While Mommy is sick, the kids will play...

On Friday I wasn't feeling well. I was all hopped up on cold medicine and Sudafed. Not a good combination for me. So I was laying on the couch, in and out of consciousness, when I hear whoosh, crash, some more whoosh and crash and then "Mess!"

Not a good thing to hear.

I go into the kitchen and this is I find.


Dominic helping himself to the same cereal that if given at breakfast he would throw on the floor.


Ashton looking all innocent, likely story kiddo.

Just in case you were wondering, no I don't normally live with a bunch of stuff strewn about my kitchen floor. Dominic not only knocked everything off of the counter, he climbed up and started throwing things off of the top of the refrigerator. He threw food, paper towels, napkins and oh yeah, knives. Yep, my almost two year old was throwing freaking KNIVES!

We put the knife block on top of the refrigerator so my little climber can't get to them. I guess we will have to buy a safe to store them in before he starts using his brother for target practice. The kid is a monster!

Do you ever have days where you just feel like crying? This was one of those times for me. I was so sick it was almost impossible to pick up the knives. I just wanted to cry. But then I realized that would be too much energy. So instead I grabbed the camera, what can I say - I was hopped up on drugs, snapped a couple of pictures and then sat on the kitchen floor while Ashton snapped some of his own pics while declaring that there is such a big mess he can't walk with so much stuff in his way. Thanks kiddo, I didn't realize.

To top things off, while I was suffering in great misery, Paul was having a grand ole time not working. He went out for Korean BBQ for lunch and then headed over to Nine Irish Brothers for a beer with the rest of his lab. Then they went back to the actual lab and continued to party it up. Thanks hon, I love you too.

Later that night Paul walked in the door with a pizza in hand and told me to go take a hot bath and go to bed. He didn't have to tell me twice. A couple of hours later I woke up to the sound of the vacuum running. What a wonderful sound it was. It took Paul more than two hours to put the house back to normal. It just shows you what damage two little ones can inflict when they realize that short of a fire or knife throwing, mommy isn't getting off of the couch!

Battle of the Best Weezer Song

My boys have taken after my own heart. They both love music. Not kid music, but my music. They both always have. It's so weird, but they both have the same two favorite bands. They both love Weezer and Green Day. Which is strange because they are not necessarily my two favorite bands or the ones I play the most.

I try not to let them listen to too much Green Day, since most of it is completely inappropriate for their young ears, but they love it. If a Green Day song happens to come on the radio, Dom cranks up the radio all the way and then looks at me like what mom, what'd you expect me to do?

The first songs that each of the boys danced to and we were able to tell that the loved were Weezer songs. When Ashton was just a baby, Beverly Hills was a popular song. Everywhere we went it was playing and he would just shake his little shoulders and bounce. It was sooooo cute.

Weezer will always hold a special place in my heart. They were the first cd I ever purchased. They were the first concert I went to-for my twelfth birthday. Rivers Cuomo (the lead singer) was my first crush. I was soooo not a New Kids on the Block kind of girl. It makes a mom proud to have her boys following in her steps.

Today, the boys have been having a down and out fight over their favorite Weezer song. Dominic loves Troublemaker. Big surprise there. Like the title doesn't describe every aspect of his being. Anytime the song comes on, he MUST dance. If I don't dance with him, he screams like someone is stabbing him with a sharp knife, repeatedly. He even had his arms up in the air, waving to the beat. It is hilarious.

Ashton, however, lays claim to Pork and Beans. I know the reason why isn't so much the song as the video. It is filled with many of the youtube phenoms from the past year. Now I don't think the kid youtubes, but you never know what he's up to when he says he is on the Hotwheels website. His favorite part is any scene with diet Coke and Mentos. He studies it like he is devising a plan of his own. I am so glad he can't make it to the store on his own yet!

So for now, the battle wages on and I still listen to Weezer. I still buy cds from both bands. Not that it makes me feel old or anything. Especially when I hear things like I never even heard that song until Rock Band or I found this cd of my dad's and it's actually cool.

