Cody is just full of them...

If you're on my facebook, then you have already heard this one but I thought it was hilarious so I wanted to put it on here too.

I was making dessert the other night (not much, just melting chocolate and getting the angel food cake out).

Cody: "Mommy, what's for dessert?"

Me: "Cake that I made from scratch!!"

Cody: "Mommy, the grocery store is called Crest, not Scratch"

Oh that boy is so witty...so he thinks. I wonder where he gets that from? Hmmm??

Scrabble Night

No, we're not a bunch of eighty year olds who like to play Scrabble and then are in bed by 8:00 pm after we took out our teeth and drank our Metamucil.

We actually all really like the game.

Every few weeks, we have some friends over and we play Scrabble. Our friends all have kids so they can play together while we have some adult beverages and play a game where the more drinks you have, the more fun the words become.

We all bring some food and we make a whole evening out of it. Dinner, drinks, snacks, dessert, etc. Then, the kids watch a movie and we play our game.

This time, Jen brought fondue stuff and it was a huge hit with the kiddos (and the adults too, not gonna lie).

Laney and Ella Kate

Cody

Watch out, that's heavy

Cole

Darby and Scout

Cade

Excuse me, do I have a little something on my face?

Emily preferred to eat Cheez It's with a toothpick

Darby thought it was all good!!

Brady was too cool for the chocolate! :)

Cole was the happiest when he found some sucker who would hold him.

If that didn't work, he was pretty happy playing with Scout!

See, Scrabble night is fun at our house!

Three little men hard at work

Another great thing about having three little boys...

They love to help shovel snow!

Cody

And they're all pretty good at it too.

Cade

Cole

Cody figured if he helped me, we could go sledding sooner.

So, after we finished the driveway and walkway, I took the boys to the little hill in our neighborhood.

Cole wasn't crying because he didn't want to go, he was crying because I made him pause a second to take a picture.

Cade and Mommy

Cole and Mommy

*I know you're all jealous of my beautiful outfit and my lack of proper winter attire. I had been shoveling snow and I got hot so I took off my jacket. I forgot to put it back on before we went sledding. Hey, at least I remembered the boys' jackets!*

Snow!!!

All day yesterday we dealt with an ice storm. Not fun when you have little ones stuck inside!

Today, though, we have SNOW!

And since I'm Mother of the Year, I bundled up Cody and Cade right after their shower, while their hair was still wet! They were not enjoying it as much as Cole!

Cole LOVED it!

He is still walking around the house with his jacket on, refusing to take it off.

I LOVE THE SNOW!! It's actually the real stuff this time.

I know his binky says "Cade" but Cole likes this one better and Cade likes one of Cole's better. So much for the cute idea of having their names on them.

Hard at Work

Now if he only knew how to file our taxes...

I can't believe people trust me with their kids!

For some reason, people must think I'm pretty good with kids because I have people asking me all the time if I can keep their kiddos. That, or I'm cheap because even the parents who do know the things that happen around here keep bringing their kids back.

For example....

Yesterday I was doing my afternoon run to pick kids up from school. I successfully picked up the first two kids from their school and I was in line to pick up the next two. When you're in the parent pick-up line, they try to get the kids loaded as quickly as possible to keep the line moving. What I usually do, to help them speed up the process, is get the kids in the car and pull forward a little before I stop and let them get buckled and settled in. This has worked for the past three years.

However, after yesterday's event, I am changing my ways!!

You see, we're in a rent car right now. Our car is in the process of finally getting fixed from our non-trip to Chicago. So, the kids are not really familiar with how this car works. The two boys got in the car and I shut the automatic door in order to pull forward a little.

Here's where the excitement begins. The automatic door pops back open while I'm pulling away from my previous spot and one of the boys tumbles out of the car.

Awesome!

Everyone in the car starts screaming (they were acting like I was going 100 mph when I was really going like 2 mph). I slam on the brakes, throw the car in park, and hop out. The on duty teachers kind of look back at him and then turn back around and carry on with what they were doing!! Um, hello?? A kid just fell from a moving vehicle!!

He was fine, he was even laughing when he realized everyone else thought it was cool. However, I did not find it so humorous considering this was not one of my children that just got thrown from my car!

Luckily his parents are cool and understanding. Thank God his parents are cool and understanding.

He walked away from the whole thing with a little soreness and a scrape on his ankle.

I walked away feeling like I was going to puke.

