Social Icons

What's Up Wednesday

Holy smokes, it's the end of March already?!?!!!??!  Dang, this month FLEW!!!  It was only a month ago that I was panicking about taking 5 seven year old's to the bowling alley, now I can barely remember it!



What we're eating this week...
NOT spaghetti squash!  A sweet friend shared her recipe for spaghetti squash and I had it on my grocery list yesterday.  I looked high and low at the store but they didn't have any there.  I guess I'll have to try the other store next time I'm in town.

What I'm loving...
Bows, bows and more bows!!!  Tenley has more bows than any 4 month old has a right to have but I am getting bored with them so I ordered her some more.  Look at me stepping outside of my pink box and getting her a green one!  That thin, pink one is a leather bow, so cute and sweet and simple!  I can't wait for her to wear them!

What we've been up to...
Soccer practice, preparing for Easter, celebrating birthday's...

What I'm dreading...
Sitting at the boys' soccer games this Saturday morning.  It's supposed to be a chilly 32 degrees that morning and I'm pretty sure by the time their games start it's not going to be much warmer than 40.  I don't want to take Tenley out in that cold so I suppose there's a chance I'll be missing the games, which breaks my heart.  I'm dreading making that decision.

What I'm excited about...
We got a membership to our local golf course this year and I'm excited that Andy and the boys get to golf whenever they want!  Brennan is beyond excited about it, he keeps telling us when he plans to go golfing.  Just the other day he told us he was golfing Sunday.  It finally dawned on me: he thought him and Aiden could go out golfing on their own, without me or Andy there.  Ha ha, silly boy!  I'm glad he is so excited about it.  I told Andy when Brennan is a famous PGA Tour golfer we'll get to tell an interviewer how excited Brennan was the first year we got a membership to our local golf course.  :)  His plans are to play on the golf team for Iowa in college.  Dream big, Buddy!  They broke in their season on Monday, played 4 holes before it was time to head home for supper.  It's so great they can go play 3 or 4 holes after Andy gets home from work, before supper.  Or, during the summer, they can go play a few holes after supper before the sun goes down.  It's going to be fun for all of them!



What I'm watching/reading...
Watching: 'Deadliest Catch'.  The new season just started last night so we'll be watching that for the next couple of months. Also, the new show on ABC called 'The Catch'.  OMG, the pilot last week was SO good!  I'm totally digging the 70's vibe they gave the main character, from her hair to her makeup to some of her clothing - love!!!
Reading: I have downloaded a ton of books to my Kindle over the last couple of months and now I just need to find time to read them!  Tons of Elin Hilderbrand, love her!  A couple of Nicholas Sparks - hand me the tissues!  And then some odds and ends, freebies from Book Bub.  I have a huge list of books to read on Goodreads - look me up on there to check out my book shelf!

What I'm listening to...
The 'click click click' of the baby swing.  I think I might have said that last month, too!  Miss Tenley is napping MUCH better in her crib these days but there are still times I put her in the swing for a nap or just to chill.  'Click click click'  :)  I am also listening to a lawn mower somewhere in the neighborhood.  It is a tad early to be mowing here in Iowa, the grass has barely had time to grow, but if that's how you make your money you get started as soon as possible.  I love the sound of a mower, except during nap time, which is when our neighbor's yard outside the bedrooms always seems to get mowed, ha ha!

What I'm wearing...
Ha!  This question makes me laugh this month because I feel like I have a closet full of nothing and never have anything fun/cute/exciting to wear.  My super awesome friend, Des, keeps insisting I try Stitch Fix but I'm reluctant because I'm not the type to spend very much money on clothes.  The thought of spending $75 on jeans gives me heart palpitations!  So, what I'm wearing?  Nothing noteworthy.  Womp womp wooommmmppp.

What I'm doing this weekend...
The boys have their first soccer games Saturday morning.  We are hoping to lay and grout the tile in the basement bathroom.  Sunday afternoon we are having cake and ice cream to celebrate my mom's big birthday.

