tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24514790790986981562024-02-19T04:15:14.459-08:00One Girl Among BoysAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13839578822708777375noreply@blogger.comBlogger117125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2451479079098698156.post-20105687898055028922014-01-26T15:12:00.001-08:002014-01-26T15:26:33.153-08:00Wrestling Moms, help a mother out!<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Brutally honest warning!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhodl-Y_3bPzj8Gn7GcrTWltWyvgeD_0vDp8eYma1FQjYQ4srtf1LkViI0rzXp1JqXqllPVv0wxUEXZhrM2YZll-ffEB3OgctzIH8XhD_3g3_p8iOaRwDoUZbgPAaOM6Hbr5c44o1rwmQ/s1600/DSCN0992.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhodl-Y_3bPzj8Gn7GcrTWltWyvgeD_0vDp8eYma1FQjYQ4srtf1LkViI0rzXp1JqXqllPVv0wxUEXZhrM2YZll-ffEB3OgctzIH8XhD_3g3_p8iOaRwDoUZbgPAaOM6Hbr5c44o1rwmQ/s1600/DSCN0992.JPG" height="150" width="200" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So, I’m wavering between relatively decent mom and
super-psycho-needs-to-be-left-at-home-mom.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>As a coach’s wife, I’ve seen my fair share of sports, wins and losses,
ugly-spirited parents, great parents, competitors, chumps, good refs,
not-so-unbiased-refs, encouraging teammates, selfish kids.... you get the
point.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Naturally you would think I could
navigate pretty easily through sports situations by letting things roll off my
shoulders.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No big deal:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>it’s a game – for fun – play hard – go home –
get back to life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">AND THEN I HAD KIDS.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Holy Moly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My cool
headed impartiality is g-o-n-e, gone. Vanished.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I have got to get it together.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>How in the world do moms of little athletes keep their heads?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Am I alone in this?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My oldest two had a wrestling match and as much as I love to
watch them, it is so much easier to just get text updates about how they are
doing than to see it live.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But I needed
to be there.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With a 4 month old
strapped to my chest. And a two year old hanging on my leg asking for the 8,395<sup>th</sup>
time for a trophy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>{Trust me, buddy, if
there were a 2-year-old bracket, you’d definitely earn a trophy.} And of
course, even though there are 400 kids there, my two have to wrestle at the
same time on mats about 8 miles apart.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That’s always how it
happens.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Which means I have to “coach”
one.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No big deal.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have a good enough understanding of
wrestling to coach a 5 year old for 3 minutes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I can handle this.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Until…..<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><u><b>The crazy moms</b></u>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m
helpfully calling out encouragement and instructions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Hips down!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Squeeze! Look away!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Too
high!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Off your knees!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Great! Great!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Short time! Short time! NICE!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Good job boys!”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Meanwhile, I’m
getting shoved out of my space by the mom (I swear she has cauliflower ear!)
who literally has purple veins sticking out of her forehead and spitting while
she is screaming insanely at these 5 year olds!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>“TAKE HIM DOWN!”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sounds harmless,
but if you could hear the demon-possessed evil hoarse voice with which she
yells, you’ll understand what she really means by those words.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Make it hurt!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Harder!”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Ugh.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She’s louder.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She’s bigger.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>She’s just scary.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And so is her
kid.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My sweet little twinkle toes boy
takes Freak-son down and the Mom-freak screeches “NOOOOO” so loudly that both
kids freeze and look at her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And then
little Seth is paralyzed with fear.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Get
a life, Freak-mom.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Its just a wrestling
match.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They are 5.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is for fun.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But then I realize, I’m secretly wishing one of those veins
pops and she dies right next to me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Well, maybe not death.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But at
least an injury severe enough that she is removed from my presence permanently.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><u>And the dads</u></b>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Those
smug dads.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Those dads that probably were
decent wrestlers at one time, (I’m just being nice, I don’t actually mean that) so
they think they have free license to loudly assess each opponent their kid
meets.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I actually heard one today say,
“Remember that movie we watched where the guy just grabbed that other guy’s
legs and drove him all the way off the building and he fell down on his back
and couldn’t get up? Yeah, drive him like that and don’t stop driving until he
is on his back.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His legs are the
steering wheel and you are driving him off the building.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sounds like a lovely movie you and your son
watched, Smug-dad.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And then they tell
their kid loudly that “you won’t have any problem with this next kid.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>True, but you may have a problem with his
mom, who is extremely tempted to pull the chew out of your back pocket and dump
it all over your smug face.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not that I
would...<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Seriously?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m the
normal mom.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The one that just cheers for
her kids, loves to see them win, can <b>totally</b> handle it when they<s> lose
</s>almost win, and skips home cheerfully, no matter what.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Cuz I see things with an eternal
viewpoint.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I know this is just a
sport.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Just for fun.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not a big deal.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>* shoulder shrug and relaxed smile<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>*<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">ACK!!! It IS a big deal to me, TOO big of a deal.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I need therapy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While I’m sitting there being the “normal
mom”, I slowly realize that I absolutely hate losing, and hate seeing my kids
lose.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Instantly, I want someone to
blame.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The coaching.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(Not true, Todd Downing is the best.)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The officials.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(Again, not true.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Heroes, they are, volunteering their time to
deal with Freak-mom and Smug-dad.)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
tournament.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(Hmmmm, smoothly run and
pretty inexpensive.)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The amount of time
my kids practice – MUST> DO> MORE.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>(No way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>2-3 hours a week for a 5
year old, plus tourney time is PLENTY.) Sigh.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I enjoy denial immensely, but I can’t be stupid:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>the problem is me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My kids are cheering for their teammates,
high-fiving each other, skipping out to the van with their medals, talking
about their “moves”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The only one left
with that icky feeling is me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So, Moms? If you’re in the same boat as me – Freak-mom,
married to Smug-dad, or just In-denial-psycho-mom – take this viewpoint with
me:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We are blessed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Blessed to have kids that are brave enough to
compete.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Blessed to have kids healthy
enough to exercise.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Blessed to see those
little faces, whether crying or smiling, learning and growing, and making new
friends, and understanding what it means to be a teammate.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Blessed to have time to spend together.
Blessed that our kids WANT us to be there.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Blessed to have a home to return to after the tournament.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Blessed to have the head and heart knowledge that
is really is just a sport (awesome, perhaps the best sport, obviously ;) ) and
that there is SO much more out there for them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Maybe that will help put us on the right path.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And Freak-mom and Smug-dad, I’m sorry.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Kinda.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>You’re still pretty jerk-face-ish, but you and I are really not that