Halloween Going Ons

Halloween has been a month long holiday in our house. It started with us picking out pumpkins. Then the boys made a gingerbread haunted house.

I'm suprised that is lasted as long as it did. It took the boys a whole week before they figured out they could take candy off of it to eat.

Then we had Halloween parties, carving pumpkins, and trick or treating. The kids have so much candy they aren't even that interested in it. Infact, on Halloween night we went trick or treating with the Madsens. When we were finished, I told the boys they could each have one piece of candy and then we were heading home. Ashton could have cared less about the candy. This is all he cared about:

Throwing balloons, crazy kid!

Here are snaps of the happy skeleton and Batman.

Ashton picked out his own costume and loved it!

Dom didn't even know he was in a costume!

The kiddos had lots of fun and I'm sure they can't wait until next year.

Paul is Officially a Phd Candidate

We have been really busy the past month. Paul was preparing for his prelim and the kids have been the same crazy monsters as usual. I am happy to announce that Paul passed! We are so proud of him. He is now officially a Phd candidate - whatever that means. I just hope we are outta here in another 2 1/2 years!

Even though it's been crazy around here, we have still managed to get a bit of family time. Fall back home was always beautiful, and we were missing it, so we took the kids to Celery Bog yet once again. It is the closest thing we have to a Metroparks around here.

Ashton loved picking up all the leaves. He was very proud he mangaed to keep the same one the entire time we were there.

Dominic had a ball plowing through the deepest recesses of leaves. No fear. That kid has no fear. It doesn't matter if he was trying to plow through a pile as tall as him. No fear.

The boys were trying to count frogs, even though I kept telling them there weren't any out. They just didn't believe me. I'm only Mommy, what would I know.

Pumpkin Love

This past weekend Paul's parents came to visit. Even though it was still pretty early in the month, we decided to go pumpkin picking. The kids had a blast. Ashton loved bouncing with the other kids.



Because we were there right before closing, it was pretty much cleared out and Dominic was able to bounce himself.



He loved it. Ashton was begging for more kids to join in, but there weren't any left. He just wanted to lay down and have the big kids bounce him around. He finds that hysterical.

Both of the boys loved the hayride. They loved picking their own pumkins even more. Dominic kept trying to pick up the pumpkins that were bigger than him. Ashton was on the hunt for a small pumpkin that he could carry. That was not an easy task. They were all huge!


Nothing slowed this kid down. He ran from one big pumpkin to the next.


Ashton finally settled on the perfect pumpkin for himself.

The kiddos loved the corn maze. Actually, Dom just loved running around screaming at the top of his lungs.

The boys also went on the pony ride, but neither of them seemed that interested. Ashton would not stop talking about his pumpkin the whole ride home. He wanted to take it to bed with him. He has major pumpkin love pumping through his veins.

Labor Day

I know this is really late, but I thought I'd let the family see what we were up to for Labor Day. And since I cannot snap a decent picture lately, I ripped some of these pics off of others' blogs. Thanks Gigi and Liz!

For the week of Labor Day, the Webers came to visit! Yay! We love you guys. I wish we had had more time to hang out. We miss you! You better come back next year, I am holding you to it! I didn't get a lot of pics. I don't know why, but here is a cute one of Emily and Ashton.


Aren't they cuties!

They just love each other so much. Ashton has asked to see Emily like a zillion times since they left. Ashton just discovered web cams, I'm just waiting for him to ask to talk to her on the computer!

For Labor Day, we got together with the Webers, Madsens, Reams, and Holdaways for a picnic at the park. It was lots of fun. The kids had a ball and wore themselves out.

The Souths vs. The Madsens - Dominic was just a little confused. He thought the object of the game was to catch the birdie - not hit it.

Maren was busy pushing four kiddos at once.

All the women and some of the kiddos.

We had fun. We'll have to do it again. I love having get togethers where nobody has a mess left to clean up!