What I'm looking forward to next month...
My mom's 60th birthday winery tour day!  My mom, sister, grandma, some aunts and a couple cousins are going on a day long tour of a few wineries in SE Iowa to celebrate Mom's big, special day!  We're also going to hit up a really cool antique store, I'm super excited about that!  You know I'll blog all about it, stay tuned in April... :)

What else is new...
At the beginning of the month Tate started going to my sister's daycare 1 day a week for 2 hours.  He plays with the kiddos and has a ton of fun.  They go outside, play with puzzles, build train tracks, cart cows around in trucks, etc, etc, etc.  I believe in just the 8 hours he was there this month his social skills have already improved a great deal.  I was worried that he didn't have kids to play with so this has taken care of that worry completely.  Plus he loves his time with Auntie!

Bonus question: What's your favorite Spring cleaning tip?
In a large, heavy duty spray bottle, pour in 1C warm vinegar and 1C blue Dawn dish soap. Swirl it around a little to mix but don't shake or you'll have a sudsy mess. Spray it all over your shower and let it soak for at least 2 hours.  Then, just rinse it off!  I actually use a scrubber and scrub the shower a little but really no scrubbing needed - it soaks off all the soap scum and leaves your shower shiny and clean!  *Warning* It stinks! It's a really strong odor and you'll want to run your exhaust fan while it's soaking and for a bit after you rinse it all off, but it's totally worth it when you have a super clean shower with little effort!

Happy Wednesday!  Cheers to the last 2 days of March - I'm so ready for April!

Easter Weekend Rewind

I love how refreshed I always feel at Easter time!  Things are greening up,  temps are getting warmer, it's time to bring out your Spring and Summer clothes, which are usually brighter colors... This year, however, Easter was pretty darn early, things aren't greening up fast enough for me and Easter Sunday was COLD!  Add to that it was a gray, cloudy day and I just didn't feel that usual refreshed feeling.  Oh!  And it started off with rain ... you know what they say: If it rains on Easter you can expect the next 7 Sundays of rain.  Boo!

Our Easter celebration started Saturday evening with Andy's family gathering.  We hosted this year and decided to go a little bit off the norm and have a taco bar for supper.  Everyone was into it and enjoyed not having that big meal, which we were all having the next day with our other family's.

Before supper we had the egg hunt.  There was a chance of rain and we knew if we waited until after supper we'd be fighting the sun going down and darkness creeping in.  Andy's brother has 2 girls, ages 12 and 15, so they have outgrown the egg hunt, which just leaves my 4 (wow, still not used to that big number, ha ha!).  Tenley slept in her swing through the whole thing (next year, Lou!) but the 3 boys had fun searching the yard for the bright colored eggs.


Andy's brother hides 2 giant eggs every year that are full of goodies and money.  Aiden found the silver egg that was stuffed with candy and a $5 bill.  He also set 2 boxes of candy next to it.  Brennan needed a few hints but finally found the gold egg.  His had the candy and a $10 bill in it!  He was pretty darn excited!  Tate had a great time spotting as many eggs on the ground as possible.



While I finished up supper they opened all of their eggs and looked over their loot.  Aiden was worried his cousin's would take all of his because I told them to grab as much candy as they wanted so he hid his sack of candy from everyone.  :)  Little does he know I used that sack of candy for Sunday's candy hunt!

Sunday morning we woke up and found that the Easter bunny had visited!  Aiden and Brennan were super excited about going outside to check their baskets.  Tate of course didn't know what was really happening so he was uncertain about what the baskets were all about.  It didn't take him long to grab his and Tenley's and carry them into the house to check out what they got, though.  Shortly after that he decided he needed to go back outside and figure out what that big contraption was.  It was so chilly that we brought the water table in to the house and he played with it in here (no water, yet!).  I can't wait to see what he thinks of that table with water in it!





Following the basket fun we ate breakfast then we popped in the Star Wars Episode IV DVD that Bren was given for his birthday.  Nothing screams Easter like Star Wars, ha ha!  We all watched for a bit then I worked on corn casserole for our family dinner. We all got ready and headed out to head to dinner and church.

Easter dinner with the Marie's is quite the deal!  There are around 75 people (maybe more?) that show up. There are 3 or 4 banquet tables put together to hold all of the food, everyone brings a dish to pass.  Every year there is one thing that multiple people bring, a variation on a recipe. This year it was meatballs and deviled eggs.  Funny how that works!

We stuffed ourselves then a few of the adults headed out to throw candy in the church yard for the egg/candy hunt.  I took most of the candy the boys found the night before, plus a big box of fruit snacks for the toddlers.  It's so fun to watch that stream of kids come running out of the church hall.  It doesn't take long for them to find all of the candy!