If you ask my little exaggerator (Ty) what happened, he'll tell you I ran the kid over with my car and we're lucky I didn't kill him...

I came this close to dying...

Ok, not really. But we did have a very eventful Saturday afternoon.

For all those curious about our little neighborhood drama, here's how it went down.

Saturday afternoon I get a call from my friend, Jen, who lives on the street behind us. She told me she was about to go kick some kid's *butt* on behalf of my son. To be honest, I had to start counting my children at home in order to figure out which son she was talking about. Three of them were at home so that only left one...Ty.

Ty and his friend, Jake, were walking to the park from Jake's house when they saw these two older boys beating the crap out of this little kid. I guess Ty and Jake asked the kids to stop and the kids told them to run away and stop starring or they were next. Ty and Jake ran to Jen's house because it was closest to ask for help. They were too scared to walk back to Jake's house because they were afraid the kids were going to get them.

Well Jen called me on her way over there, broke up the fight, and when she asked the kid where he lived so she could talk to his parents, he said in his most polite teenager manner...

"Stranger Danger, I don't have to talk to you lady"

Jen drove to pick me up and together we decided to follow this punk home. When I tried to talk to him, he sweet demeanor started to wear off. He decided to tell us to "back off" and to "shut up" and he didn't have to tell us a "damn thing".

Well in that case, I will just back off...idiot, I don't think so!

I called over at Jake's house to check on the boys and Jake's mom wanted to know what happened. She had heard the boys' side of the story and so I told her what this little shit ( I apologize but there really is no nicer way to put it) was doing and saying. So, Jake's dad hopped in his car to help try to talk some sense into this kid.

We cornered him and his little buddies on the street corner and Jake's dad politely informed the kid he better start walking home so we could follow him. The punk was more than happy to do as he was told at this point. (I have got to learn to do that! The kid was not at all intimidated by Jen or myself).

I guess on the way to his house, the kid called his dad because as soon as we turned on the kid's street, a car came racing down, slamming on his brakes and barley missed hitting the car. Both dads jump out of their cars and we were sure there was going to be a fight. The punk's dad was very upset that his child was threatened and he was all too ready to make that known. Jake's dad was pretty pissed that this little fool threatened our 9 year olds. Not the greatest of combinations, I have to admit.

Anyway, Jen and I decided it was time for us to step in so Jen grabbed Jake's dad's arm while I got between them. Probably not the best of my ideas, I realized, only after I was standing face to face with this furious man. That is when I politely asked him to please not hit a girl. I wont lie, I was a little nervous he might not have really cared!

We told his parents the only reason any of this happened was because he was beating the crap out of a seven year old and when asked where he lived, he was very disrespectful. The dad didn't care about that part, that was obvious. Especially obvious when the punk ass started yelling at me to "shut up, lady" and "you don't know what the hell you're talking about". All in front of his parents and his father said nothing to him. His mother did yell at him for this and sent him home.

The men calmed down by this point and things were starting to get resolved...until the punk's dad went home and heard from his son that Jake's dad threatened him with his fist (I was there, I swore he just had his finger in his face). Either way, the dad came rushing back down the street wanting more. Once again, Jen and I jumped out of the car and put our lives on the line for them again (or stood far behind them and just prayed they weren't about to fight...)

Things were said, people were pissed, but everything got settled and we all headed home...except punk's dad who decided to drive around the neighborhood until he found out where Jake's house was so he could call the cops on his dad.

Because we all know after hearing this story, Jake's dad is definitely the one who needed the cops called on him. (I hope you picked up the sarcastic tone)

The funny part is, this all kind of made me homesick. I have two older brothers who would have handled this situation pretty much like both the dad's did, and that really made me miss them. Is that wrong?

The good news is, Ty and Jake did exactly what they were supposed to do. They ran and got the closest adult they knew and asked for help. We don't need to mention that by the end of the night, the boys (or maybe it was just Ty) were talking about how the "murders" wanted to kill them. A little exaggeration never hurt anyone...

No longer a fan of Cocoa Krispies

So this morning I was cleaning up after breakfast and when I got to Cole's seat (the most disgusting, stickiest place at the table) I decided it was time to scrape off the dry, crusty food that had been stuck to his chair a week, a few days, since that morning. (because I would never leave food stuck to his chair after he eats...who does that?)