My Little Bros

I'm guilty. I haven't been blogging. Again. I know. I know. In my defense, we haven't been up to too much that is interesting. At least nothing that I have been able to catch on camera. Infact, I finally uploaded the pics off my camera today, and there were picks from our last trip to the zoo. I don't even remember when that was, maybe more that a month ago? If there was an award out there for moms who love thier kiddos but cannot seem to grasp the concept of using a camera, I would be a total shoe in. Hey, I admit my flaws. It runs in my family. None of us take pictures. Not a one.

I am making a new vow. I vow to TRY to take more pics of my cute kiddos. I vow to TRY to blog more frequently. I'll settle for blogging after only hints that I haven't been up to par from five people instead of a zillion! Hey, I'm a realist.

Since I don't have any good new pics, I thought I'd post some of my little bros from Labor Day weekend. I have two little (yeah, I know I shouldn't call 'em little - but they will always be little to me!) brothers that I don't get to see often enough. We all live just far enough apart that it's just not possible to visit regularly.

I am bummed because we were not able to make it back to Cleveland for Labor Day weekend for the air show. My little bro Paul still lives in the area, and my other bro John was in town for the air show. John is a member of the Blue Angels Demo team. I for the life of me cannot remember his position or what the letters on his patches mean, but I do know he is a plane mechanic.


Here's John looking all Top Gunish


Another shot of my little bro in his uniform. I guess you aren't allowed to talk to them while they are wearing their sunglasses. Don't ask me, 'cause I don't know.


Here is my littlest bro Paul with his son Payton. Notice the Cavs jersey. Oh yeah, we are Browns, Indians, and Cavs fans all the way. My bros were not happy Paul chose to attend Purdue, 'cause Ohio State has a better football team! You know, the important way to choose your graduate school.

My whole family got to go down and meet the crew and pilots and check out the planes. My boys would LOVE LOVE LOVE it.

Next year I am hoping to at least hit the air show in Indy. I sooooo want to see my bro in action. I swear, I just can't picture him all serious at work.

You Might Be A Redneck

Everyone knows Jeff Foxworthy and his You Might Be A Redneck jokes. And if you haven't heard of them, then I really don't know what planet you live on. Anyways, as I was looking out my backdoor this morning, while my boys and two dogs we running around barking, yelling, and screaming like banshees (and trust me, you couldn't guess which was doing what) I realized my family totally belongs in the redneck category. Yep, I admit it.

For example, you might be a redneck if you let you kids play outside in their pajama tops and underwear (or diaper).



Yep, that's me. Infact during the summer, I don't get my kiddos dressed until we go somewhere or it's the afternoon.

You might be a redneck if you let your kids run around in dirty, filthy, stained clothes that belong in the garbage.


Doesn't he make such cute faces?

Yep, that's me again. Infact, that is why I don't get my kiddos dressed in the morning. They stain all of their clothes. This shirt used to be white, long long ago. All of their yucky clothes become pjs and then I let them play in the back in their pjs.

You might be a redneck if it looks like a crayola factory exploded in your back yard.



You got it, that's us again. This is just a small example of what my backyard looks like. We have colored sand EVERYWHERE! On the back of the house, the side of the garage, and spread all over the lawn. Yep, my kiddos like to fling sand, what can I do.

You might be a redneck if your backyard is overgrown, filled with toys, and permanently has a hose running through the middle of the yard. Oh yeah, and two crazy boys and two crazy dogs running around like maniacs at eight something in the morning.


There's my Domykins in his "pjs" again.

Okay, this picture doesn't do my yard justice. This is a picture of a cleaned up back yard. Yep, I said it - cleaned up backyard. There are toys and shovels and more toys everywhere. Not to mention weeds. Those suckers just keep on coming back. I was picking up the toys several times a day, then once a day, now just when it rains and when Paul cuts the grass. They just go right back out after I've cleaned it up. So I gave up. It would be so much better if we had a privacy fence!

You might be a redneck if you have giant holes in your backyard.