Once the candy hunt was over it was time to head back to our house so my folks could give the 6 grandkids their baskets of goodies.  Once everyone left we all kind of crashed.  The big boys went to the basement to watch cartoons and chill, the Sweet T's both took a nap (and so did Andy) and I worked on putting away the Easter decorations and cleaning up the aftermath of yet another holiday.

I messed up big time and didn't get a picture of all the kids together in their Easter best.  No one really got all that dressed up this year anyway, except for Tenley, so here she is in her Easter dress and ribbon sandals.



Weekend Rewind

Hello, Monday.  Ugh!  Between daylight savings time, the boys being home all last week for Spring break and Tenley getting up 2-4 times a night for the last 2 weeks I'm exhausted!  I'm hoping to get a little caught up on sleep this week since it's a mostly quiet one.

As for my weekend, it wasn't super busy but it was fun!  Friday Andy took the day off to spend time with all of us while the boys were on break.  We ran to the big city and bought the tile and grout for the bathroom.  If Andy can get the Detra mat laid down some evening this week we'll hopefully start tiling soon!  I'd like to say we'll be tiling this weekend but with Easter it's probably not going to happen.  Boo.

Tenley begged us to let her try on her cherry sunglasses so of course we had to give in. :)


Saturday morning Andy and Brennan had soccer practice - Andy is coaching Bren's team this year!  I think he's having fun with it.  As soon as they got back we made a mad dash to town so we could catch my nephew's first soccer game.  Unfortunately with my boys' soccer schedules we won't make it to any of my niece and nephew's games from here on out so I was happy we could at least catch one of them.

Charley is the one in the orange hat
It was chilly that morning so Andy took Tate and Tenley to his folk's house while the big boys and I cheered on Team Orange.  We came home and hung out at the house the rest of the day.  That evening I went to a wine tasting party with a friend.  I'm sorry to say I can't remember the name of the company but it was so much fun!  Have you ever heard of one of these?  We sampled 5 different wines, all of which were too dry for me (the sweeter the better in my opinion).  They had a ton of food to go with each bottle of wine so you snacked as you sampled.  Supposedly different food makes wine taste different - to me it all tasted like wine, ha!  Of course, breastfeeding means I didn't sample too much but I did allow myself a little bit.

Sunday morning was my bi-monthly brunch with the girls.  We hit up a little cafe in a nearby town and I had an omelette that was really yummy.  We had a fun time gabbing and catching up.


I ran home to pick up Andy and the boys to head out to my sister's for my niece Nora's 7th birthday party.  We were there for lunch, cake and present opening then headed to my folk's so I could give my dad a haircut.  We had just enough time to run out to see all of the baby sheep before we had to leave to get home so Aiden could change for his 4H meeting.  It was a bit of a whirlwind day but relaxing none the less.

So, what's up for this week? Soccer practice and Easter - hoping for a week full of good sleep so I can stop walking around like a zombie. Hard to kick the Mt Dew habit when you need caffeine to survive the day! :)

30 Questions with Andy

What is something I always say to you?
Stop it!

What makes me happy?
When I melt your ice cream for you in the microwave.

What makes me sad?
People being mean to other people.

How do I make you laugh?
There's not one answer to that question.  You make me laugh in a million different ways. You can make me laugh in basically any emotion, whether I'm happy, sad, goofy or serious - there's always some way you can make me laugh.

What was I like as a child?
I have no idea what you were like as a child.  Probably shy.

How old am I?
Seriously?  35 years old and 11 days

How tall am I?
Seriously?  In feet and inches? How tall do you THINK you are or how tall are you actually? I'd say 5'6".

What's my favorite thing to do?
Spend time with me.

What do I do when you're not here?
I'd love to know that answer! I'd probably say 7 of the 8 hours I'm gone you watch Gilmore Girls. And the other hour is Ed.

If I become famous what will it be for?
Politics.

What am I good at?
You're good at all kinds of cool tricks.  Cooking for sure.  You're pretty good at honeymoon time.  (I die laughing.)  You're pretty good at chewing some ass.  You're pretty good at watching some SHIT TV.  You're pretty good at making me do all your dirty work.

What am I not good at?
(He gufaws!)  You're not very good at killing bugs.  You're not very good at deciphering lyrics of songs.  Fu&*ing the Bull. Save Control.  (2 major lyrics I've screwed up and he can't help but laugh about.)