different.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Peace, <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Wrestler Mom</span><o:p></o:p></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13839578822708777375noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2451479079098698156.post-79139224773821773392012-06-03T20:17:00.005-07:002012-06-03T20:17:49.068-07:00Spiderman's party<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0r0VzUpPirSuNOIeDh6Cg6WtecqHQhJpHQUpeCeRKBTai9u4WG1vKbpO1UZv9tdlRmMn7whnhntbQdIHsP1ynv3UW26RO_KLhcmBi34Jo1uUZ7vWmhkEwSMXxAKpBrQeBTccus268xg/s1600/Ryan+party+0.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0r0VzUpPirSuNOIeDh6Cg6WtecqHQhJpHQUpeCeRKBTai9u4WG1vKbpO1UZv9tdlRmMn7whnhntbQdIHsP1ynv3UW26RO_KLhcmBi34Jo1uUZ7vWmhkEwSMXxAKpBrQeBTccus268xg/s320/Ryan+party+0.jpg" width="240" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0r0VzUpPirSuNOIeDh6Cg6WtecqHQhJpHQUpeCeRKBTai9u4WG1vKbpO1UZv9tdlRmMn7whnhntbQdIHsP1ynv3UW26RO_KLhcmBi34Jo1uUZ7vWmhkEwSMXxAKpBrQeBTccus268xg/s1600/Ryan+party+0.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0r0VzUpPirSuNOIeDh6Cg6WtecqHQhJpHQUpeCeRKBTai9u4WG1vKbpO1UZv9tdlRmMn7whnhntbQdIHsP1ynv3UW26RO_KLhcmBi34Jo1uUZ7vWmhkEwSMXxAKpBrQeBTccus268xg/s1600/Ryan+party+0.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><div style="text-align: left;" unselectable="on">
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</a>The morning that he turned 5, everything changed. According to his 6:00 AM reports, he could run faster, talked and sounded different, won't sin as much, will do more awesome stuff, has more 'moves' (dance and fighting and wrestling and gymnastics), is closer to kindergarten, can help his brothers more, knows how to coach football, understands how cars work, knows how to count to infinity....it went on and on and on. And I thought all these major accomplishments deserved a party. So, party on.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB0P20ygFrpw8mHyLnMsCi4EqjhwIYe4lT7wHI-zVZ3Du0oRzJfqNzkEa-vSVWfaulWjx71rXI1Jko6JMK7x_-Kr75vudq7xm-CB6gTJTOJgVtdBcqBzl8qQiPyt1Qt5UxgPZ_A_GD8Q/s1600/SANY0563.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB0P20ygFrpw8mHyLnMsCi4EqjhwIYe4lT7wHI-zVZ3Du0oRzJfqNzkEa-vSVWfaulWjx71rXI1Jko6JMK7x_-Kr75vudq7xm-CB6gTJTOJgVtdBcqBzl8qQiPyt1Qt5UxgPZ_A_GD8Q/s320/SANY0563.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Happy birthday, my special little man.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_ryyr-Tu7-jfrilU-L-xol3mv26i0BWZaOCyxvmSjJ4zY-cFE8x7mK-YmDhg9nbYfffpv-i3GfU55mUj5Wg9tu774YWW0ThuQUk1-waw7zkTkD6l8ZRcZVTOnL6j9G-RsbiuWvlo9vg/s1600/SANY0554.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_ryyr-Tu7-jfrilU-L-xol3mv26i0BWZaOCyxvmSjJ4zY-cFE8x7mK-YmDhg9nbYfffpv-i3GfU55mUj5Wg9tu774YWW0ThuQUk1-waw7zkTkD6l8ZRcZVTOnL6j9G-RsbiuWvlo9vg/s320/SANY0554.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ready to go!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgssKBlxG7zA6SclsIifCvSklrllxs4mPCk09GvNiwCz8wqmqEd6KiB6f2kuAwXb3R7FBAdCI2Jr2MdGU97O4Yw0u1sDjcgwZ5BjD7gy1zZnRPaqebW_gzgwPpVmL3TwfTVmvV9UIwP7A/s1600/SANY0557.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgssKBlxG7zA6SclsIifCvSklrllxs4mPCk09GvNiwCz8wqmqEd6KiB6f2kuAwXb3R7FBAdCI2Jr2MdGU97O4Yw0u1sDjcgwZ5BjD7gy1zZnRPaqebW_gzgwPpVmL3TwfTVmvV9UIwP7A/s320/SANY0557.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Can you guess what his theme was?</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIB101l5y4iLFd8ITd6pdPPDh6ZVNxvN0y1KjqmlTD1UoBZ0d6Glb-kpIN4cgUmgNpLXeiZ7sy04TRMaYU4Y4U9N4uPc8B_1oY5kdnFGE2JFd4DtprGQlwBMreylExWK9GDr1hiDKODA/s1600/SANY0561.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIB101l5y4iLFd8ITd6pdPPDh6ZVNxvN0y1KjqmlTD1UoBZ0d6Glb-kpIN4cgUmgNpLXeiZ7sy04TRMaYU4Y4U9N4uPc8B_1oY5kdnFGE2JFd4DtprGQlwBMreylExWK9GDr1hiDKODA/s320/SANY0561.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Goodies :)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEBFkydLc87_e3afP03NZKIhuCXd4HovNlSwxohZOddwMQoacXWx_JzMmw99i9H0Y6eE3YzHfE2tjFOYCePrVw3Hylsrmr3o3vF-DEH2aCHusAc17OgXvpKAfB4kx0NTcEcy-G6g_uqg/s1600/SANY0567.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEBFkydLc87_e3afP03NZKIhuCXd4HovNlSwxohZOddwMQoacXWx_JzMmw99i9H0Y6eE3YzHfE2tjFOYCePrVw3Hylsrmr3o3vF-DEH2aCHusAc17OgXvpKAfB4kx0NTcEcy-G6g_uqg/s320/SANY0567.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chowing down</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhXNvoGeZ-WOgySHon75rEi4hwIzKONUN7_dmQd9aINJuX8pq4MwiIp46OQYILGFaJ63am0YRqlBL9DmB2L8Z0_d2DXO5ENDAr2aaajlWRcH-b6Pa9AxIWaSNCQy5lgliKhKtKXSwQ-Q/s1600/SANY0562.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhXNvoGeZ-WOgySHon75rEi4hwIzKONUN7_dmQd9aINJuX8pq4MwiIp46OQYILGFaJ63am0YRqlBL9DmB2L8Z0_d2DXO5ENDAr2aaajlWRcH-b6Pa9AxIWaSNCQy5lgliKhKtKXSwQ-Q/s320/SANY0562.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cupcake decorating station (really, I'm just lazy and didn't want to do it myself. Or transport decorated ones.)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYAZv2rmq2FJQHm5Cl1_EYZzmLO4I1jjikY3Y915lA0BIhTWjBOdMu2gxC-nDkNsYb4TklBo8Ul4OVyk_SxkcVqLOCSVaOnf02mBWNbcBB4_7ooiwWdeAg9jmO754sVA2kECifu_FjpQ/s1600/SANY0573.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYAZv2rmq2FJQHm5Cl1_EYZzmLO4I1jjikY3Y915lA0BIhTWjBOdMu2gxC-nDkNsYb4TklBo8Ul4OVyk_SxkcVqLOCSVaOnf02mBWNbcBB4_7ooiwWdeAg9jmO754sVA2kECifu_FjpQ/s320/SANY0573.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Reed enjoyed a cupcake. But, he enjoys eating anything.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxeMZQT_0ydAH9peo02HChvE-jAJbPt6jCtUSpyyP5Out7snAWEAXoTrUukDRB29sU02CoW0uxL9Ezrg5xTkf6IaSf45cMVX9rCVleaaCrkk1XBmHW931UTpQ1Hf26hyphenhyphencScynKBlGHDg/s1600/SANY0555.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxeMZQT_0ydAH9peo02HChvE-jAJbPt6jCtUSpyyP5Out7snAWEAXoTrUukDRB29sU02CoW0uxL9Ezrg5xTkf6IaSf45cMVX9rCVleaaCrkk1XBmHW931UTpQ1Hf26hyphenhyphencScynKBlGHDg/s320/SANY0555.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Superhero capes</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7CbRPFDfrRt3WqJPuD_m1TeUt00ig5sbUZoqXWEPKchVYpGGExzGPKKLe5Moy8YKP33rcO_NIZ1lsaqNBsqvLh5nfa_LwZOLb4_FA-e9n9KK59LwDYn6kDRcOnBny82FJbFntJA-q6g/s1600/SANY0564.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7CbRPFDfrRt3WqJPuD_m1TeUt00ig5sbUZoqXWEPKchVYpGGExzGPKKLe5Moy8YKP33rcO_NIZ1lsaqNBsqvLh5nfa_LwZOLb4_FA-e9n9KK59LwDYn6kDRcOnBny82FJbFntJA-q6g/s320/SANY0564.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Designing their superhero gear</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4i9lxXjUhYMxKyHexiZFZP6EQ8g2R9E_aUvKVdUv3DSiTCZEESQvPtpzm8OpieJDlE6a2MdnaKtRTA9_vLoH0G7zykMIvgq26dIsatESnp-gjfEuBuuoxq20xpGYVUU4NSo-b_sbsAw/s1600/SANY0551.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4i9lxXjUhYMxKyHexiZFZP6EQ8g2R9E_aUvKVdUv3DSiTCZEESQvPtpzm8OpieJDlE6a2MdnaKtRTA9_vLoH0G7zykMIvgq26dIsatESnp-gjfEuBuuoxq20xpGYVUU4NSo-b_sbsAw/s320/SANY0551.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT5-VqewteU2_FNijFmMacWhyphenhyphennP7szvWI4xF8HEF6TqzH1tzNUSzcG0Kn3x2hXUzZwGKJs-wY0QllYvtWC1cr4rbgJ2flvBOHuVW2DltrTkZqsznJIPlxUF34AyDTJXa18IIuF8LTYzA/s1600/SANY0598.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT5-VqewteU2_FNijFmMacWhyphenhyphennP7szvWI4xF8HEF6TqzH1tzNUSzcG0Kn3x2hXUzZwGKJs-wY0QllYvtWC1cr4rbgJ2flvBOHuVW2DltrTkZqsznJIPlxUF34AyDTJXa18IIuF8LTYzA/s320/SANY0598.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ryan's best buddy Camryn</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHBq-2NKpcuIqUGe4q3qnE5gEnPT7bhgCTLRLbvIsZzl47wkP4DViUsNRau2MwmbI_08z5NLDTzsjZ6YN0H0M3Inek23dIQBlvcCmncwMQrB5_K1a_dPRfD-tu5VH53XuGhcSDoUlUtQ/s1600/Ryan+party.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHBq-2NKpcuIqUGe4q3qnE5gEnPT7bhgCTLRLbvIsZzl47wkP4DViUsNRau2MwmbI_08z5NLDTzsjZ6YN0H0M3Inek23dIQBlvcCmncwMQrB5_K1a_dPRfD-tu5VH53XuGhcSDoUlUtQ/s320/Ryan+party.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I love really dumb captions like "riding the carousel"...cuz you couldn't figure that out on your own.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheoRnIFy6DJ6Z6lvHJR0gDLyT_sjuXPOem5UUX5_ZyA2QiGP2aVwVcL0EYnCEd-wWpU4Q47_jr6MAnR3NCrfu3KB02Ri8AiNImvLOemYgC_18jVZbnDTaam6cLjRfmJpBmbQQDneU7qQ/s1600/Ryan+party+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheoRnIFy6DJ6Z6lvHJR0gDLyT_sjuXPOem5UUX5_ZyA2QiGP2aVwVcL0EYnCEd-wWpU4Q47_jr6MAnR3NCrfu3KB02Ri8AiNImvLOemYgC_18jVZbnDTaam6cLjRfmJpBmbQQDneU7qQ/s320/Ryan+party+2.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">SupermanReed riding the bench on the carousel.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFV_0I4rYOlkIx2kFcyghCmXAuXLE9nAh4ZRtpfFNKw5in19MdieFzeDFSVu3JwNlmM_ZTsKvTdGfNbTIm-jnUt3dMT1MKBiHMhURDA9TQSmByu2nfyBtXiwDN_gKttKEKoGj4u1IQ8A/s1600/Ryan+party+5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFV_0I4rYOlkIx2kFcyghCmXAuXLE9nAh4ZRtpfFNKw5in19MdieFzeDFSVu3JwNlmM_ZTsKvTdGfNbTIm-jnUt3dMT1MKBiHMhURDA9TQSmByu2nfyBtXiwDN_gKttKEKoGj4u1IQ8A/s320/Ryan+party+5.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Um. Scary-big slides.</td></tr>
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Ryan had a blast and Seth is still convinced that there is another party soon at Adventureland. Unless he's planning and paying for it, it's not happening. We've had blessed five years with Ryan and are so thankful for him. Here's hoping the next 5 years are just as great. Happy birthday, Ryan!<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13839578822708777375noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2451479079098698156.post-14063152921250131402012-05-30T20:26:00.001-07:002012-05-30T20:26:26.604-07:00may<div style="text-align: center;">
O<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">ne of the highlights of May was the end of Ryan's preschool journey.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Yes, I know I put this picture on Facebook, but its just such a precious one. It looks posed, but actually it was a quick snapshot that I was lucky to get when Troy just reached out his hand. You can see Daddy smiling, see Ryan giving his proud face of satisfied accomplishment, with his "4 year old book" tucked safely under his arm. He was SO proud of himself. Just one of those moments......</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDra8xSSifHObg4gKvcoXQWsFOzzFelniEiPknli4p-Z9nbq83XCKr8sJMvVv8Yf-jOBh2TT8DAMreee848hVt-HOfJkkuJee0PFRKhOF4cpneIF5cmb1CkTdEov-ehj3ZKk-Q3n4uUg/s1600/SANY0442.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDra8xSSifHObg4gKvcoXQWsFOzzFelniEiPknli4p-Z9nbq83XCKr8sJMvVv8Yf-jOBh2TT8DAMreee848hVt-HOfJkkuJee0PFRKhOF4cpneIF5cmb1CkTdEov-ehj3ZKk-Q3n4uUg/s320/SANY0442.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">And Seth was pretty pumped about the whole "end of preschool program", too. Ryan, as usual, took it a little more seriously than his younger brother.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ1Fk-y0Q8cBPKVYh1_zMDzxcaUQ_M7eslwxT4xz9_qKzxXY_VcYYKXhpb8nU0lFVLPah1HBNPMNTCDrINw5ShJhXa3SbF3Mh7px1pmKmUnholqdIeY3limF2QUv7X90Uva8__RQn6PQ/s1600/SANY0436.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ1Fk-y0Q8cBPKVYh1_zMDzxcaUQ_M7eslwxT4xz9_qKzxXY_VcYYKXhpb8nU0lFVLPah1HBNPMNTCDrINw5ShJhXa3SbF3Mh7px1pmKmUnholqdIeY3limF2QUv7X90Uva8__RQn6PQ/s320/SANY0436.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> Ryan's preschool class. That's his girlfriend next to him in the red shirt. I could tell so many stories that would embarrass him, but I won't. It's not appropriate. But I hope they get married, have lots of babies and live next door to me.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> This is Seth's class. After an entire year, he claims he still doesn't know any of his friends names and says they do "nuffing" in class every day. Yeah, I'm going to rely heavily on his brothers to keep me up-to-date on Seth's activity outside the home since I won't be getting much of report from him!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> Singing it up...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> Being silly before the program.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Celebrating at the zoo after graduation</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Other stuff that went down in May - they played soccer. Um, they're not good. No future for us in that sport. But they had fun. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> Reed loved watching his bros.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> Seth, taking things seriously, or not, whatever. But his squirrelyness worked....for the other team....when his only goal was one for "the orange team". Spent then rest of the game doing awkward dances on the field singing "I'm gonna get ice cream now."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> Ryan developed some hustle this season. Look at those wheels!</span></div>