There were a few pieces of food that were clinging to the chair for dear life and the only way to remove them was with my fingernail. Bad idea! When I scraped a Cocoa Krispie off his chair, it lodged itself completely under my finger nail. I could see it, and definitely feel it. I started feeling sick right away. It was disgusting. If you have ever had a splinter under your nail, you understand the pain I was in. Except, this was thicker, and sugary, and I kept thinking it was definitely going to get infected.

I had to lie down. My head was spinning and I felt nauseous. I actually handle pain pretty well, so that just shows how bad this hurt. I tried to dig under my nail to get it out. I was getting little pieces to break away but there was no way I could get under there far enough to get the whole thing out. After a few minutes of lying there and coming to terms with the fact I was going to lose my fingernail in just a few days (no drama queen here), I realized cereal gets soggy when wet. So, I ran my finger under some water, while pulling my nail back as far as possible, and after a few minutes, it became soggy enough for me to push out of my nail.

I learned a few lessons today. First, don't leave cereal stuck to the baby's seat for long periods of time (I don't even know the last time the kids ate Cocoa Krispies. I'm not sure Cole has even ever had Cocoa Krispies. He's a Cheerios kind of guy). Second, quickly run water under my nail if this does happen again. And Third, never buy Cocoa Krispies again...just to be on the safe side.

Oh the things I do for these little guys...

and the big ones too! Just wait till I get the post together about the neighborhood drama that involves me standing in front of a very large man asking him to please not hit a girl!

Happy 12th Birthday McKinly

I can't believe she is already 12 years old. Only one more year until she's in her teens and only four more years until she can drive! Look out Oklahoma!

I was there when she started to learn to sit up on her own. I was there when she was learning to crawl and I was even there when she ate her first roach (I'm still sorry, Katy, that I had to drive all the way to your house just so you'd come pick the dead roach off the floor because I refused to touch it. At least I snatched her up fast enough and she spit it out!)

I like knowing, like with my own kids, my friends have memories of her since she was a tiny baby. She has been around my family, friends, and myself since she was 3 month old.

McKinly is the happiest when everyone else is happy. I love that she enjoys going down to visit my family in Texas, even by herself. It makes me very happy that she is so close to them.

She is the perfect daughter, step daughter, sister, and friend anyone could ask for!

Happy 12th Birthday baby girl. You're very, very loved!

*TJ is taking her out to dinner tonight, just the two of them, and hopefully I'll get some good, recent pictures of her. She is growing up way too fast!*

Martin Luther King Jr.

Tonight at dinner, Cody told us what he learned about Martin Luther King, Jr....

"Martin Luther King is a man, not really a king because that's just his name, who let all the people go together. He has a brown head and brown hair. He helped people, too. He makes people go somewhere together cause they can't get there by themselves."

Pretty insightful for a four year old...

Manners? Who needs them?

Seriously, why would you pick the cookie up off the table? That is just an unnecessary step in enjoying the yummy goodness!

child labor...or quality time?

I have just discovered the best thing ever!

My one year old can put dishes away...in their correct place!!

I was unloading the dishwasher (which I hate doing) and Cole walked over and picked a lid up to one of the pots. He walked over and opened the correct cabinet and put it on the correct shelf. He then came back and grabbed the spatula and proceeded to walk over and place it in the correct drawer!

It's like my dream come true. I sat back and watched as he put various other, little things away and realized I might never have to unload the dishwasher again. It's not like I'm forcing him to unload the dishwasher, he's doing it on his own free will. I think of it as teaching him a very valuable lesson. What kind of a lesson would it be if I helped him? What would he really learn from that?

In fact, I think I should just sit back and supervise every time. I don't view it as child labor...no, I view it as us spending quality time together while he learns the meaning of chores. It's never too young to start helping out...right?

Don't worry, I didn't make him grab the heavy stuff. I left that for the older kids!

Now, if only I could teach them to fold the laundry correctly...

They do a great job mopping though!!!

You did not just say that!

Me: "Cody, I thought I told you to clean up in here! Why are you watching the TV and not doing what I told you to do??"

Cody: "Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't hear you. I must have been busy washing my hair."

What? Please tell me where this kid hears this stuff!

If my days aren't crazy enough...

...the night makes up for it!

On Thursday nights, after all the kids are in bed and it's finally quiet, I sit down and get to watch all my shows that have been DVRd that week.

Usually, it's my time alone.

Usually, I get to watch all my shows without getting the crap scared out of me!!!