What is my job?
Your job? Raising children, keeping house.

What makes you proud of me?
How a person with as little patience as you have can keep sane with putting up with all the children and me.

What is my favorite food?
Mt Dew

What do we do together?
Everything.

How are you and I the same?
We both have the same last name.

If I were a cartoon character who would I be?
Beauty, as in Beauty and the Beast.

How are you and I different?
You have woman parts and I have man parts. (We giggle)

How do you  know I love you?
If you didn't love me you sure as hell wouldn't have stuck around for the last 30 years.

How are you?
Fu*&ing amazing, thanks for asking.

Where is my favorite place to go?
Washington

How old was I when I met you?
Like 13 or 14

When is our anniversary?
May 18

If I could go anywhere where would it be?
Hawaii

Will you rub my feet?
Is this seriously one of the questions? Ha ha ha ha! Yea.

Do you think you could live with me forever?
No, that's not long enough.

How do I annoy you?
It annoys me when you won't tell me what we're having for supper.

What is a phrase I say often?
You know what they say: Rain on the sun, rain on the morrow. (he says it in 'my voice')


Tenley Louise || 4 Months Old

Sweet little Lou, you are 4 months old now!  I still look at you and stare in disbelief that we have a little girl to love and call all our own!  Daddy and I giggle over how girly you are!  You have the girliest cry and when you get hurt (for instance, with shots) you make sure that everyone around you feels sorry for you by whimpering as long as it takes to get all our sympathy.


You love tummy time, especially when you are in front of the TV watching basketball.  So far it seems to be your favorite sport to watch - all that action of players running back and forth across the screen!  But your most FAVORITE thing to watch is your big brothers!  They are awesome entertainment for you!

You like laying on your back under your play mat/activity mat.  There are 3 stuffed animals that dangle just above you and now you can reach up and work to grab a hold of them.  That will keep you busy for quite some time now!


You aren't into holding onto toys and rattles quite yet - I put them in your little hand and you wrap your fingers around them only to let go right away again.  That will come soon I'm sure.

Besides laying down you enjoy sitting up in your Bumbo and Jumperoo.  In your Bumbo you ALWAYS lean over to your left so all of your weight is shifted to that side.  In your Jumperoo you ALWAYS get your little right hand stuck down in the seat with you -- I can see your little hand almost sticking out of the leg hole with your leg!  You jump a little while in there, it looks like you are practicing your tap dancing steps!


You have the biggest, brightest smile!  You light up like a Christmas tree when me and Daddy come around.  One of my favorite times of the day is right after you wake up in the morning - you are one happy little girl!!!  You give me a wide open mouthed smile and make a little inhalingwhilescreeching noise - my favorite!  It's pure joy!  Tate loves it when you smile and he always points it out -- "There mile!!!"  He really loves and adores you!

You are not on any sort of schedule where napping is concerned.  I think you are working your way to a 3 nap per day schedule but we just aren't there yet.  Over the past month you have given me quite a few full nights of sleep.  But about 2 weeks ago you woke up 3 times per night 2 nights in a row - that about did me in the next days!  Then it was 2 times per night for 2 nights then just 1 time per night.  That I can handle but it'd sure be nice to get back to full nights of sleep permanently.  That time will come I'm sure.  For now I enjoy the extra snuggle time at night.  You tend to go to sleep for the night about 8:00 which is awesome because that's your brother's bedtimes as well.


We are still 100% breastfeeding but I was about to throw in the hat a couple weeks ago (about the time you reverted in your nighttime sleep habits).  I think I figured it out though -- I wasn't drinking enough water.  Once I picked up the pace on drinking more water you settled back into nursing like a pro and started sleeping better again.  Add to that you were back to my happy, content little baby during the day - hallelujah!  I'm glad we didn't give up on nursing!  My goal is still to make it to a year old -- we are 1/3 of the way there!  Wait, 1/3 of the way to your first birthday???  Sniff sniff, let's forget I mentioned that stat!