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<br /></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13839578822708777375noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2451479079098698156.post-48523408131602787892012-05-30T19:58:00.001-07:002012-05-30T19:58:13.982-07:00First Birthday Party<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Oh, my little Reed.....happy birthday to you</span>!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZml01ZkZVY3bRGABKq_yTOA_rw0-yoxVMAQlRFF3eVsJKUICIYCYHhdC-dp5IUN2GkEZkVNmUT6vroxSXLf_4Axv0BJBv55DGbEHVfhIwbSGkGWtWAeewj_XhK3J1B6YUhJqArc8Emw/s1600/SANY0547.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZml01ZkZVY3bRGABKq_yTOA_rw0-yoxVMAQlRFF3eVsJKUICIYCYHhdC-dp5IUN2GkEZkVNmUT6vroxSXLf_4Axv0BJBv55DGbEHVfhIwbSGkGWtWAeewj_XhK3J1B6YUhJqArc8Emw/s320/SANY0547.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Having a hard time figuring out how this little picnic basket of a baby is now an entire year old. But it is true...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">But, no time to be all nostalgic. Birthday boys wake up at 6 AM. His morning started out with donuts from Caseys (at the request of his older brothers) and some fruit. Ignore the ugly face stitches, no big deal.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-mnPeVjjlfLE75KVk-kq3J3H4BXuH68OlHO35PJR6vyaPUEfzjiJ9Nzt-1EZZ0tyhMmZGuMbt3agRRuRllmpIZDtyPmaBciWoLJZC_gtQE5MgVxSTUPlNr9AZhpb8uYpfKaGeGJ6Y_A/s1600/SANY0468.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-mnPeVjjlfLE75KVk-kq3J3H4BXuH68OlHO35PJR6vyaPUEfzjiJ9Nzt-1EZZ0tyhMmZGuMbt3agRRuRllmpIZDtyPmaBciWoLJZC_gtQE5MgVxSTUPlNr9AZhpb8uYpfKaGeGJ6Y_A/s320/SANY0468.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> And more eating at lunch. He met his cousin, Jagger, for the first time. Jagger is a DOLL..is the happiest, most easy-going kid on the planet. They shared some good stories and laughs. Like two old men gossiping in the corner....</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> Lots of food. Lots of it. I have leftovers if anyone is interested. A few things to mention that are shown in this picture. Silverware wrapped in cute napkins and tied with cute scrapbook paper. WHY!?!?!? have I never done this before? I'm always setting out random ugly heaps of my best plastic ware; takes up too much room, is ugly (like I said) and ends up on the floor when kids come through the line. This way is so much cuter, takes up less space, is organized (happiness). Its the simple things. Yeah, not rocket science, but sometimes I'm slow to come up with ideas...even if others have been doing it for decades. I should suggest this at restaraunts....oh...wait. Next, scrapbook paper is awesome. Next, next, Lisa Ann Designs photography - had pictures taken Tuesday night and had printed pics on Saturday for the party. Reed was "off" (to put it nicely) during the "shoot" but she somehow made him look happy and like he didn't have stitches on his face. She's great. Period. Next, next, next - VeggieStix chips. Love them. It's the only veggie I really crave. (don't judge) And yes, that's my bro. I didn't edit him out since his family came all the way from Phoenix to see me (and a few others, I suppose). We were so happy to see him and Josalyn and Jags.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> Again, my obsession with scrapbook paper. 12 months of Reeder Peeder:</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmwZtnSmarCwmUhlVjAkHDz6uKg0Yv2cjrfOJsDd3oyWBB-KgBvz8sbd-GfS2kkaSSCjPP8sFzvM4RVV5e3amuUKiZ0GXvmxGFouibngnff2veS67J6T_jQrFhgMk45jxlrpjXdPHFeg/s1600/SANY0495.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmwZtnSmarCwmUhlVjAkHDz6uKg0Yv2cjrfOJsDd3oyWBB-KgBvz8sbd-GfS2kkaSSCjPP8sFzvM4RVV5e3amuUKiZ0GXvmxGFouibngnff2veS67J6T_jQrFhgMk45jxlrpjXdPHFeg/s320/SANY0495.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> Dessert, yes, yes, yes! Two of Reed's favorites as dessert "appetizers" - M&Ms and marshmallows (not that he's actually been <strike>bribed</strike> fed with these before, I'm just <em>guessing </em>he would like them<em>). </em>And I ran out of energy/time/desire (sorry 3rd baby of mine) to make a big cake, so I went the cakepop and cookies route.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> But we did have cute drinks....</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDk-ZDx_7No6k1oEkJ28uZN8k-dyITqgfPoJdiht6h9JhT9oEDMUYxxrZ6GEnxrtpHH5SXuACtJfLxdE9Nkg57tEEwbvdGkAVXlpzhFLE3Ru2fJDSZ391lvTDVA6gWrg2fv1LwTvvyqQ/s1600/SANY0501.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDk-ZDx_7No6k1oEkJ28uZN8k-dyITqgfPoJdiht6h9JhT9oEDMUYxxrZ6GEnxrtpHH5SXuACtJfLxdE9Nkg57tEEwbvdGkAVXlpzhFLE3Ru2fJDSZ391lvTDVA6gWrg2fv1LwTvvyqQ/s320/SANY0501.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> Reed LOVED his cake. He LOVED every second of it. See? He thought the frosting was awesome...not. Ok, guess he was a little rude to me about the whipped frosting. But when he got to the cake, all was better.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> See? All better?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">And, as you likely know by now, we're a pants-optional house. So, don't be surprised by this one. But his shirt is cute enough, riiiiiight? The green ball that his brothers picked out for him:</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn1zyihS4gu5A_Z9Q2PFyof334qEI7d2k8ZE0cLvapvvDSd919Iil5ErUUbvmRNnTBM59W0SRpVb_9ILg4Y3jyjCbGTaUdb6qBJLov3H0llgUtFeoHTsj7xQj8w_FeQccEG4f_z-lXaQ/s1600/SANY0518.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn1zyihS4gu5A_Z9Q2PFyof334qEI7d2k8ZE0cLvapvvDSd919Iil5ErUUbvmRNnTBM59W0SRpVb_9ILg4Y3jyjCbGTaUdb6qBJLov3H0llgUtFeoHTsj7xQj8w_FeQccEG4f_z-lXaQ/s320/SANY0518.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">Well, one (more) year of infinite blessings for which to be thankful. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">Next up on the birthday train express - Ryan turns 5. Friday. Partying it up. Can't wait. Although Ryan had a major meltdown about his birthday. It was actually really sad. He was sobbing saying that he didn't want a birthday because he "doesn't want to be a daddy yet". He doesn't want to be 5 because he "still wants to be 4 so he can be a kid and play." He had concluded that he was "going too far old and going to be a daddy next year or really soon" and wanted it "to go slower". Wowza. We had a long chat and he realized 5 year olds are still kids and have as much fun as 4 year olds and can do even MORE. Still, was quite sad. But he's ready to party now. And so am I. Love these wild kids ;)</span></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13839578822708777375noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2451479079098698156.post-36250517157342593682012-04-03T20:09:00.001-07:002012-04-03T20:09:55.712-07:00Insanity (R)It is actually even harder than it sounds. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs5H1w1_-gz6gBa60Xv4hc4IWbYhh_FbutONuZ-D4rriDF2R3FpGDXmlN71-NbQEjltYrIioIHkaUYrqxd7EAZWi1t65dfT77Mct3YM7BbVWP-u2FhNNIhNy_rlnOT2MwcRQU-5cwKaA/s1600/201221715100125.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs5H1w1_-gz6gBa60Xv4hc4IWbYhh_FbutONuZ-D4rriDF2R3FpGDXmlN71-NbQEjltYrIioIHkaUYrqxd7EAZWi1t65dfT77Mct3YM7BbVWP-u2FhNNIhNy_rlnOT2MwcRQU-5cwKaA/s200/201221715100125.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<br />
Last weekend, in a strange, strange, moment of weakness, we found ourselves stuck on an informercial for Insanity. We were oddly convicted, both sitting on the couch after a crazy weekend. Troy, who has never purchased anything on the internet (that wasn't football related), grabbed a credit card and bought the system. WHA!?!?!? I tried to stop him! But it was as if the hype just took over his brain and forced him to BUY NOW! DON'T WAIT! Well, that crazy guy bought it. And the next morning, he wakes up (probably with buyer's remorse) and declares that it is the wrong workout for someone who is doing strength training. Yeah, you know - his life goal to bench 400 pounds. (He's at 390 now.) So he slyly tells me that he won't be starting it until late April or early May. Well, what's my excuse? I decided I probably need to get a head start, so that by the time he jumps into the program I can actually hold my own next to him! (yeah, riiiiiiight) Well, it arrived yesterday. In an unassuming, plain cardboard box. Seemed harmless enough. And since I'm such an athletic girl....no, really, I am! Most of you don't know how madly athletically gifted I am. There was that one time in cheerleading that....well....or that really crazy tennis match....oh, oh! and of course my intramural soccer career in college. Yeah, well....um, truthfully, other than having 3 kids, I've done about zero physically demanding things. [Sidebar: Troy also has been on record saying that there is nothing physically impressive about having babies. No joke. Ask him about it. Yeah, I know what you're thinking. I almost wished a kidney stone upon him. But of course, I'm a good wife and would NEVER wish him something like that....Shaking my head. Oh, that husband of mine! He is sassy!] Anyway, back to my saga. So, I'm a little out of my league. I did the fit test last night. And, as I expected, I'm not off-the-charts "fit". I wasn't a complete loser, but I was close. And tonight I did the first actual workout. Ok, it didn't have anything too complicated in it, but it gave you NO BREAKS. Yeah, that's not exactly my thing. I'm big into water and breaks, and breaks and water, with the occasional jumping jack or push up. As I'm flailing everywhere, I come up with every excuse in the books to prompt Troy to tell me to stop. <br />
"I just had a baby!!!"<br />
"I'm not wearing the right undergarments for this!" <br />
"I think I just sprained my ankle!"<br />
and the one that almost worked: "Is that Reed crying?!? Should I check on him!?!" <br />
Troy saw right through my pathetic attempts, but I made it to the end. Day 1 done. 59 to go. And I'm sure things are only going to get more interesting when he joins me. Yeah, Insanity.<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13839578822708777375noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2451479079098698156.post-29790798664746498022012-03-26T09:50:00.000-07:002012-03-26T09:50:00.956-07:00My little pictorial update<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>I’ve been such a flake at getting this crazy blog
updated. I’ll just leave it at
that. So, in pictures, here is a little