Yep, that's us again. This is just one of many holes in our yard. Monty loves to dig. He started it. Then Ashton thought it would be great to get in on all the fun. Now both of the boys dig in the dirt. Then move it to the sandbox (which becomes a mixture of colored sand, water, and mud). Then they put water in the hole and make mud. Then they play in it. Hence only letting the boys play in their dirty, stained, belonging in the garbage "pjs."

Then they bring it all in the house. But I am not even going there. That's for another day. I have given up on the backyard. They just have so much fun that I let them go to town. I have consigned myself to stripping them at the door, wiping them down, and half of the time directing them to the tub. Then I go around wiping up mud and dirt prints, soaking clothes that will never come clean, and vacuuming up dirt and sand from the strangest places in my house. So, I might be a redneck, but I am happy with it! I wonder if all boys are like mine?

Welcome Home Daisy

Along with just about everyone else in Tippecanoe County, we went to the fair. Fun was had by all. Dominic manhandled any animal he could get his grubby little hands on.



We went on Family Night, so everyone was able to go on rides. We all went on the giant slide a few times. Dominic loved it. Ashton went on the roller coaster a couple of times. We had to force him to walk away from it.


You can only see Paul, but Ashton was next to him screaming!

Then we did something that I am sure most people didn't do at the fair. We adopted a dog! I knew Paul was up to something. He was on the look out for the Humane Society. When we were walking to the fair, dogs went by with bandanas that said "Adopt Me." That was all it took. Now Daisy has joined our family.



She is a small dog. Quite a bit smaller than Monty. We couldn't bring her home until today because she wasn't scheduled to be spayed until yesterday. When I picked her up, the vet told me she needs to take it easy for a couple of days. Yeah right, a dog in a new home with 2 kiddos and another dog. I don't see any easy going any time soon. She and Monty are already best pals. Well at least in Daisy's eyes. Monty just wants to sleep under the table, but Daisy keeps joining him and wanting to play.

We went to see her twice over the weekend. It was so sad seeing the dogs who obviously had been mistreated. There was this huge dog in the kennel next to Daisy, and when it saw Paul, it ran to the back of the kennel and tried to hide from him. Other dogs were shaking and whining. Daisy had been abandoned in a house. So I am sure we are going to have issues to deal with. I had a feeling she wouldn't be house broken, and she's not. But she looks so happy now.

We were happy that the place we adopted her through works with Petfinder.com. They do a lot of good work. So if there are any animal lovers out there, who don't want to or aren't able to donate time, money, or a home to animals in need please click every day here. We have it saved to our favorites and at least once a day click on each tab across the top for hunger, breast cancer, rainforest, animal rescue (which also works with Petfinder.com), and a couple other things. It takes 10 seconds max to help even the tiniest of bits.

Saucy

Paul is soooooooo proud. I am proud of him. He doesn't think his mom actually believes it. Paul made the sauce! And it turned out great! Yep, that's right. Paul doesn't have to rely on his mom coming out and making the sauce and us freezing enough to last until she comes out again. We have a freezer full, all thanks to Paul.

Until recently, Paul's mom was the only one in the entire family who could make the sauce (at least where it turned out right). Paul decided to give it a go, it's been quite a few years since he has tried. He added all the right ingredients: pork ribs, italian sausage, and ONLY 52 meatballs. He sounded said when the count was 52. But I explained that we are only a family of 4, we don't need a million meatballs.

He called his mom to tell her to move outta the way, there is a new sauce maker in town. He is not so sure she believed him on how good it tasted.


It was excellent!

I have to admit I was leary myself, but he did a fabulous job.

Camping

Friday night Paul took BOTH the boys camping with Joe and Jase Holdaway. I told Paul he was a brave soul, what with taking Dominic and all. They had fun. At first. Here are some happy pictures.



The boys played at the playground, ate dinner, roasted marshmallows, and watched tv. Yep, they watched tv. Because how would camping be complete without getting to watch a movie too?
Then the fun started to end. The boys decided to check out the river.