Another consequence of our blip in the nursing routine is that it slowed down your weight gain.  At your 4 month well baby check today you dropped from 90th percentile in weight to 25th.  Ut oh!  Your doctor, Miss Amanda, isn't super worried since I explained the whole breastfeeding thing but we are to go back in a month for a weight check just to be sure that's really all it is.  Because of this you are still a skinny little girl (dare I call you 'Runt' like Papa called me???) and able to still wear 0-3 month clothes!  I can't believe this! Your brothers were out of 0-3 month clothes by 1 month of age!  Your pants are a tad short and the shirts a tad short in the sleeves but when I tried putting you in 3-6 month jeans you swam in them! They would have fallen right off had I held you up with them on.  You do wear 3-6 months clothes as well but it's kind of fun to say my sweet little Lou Tahlou can wear 3 month clothing.  You are much too long to wear 1 pieces that are 0-3 months, though.  Here are your stats this month:

Weight: 13lb 4oz, 25th%
Height: 25", 75th%
Diapers: Size 1 Pampers Swaddlers
Clothes: Mostly 3-6 month but a few 0-3 month two piece outfits


I have to mention that even though these pictures make your eyes look very dark you actually have the prettiest blue eyes I've ever seen!  There are, for lack of a better term, stripes of light brown that run out from your pupil to make the most beautiful colored eyes.  I wonder if this is your permanent eye color or if they'll still turn brown like your Daddy's or green like mine.  Only time will tell!

You are a joy to have.  I kiss you nonstop. We chatter quite a bit but you definitely aren't as talkative as you were a month ago.  You clasp your sweet little hands.  You love to stand up on my lap and while being held you want to face out so as not to miss anything!  You seem to enjoy church quite a bit because you tend to always fall asleep mid-Mass - it relaxes you.  You are quite the snuggler but not with me or Daddy -- with your soft, fluffy, pink with white polka-dots blankie that your Great Aunt Jackie gave you.  You grab it in your little hands and stuff it in your face and mouth.  You rub your face in it, and when time to fall asleep I put it up by your face where you turn your cute nose into it, sigh and shut your eyes.  Be still my heart, reminds me of another 'Runt' with a soft pink blankie (I'm referring to myself,  Loulie Lou, in case you didn't catch that!).

I love you, love you, love you Tenley Louise!  I'm excited for the next month of fun with you!

Tate's Toddler Bed

Tate has been climbing out of his crib for the past 2 weeks, something the big boys NEVER did!  I decided that it was time to take the front rail off his crib and convert it to a toddler bed.  I was worried he'd try climbing out in the middle of the night and hurt himself.

I had been meaning to do this all last week but didn't get to it until Sunday, the day we were all trying to adjust to the time change.  That was a mistake!  More on that in a bit.

Here's Tate's bed as a crib.


I asked him to show me how he climbs out of his bed so here are those pictures.





And then he stubbed his toe after this and cried and refused to smile for me in the rest of the pictures. :)

That afternoon when it was naptime we put Tate in his bed, did the normal night-night routine and shut the door.  3 minutes later out he walks.  Ok, back to bed we go.  2 minutes later here he comes again.  Sigh.  We did this no less than 7 times!  I have no idea why that rail made him stay in there if he knew he could climb out but it did, so no rail meant a free for all.  Now, I do have to admit this was the WORST time to try this because he was all messed up with the time change so not as tired as he normally would be at naptime.  Once he finally stayed in bed and fell asleep he took a short 1 hour nap, but at least it was something.


Bedtime that night was better but he still got up 3 times.  I think maybe he missed the security of that rail even though we had a safety rail up for him.  Andy said he seemed scared when he went back there the last time.  Poor bubby!

Doesn't he look like such a big boy now?


Weekend Rewind

Welcome to Spring Break week in our household!  I have to confess: I'm dreading this week!  I have zero plans for the big boys so basically they are going to be hanging around the house making noise and riling Tate up.  Oh boy - send in the Mt Dews (for me, not them!)!!! :)

As for our weekend, it had the right mix of busy and relaxation.  Friday night I decided the salmon I was supposed to make for supper (hello Lent and no-meat Friday's) didn't sound good but a taco pizza from Casey's did so we ran to town and grabbed a pizza for supper.  You win some you lose some! Earlier in the day Tate and I went outside during Tenley's nap to start cleaning out some of the flowerbeds.  A lot of leaves had collected in them over the winter plus I had some cutting back to do on the plants I didn't take care of last Fall.  The experts tell you to wait until Spring to cut them back because they provide food for birds in the winter (seeds) and give visual interest to your garden when everything's covered in white snow.  I have followed this rule for the most part every year but every year I think how ugly it all looks dead and brown and just poking up here and there.  I think this Fall I'll cut everything back and leave a barren garden for the Winter and see if I like that better.  ANYWAY, we got 3 beds cleaned out so once Andy got home from work we loaded all of the junk up and took it to the local yard waste dump.  We also cut back the berry bushes like you should do this time of year.  And while Andy was hauling one load I cleaned out the last bed then we loaded that and hauled it on the way to picking up our pizza.  Feels so good to have that job done!  A lot of little green starts were poking up through the ground, it's only a matter of time before the beds are full of color again!