of what we crazy cats have been doing in the past week or two:</b></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmplKyKe2rWTmEsc4WieO_gEhve4I3rG1nQFMjBgWVletF1AlUGBLFxmVpowkicGq9mZF9PlPo_Nuit1zoD-xASaCf8QraCxq77qyiynIsLa6k9eK9Ni41D5tzMGmko6Cn9T_ZEolkFQ/s1600/DSC00071.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmplKyKe2rWTmEsc4WieO_gEhve4I3rG1nQFMjBgWVletF1AlUGBLFxmVpowkicGq9mZF9PlPo_Nuit1zoD-xASaCf8QraCxq77qyiynIsLa6k9eK9Ni41D5tzMGmko6Cn9T_ZEolkFQ/s320/DSC00071.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">Lounging. (Ryan’s world was ROCKED when a DS was introduced to our little abode. He gets to play it for 15 minutes and will be very quick to tell you that “If I cry when I turn it off, I don’t get to play it tomorrow.”</span><span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"> </span><span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">That kid loves order and rules, and frequently likes breaking the rules just to double check the “order” part.)</span> </span></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg29iKbRKYXznrIY5BgnXNXJu43kGcm5HDwUXRLSKkb7dM3EACjxVgaF_Ivb7P-Z-IRQweAzrrK8Yqx1Scc0FeBdtQ5rNUk48p-EaGbugO6thbpqSHQpfe-PDlt-LZ_WmUn3CfTULdTNg/s1600/winnie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg29iKbRKYXznrIY5BgnXNXJu43kGcm5HDwUXRLSKkb7dM3EACjxVgaF_Ivb7P-Z-IRQweAzrrK8Yqx1Scc0FeBdtQ5rNUk48p-EaGbugO6thbpqSHQpfe-PDlt-LZ_WmUn3CfTULdTNg/s320/winnie.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Watching cute movies at home on rainy days. <br />That little face is about the only thing cuter than Winnie the Pooh movie.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh94tE1gSWkOSziLSVuFPZLm3wKZKUnOa7INu6Gq-ymVqd9yvmMiYXjDfhP5AUNBNWVtpPkQ2JNwdo5qpVYtcX8VWbob3adHM6tXiQTHuOh-1MBTrFwwWVQJ9li7RM8CY1A5F4LKfCyCA/s1600/DSC00073.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh94tE1gSWkOSziLSVuFPZLm3wKZKUnOa7INu6Gq-ymVqd9yvmMiYXjDfhP5AUNBNWVtpPkQ2JNwdo5qpVYtcX8VWbob3adHM6tXiQTHuOh-1MBTrFwwWVQJ9li7RM8CY1A5F4LKfCyCA/s320/DSC00073.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Even Reed wants to get in on the electronic entertainment action.<span style="font-size: small;"><b><u><br /></u></b></span></td></tr>
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<b><div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Playing outside. A lot. In March. Crazy wonderful!</b></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsZRwupAnikx7i7ttBpbZsf90baIfDvt_EtUK_1_F88r1AEPCKMK4nFroviBEIbaAjxWJfOMhgiEShigGNUId7WmQ9-PSBV5qU0w4tj7OPL4pyW87z6hGCCCREo-Y38rWqvsO_lrcmvw/s1600/First+popsicle.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsZRwupAnikx7i7ttBpbZsf90baIfDvt_EtUK_1_F88r1AEPCKMK4nFroviBEIbaAjxWJfOMhgiEShigGNUId7WmQ9-PSBV5qU0w4tj7OPL4pyW87z6hGCCCREo-Y38rWqvsO_lrcmvw/s320/First+popsicle.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">First popsicle....</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR7RIL8TWq0YQHXvE2mO0WOqXtP3Jz2TqPz3lE61SBH6SYuPCd994rXhDjjFWlh96wSfzmYwqPZvnux5zuDo_hEFuCGXjHWbQHKXI4jbkWhCAxAXEiGO0heCJu-6iEPgIBUfy9UJsvPw/s1600/reed+swinging.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR7RIL8TWq0YQHXvE2mO0WOqXtP3Jz2TqPz3lE61SBH6SYuPCd994rXhDjjFWlh96wSfzmYwqPZvnux5zuDo_hEFuCGXjHWbQHKXI4jbkWhCAxAXEiGO0heCJu-6iEPgIBUfy9UJsvPw/s320/reed+swinging.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Happiest kid on the planet.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiviIs-ouSa4QHJXsDHTfF4PSqJoQJFPNcCN0jmbtyjkuA0Z5TfIKEnORuIXpMVlEuUJFGHoOQj3ZpnX9_oMMpq3kgR7Tm6eZV_bGxjTaALIu5A_qpwtsdXZxY13hmtOyi3yTd5lUe9jw/s1600/seth+swinging.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiviIs-ouSa4QHJXsDHTfF4PSqJoQJFPNcCN0jmbtyjkuA0Z5TfIKEnORuIXpMVlEuUJFGHoOQj3ZpnX9_oMMpq3kgR7Tm6eZV_bGxjTaALIu5A_qpwtsdXZxY13hmtOyi3yTd5lUe9jw/s320/seth+swinging.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Most unique kid on the planet. Yes, he is trying to be silly. <br />Yes, he is wearing his pajamas at the park. </td></tr>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCy8qODbF5ar1zQIl6CEbcLx0E9WGOVVxsKURMsMrgiXkc9rwqF596lXYOAj2aC9ESz9cIrcb-n0EEdujlj-wItFeO-Krz-5E8y0Evuph6pBt3OHASlCGeaOFkA_0jUTE36S2W9G1mzA/s1600/park.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCy8qODbF5ar1zQIl6CEbcLx0E9WGOVVxsKURMsMrgiXkc9rwqF596lXYOAj2aC9ESz9cIrcb-n0EEdujlj-wItFeO-Krz-5E8y0Evuph6pBt3OHASlCGeaOFkA_0jUTE36S2W9G1mzA/s320/park.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A walk at the lake</td></tr>
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<br /><div style="text-align: center;">
<b><u>Making homemade stickers. ("Well, we don't have anymore; you can MAKE some" was quite a stretch, but he BOUGHT it! )</u></b></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYoHCX5iL7ZfE-7aSqQIWh4ohcDk4tsBBG9_ugGfDtP6birjf64XggpIOLxxBDOcdq7OKbYoXh8_gBe1Ag8gJGz9Uv7tO2XV55RCUBmu54Gyo3P8aeLFmCVehlEqJZ7LoydxgLHfkvmQ/s1600/homemade+stickers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYoHCX5iL7ZfE-7aSqQIWh4ohcDk4tsBBG9_ugGfDtP6birjf64XggpIOLxxBDOcdq7OKbYoXh8_gBe1Ag8gJGz9Uv7tO2XV55RCUBmu54Gyo3P8aeLFmCVehlEqJZ7LoydxgLHfkvmQ/s320/homemade+stickers.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">From top to bottom: baseball, hockey puck, volleyball, football, and basketball. <br />Yeah, I know what you're thinking.</td></tr>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><u>Reed just growing and being the cutest little bug!</u></b></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9bhIUQbRY1XSWdo6kJvgQWUQAZzgl-lUvUFBzzfbN31UzcBXY5z8_TvA6k1Zn3F4wrBPIKIt8JD2I1X9X2AvzFLGzf0l5mhIwDgbHvute-qraNpvA6m62nhp4ktm6FFbXkBeQYdztGg/s1600/REed+learning+to+read.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9bhIUQbRY1XSWdo6kJvgQWUQAZzgl-lUvUFBzzfbN31UzcBXY5z8_TvA6k1Zn3F4wrBPIKIt8JD2I1X9X2AvzFLGzf0l5mhIwDgbHvute-qraNpvA6m62nhp4ktm6FFbXkBeQYdztGg/s320/REed+learning+to+read.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I have SEVEN teeth now. And I can read. <br />Not really, but I like to eat books with my seven teeth if that counts for anything.</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWRypjCa1IVtT-bhooQIPPjy9UmcMZ-PV9c-mlpUByIjFLDY5kxiljSeItcJh7DquPbeDkYMHOYqYCe0mfBe-TCAkwV2CPXu-CalF9invsYspVEuaEW7dE3-2MSeIcDqllFIqzGlrTJg/s1600/Reed+walking.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWRypjCa1IVtT-bhooQIPPjy9UmcMZ-PV9c-mlpUByIjFLDY5kxiljSeItcJh7DquPbeDkYMHOYqYCe0mfBe-TCAkwV2CPXu-CalF9invsYspVEuaEW7dE3-2MSeIcDqllFIqzGlrTJg/s320/Reed+walking.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I like to pretend to walk, but only without pants.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9gTEYpNL4Zk40P7t_-6FZiUQuBEnbMvQaziEpdd_4Lo69aL7NPjMX-2nWX-ewI75WdsxoeFTLOVm_C9aGQlSKqE-30Ulv9TK0gFflYdnjpYBExHGe15y5nSi1mIeMmE4YXhhJ2PpxcA/s1600/reed+sleepoing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9gTEYpNL4Zk40P7t_-6FZiUQuBEnbMvQaziEpdd_4Lo69aL7NPjMX-2nWX-ewI75WdsxoeFTLOVm_C9aGQlSKqE-30Ulv9TK0gFflYdnjpYBExHGe15y5nSi1mIeMmE4YXhhJ2PpxcA/s320/reed+sleepoing.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My stalker Mommy takes pictures of me when I'm sleeping. <br />Is that creepy or what?<br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><u>Ryan getting his bi-annual heart condition check-up. No action needed for another 6 months. YAY!</u></b></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjazY5FR80reM_HYUzK6RcSjxhO_zYVtemTjjNyUqXAdfJiMik7i27qGd8v0QLqVDfROFuOr-t5Hltq39AJ0BOuBRTkPx8p6fI-W3B6CTnB2389KJd6prHgMbrlTWFU2bG_bjaaUZes-w/s1600/ryan+heart.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjazY5FR80reM_HYUzK6RcSjxhO_zYVtemTjjNyUqXAdfJiMik7i27qGd8v0QLqVDfROFuOr-t5Hltq39AJ0BOuBRTkPx8p6fI-W3B6CTnB2389KJd6prHgMbrlTWFU2bG_bjaaUZes-w/s320/ryan+heart.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pediatric Cardiology - great doctors. But no VIP punch card for 3 boys with heart murmurs or defects. <br />They should work on their marketing strategy. But, we love them anyway! <br />And a trip to the dr with just Mommy and no other brothers is quite a treat!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><u>An outing to the zoo</u></b></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXnxiDqQ_TG6LY1ZXhAIiriju6AsU6TP6q9IKDTXeKICnpehyphenhyphenr0xnZQLr9ztauP387kUkHuGqTuaKq_9VDxwvpne5LDAiYE6hEsZXAGP4LtwpmiO5t3m3mHav_p4Z_CuPoHE_E1piPog/s1600/Ryan+zoo.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXnxiDqQ_TG6LY1ZXhAIiriju6AsU6TP6q9IKDTXeKICnpehyphenhyphenr0xnZQLr9ztauP387kUkHuGqTuaKq_9VDxwvpne5LDAiYE6hEsZXAGP4LtwpmiO5t3m3mHav_p4Z_CuPoHE_E1piPog/s320/Ryan+zoo.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">He doesn't even look like my little baby anymore! I always take pictures on this bridge - the same one that Troy and I stood on nearly 7 years ago on our wedding day. Awwww, pressssssshhhhhhhhious.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz9AUuLCjCXHCBHPrPqDKnCR3s1fy_O6KSx62_zCtTptPM7CFV0aJ8fYlQg0odJ3_rppJ2Tsc82XFhuestZ5cbh-U1P5o5aUqC6GljBg6OZxyMda_DqbZfvIQqKL8tvaIqhPAvJqMbGA/s1600/reed+zoo.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz9AUuLCjCXHCBHPrPqDKnCR3s1fy_O6KSx62_zCtTptPM7CFV0aJ8fYlQg0odJ3_rppJ2Tsc82XFhuestZ5cbh-U1P5o5aUqC6GljBg6OZxyMda_DqbZfvIQqKL8tvaIqhPAvJqMbGA/s320/reed+zoo.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The only child who wasn't afraid of the FAKE Ice Age Exhibit. <br />Big boys are both behind my legs as this picture is being taken</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicqO3prrwYL8-FxfuZGh-NZvo7MnCzik2C7Hevj3wEoYsAQ7YU5Ih6VOjR2BmBB2A4ZaKskXpu8mQiMzVJ-YwR3nlJos2JZ8GxyfzzAzXTsMfUdZFC8kpeeuhwXgucz0zb7PUfziylYQ/s1600/sea+lion+again.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicqO3prrwYL8-FxfuZGh-NZvo7MnCzik2C7Hevj3wEoYsAQ7YU5Ih6VOjR2BmBB2A4ZaKskXpu8mQiMzVJ-YwR3nlJos2JZ8GxyfzzAzXTsMfUdZFC8kpeeuhwXgucz0zb7PUfziylYQ/s320/sea+lion+again.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Those sea lions were our favorites...on this particular day.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoJES4fSacSNtrQbvsrjJmWRuS-YZGWQqbppnxW9sd2K-xvbYcwWK1vKWjvi72xPO2io8_rBM1Q7Kz1dPsRfi3lTVM3_gccrFFSV_kxigI3ebs6-bjNKZPFlHZj0Ix4UCp8sRHpjJ1zQ/s1600/zoo+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoJES4fSacSNtrQbvsrjJmWRuS-YZGWQqbppnxW9sd2K-xvbYcwWK1vKWjvi72xPO2io8_rBM1Q7Kz1dPsRfi3lTVM3_gccrFFSV_kxigI3ebs6-bjNKZPFlHZj0Ix4UCp8sRHpjJ1zQ/s320/zoo+1.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">They could watch that tiger forever!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJMwKz457_g4aP34LLyN3mBSPo7pomJ2iW-eHrO60svQRX9ZLETB3UKV53bJb4WJuZqHRkg_dx8ffTf70Ea3cyVHhrtbHTCZwQUybOaZPwa9W0yvmWDI1xb7iTqjOsFVrBU2phAe0FGg/s1600/zoo+sea+lions.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJMwKz457_g4aP34LLyN3mBSPo7pomJ2iW-eHrO60svQRX9ZLETB3UKV53bJb4WJuZqHRkg_dx8ffTf70Ea3cyVHhrtbHTCZwQUybOaZPwa9W0yvmWDI1xb7iTqjOsFVrBU2phAe0FGg/s320/zoo+sea+lions.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We kept coming back to the sea lions!</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXDQG804voAU_5YDPynN8xDlYCdZhmGKiZQM8Xhr3JcJl_dgGSVj9HLdlTumLy2GoDjpdpsimqBLI1egJWca6O6uYUIOj8x5XfSjJo7WmOfzK6idrAXm3sBAx9K2QWfnm2aeMuMXCJeg/s1600/zoo.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXDQG804voAU_5YDPynN8xDlYCdZhmGKiZQM8Xhr3JcJl_dgGSVj9HLdlTumLy2GoDjpdpsimqBLI1egJWca6O6uYUIOj8x5XfSjJo7WmOfzK6idrAXm3sBAx9K2QWfnm2aeMuMXCJeg/s320/zoo.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yeah, me + 3 boys at the zoo. A few people were staring as the kids shreeeeked, "Lets be silly! Lets be crazy! Do it! Do it! No, Ryan, like THIS!" Thankfully, this was as crazy as it got.</td></tr>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><u>Our first visit to the circus!</u></b></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi16Fez-Qd9KhgPRhyphenhyphenrDaiupXfK-M1x2CiNyyJraBeRXZfSpw1fnEulP72dQeURL9RlqueR214y2yNtlbgFyvvgEWXzP9x6CSlwYha0eTa5heDIZr4hqs12GuqpNXpwGE0DThy9ZNZ9WQ/s1600/circus+ryans+fav.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi16Fez-Qd9KhgPRhyphenhyphenrDaiupXfK-M1x2CiNyyJraBeRXZfSpw1fnEulP72dQeURL9RlqueR214y2yNtlbgFyvvgEWXzP9x6CSlwYha0eTa5heDIZr4hqs12GuqpNXpwGE0DThy9ZNZ9WQ/s320/circus+ryans+fav.