Here is the river.


Here is Dominic when Paul dragged him away from the river. The water was soooooo calling his name!

Then things started to get worse. Bedtime came. And went. And at 3:30 a.m. Paul threw in the towel and brought Dominic home. The poor kiddo had been crying on and off all night! It scared me half to death waking up to someone in my bedroom with no lights on! Dominic grabbed on to me like he hadn't seen me in years and sobbed some more. After a few minutes of consoling him, to bed he went. Paul returned to the campsite.

Dom woke up cranky the next morning. Lucky me! At the campground, Jase woke up Paul and Ashton around 7 a.m. and the boys got back to having some fun. They cooked breakfast and went hiking in the woods.


I just love this picture of Jase and Ashton. Aren't they cuties!

All in all a good time was had by all. Just not all at the same time. They want to go again this year, just not with Dominic!

Blueberries

I fianally have a working computer! It had a miraculous full recovery. I am sitting here, crossing my fingers as I type hoping this is a permanent fix.

I know I haven't posted in a long time. It was the computer, I swear. And maybe a bit of my laziness. And we have been busy too.

I took Dominic blueberry picking while Paul took Ashton to his first dentist appointment. It was crazy busy when we got there. That's fine, I can deal with busy. I got out of the van and a gust of wind blew out a contact. That never happens. Ever. Okay, so I can deal with only seeing out of one eye on a sunny day.

Dom and I got to picking. He prefers the green blueberries. Only green. The bucket must be filled with green ones only. If mommy has the audacity to put blue ones in, then they must get thrown out. Fine, I can deal with an 18 mo. old who thinks green blueberries are the way to go.

We were going well for about a half hour. Then Dominic started to get needy. I had to pick a few berries, rub Dom's back, give him a hug, and then resume the cycle. That lasted about 15 minutes before I said I give up. I can handle busy, walking far with a 30 lb. kid, drinks and berries, squiting and seeing 8 blueberries where there was only one, a know it all kiddo - but a draw the line at a crying, needy little monster. We left with only six pounds picked. Yikes. But he was done for.

Paul went back that night with Ashton and they had a ball. They picked more and Paul insisted I make a blueberry pie. Now here's the thing. I don't bake. I can't. I have given up. If it doesn't come from a box, count me out.

But it actually came out well. And, it only took me two attempts to make pie crust! Something I have never been able to do before. Yeah, I know it is easy. At least that is what everyone tells me. But I have never had a successful crust. Yay, I am so proud.


I over cooked it a little, but I don't care. It was still good!


This is the face Dom made when he took a bite.

Dom was surprised to learn that blueberries are not bananas. You know, the only fruit or vegetable that he will eat. So he decided to eat the crust only. And if any blueberry accidently got in his mouth, he would spit it all over himself. Yep, that's my boy. Ashton, however, loved eating a pie from the blueberries he picked. He was so proud.


He is just way too happy here!

Misty's 27th Birthday

Last week I turned 27, so Paul says that I am an old lady now. Which he proceeded to teach Ashton to say. Which he now does say. Which he has now generalized to the entire female adult population. So if Ashton happens to tell you that you are an old lady, take it up with Paul.

Ashton gave me a "little computer" (a digital picture key chain) and a bag of chocolate. Dominic gave me a Mickey Mouse card that sings - which he promptly ripped from my hands and has yet to give back. Paul told me to go buy myself whatever I wanted - yeah I know, he's a real creative thinker. Wink wink. My mom gave me a book which Ashton tried to return to the library today.

Paul to me to dinner at Mountain Jacks. Now we never go out. We never have a babysitter. I don't even know how to find a babysitter. So we usually go out when we have relatives in town to watch the boys. This sitter thing was new to Ashton. Paul arranged the sitter, a grad student from his department. Stephanie showed up and Ashton was immediately smitten. He turned to us, pointed at Paul and then me saying, "You and you leave. You (Stephanie) stay here build Geo-Trax," while practically shoving us out the door. I love you too sweetheart! I thought I still had a few years of being the most important person in his life, I guess I was wrong! He found his new love. He has asked for her several times since.