Saturday morning we ran to the 'big city' for a couple of errands.  We decided the tile we had picked out just wasn't what we wanted after all so we went to a carpet and tile store and found something we really love!  It was $6.37 a sq. foot. Andy thought maybe we should try looking at Lowes to see if they had something similar.  They had the exact same tile for $2.47 a sq. foot!  Score!  Now we just need to get it ordered.  Once we got home Andy installed the heat mat in the bathroom.  You lay it in a bed or mortar.  To make sure it stayed flat and didn't roll he laid a piece of plywood on top of it with heavy buckets on that.  It's wired in and ready to go.  Next step is laying the Detra mat, an under-layment for tile that helps prevent cracking in the grout.  Finally, moving along on the bathroom for the boys!

Sunday morning we were up bright and early for church. Dang, that time change kills me!  But we made it to church on time, even if we had to take Tate's breakfast with us! That boy slept til 8 which gave us just enough time to get him dressed and out the door.  Following Mass the big boys had Religion class so Andy and I came home and piddled around here for a bit.  My sister and niece came over after lunch for haircuts and to hang out for a bit, then Andy left later afternoon for a coaches meeting.  He is coaching Brennan's K-1 soccer team this year (yay!!!).  We had our last batch of chili for the Winter for supper then watched the NCAA Tournament Selection Show.  Finally, bedtime!

Not too much planned for this week - both boys start soccer practice, Tenley has her 4 month (yes, FOUR MONTH) check up tomorrow and then it's time for another busy weekend!  Temperatures are supposed to cool back off to more seasonable temps, boo hoo, so we'll be cooped up in the house again. Darn.  Have a great week!

A Q&A with Brennan

Last night Brennan and I sat down for a little Q & A session.  Here are his answers at the age of 7.

What's your job going to be when you grow up?
  Engineer.  What kind?  County.

Are you going to get married?
  Yes

How many kids will you have?
  3

Who are your friends?
  Chase, Cooper, Ayden, Tucker

Who is your BEST friend?
  Chase because I know him since preschool to First grade. That's 3 years!

What do you like to do together?
  Play games - we like to play Superheroes

What food do you like the best?
  Pasta with alfredo sauce

What is a food you really like?
  Fried shrimp.  (they had baked/breaded shrimp at school a couple Friday's ago and it left an impression!)

What do you like best about school?
  When we do math

What do you love to do with Dad?
  Play pool with him

What do you love to do the most?
  I like to play basketball

What's your favorite color?
  Red

What do you love most about yourself?
  That I have freckles.  I like my freckles.

What do you do really well?
  Play soccer

What makes you laugh?
  When I make funny faces.

What is the best time of day?
  When I can go to PE at school.

What are you afraid of?
  Monsters

What do you like to do with your family?
  Play with you guys.

What do you love to learn about?
  Fractions

Where do you like to go?
  Chicago

If you had one wish what would it be?
  When I play with Tenley that Tate wouldn't budge in.  :)

The best show on TV?
  Teen Titans Go

My favorite thing about school is...
  when I get to play with my friends.

That thing I'm best at is...
  soccer.

If I could change my name it would be...
  I don't want to change my name because I like my name.

My favorite toy is...
  Legos.

My favorite book is...
  Flat Stanley chapter books.

My favorite movie is...
  The Crudes.

My favorite season of the year is...
  Summer.

My favorite animal is...
  Cat.

My favorite sport is...
  Golf.

My favorite holiday is...
  Christmas.

Brennan's 7th Birthday!

Sunday was Brennan's 7th birthday!  He had a great weekend celebrating his special day.

It started Friday night with his friend party. We took Brennan and 4 friends to the local bowling alley for the Pizza Bowl.  1 lane, 2 hours, pop, pizza and shoes for 6 - easy peasy!  My mom came to stay with Tate and Tenley, Aiden was dropped off at a friend's house who's little brother was coming to the party so it was just Andy and me with our Brennie Joe and his 4 best buddies!