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This manly man was Ryan's favorite. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOhZmf-tSd5lhu9x29AyOVWNKg-XGmWGkasNC-cNodh9bLop9qRqGjOWC8AZcXjEN0UZT1D4QwZKbjhQnPVkZQyFoBMyDrPslrpSmRmIERo94YYo66qw6vD6U_ZJKZTN8goStSrdGdhw/s1600/circus+tigers.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOhZmf-tSd5lhu9x29AyOVWNKg-XGmWGkasNC-cNodh9bLop9qRqGjOWC8AZcXjEN0UZT1D4QwZKbjhQnPVkZQyFoBMyDrPslrpSmRmIERo94YYo66qw6vD6U_ZJKZTN8goStSrdGdhw/s320/circus+tigers.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The tigers were pretty amazing, too. Seth's favorite. But only because I told him the "princesses" (trapeze artists) were not acceptable favorites for a boy of his age.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNtRujkR7D8A09n8oBPiOu-LCcNvNEXOvaS6BXmKOImEGmcZLMIM86NyNrOiHwbgLhPVuMoKqCXJ7AS0MD_JTZHcsreD5utlsuYYukEPnq5xRwFxOg7KFldgu48Hn7sIknLLp5hffa-g/s1600/circus.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNtRujkR7D8A09n8oBPiOu-LCcNvNEXOvaS6BXmKOImEGmcZLMIM86NyNrOiHwbgLhPVuMoKqCXJ7AS0MD_JTZHcsreD5utlsuYYukEPnq5xRwFxOg7KFldgu48Hn7sIknLLp5hffa-g/s320/circus.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Amazing, Flying Somethings. Can't remember their name, but they were fun to watch. <br />The net took out all the drama though. Scaredy-cats. </td></tr>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>And the beginnings of scheming for the most fun May ever! Yes, I'm already planning May. As someone told me, it is "May-aotic". True dat. Here is a sneak peak at some of the things I'm working on for Reed's One-and-Only-1st-Birthday-Party in May:</b></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix31eHixSvV1vRMBoGwQ2NbJRNfe3uX8ydYsarmpRESfssUfmlE1FwwSZJUVhcuQsSDb6bMmeBGwqrdssWb3tUcasZtxlfXqXQfeHvz7GcwdRzmgYAz7d7FL0IYIj6oXRS81w2gd-HhQ/s1600/sneak+peak.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix31eHixSvV1vRMBoGwQ2NbJRNfe3uX8ydYsarmpRESfssUfmlE1FwwSZJUVhcuQsSDb6bMmeBGwqrdssWb3tUcasZtxlfXqXQfeHvz7GcwdRzmgYAz7d7FL0IYIj6oXRS81w2gd-HhQ/s320/sneak+peak.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Oh, what are these blue and orange thingymajigs? I'm not telling....yet!</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhabc9VXa4rqQPh3aT7Py3wKyyLf0R7eQ3Dtnij4UKMypHyPBNAgUDH7Zyrw7DWm1xzhv65UCTa-qjTs-gGChbaBt2lw5Rrb-7aXhdoUPCg_OVcdF40YccnoLNY-Ngw9o-MTrdwmORjg/s1600/sneak+peak0.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhabc9VXa4rqQPh3aT7Py3wKyyLf0R7eQ3Dtnij4UKMypHyPBNAgUDH7Zyrw7DWm1xzhv65UCTa-qjTs-gGChbaBt2lw5Rrb-7aXhdoUPCg_OVcdF40YccnoLNY-Ngw9o-MTrdwmORjg/s320/sneak+peak0.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Given some foam board, I could RULE THE WORLD! Or, I could do this.<br />(Not done yet. My mother would disown me if I left uncovered raw edges. Gasp!)</td></tr>
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<b>You survived and made it to the end. You should be rewarded. </b></div>
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<br /></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13839578822708777375noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2451479079098698156.post-28494016962590464772012-01-24T08:54:00.000-08:002012-01-24T08:54:45.090-08:00Ate, i mean EIGHT, attributes of my littlest man.1. He is haaaaaaaa-peeeeeee. Happy, if you're having trouble reading that. The kid just loves life. Sure, he has his moments of 'hey, pick me up!' and 'don't leave the room, mom!', but he has to fuss sometimes, right? He is just sweet and happy almost all the time.<br />
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2. He sucks his thumb. Yeah, whatevs, I'm sure he's ruining his not-even-here-yet-teeth and jaw structure, but in the meantime, he loves that thumb. And it's cute. Period.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcdIiOaADshNTvp4L49ehF2PDBW7txzqlDM04uHRnPo3hUNj1XmppnaqMXmnAJKbbo78JWh6xf_-f7u5nTA81kS7mJ2Fpy0aThGYEPvVYwpNm6uHl6kVfKcvux_NPjHZiSlyslD39gLQ/s1600/IMG951155.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="308" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcdIiOaADshNTvp4L49ehF2PDBW7txzqlDM04uHRnPo3hUNj1XmppnaqMXmnAJKbbo78JWh6xf_-f7u5nTA81kS7mJ2Fpy0aThGYEPvVYwpNm6uHl6kVfKcvux_NPjHZiSlyslD39gLQ/s320/IMG951155.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
3. His bedtime routine is precious. Eat, snuggle, put head on shoulder, twirl (my) hair, reach for the crib, lie down, then one thumb in the mouth and the other hand reaches to pull his favorite blankie up over him. Nighty-night, Reed!<br />
4. He loves to eat. Everything. Like, everything. Want to know the one thing he doesn't like? Yeah, me too. We haven't found it yet. He's eaten almost everything his parents have. He chewed on a celery stalk and ate an entire lemon wedge (yes, ate it, not just sucked on it) last night after his baby food, while waiting for his "real" food at a restaurant. This MAY be why he's in the 99th percentile for height and weight. But, people! We really do cut him off, he's not obese baby, he's not allowed to eat everything...he just wants to. And you know how fun it is to feed babies that love to eat everything...."numnum-num-num-num"<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwmyvjw6hc9_-Q1cMkKzA0cxG74OTswB_nBixyiyLdboVGRvQqWDwI_eQbhY9zOrSDPBZb5fqtxtOtG_odk73k3bNj57dey4iP0scOI9eLylQdqRlSrkFDm67Q6FG2OCvFmPASptwe7g/s1600/400434_10150463779241269_669426268_8903189_989623585_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="235" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwmyvjw6hc9_-Q1cMkKzA0cxG74OTswB_nBixyiyLdboVGRvQqWDwI_eQbhY9zOrSDPBZb5fqtxtOtG_odk73k3bNj57dey4iP0scOI9eLylQdqRlSrkFDm67Q6FG2OCvFmPASptwe7g/s320/400434_10150463779241269_669426268_8903189_989623585_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
5. His first word was Ma-ma. It really was. So what if he hasn't said it again in the last 3 weeks. He did several times over Christmas and that was good enough for me.<br />
6. He LOVES his brothers. They barely have to look at him and he's giggling. He's so entertained by them...and they LOVE that he loves them. Now that he's crawling, he soooooo wants to be part of the action.<br />
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7. He's tough and he likes the rough stuff. This comes in handy in a family of all boys. It also comes in handy when mom walks through a doorway and just slightly bumps his wiggly head on the doorframe. (oh come ON, you've done it too. Admit it.) Yes, I know that is horrible. I've done it with each of the kids and it makes me sick, but it happens. For the record though, I've never zipped up any of my kids tummies or chins in their jammies, never shut a hand or finger in a door/drawer or forgotten one at home. So, I'm not THAT bad. Getting back to my point, he just rarely is hurt; he thinks "rough" is fun. Yes, I'm cringing as I type this...I understand 3 rough boys...but, at least I don't have sissy boys (as of today).<br />
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8. He knows me. And loves me. Despite me being me. What a priceless gift he's been for these last 8 months. Happy "8 months day, Reeder!"Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13839578822708777375noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2451479079098698156.post-77204567878919922152012-01-20T10:56:00.000-08:002012-01-20T10:56:04.464-08:00The things they say...<ul>
<li>Sethy, don't eat your lunch fast, cuz we have to nap when we get done. Eat slowly.</li>
<li>Mom, if someone really is fat, can we say 'fat', or is 'fat' always a bad word? "Ryan, the word 'fat' isn't always bad, it is the way people use it that makes it bad....goes on explaining" Ok, mom, so you were bad when you said Reed has a fat tummy and legs. Those weren't kid words.</li>
<li>I wanna watch Winnie the Poop. Ha ha. Its "poop", right, Mom? "No, its Pooh. Like Pooh Bear." Oh, ok, so I can say PooP? Whinnie the Poop poop poop [hysterical giggling]</li>
<li>Reed, stop that screeching or mommy will come pick you up and we won't be able to wrestle with you anymore.</li>
<li>S: Who is faster, Batman or God? S; Ummmm, wait, I think Batman cuz he eats all his food. R: God doesn't eat food. S: Nope, God doesn't like food. R: Why would he make food if he doesn't like it? S: I don't know. R: Well, God doesn't have a mom that makes him eat everything on his plate. So Batman probably has more muscles from his food than God does. (this debate went on a looooong time, but eventually died of its own philosophical and theological weight, thanks)</li>
<li>Know what I love most about daddy? His phone...no, not his phone...his 'puter (computer)!</li>
<li>"Ryan, would it be fun to have a baby sister some day?" Um, no. No thank you. "Really? Mommy is a girl, don't you like girls and Mommy?" Um, no. Daddy said Sethy cries like a girl so maybe Seth can be like a girl.</li>
<li>In a conversation with Ryan I use the phrase, 'stand up for what is right'. Seth chimes in: "YES! Like this!" Demonstrates standing on his right foot only. :-/</li>
</ul>
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And its not even 1:00</div>
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(My comments in "quotes". Everything else is 100% theirs.) Anyone else's kids talk too much!?!?!?</div>
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<br /></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13839578822708777375noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2451479079098698156.post-28973655952012372872012-01-17T18:52:00.000-08:002012-01-17T18:52:56.408-08:00Ready, set, go!<div style="text-align: center;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Ready!</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3KmkgR5-flVy285amaRiinWIxvXFnduPUDuGKmp9C4rwDepdGNOg7HFE5Yoz2HjXDs6SRwN1ORe3um1voiH6p_eJuH5ySGF5sQ8MwyI3OLPWOvBTpuxm1Z7frM24AK-z-fx-CRQP51Q/s1600/DSC00052.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3KmkgR5-flVy285amaRiinWIxvXFnduPUDuGKmp9C4rwDepdGNOg7HFE5Yoz2HjXDs6SRwN1ORe3um1voiH6p_eJuH5ySGF5sQ8MwyI3OLPWOvBTpuxm1Z7frM24AK-z-fx-CRQP51Q/s320/DSC00052.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Set!</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Throw!</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi4u9FyXsyo1Q_yUDeQmXvk0Ucrh6vbYc6ppAMWi_Pi1Suv_kh-rZ8sLQWTTFv4GKIH4rWFROx0ZVwuStNnKe0YxucvJRQaHK3lSyptFdoknXoN-TDmuxzUySApD8RafghvNfuRtEKww/s1600/DSC00054.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi4u9FyXsyo1Q_yUDeQmXvk0Ucrh6vbYc6ppAMWi_Pi1Suv_kh-rZ8sLQWTTFv4GKIH4rWFROx0ZVwuStNnKe0YxucvJRQaHK3lSyptFdoknXoN-TDmuxzUySApD8RafghvNfuRtEKww/s320/DSC00054.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">GO! He's a crawler!</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYmn7Dt62QYW6Z7BixGhK1HY7gfviZq2uTd80CyV9Wsm_ekS1CV-CWYURUdQKXG4oqFhYZKrs88QHfIfn49bh55QZCEyFP3qaXi_zeqqj3WUMUcOqMojK4ytFRaaYkrAiA7iUHeg1-0Q/s1600/DSC00055.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYmn7Dt62QYW6Z7BixGhK1HY7gfviZq2uTd80CyV9Wsm_ekS1CV-CWYURUdQKXG4oqFhYZKrs88QHfIfn49bh55QZCEyFP3qaXi_zeqqj3WUMUcOqMojK4ytFRaaYkrAiA7iUHeg1-0Q/s320/DSC00055.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13839578822708777375noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2451479079098698156.post-1987287217600600332012-01-01T20:12:00.000-08:002012-01-01T20:12:00.270-08:00SHHHHHHHHH....quiet (books)Warning: this post will reveal my inner nerd. My dweebalicious dorkfulness. My hidden doofusina. (Perhaps those weren't as hidden as I'd like to believe.) But, continue as you'd like...and don't say I didn't warn you....<br />
<br />
