different". They didn't want them staring at her and making her feel uncomfortable!


The whole group
(minus the two babies)

Jordan, Tristin, Destiny, Hayden, Laney, McKinly, Shay, Ty, and Cody!

Cody playing around at lunch



This is how Cade enjoyed lunch


At the end of the day, we were all worn out! Everyone did well and it's something I might try again in the future...the very distant future!

A little late on the Father's Day Post!

Around here, you would think everyday was Father's Day the way my boys look up the their daddy! It's sometimes sickening how much they love him. If only you could see the way they look at him. He is truly their hero!

Not a day goes by that Cody doesn't ask when his daddy is getting home from work. Every time we're away from the house, Cody will say "I sure hope my daddy is home when I get there". If we pull up and his car isn't in the driveway, you can see the disappointment in their eyes.

On the occasions his car is in the driveway, they both start clapping with excitement and Cade bounces up and down in his carseat until I get him out. Cade laughs so hard the second T.J. puts his arms out to pick him up!

It's not that McKinly and Ty don't feel the same way towards their dad, they do, it's just that they are unfortunately used to being away from him since we have to share them with their mommy! Cody and Cade just have this connection with him that I am extremely jealous of at times! However, I do love how close they are. There is nothing like the relationship between a father and his kids!


I made Cody and Cade Father's Day shirts to wear today.


Cody's shirt shows what the front says, Cade's shirt shows the back.



And since it was T.J.'s special day today, I wanted him to have the perfect day. I guess my idea of a perfect day had too many expectations because poor T.J. did not get a perfect day!

T.J. got up early Father's Day morning, unable to sleep in (that was a first). Cade woke up screaming in pain. His ear seemed to be hurting him yet again and he wouldn't stop crying. Finally, T.J. took him outside to calm him down and that is when Cade proceeded to puke purple juice all down the front of T.J.'s white shirt!

Once T.J. and Cade got all cleaned up, we loaded all four kids in the car and headed out for brunch. That's all T.J. wanted for Father's Day was a nice brunch with all four kids.

Is that how it turned out?? Of course not!

The kids were great, they were all on their best behavior! However, we went to a restaurant that was having a special Father's Day Brunch menu so what could be wrong with that??

EVERYTHING!

Since they were menu items instead of a buffet (our first sign of a mistake), we had to order our food and wait for it. This normally wouldn't have been a problem but they were under staffed in their kitchen and the food was taking forever. I'm not talking about 20 or 30 minutes here, I'm talking we had been waiting an HOUR and a HALF for our food. We felt bad at first but after a while, it just became ridiculous!! T.J. decided we were not about to pay all that money for a bad experience. So, he left money on the table for our drinks and we left the restaurant...hungry! We then ended up driving through McDonald's for the kids.

Happy freakin' Father's Day!


Cody at the restaurant



Now, if that wasn't enough to ruin his father's day, there were still things to come!

We headed over to my brother's house to help him pack up a few things before the movers arrived. Nothing like putting T.J. to work on his perfect day, right?? Especially having him work out in the garage on the hottest day of the summer so far!

Once we finished up there, T.J. said at least he would get to take the older kids swimming while I stayed with Cade and let him take a nap (it was way past his nap time by now).

I guess swimming wasn't in the cards either because our pool pump broke and the pool had to close for the day! Nothing was working out and I felt horrible for him. He was a great sport about it all though and we did end up having a delicious dinner at a friend's house!

So the day wasn't a total loss and he still got to spend it with all his kids. Too bad it just didn't work out the way we had planned! There is always next year and he'll have five kids by then to celebrate the day with!

I am CRAZY!

Tomorrow morning we're headed back to the zoo! However, this time it's not just me, Cody and Cade...It's me, Cody, Cade, McKinly, Ty, Laney, Jordan, Shay and Hayden!

Out of all those names...I'm the only one over the age of TEN!

That's right, I will be heading to the zoo, by myself, with eight kids. I have no idea why I'm doing it, I think because it's better than having all of those kids running around my house.

Why do I have the inability to say no when they keep asking if friends can come with us?? To top that off, why don't any of these parents offer to come with us??

Don't answer that, I already know it's because they're not crazy like I am!

Well, I'm off to bed so I can get a good nights sleep before tomorrow! I'll be sure and post pictures, if I make it through tomorrow alive!

We've created a Poop Monster!

Cody, for the most part, is completely potty trained. He still has to wear a diaper at night because he has no control when he sleeps. Other than that, we don't have to worry much about it.

However, the kid HATES to poop on the potty. He will hold it in as long as possible, sometimes up to three to five days, just so he doesn't have to go on the toilet. It's ridiculous. We have tried everything from bribery, to punishment, to just ignoring it...nothing has worked. When we sit him on the toilet and tell him he's not leaving until he poops, he will just sit there and cry until he's done. I know it hurts the poor kid, he holds it in forever!!

I couldn't take it anymore. I know everyone says it just takes time but with this new baby on the way, the last thing I need is to worry about my three year old's stomach exploding because he wont poop.

So, I decided to try the bribery thing again but this time I used something no three year old could refuse...a big bag of chocolate. I'm not talking about giving him one M&M every time he poops, I told him I'd give him the whole bag! I went out and bought a few regular size bags of M&M's, a few bags of Skittles, and even some Reese's pieces.

Now the kid wont stop pooping!

He has gone three times today. He hasn't gone that much in the past two weeks!!

At least he's nice enough and shares his loot with his siblings and I'm sure they're asking him every few minutes if he has to go so they can have candy too but come on...enough is enough!!

The kid is a poop machine!!

I knew he was holding out on me...He was just playing me until he got what he really wanted! He is more like me than I thought!!


But look how happy he is...the complete opposite from just a few days ago! He's also hyped up on candy but we'll just ignore that little detail!

Swimming

Since it's summer, we go swimming almost everyday. Well, not me...I just sit and watch. I refuse to spend $60 on a maternity bathing suit that I wont wear ever again after this summer (that's a promise). I usually head down to the pool in shorts and a tank top so I can still get some sun and be able to play on the steps with Cade.

The kids love to swim though. Cody started swim lessons last week at the YMCA and he is doing really well. He is not afraid of the water as long as he's wearing his swim ring and even now he'll venture out a little deeper without any floaty at all. (Someone is always right there with him, I'm not a horrible mother letting her three year old swim on his own)

I have only remembered to bring my camera with us to the pool once so these are the only pictures I have.


McKinly trying to teach Cody how to go under water



Cody swimming away from McKinly

TJ entertaining all the kids.
TJ, Cade, McKinly, Cody, Laney, Hope, and Ty



Cade had enough swimming, he was ready for a snack!



I'll try to get some pictures of Cody swimming on his own. He does a pretty good job I must say! I love our neighborhood swimming pool. It keeps the kids entertained for HOURS and it's free. Well, once you've paid the Home Owners Association fees but it's worth it!