I was in the middle of watching Grey's Anatomy when, out of nowhere, Ty shows up right behind me. I don't think I have ever, in my entire life, jumped that high. I was about to get on to him for getting out of bed when I realized he wasn't wearing anything but his underwear.

(well, not in this picture...obviously)

He never sleeps in just his underwear. In fact, he would never let anyone see him in just his underwear. When I asked what he was doing, all I got was...

"I uh, I uh, I can't find them"

"Can't find who?"

"Them"

"You mean your clothes? You can't find your clothes?"

"No, I have all my clothes in my backpack so I can take them to school"

"Ty, you don't need to take your clothes to school, you need to be wearing them...call me crazy, but that's how we do things around here"

"I have to take them to school, you said!"

"You have to wear clothes to school, but I don't think I told you that you needed to pack your pajamas, that you're supposed to be wearing right now, in your backpack and take them to school"

"oh, ok"

"would you like me to help you put your pajamas back on?"

"yeah"

"ok, let's go find your pajamas then"

"can you help me put some clothes on first?"

"sure, Ty, sure!"

I think it's safe to say, we have a little sleep walker on our hands...

I couldn't make this stuff up if I tried!

Cody and his daddy are very close. Only recently (and I mean very recently) has he begun choosing me over him at times. For the most part though, he's a huge daddy's boy. It's no secret. I learned to accept that long ago.

However, what I still have not learned to accept (and I'm pretty sure I never will) is the fact Cody and his Daddy act the same age! It is like I am raising 6 children, 4 boys full time!

If my calculations are correct, their mentality level means I am raising four boys under the age of five!

Those numbers are NOT in my favor!

I break up fights on a daily basis. Someone is touching, looking at, smelling, hitting another child at all times. You name it, I've dealt with it. I thought I had seen and heard everything.

Apparently, I was wrong!

Tonight in the car, Cody started whining. It was the aggravated whine that he usually does when he's extremely tired. I started to get on to him for acting that way when I suddenly realized what (in this case who) was making him act that way.

Cody: "Daddy won't stop touching me"

TJ: "I'm not touching you, I'm staring at you"

Cody: "Well it's weird, and you smell funny"

TJ: "I don't smell funny, you smell funny"

Cody: "Mommy, Daddy wont leave me alone"

TJ: "He's being a baby, I'm not doing anything to him, I'm not even touching him"

Cody: "You don't have to be touching me to bother me"

TJ: "You're being a little rude, don't you think?"

Cody: "You're being a little rude"

Me: "OH.MY.GOD. If the two of you don't stop, I am going to pull over and you both can walk home!!!!!!!"

TJ: "Mommy's mean!"

Cody: "yeah!"

What?? When did I become the bad guy in all of this?? Seriously, they.drive.me.nuts!!!!!

*after we got home, they both got sent to bed. If he acts like a five year old, he will be treated as a five year old!*

Crazy days of...well, everyday!

Everyday in our household is some form of crazy! At any given time, we have between 5 and 10 kids running around here.

Trust me, it's not that big of a house to be running around in.

Our friends who come over know it's pointless to ring the doorbell. It's faster, and easier, to just walk in. Half the time, we probably can't even hear the doorbell. Anyone who rings the bell is selling something or is not a good enough friend to know to just walk in. Therefore, we probably don't want to be talking to you anyway!

Yesterday, my Jehovah Witness lady (who comes at least once a month to show me something new or to just check up on me and I'm too nice of a person to tell her we're not interested. She's a nice lady who knows all of my kids' names. I can at least talk to her for 5 minutes every few months, right?) came and knocked on our door (she knows not to ring the doorbell because it's usually nap time when she comes over). The thing is, I didn't know she knocked on the door because I was trying to get six kids ready for nap time. When I finally did answer the door, she said she heard I was busy, so she just waited until things settled down. She was out there for FIFTEEN minutes!

Who does that?

My bigger question is, what did she hear??

From the outside listening in, some of the things said around here must get people laughing...or ready to call Child Protective Services , depending on how you interpret the meaning.

Because of this, I started thinking of some of the things that I say on any given, crazy day...

"Cade, it is not ok to give Cole the whole tube of toothpaste. I don't care if he wanted it, it's not healthy for him. No, his tummy will not be clean if he eats it."

"If one more person screams in this house I am going to lose my mind" Cody: "well, you better start looking for it because it sounds like you've already lost it."