Christmas. Since having children, I realize how easy it is to fall prey to the ads, the new latest and greatest gadgets...giving in to my kids' every wish. But for the last 4 years, we haven't. I know. Roll your eyes. Snort at my stupidity and naivete. It's just that they are so young and don't know (yet) to ask for the big stuff. And I KNOW that these days are numbered. They will soon understand all this DS, IPad, insert-expensive-gift-here hype and want one. And we'll have to deal with that then. But for now, we are simple. This isn't bragging. It's not comparing. It's just recognizing that while they are young, we intend to keep it as simple as we can. We are thankful that the true PRICELESS meaning of Christmas still edges out the glitter and excitement of Santa and presents....and we are happy to keep it that way....forever. Although we're not naive....I was a teenager once, too....and HAD to have Calvin Kleins. [One pair. That I wore all the time. That certain girls made fun of me (as if I couldn't hear them) for wearing 2 days in a row. Gasp. How could I? They had 46 pairs and never had to repeat an outfit. Why couldn't I be more like them? If they could only see me now: lounging in a hotel bed with 3 other little boys, who are tired and happy after an evening of swimming, arcade, pizza snarfing, watching a movie. Guess what? I'm wearing the same jeans I wore yesterday now, too. Kiss my jeans. Can't buy this amount of happiness and peace with a gazillion pairs of jeans. I hope you have on your new fancy $200 jeans and that they still bring you all kinds of happiness...the kind you get from apparently making fun of others......Wow, yikes, guess I'm still a little bitter over that incident.] Whew. ANYWAY.....<br />
Get to the point. Yep. Ok, I'll get moving. Gotta get the blood pressure back down.<br />
<br />
So, my point is...that while others are getting the cool stuff, I wanted my kids to have....drumroll please.....QUIET BOOKS. Is that not the antithesis of all the cool stuff these days? Yep. I warned you. I know you're all thinking, "wow, what a super cool mom she is! I bet her boys think she is the most awesome "with-it"-mom ever." Or maybe you're thinking, "What in the world is a quiet book?!?" Well, they are all over Etsy and other similar sites. They've been around. I casually mentioned to my mom a few months ago that I would love to have them for my boys. They teach skills - lots of skills (as you'll see), and they teach them to sit still and work on the task at hand. Which, frankly, one of my boys LOVES to do, and another NEEDS to do. So I was beyond thrilled to see them open these over Christmas. Ridiculously thrilled. Like as thrilled as I (thought I) was when I bought my first pair of CK jeans. The boys LOVE them. Like LOVE them. Church, car, waiting for food, before naps, before bed, randomly throughout the day. Love them. And they are just beautiful. Amazing detail, talent. Tons of stitches and work, and you can almost feel the grandma love oozing out of them ;) Here's a few pictures of the books. Not exactly the same genre as an iPad, but I'd argue they are even cooler...and they don't run out of batteries :)<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Spell your name; button</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwuiyLQVtwMy9v7oBexe-arcCpPI8uD7WjO6iumzB8IqxnIp9Hne6lc4vlqkix-Lz5uxFqsrRX9-l1C3UlgvENYQMaDRZpGPsKCGkqGa9_fHE1p8DvliopR-FErSwfPqag7ykAvXGOaA/s1600/DSC00031.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwuiyLQVtwMy9v7oBexe-arcCpPI8uD7WjO6iumzB8IqxnIp9Hne6lc4vlqkix-Lz5uxFqsrRX9-l1C3UlgvENYQMaDRZpGPsKCGkqGa9_fHE1p8DvliopR-FErSwfPqag7ykAvXGOaA/s200/DSC00031.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mail station: write a letter, mail it.<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEityVuZsX8G9SQE_tA_97SVJaRQHQT9iieBwuxZdBc1aamk6guWTmu04XuninRSePchkJtbQyKTcqQKvMOZK500eOSYhulX2j0_x6p88kQRwo1JjRjliW41vbB0xpbnslUwhyphenhyphenzqUJKXYw/s1600/DSC00032.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEityVuZsX8G9SQE_tA_97SVJaRQHQT9iieBwuxZdBc1aamk6guWTmu04XuninRSePchkJtbQyKTcqQKvMOZK500eOSYhulX2j0_x6p88kQRwo1JjRjliW41vbB0xpbnslUwhyphenhyphenzqUJKXYw/s200/DSC00032.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lace and tie. Farm; open the doors and there are 5 animal finger puppets<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ0t4zsVFIhA1i8qMEnXPio0m_SsJjclHCura5U0pZj7vCxQxpo-Hc-d9OMctsx2I17VmD_XCdcVkNCwelkicHe_aV-jf5cY7YUGMaZ_NmTs9E4K-CdqzChxmnHjd5bHtql47yUXp2og/s1600/DSC00033.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ0t4zsVFIhA1i8qMEnXPio0m_SsJjclHCura5U0pZj7vCxQxpo-Hc-d9OMctsx2I17VmD_XCdcVkNCwelkicHe_aV-jf5cY7YUGMaZ_NmTs9E4K-CdqzChxmnHjd5bHtql47yUXp2og/s200/DSC00033.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Try on the glove. Buckle up the vest<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhndjBCxIyZeSIS6m09gIMoLzncQNFAoXqEx1xpPLGmtEusmpJB0_4GcC-HpCLH-2K2_480nX7WbCpqtFtTXCt_takxlF77xPZWmjxnxDva7O1vUC6GUDBFIRMYZW_u8n2UGn2KthqaSA/s1600/DSC00034.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhndjBCxIyZeSIS6m09gIMoLzncQNFAoXqEx1xpPLGmtEusmpJB0_4GcC-HpCLH-2K2_480nX7WbCpqtFtTXCt_takxlF77xPZWmjxnxDva7O1vUC6GUDBFIRMYZW_u8n2UGn2KthqaSA/s200/DSC00034.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Whaddya know? It fits!<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGDLmGBrv60bOD76h-mhU9GfYrEa854WnqcdqgMNztqlQ-yDrurEtHW9i_kj4kLpKsCp7BFKYjL83ktCB6KdnYfmtIRpmO0PD2wrpxhWTD-pnmlI4efdmKVgtOSvgsttOz9dbg76e25Q/s1600/DSC00035.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGDLmGBrv60bOD76h-mhU9GfYrEa854WnqcdqgMNztqlQ-yDrurEtHW9i_kj4kLpKsCp7BFKYjL83ktCB6KdnYfmtIRpmO0PD2wrpxhWTD-pnmlI4efdmKVgtOSvgsttOz9dbg76e25Q/s200/DSC00035.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Counting/adding watermelon seeds<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCL9v828J118H0eyj-vghHsW_pDgsxZ3qBCOaMwRjlcyGm5ELmvxkO8h1r8mjH_bbQqVQ9NY9RsD1TRJFDppsaidA6aZXqo8eU113fdIU5JyuaquJ6Q7Ned5EFMYHEcf1h09ijMRE16A/s1600/DSC00036.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCL9v828J118H0eyj-vghHsW_pDgsxZ3qBCOaMwRjlcyGm5ELmvxkO8h1r8mjH_bbQqVQ9NY9RsD1TRJFDppsaidA6aZXqo8eU113fdIU5JyuaquJ6Q7Ned5EFMYHEcf1h09ijMRE16A/s200/DSC00036.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Snapping and zipping<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7R5QokmgGgA9r8w6UTLRwbbaI1_NIv-oik-366VxX7xmmyLzmbP8wIE6q3BATiIUKRTcOtH2HjO9XmJS2aYdt-roBlaWbavNn9cPRPFVoZSiO6NTDJZXPzMCJd3YEA7M97chWcJJxdA/s1600/DSC00037.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7R5QokmgGgA9r8w6UTLRwbbaI1_NIv-oik-366VxX7xmmyLzmbP8wIE6q3BATiIUKRTcOtH2HjO9XmJS2aYdt-roBlaWbavNn9cPRPFVoZSiO6NTDJZXPzMCJd3YEA7M97chWcJJxdA/s200/DSC00037.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Close up of the cute little lady bug<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMnPY3Owb5E78ZbeUajAWtRdiJCodgICi023VG7NRRPIkvgKZr_d2tfBYQo9zIKCugCBXRnBrP_xKdQGL7xYkBvbQQmdPoWfsM8SId0Jd2C8Gm4EVYm7ov8M20FvdjixxP0wmRQ-8vRA/s1600/DSC00038.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMnPY3Owb5E78ZbeUajAWtRdiJCodgICi023VG7NRRPIkvgKZr_d2tfBYQo9zIKCugCBXRnBrP_xKdQGL7xYkBvbQQmdPoWfsM8SId0Jd2C8Gm4EVYm7ov8M20FvdjixxP0wmRQ-8vRA/s200/DSC00038.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Complete with tags....<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyRBTMZPfKglibhgFVUqHzQAND69fDJiPBcirQR8Bai-gJLVMUnM9m4MVYVH7HP8aFSG27oymKbo0SwhTtoCKLrCxnsiClnNDj3EWbuqblZ4LvL46gZlalH3_7sLJ4I95wUAilJrsW0Q/s1600/DSC00040.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyRBTMZPfKglibhgFVUqHzQAND69fDJiPBcirQR8Bai-gJLVMUnM9m4MVYVH7HP8aFSG27oymKbo0SwhTtoCKLrCxnsiClnNDj3EWbuqblZ4LvL46gZlalH3_7sLJ4I95wUAilJrsW0Q/s200/DSC00040.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The front of RYAN's book<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh1_bxO3E6BXIrLhn62cmOlzdfyZfO4gNTvFx85b3_WU3Xh2WxP3_amW-S05gPfWgAByldWOmYdrDVtaUZixpXmJ8cB006EcenYgOwDkJuHK3ZgwYLpwF3AqQh054tMXBlS2HxQsRs9w/s1600/DSC00041.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh1_bxO3E6BXIrLhn62cmOlzdfyZfO4gNTvFx85b3_WU3Xh2WxP3_amW-S05gPfWgAByldWOmYdrDVtaUZixpXmJ8cB006EcenYgOwDkJuHK3ZgwYLpwF3AqQh054tMXBlS2HxQsRs9w/s200/DSC00041.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Snap the apples</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3dECAL84_F86WlOqqHSeWHiyWXzOECyrOx8HjWcYFwQbKyYFducOd9cGsgro11Jt9xOEA7DorBpFkFatNp5s4M-Py72bEs_T9e2QG6EV_5GpURyqrGT1-0gLARkJXdEHi4LfR8szd2Q/s1600/DSC00045.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3dECAL84_F86WlOqqHSeWHiyWXzOECyrOx8HjWcYFwQbKyYFducOd9cGsgro11Jt9xOEA7DorBpFkFatNp5s4M-Py72bEs_T9e2QG6EV_5GpURyqrGT1-0gLARkJXdEHi4LfR8szd2Q/s200/DSC00045.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Matching, lacing, tying, winding. And an abacus for counting/adding..or just sliding beads around.</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDwgh95qbKBzNC_Bo0v7U1Q5s-KnnGGzuCf0Psp8IWRpyS1XNDr9QtcdKS0zeG2pIfL7E9yOkFQaQg_mH1iC6LnYqFyGUaGKPs3vJDA2chUCVhhY2ls_IDM0Gh6AdJPIVQ9-iA07qfFg/s1600/DSC00046.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDwgh95qbKBzNC_Bo0v7U1Q5s-KnnGGzuCf0Psp8IWRpyS1XNDr9QtcdKS0zeG2pIfL7E9yOkFQaQg_mH1iC6LnYqFyGUaGKPs3vJDA2chUCVhhY2ls_IDM0Gh6AdJPIVQ9-iA07qfFg/s200/DSC00046.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Working on zipping, buttoning, buckling (those are NOT the aforementioned CK jeans!). Lacing.</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgloXWj2NImezeTHJpskxjB4i_R-M5ztnmLDEafX6yAtz9XuRPEhCDmZgLgKbNtpMoHQkfhnSPJzKYSqBeggrFbu8gqQKRyAq8KYNsWSHHd94cK06YhVxf7d_16jQvLDpcn6tCAn85big/s1600/DSC00047.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgloXWj2NImezeTHJpskxjB4i_R-M5ztnmLDEafX6yAtz9XuRPEhCDmZgLgKbNtpMoHQkfhnSPJzKYSqBeggrFbu8gqQKRyAq8KYNsWSHHd94cK06YhVxf7d_16jQvLDpcn6tCAn85big/s200/DSC00047.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Weaving, Wallet (velcro, magnet, sorting, etc)<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsJGvOzhL-bmvX1-X3bC5FGUXJPrIJphAtgvmI3sb73ymYKVfSIjqP65qptwB-9qJXXvGVjR_16dSzJuUY1K0NC_0ZPq5v7WGdhIRXVvLig98I-298Jh0fl4_I0BBHbSSaytN5zR11NA/s1600/DSC00048.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsJGvOzhL-bmvX1-X3bC5FGUXJPrIJphAtgvmI3sb73ymYKVfSIjqP65qptwB-9qJXXvGVjR_16dSzJuUY1K0NC_0ZPq5v7WGdhIRXVvLig98I-298Jh0fl4_I0BBHbSSaytN5zR11NA/s200/DSC00048.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Close up of wallet. Too bad that gift card and money is a fake....</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0D99G8x64SIvjvuiESZyn-0gIm9XJ0Tr_dbifEJooCse7PalWhT11ywIQxE2gCKU6vuXBHPHRKLGxs1JihaauRQvadNhdev5n79J47Bw3XdnKLjLmEB0JsH5ic_yUWaQHEcD_T1gzJQ/s1600/DSC00049.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0D99G8x64SIvjvuiESZyn-0gIm9XJ0Tr_dbifEJooCse7PalWhT11ywIQxE2gCKU6vuXBHPHRKLGxs1JihaauRQvadNhdev5n79J47Bw3XdnKLjLmEB0JsH5ic_yUWaQHEcD_T1gzJQ/s200/DSC00049.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tic-tac-toe!</td></tr>
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My Mom's pretty awesome. If you would want one for a gift, let me know and I'll get the information to you. They are cuuuuute!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13839578822708777375noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2451479079098698156.post-41510669921079290282012-01-01T18:31:00.000-08:002012-01-03T18:46:11.930-08:00My largest pinterest-inspired project yet.Yes, I'm a professional copy-cat. I'm not afraid to admit it. Why go to all the work of being original and creative when there are so many others out there willing to do the first part of the project for me? Right? So, when I saw this:<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ3HptTTsGe6w6pmI3WXSDqLOFzavGMxnSSH9x_I9Vo3kFJ-DPLpxTVxqmQMuvHDa-xbWrJyhIXVYEWnIS59TqZ2L5ml1XMpwfvpxO84xbIE2uBgCEeXQtTwOmqjzvYWfWYF0z5FZFmg/s1600/p_101327500.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ3HptTTsGe6w6pmI3WXSDqLOFzavGMxnSSH9x_I9Vo3kFJ-DPLpxTVxqmQMuvHDa-xbWrJyhIXVYEWnIS59TqZ2L5ml1XMpwfvpxO84xbIE2uBgCEeXQtTwOmqjzvYWfWYF0z5FZFmg/s320/p_101327500.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Source: Better Homes and Gardens</td></tr>