The next day, the boys made me a cake and decorated it. Wonder why I received a cake the day after my birthday? I sure did. Someone ask Paul. He claimed he planned it that way. I wonder...



Dominic helped by testing the cake before everyone else. Paul was digging out the sprinkles for Ashton while Dominic was wielding a spoon. He helped himself to a bite and must have decided it was good for everyone else to share. Ashton covered up Dom's hole with sprinkles and a giant glob of red frosting. They were so proud. So was I. Who wouldn't want a vanilla cake with strawberry frosting, red frosting, and just a touch of red and green sprinkles? Something must be wrong with you if you don't.

I had a great birthday. Birthday's just get better and better now with the kiddos pitching in to help. Ashton was so excited to give me my presents and present me with my cake. Not to mention saying Happy Birthday and Happy Mothers day several times a day since the big event.
His happiness and excitement not only made my day, but my week. I love my little goofballs.

Monty's Water Fun

My wonderful, wonderful hubby insists that I share a small tidbit of what life is like with Monty. Monty is the most high strung dog there ever was. If he is in the front yard playing and sees something that makes him wants to bark, he has to go in the backyard (behind any fence) to bark.

He's a pretty good dog. He won't run off. He behaves most of the time (except we can not get him to stop biting at the tv!). One time we were headed back to Ohio, and accidently left Monty behind. I know, it sounds horrible. We are the worst pet owner ever! But it wasn't entirely our fault. He is scared of long car rides, and completely understands that when we say we are going to Grammie's house, it will be a LONG car ride. The goofy dog stands for the entire seven hour trip. Anyways, we put him in the van twice! He jumped out the first time and we didn't see that he jumped out the second time.

Yep, we were driving along and all was good. We stopped to fill up before we were on the road and I had a Home Alone moment and asked "Where's Monty?" We immediately turned around and found him sitting, anxiously wagging his tail at our front door. Outside our front door! Any other dog would have run off to play but not Monty.

Another one of Monty's idiosyncrasies is that he loves water. Especially hoses and sprinklers. He likes waves too, but we are a little far from some out here. We set up the sprinkler just for him. He will play in it all day if we let him.

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

The problem is not him playing in the water, it is what follows. I should have learned my lesson by now, but I had an airhead moment. After Monty was playing in the water, we all went in to eat dinner. He started dancing around, and I thought he just wanted some of our food. Then he ran into the kitchen and peed all over the floor. I guess it wasn't food he wanted! I KNOW this can happen, and yet it didn't dawn on me that the dog was asking to go out (it's way too easy to go up to a door and scratch or bark at it - it is much more fun to act goofy and stare at people expecting them to read my doggie mind). We haven't had that happen in years. Poor Monty was so upset by it. He thought he was in trouble and all Paul and I could do was laugh. The dog was so confused by us doubled over laughing when he did something he knew was wrong.

Lesson relearned. Whenever Monty plays with water, he must stay outside for a good two hours.

My Very Own Mud Bugs

I just love this picture. Here are a few of the reasons:

1. They are both in the same picture. A small feat for two young ones. You try rounding up my little monsters - I mean little guys.
2. They are both smiling in the same picture at the same time! This is a major accomplishment. One that may never occur again. Ashton always makes this strange face, kind of like he is in excruciating pain whenever I try to take his picture.
3. It was a candid shot. We would never be able to get them to cooperate if we tried.
4. And lastly, my favorite reason. It is COMPLETELY misleading. Looking at the boys one might think they got a little dirty. Played in the mud a little bit. No big deal. WRONG! The second we put the camera away, they decided to get their mud on. They were both covered from head to toe, inside of ear to belly button. The tub had to be drained and refilled while they were getting cleaned up - and it still looked like a mud pit when they got out. It took me hours to get the dirt out of their clothes and every random place mud landed in my house, and I couldn't get it all. But that is a perfect example of my kiddos. They love to be messy and dirty and full of new and exciting ideas on how to get messy and dirty. Those are my boys. I love 'em. I wouldn't have them any other way. Besides, if my boys didn't look like some version of that multiple times a day, what would I do with myself? I would have way too much free time on my hands!