They were so much fun to watch together!  We never see Brennan in his own element with his buddies, Aiden's always there influencing him so it was really neat to see what Brennan really is like.  He's CALM!  Compared to 2 of his buddies who are WILD, Brennan is mild mannered and laid back!  And really cool!  Whip and Nae Nae came on and all the boys just dropped what they were doing and started dancing -- I had no idea Brennan knew how to whip and nae nae!



The boys bowled an entire game before Brennan opened his presents and the kids had their cupcakes.




The boys all had a great time bowling, eating and dancing - so glad Brennan has such good buddies to hang out with!

Sunday we had Brennan's family party.  He asked for a Lego cake and that's what he got!




Bren requested brats and hotdogs, chips, corn casserole and fruit for lunch so that's what we had.  It was a mild day so grilling worked out perfectly!

After lunch and cake with ice cream it was present opening time!  He was given some awesome gifts! Star Wars IV, a remote control helicopter, a Nerf Super Soaker and a bunch of golf supplies - tee's, neon orange balls and what I think was his favorite gift, a golf glove!  No lie, he was most excited about that!!!

Then we brought out the gift from us.  OMG, I was all choked up by his reaction!  Brennan has been asking for a new bike for 2 years and his wish finally came true!  Like I said, he's a calm kid so he's not one to get outwardly excited but the look on his face!!!  I really thought he was going to cry!  Totally made his birthday for me!




After a couple of quick adjustments he took that bike outside for it's maiden voyage!


Notice he is wearing his golf glove while riding his bike. :) :) :)

To end the day we ran and grabbed some pizza for supper.  It was such a great day celebrating our boy, we sure do love our Brennie Joe!  Boy can he get mad, but he is also so gentle and kind, loving, compassionate, quick to give a compliment and he has a cool sense of humor that leaves us laughing and wondering how he came up with what he said!

Happy 7th Birthday, Brennan!!!


So What Wednesday

This week I'm saying So What If...

~ I still don't have Tenley's Easter dress.  I had one bought, size 6-9m, but this little peanut just isn't growing as fast as her big brothers did.  I took it back to exchange it for a smaller size and they didn't have it in 3-6m, so now I'm on the hunt.  I found one at Carter's online but in person I didn't like it. I checked all the children's clothing stores at the mall this past weekend and didn't see anything in any of them that I even liked.  I'm hoping this week to head back to the big city to try looking one more time.  What I consider to be the perfect first Easter dress just might not happen, and yes I'm sad about that.

~ Brennan's birthday is this weekend and I'm not at all prepared.  Friday night we are taking him and 4 friends to a local bowling alley for 2 hours - they provide pizza, pop, shoes and 1 lane for up to 6 for $40. Beats the heck out of having five 7 year olds running around and tearing up my house!  Sunday is his actual birthday and the day we are having family over to celebrate.  I finally asked Bren yesterday what he wanted to have for dinner that day so I finally have an idea of what I'm cooking, now to head back to the grocery store for all the supplies.  Luckily his gift is bought and being stashed at my in-laws house so that's all taken care of.

~  I'm sitting here typing this up Tuesday afternoon during Tate's nap instead of cleaning this hell-hole up.  Seriously, this house is ALWAYS a mess, no matter how often I pick up after everyone.  I'd love to just walk around throwing everything into a laundry basket but if I did no one would go through it to get their stuff out and then I'd just have one less basket to use for all the massive amounts of laundry we constantly have around here.

~  I'm the only person in the universe to think it's ok that Bachelor Ben told 2 women he loved them.  Maybe he does!?!  It has to be incredibly hard to hear someone you love tell you they love you and not be able to say it back.  I'm glad he listened to his heart and said what he was feeling.  And I'm also glad he booted off Caila - she was starting to drive me insane. Something about how she talked, IDK.  And her hair drove me nuts, always flopping in her face and then she had to flop it back into place.  Put the hot rollers away, Caila.  Now I can't decide which girl I'm rooting for more, he can't go wrong with either of them I think.  Oh, and how hard does that have to be to stand there at the rose ceremony knowing that you just 'did it' with him and that she just 'did it' with him in the same week??? And that she is a friend of yours from the house???  Yikes!

That's what I'm saying So What to this week!