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....I knew I HAD to have it. Now, we had a beautiful sofa table in the area outside the kitchen (what was once the eat in kitchen, I think, but since the kitchen has been extended out slightly and the entry to the sunroom was added, the space really couldn't be "eaten in", so just an awkward open area). I loved that sofa table....Loved it. Got it 10 years ago when I bought my first house. It was one of my first non-Target/Walmart pieces of furniture. However, it was big, bulky, pretty, but so NOT practical. It stored about nothing and held about nothing on top. And I realized that in a house with 3 boys, practical beats pretty. BUT, this little pinspiration was pretty AND practical. Me thinks: 'How easy is this?!? A few bookshelves, a bench, some wainscoting, and a shelf! It will take like 10 minutes to execute.' And then....reality. Nothing is as easy. Sigh. BUT, all things considered this was pretty stinking easy. Here's mine.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg65-8W2fQIHxgooXxrcRE8tFjuGAyMNmPIn42zsHBxvYTOTtux-MC8PyuA9JM4TqkNtWLwtYaZxD8tLL-643hK1FtpeFPEBU2T3wHh0qXziXua-lINU2jAVjxeEhl5rw0vk2WWa8COIg/s1600/DSC00051.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg65-8W2fQIHxgooXxrcRE8tFjuGAyMNmPIn42zsHBxvYTOTtux-MC8PyuA9JM4TqkNtWLwtYaZxD8tLL-643hK1FtpeFPEBU2T3wHh0qXziXua-lINU2jAVjxeEhl5rw0vk2WWa8COIg/s320/DSC00051.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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<i>PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, notice my GRAY walls. That's GRAY. Say it with me, "GRAAAAY!" Not smokey lavender, not bluish-gray, not purple-ish gray. Just good old fashioned gray. Right? If you ever set foot in my kitchen and call my walls ANYTHING other than gray, I will <strike>kill you</strike> kindly disregard your <strike>ignorance, colorblindness </strike>opinion.</i><br />
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Sorry, where was I? Uh, yes.....Bookshelves (IKEA $30 each), Shelf (Amazon $39), Wainscoting (Home Depot $19, used half), Bench (FREE - it was the nursery's under-utilized toybox), Accessories (IKEA for next to nothing, or stuff we already had on hand), Bench cushion (....well...I underestimated the cost of foam, but got it half off thanks to a Hancock coupon, still...the foam, batting and the material were close to $40). So for $158, I can hide a LOT of junk. Mission Accomplished. Better Homes and Gardens, thanks for the inspiration. But, I like mine more. Hee hee hee. Oh, and there's another little pinspired item in there. See it? The shiny tall, skinny box on the right side? (next to the statuette of those 3 little cutie-patoooooties?) Yep, that's a cereal box, cut down, and covered with scrapbook paper to make a file folder, magazine holder, paper boxy thingy. That's more my speed that big furniture-organization units. :)Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13839578822708777375noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2451479079098698156.post-74220630315955921242011-11-29T09:34:00.001-08:002011-11-29T09:53:41.973-08:00Custom personalized artwork...LOVE ITMy super talented friend, <a href="http://petermariecharlton.blogspot.com/">Abby</a> (click her name...do it, do it, do it...her blog is WAY cooler than mine) has painted one of these for each of the boys when they were babies. I basically give her an idea and the colors and this is what she came up with:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ9XkuPy1x6-kV_f1M6h0l3JFf2raulInorMF4B21W-p-HZxT5J4apHFmQ6NTgEEGPIG52DU6Ridisnl50YWTeQI40FVlPUiE5alDJeJVq5jWabV1VIyjXkCYC3Rs6VIbjAuRjqFrhUw/s1600/DSC00099.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ9XkuPy1x6-kV_f1M6h0l3JFf2raulInorMF4B21W-p-HZxT5J4apHFmQ6NTgEEGPIG52DU6Ridisnl50YWTeQI40FVlPUiE5alDJeJVq5jWabV1VIyjXkCYC3Rs6VIbjAuRjqFrhUw/s320/DSC00099.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Aren't they awesome? Can you guess the theme. Nope, try again. Yes, you got it!: <b><i>football players</i></b>. Didn't see that one coming, did you?</div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;"><b>PERHAPS....</b></span></div>
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<i><b>Ryan will become a quarterback (he's sure bossy enough):</b></i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgPnArmw2iWGX-eAmAXIB2ca4R9NPSEJQuumU8B_RWu_Ghy8OQaRQsA945plBdE8Y08LGEvsk5l41azX1l7dEF35exgppL_YfKPXsfWZ-2lmyOupuPdT7xtImn8SnooY6LSvI_cpjiCg/s1600/DSC00097.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgPnArmw2iWGX-eAmAXIB2ca4R9NPSEJQuumU8B_RWu_Ghy8OQaRQsA945plBdE8Y08LGEvsk5l41azX1l7dEF35exgppL_YfKPXsfWZ-2lmyOupuPdT7xtImn8SnooY6LSvI_cpjiCg/s320/DSC00097.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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<i><b><br /></b></i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><b>Seth will become a running back (he's sure squirrely enough):</b></i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-UOEBMPoWe_KaOyAdXd2hM3YWqaohtvzDjlsM_WNW1uH8GzJXf_Upr4XJXpqpFidgZV4rGa4LqbM9C00Ak2f67BndM0IA70eLp2BCO06gnDFXnKfjkttUKrUDFfAdxc0sfUff2YiDow/s1600/DSC00096.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-UOEBMPoWe_KaOyAdXd2hM3YWqaohtvzDjlsM_WNW1uH8GzJXf_Upr4XJXpqpFidgZV4rGa4LqbM9C00Ak2f67BndM0IA70eLp2BCO06gnDFXnKfjkttUKrUDFfAdxc0sfUff2YiDow/s320/DSC00096.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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<i><b><br /></b></i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><b>Reed will become a linebacker (he's sure big enough...already):</b></i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyCjkRHoo6Ouv6dXl91GlgIK0rkThkbbkaKcNC7lfbhTE7gROsYI5hyem1SoyZOYjfBUHU98XTIpE91BCpkjCam7cp708lTOyUWhJQMgWkjbEgCrAjfEwdW2yFxMUQKoXqanna07Xn2g/s1600/DSC00094.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyCjkRHoo6Ouv6dXl91GlgIK0rkThkbbkaKcNC7lfbhTE7gROsYI5hyem1SoyZOYjfBUHU98XTIpE91BCpkjCam7cp708lTOyUWhJQMgWkjbEgCrAjfEwdW2yFxMUQKoXqanna07Xn2g/s320/DSC00094.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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<i><b><br /></b></i></div>
But who cares, maybe they'll all run cross country or something, <strike>We</strike> I would be okay with that. But we'll still have these paintings to decorate their rooms. If you are interested in having Abby do one for you, you can contact her by commenting on her blog. She does great work - the canvases are BIG. 20x24, but she can do any sizes you'd like. She is an all around artist, designer...can do anything. Thank you, Abby! for giving us something we will cherish for years and years! Even after the boys leave the house, I'll probably hang them by my bed or have them made into quilts or something....and sit there and cry and cry, remembering when they were just itty bitty babies. And maybe when I'm an old crazy lady, I'll crochet some pretty lace things to hang around the corners. Ahhhh, the possibilities.....Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13839578822708777375noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2451479079098698156.post-40549406754673119032011-11-28T13:10:00.001-08:002011-11-28T13:35:06.127-08:00Super Easy homemade dishwasher soapOf course I stole this off Pinterest, but it was SO easy that I wanted to post it so "all" could see....and to run the numbers on whether it is cheaper. (since I'm in such a numbers-crunching mood, it seems).<br />
<br />
<b>Ingredients </b>(all found at Walmart):<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJkviOf3d1VGnXShuZcJ77tSa85gaLl57WCwsaGBVX3OginqbhU0UGQqjpmN21QlbrHUwslPaoKYypJwGaMXcW3fq6hD0mhVuaB-H58rZP-JoZUxXXXXk0U5ZfblSzTtmh4Ug0qA6pEA/s1600/DSC00063.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJkviOf3d1VGnXShuZcJ77tSa85gaLl57WCwsaGBVX3OginqbhU0UGQqjpmN21QlbrHUwslPaoKYypJwGaMXcW3fq6hD0mhVuaB-H58rZP-JoZUxXXXXk0U5ZfblSzTtmh4Ug0qA6pEA/s320/DSC00063.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>2 cups Lemi Shine</b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>2 cups Super Washing Soda</b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>2 cups Borax</b></div>
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<b>1 cup Kosher salt</b></div>
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<b>White vinegar for rinsing aid</b></div>
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<b>Instructions</b>: mix and dump. 1 Tbs per load.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqmkYAmMCh6ObjBpPaMgjfA6TbTX_wcQ9FJKC4JuIGqWa_-RRj75Ygevur27KUkUKcXilg6D3trJ2Zi__snaq-kyurAiKaq6MkI7rfv6PpM9eKOGRIa5i2YNQM-PUPD2c0Qeok-9EReA/s1600/DSC00065.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqmkYAmMCh6ObjBpPaMgjfA6TbTX_wcQ9FJKC4JuIGqWa_-RRj75Ygevur27KUkUKcXilg6D3trJ2Zi__snaq-kyurAiKaq6MkI7rfv6PpM9eKOGRIa5i2YNQM-PUPD2c0Qeok-9EReA/s320/DSC00065.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<b>Cost breakdown:</b><br />
Lemi shine (used all): 3.77<br />
Borax: .71<br />
Washing soda: 1.12<br />
Salt (had on hand, but whatever): 1.00<br />
Vinegar (had on hand) : not including because this is a rinse aid<br />
Total cost: $6.60<br />
Number of loads: 112<br />
Cost per load: $0.059<br />
<br />
Compare to Cascade (75 ounce package): Cost per load: $0.65. BUT, this is per TBS and Cascade recommends more than this per load.<br />
<br />
<b>Conclusion</b>: <b>So it saved a few bucks in all</b>. And I'm not a scientist...so I can't set whether the ingredients in the Arm & Hammer and Borax are "healthier" than those in Cascade. But I think over the long run this will be cheaper and easier, especially when you only use 1/4 to 1/3 of the boxes of washing soda and borax...you'll only need to buy the Lemi Shine every other month or so. Makes things easy.<br />
<b><br /></b><br />
<b>Bigger-Deal Conclusion</b>: My dishes were cleaner and shinier. Glasses weren't grimy and "foggy", but squeaky clean and sparkly. For this reason, I love the homemade dish soap!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13839578822708777375noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2451479079098698156.post-17792669798002548442011-11-28T08:44:00.001-08:002011-11-28T09:30:58.869-08:00Running the numbers on baby foodA big project this weekend was to make baby chow for my loves-to-eat-anything-6 month old. For all 3 boys, I've made about 90% of their food. Yes, we do buy some for convenience's sake, its not like we're opposed to the idea. It is just something I like to do, I can do, and I thought was cheaper and healthier. Here's what we did. Yes, I said WE...this time Troy even helped and got his hands dirty. It made a big (fun) chore into about a 3 hour project.<br />
<b>Step 1</b>. Shop - bulk is best, but you don't always need bulk. 6-7 HUGE sweet potatoes make a LOT. And a few bunches of bananas go a loooong way, too. But bulk apples, pears, carrots are necessary.<br />
<b>Step 2</b>. Put big boys to bed for a nap.<br />
<b>Step 3.</b> Unexpectedly, Reed awakes. Keep him busy with a pretzel rod.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSi-R50sEm0GIy4B4KdwIyoLU8a3eVH_soHgTuS3vv7LX3rUh_GRVJP7PzK23c_7TRC9B-P6MRGiB75N0BEU-B8_KmdlUM-DeNtJInNWgs_Yb4PelOoXoScL1Yx6mnFf3PQebShgMuig/s1600/DSC00067.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSi-R50sEm0GIy4B4KdwIyoLU8a3eVH_soHgTuS3vv7LX3rUh_GRVJP7PzK23c_7TRC9B-P6MRGiB75N0BEU-B8_KmdlUM-DeNtJInNWgs_Yb4PelOoXoScL1Yx6mnFf3PQebShgMuig/s320/DSC00067.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