Headland's Beach

On Memorial Day weekend, we went back home to Ohio. The boys got to play with their cousins and Grammie. More importantly, Paul and I got some time to ourselves. We spent TWO whole evenings without the boys! Yay! It may not seem like alot to some of you, but it was HUGE for us!

Dominic got to go to the beach for the first time. I love the beach, and really miss it here in Indiana. Ashton loves to go too. He thinks it is just "big water and big sand." We used to live within walking distance, but alas, now we live hours away! The water was still only in the 50's and it was extremely windy, but the boys had a blast.


Dominic decided to get wet in the freezing water while fully clothed.


The boys built sand castles and flung sand all over Paul and me. Ashton was wearing his Indians shirt because we were back in Cleveland Indians territory.

Here is a clip of Paul trying to teach Ashton how to make all of the seagulls fly away, but Ashton was a little too timid. They only sent some of the birds on their way.

I Haven't Dropped Off the Face of the Earth...I Swear!

I haven't blogged in what seems like forever. We have just been really, really busy. But life is now back to normal and I have a lot to catch up on. I have a bunch of pics of the boys with Paul during the week that I was out of commision. It was really cute (not to mention extremely funny) watching Paul take care of the boys by himself for an entire week!

They all played outside a lot. Paul tried to teach Ashton how to drive his powerwheels. The problem is, Ashton is too content being a passenger, he really doesn't care to drive. But Dom is too little to drive, so Ashton has to. He is finally starting to get the hang of it. He likes to drive to the park - which is right next door! I guess it feels like a big trip for him.


As you can see, Ashton thinks you only drive with your hands. Fancy footwork is just not in the cards for him!

Then the boys thought they would help daddy make dinner. Guess how it turned out?


I like how Ashton is concened with the mess of dumping over a little bit of the oatmeal Dom was cleaning up, but the rest that was all over the floor is for fun!

Because Paul was home with the kiddos so much, he thought it would be fun to get together with another dad at home with the kiddos. So they hung out with the Holdaways quite a bit. They took the boys to Chuck E. Cheese one day, and then decided to go to Prophetstown. All the kiddos had a blast. Ashton was scared of the chickens, but was chasing the sheep. And Paul had the pleasure of having a cow lick him. Don't ask - I wasn't there!



Paul came home with these cute pics of him with each of the boys. I think Dom looks more like Paul, but I swear it changes everyday.


Ashton and Daddy


Dominic and Daddy

Mommy Finally Loses Her Wisdom Teeth

On Friday morning I had the absolute joy of getting knocked out and having three impacted wisdom teeth removed. Oh the joy! Paul stayed home most of the weekend, going into the lab at night. On Friday night, my poor husband just got to the lab, and I called him home because I got sick and couldn't get up. After he came home to help me he had to go back, and didn't get home until 2:30 a.m. He had a repeat on Saturday night. Hopefully he won't be there that late tonight. He has been really great taking care of me and the kids. During my moments of cohesiveness (which I haven't had many, for I have been extremely drugged up - as I am now) my family has tried to cheer me up.


My mom sent me these Feel Better Soon flowers. Ashton loves them. When they were delivered, he couldn't stop screaming "Mommies flowers are beeeeaaaauuuutiful!"


Ashton painted me this magnificent picture to make me feel better. That is what we do in our house. When someone doesn't feel good and we want to make them feel better, Ashton paints them a picture. And it works. You always feel better when you recieve a piece of Ashton's artwork!

Thanks to all my family for being so kind and helpful. And thanks to my neighbor who is watching the boys for me tomorrow because for some reason it hurts worse the third and fourth day - go figure!