"Please don't let that be poop on the floor, Please don't let that be poop on the floor!" Cade: "Nope, it's jus a bwonie." My bigger problem is how he figured that out, did he taste it? What if it had been poop...I don't want to know!

"Cade, we don't go poop in our underwear, we go poop on the potty." Cade: "but I already go poop on da potty." Me: "no, you went poop in your underwear." Cade: "not last night" Me: "you are supposed to go poop on the potty every time." Cade: "but I already did" Me: "no, you went poop in your underwear." Cade: "not last night." ...and it went on and on and on!

Cody: "Mommy, mommy, I know who the first president of the United States was." Me: "who?" Cody: "George Washington." Me: "Great job, Cody. Do you know who the 16th president was?" Cody: "yep" Me: "Who?" Cody: "ABERSTEIN LINCOLN!"

Me: "I am missing the pig's butt, does anyone know where the pig's butt is?" Cody: "do we get a dollar if we find the pig's butt?" Me: "sure, whatever, just find the butt please" Cody: "in that case, here it is"...little schemer!! (and for those confused, it's the leapfrog refrigerator animals I was looking for).

These are just from the last couple of days! Don't you worry, there will be plenty more!

My little princess

My conversation with Cade today...

Me: "Cade, just because you're pretending to be a knight, doesn't mean the dog wants to pretend to be a horse, please get down."

Cade: "I not a knight anymore den. If daddy is a prince does dat mean I a princess?"

Me: "no, that would still make you a prince"

Cade: "no, I da boy princess"

Me: "a.k.a. a prince"

Cade: "no, I want to be a boy princess"

Me: "there is no such thing as a boy princess, it's called a prince"

Cade: "I pretending there is a boy princess"

Me: "fine, but the dog is a dog, not a horse"

Cade: "fine".

Potty Training

When we didn't end up going to Chicago for Christmas because of the thick ice caked on the interstate and the 14" of snow we had in our yard, I decided my break couldn't get anymore chaotic so I decided to give potty training a try.

Not for me...for Cade!

He has always had an issue with using the toilet because of his GI problems. Every time we sat him on the "potty" before it was because we had just given him medicine to help him go to the bathroom. He always associated the "potty" with pain.

Poor little guy, he was terrified of the thing!

We started on the Tuesday after Christmas and by Thursday, we were out of the house running errands in "big boy underwear". He has done fantastic. Once he understood what he was supposed to do, there have not been any problems.

Of course we still have an accident from time to time, but for the most part, we can say he's potty trained. He only wears a diaper at nap time and bed time and even then, he wakes up dry...for the most part. He will be three in February and I knew he was ready, he just had to get over his fear of the bathroom!!

Here he is, playing video games while he waits...

oh, and Cole has even been trying to go potty. Every time he walks in the bathroom he says "potty" and sits on the little one. He even knows to "push it down" so pee doesn't go everywhere! The joys of boys...

Bragging Rights

As a mother, I am allowed to brag. It's my job. If you don't brag about your own kids, then who will? Right?

So, here it goes...

Cody is my sweet, little man. He never wants to hurt any one's feelings. He tells me I am gorgeous at least three times a day (I do not pay, bribe or threaten him...he started this on his own without any coaxing from me). He wants to do his best and loves to be praised when he has done well. He is a typical four year old.

He is also very smart. He has taught himself to read with very little help from me. Of course I read to him every night but he really has learned to read on his own. He can read very well for his age.

He has also taught himself how to do math. It all started in the car one day when he told me what 6+6 was. I decided to ask him some other problems and he figured out the answer to them all. When we were in Texas for Thanksgiving, we figured out he could add three or more numbers together. He was doing it all in his head and when we asked him how he was doing it without his fingers, he would just say "the little guy in my brain is helping me". (a little freaky, yes!).

So last night I decided to try actually writing the problems down and seeing if he could figure them out. Even big numbers. To our surprise, he got all the answers correct! The kid is a sponge, he just absorbs anything and everything! I know there are a lot of kids who can do this, but I am very proud of my little man!!

And of course, I took a picture of his work!!

He was even a little offended when he thought some of the problems were "too easy"!

Sledding

Since we experienced a "blizzard" over Christmas break, the kids discovered that the hill by our house was perfect for sledding.

Our hill wasn't even fully covered in snow by the time we found it, but it worked. We made do with what we had...

McKinly and Cade

Cody

Cade

Cade being brave and trying it on his own

He preferred going down with Cody or McKinly