<b>Step 4. </b> Start peeling and cooking. I use all 4 burners on the stove for steaming/boiling/blanching/whatevering, and have 2-3 casserole dishes in the oven baking (apples with a splash of cinnamon cuz I'm just that nice; cranberry-apple, pears, squash, etc)<br />
<b>Step 5</b>. Get the food processor going. I only have one and my blender wasn't working well at all, so we had a long ling waiting for the processor...but that's ok.<br />
<b>Step 6</b>. From the processor to individual bowls to cool. Some people mix them up right away (like mixing strawberries with apples or whatever), but I like to keep them all separate until I know exactly what I end up with.<br />
<b>Step 7. </b> Put in individual containers. I filled old baby food jars and containers, then used some canning containers to put in larger amounts of the staples - carrots, beans, bananas, apples - that we use more often since these hold 7-8 ounces (about 3 feedings). Excess went into ice cube trays to freeze. Once frozen into cube shape, dumped into a NICE QUALITY double-zip bag. The last thing I want to do is have all my hard work get freezer burn, so I get the best bags they have. I didn't have enough room or ice cube trays, so this part of the freezing goes in segments. Freeze in trays, dump in bags, repeat, repeat, repeat, repeat.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMH9LoJeT0Rkx7P57CUZGxQ0jDkUbUa851DKAM2drrl4RGHXuM4S2mdD_AJuf7MD456hCA0E33bCqxRHKQUW8oJznSIsAByLhr7QUs3-0NmWK52LyGAj8q4sUWPoiWEjv82QKKy5EGnw/s1600/DSC00087.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMH9LoJeT0Rkx7P57CUZGxQ0jDkUbUa851DKAM2drrl4RGHXuM4S2mdD_AJuf7MD456hCA0E33bCqxRHKQUW8oJznSIsAByLhr7QUs3-0NmWK52LyGAj8q4sUWPoiWEjv82QKKy5EGnw/s320/DSC00087.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<b><br /></b><br />
<b>To eat: </b> The individual baby food containers are frozen, then I get out a few days supply at once to thaw in the fridge. They can be warmed up, then the jars are reused by putting in the frozen cubes. The cubes are 1 ounce, but I overfill them before freezing, so they are almost 1.5 ounces. 2 cubes fit in a small container and 3 fit in a larger container.<br />
<br />
So here is the fun part. I spent $41 on groceries. Plus to be fair, add in the cost of the bags $6 (but I won't use them all). The baby food that we would buy (on sale) is $.50 per serving. I imagine that you can find cheaper baby food, but we like a certain kind and this is the rock bottom bulk price. Here's what my $41 got us:<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">268 servings.</span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
So, if I would have purchased 268 servings at the sales price I would spend $134.00, or $0.50 per serving. I spent only $47, at a whopping $0.17 per serving. Saving me....grabbing the calculator.....$87. Doesn't that sound great? I know it's not hundreds and thousands of dollars, but consider this: I've done this for 3 kids, and the savings multiply since this is *only* approximately 2.5 months of food. So I'm estimating that I've saved (or will save by the time Reed moves to solid people food)......</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
2.4(there are 2.4 two-and-a-half month-periods in a 6 month period of eating baby food) x $87 savings x 3 kids =</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>SIX HUNDRED TWENTY SIX DOLLARS</b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>$626</b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Boom! </b>Throw in the intangible happy feelings of knowing what you're feeding your baby, the bonding time with your husband in the kitchen...and it really is a priceless activity. The other part I'll mention is that my food processor was FREE. Yep, I got it from Troy's Aunt Karen. If I recall, she got it for her wedding and never used it. Bonus. I bet there are lots of unused and unloved food processors out there. Just go ask around. Mine isn't huge....having a big one would be a nice Christmas present (hint hint)</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
And for those of you that are curious about what all I made, the list is below. This is just the main ingredients. We did a LOT of mixing based on Troy's taste-testing ideas. For example, strawberry + apple; blueberry + pear, peas + carrots, and other combos.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<ol>
<li style="text-align: left;">Sweet potato</li>
<li style="text-align: left;">Carrots</li>
<li style="text-align: left;">Mixed veggies - carrots, peas, something I'm forgetting</li>
<li style="text-align: left;">Mixed veggies - carrots, corn, peas</li>
<li style="text-align: left;">Spaghetti squash</li>
<li style="text-align: left;">Peas</li>
<li style="text-align: left;">Green beans</li>
<li style="text-align: left;">Peaches</li>
<li style="text-align: left;">Fruit blend - frozen fruit package. Only fruit listed as ingredient (was the most expensive thing I purchased)</li>
<li style="text-align: left;">Bananas</li>
<li style="text-align: left;">Yellow squash (summer squash)</li>
<li style="text-align: left;">Pears</li>
<li style="text-align: left;">Apples</li>
<li style="text-align: left;">Blueberries</li>
<li style="text-align: left;">Cranberries</li>
<li style="text-align: left;">Strawberries</li>
</ol>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Our kids never liked avocado or kiwi, so didn't buy those this time. Note: white potatoes - tried it; they don't freeze well at all. </div>
<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13839578822708777375noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2451479079098698156.post-2973323267551352542011-11-09T20:31:00.000-08:002011-11-09T20:36:39.036-08:00Thankful for great teachers!Some thanksgiving crafting! Our boys attend an absolutely wonderful preschool. We are SO happy with our choice to enroll them in their school. So we made some crafts to say "thank you". Of course, I did 99.8% of the work, but the boys did pick out the paper and decided which teacher should get which clipboard. This was a really cheap, fun and easy project to do.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixbzS6PL6AXfbskFqz0yFOLP__OWkaYCH9g7X5dXRuncWplclFxc69UXBw6NOSjicfIw0SYsYQ9bqFOE0hiMkIU_zxupHJRZ1qquX18844tjy_4LSuox82T7ZXgnI43It8_4UgsY8O_g/s1600/DSC00049.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" ida="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixbzS6PL6AXfbskFqz0yFOLP__OWkaYCH9g7X5dXRuncWplclFxc69UXBw6NOSjicfIw0SYsYQ9bqFOE0hiMkIU_zxupHJRZ1qquX18844tjy_4LSuox82T7ZXgnI43It8_4UgsY8O_g/s320/DSC00049.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>1. Bought cheap plain clipboards.<br />
2. Cut out scrapbook paper (already on hand) and adhered (with spray adhesive) to the clipboard.<br />
3. Modge-podged (yes, thats a verb) over the entire top and sides.<br />
4. Printed out some funky letters on scratch paper, then used them as a pattern and cut out the same letters on coordinating scrapbook paper.<br />
5. Adhered the letter to the clipboard and modge-podged over the letter. <br />
6. Added a note pad on top, with a letter of thanks, singed by the boys. <br />
<br />
Voila! <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim6P00_hJn-CU8iR2SOmLXQ_b6et_6eWdCufHIG4pQL1rBD1NkqvoUatNmWuxicsCWPvW6tBD7StxKFIbBHsNgLt-i-aQfJq0Xsd7R8CEou94g1C5XQQHYEfq9ltAHuLzp9Wlfy5bGaA/s1600/DSC00050.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" ida="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim6P00_hJn-CU8iR2SOmLXQ_b6et_6eWdCufHIG4pQL1rBD1NkqvoUatNmWuxicsCWPvW6tBD7StxKFIbBHsNgLt-i-aQfJq0Xsd7R8CEou94g1C5XQQHYEfq9ltAHuLzp9Wlfy5bGaA/s320/DSC00050.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS80mw9Ebajps7jvCH_9JN-hnW5iex-h6V_6drucPASwpJ5QxCnvJthc99AHuKoM7ALwvMQD3HkUd6UDW85bj1LoCiieLRXN5wTVzXtls8DBErl_zXn1IkFoFCEke-uyxD_bMK0pPnkQ/s1600/DSC00051.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" ida="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS80mw9Ebajps7jvCH_9JN-hnW5iex-h6V_6drucPASwpJ5QxCnvJthc99AHuKoM7ALwvMQD3HkUd6UDW85bj1LoCiieLRXN5wTVzXtls8DBErl_zXn1IkFoFCEke-uyxD_bMK0pPnkQ/s320/DSC00051.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Close-up of the letter for Miss Wendy :) Isn't it cute?</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqnXLg9elvRXpXoZL_vkk7I1VG17TeqPOX2ZcSSZFhiQNX2hoxu92mmokjNfGTnDXk_JwFH2mI2p8oYDkTjRZHmLRoW8qlCL6WCNprvlMmi8PB-lUd_AcRiJlyF5o26LSRbAdi6LyqiQ/s1600/DSC00052.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" ida="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqnXLg9elvRXpXoZL_vkk7I1VG17TeqPOX2ZcSSZFhiQNX2hoxu92mmokjNfGTnDXk_JwFH2mI2p8oYDkTjRZHmLRoW8qlCL6WCNprvlMmi8PB-lUd_AcRiJlyF5o26LSRbAdi6LyqiQ/s320/DSC00052.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Now, wouldn't you want to carry around this clipboard all day?!?</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Keep this fun and thrifty craft in mind when you need something quick and inexpensive for someone you're thankful for! AND, wouldn't they be so cute hung on the wall by a desk or organization-station? <br />
<br />
AND, I know you can buy cute clipboards, probably way cuter than this....but they aren't personalized, and I'm pretty sure they won't have my boys fingerprints in the modge podge :)Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13839578822708777375noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2451479079098698156.post-41489091782535481442011-11-08T19:26:00.000-08:002011-11-08T19:26:53.326-08:00Freezer is stocked now :)Every year after football season I take a deep breath. A really deeeeeep, loooooong one....like a week long deep breath. Its such a relief to have Troy home before 9 PM for a change (and home on Saturday and Sunday), that I just get so completely excited about having help that I actually stall out and get way behind. It never makes sense - I can keep things going, clean, cooked, etc when I'm on my own, but he comes home and after our "Thanksgiving" feast (first day of no football celebration), I go into coast-mode and don't cook, clean, do anything for a few days. End result - WAY behind. It doesn't take too long for this family to fall behind! So, I made some headway a few days ago with some freezer cooking. This batch was a very meaty one, snacks and meat main dishes. With sides of veggies and fruits to be added in. Here's what I did this time. <br />
First, I brainstorm what I want to make. Usually I make plan this based on what I find on sale. I got a good deal on ground turkey and beef and I had some sausages in the freezer already, so I knew this was going to be a meaty one.<br />
I made a chart like this:<br />
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It lists the main ingredients on the top and the meals/snacks on the side. It ain't pretty, but it helps me organize how many of each thing I need, how many pounds of meat, etc. Then off to the left (not included in this one), I list the "other" ingredients I need. This process just helps me have a use for everything I buy.<br />
<br />
I'll not include all the instructions for everything I made. Just a few things:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>A few days before cooking, I made a quadruple batch of the Pioneer Woman's bread dough. I put it in the fridge, covered. (Pioneer Woman recommends letting it sit for at least 24 hours).</li>
<li>I cooked all the meat at the same time. Ground beef in the crockpot - you CAN dump it in the crockpot frozen in the morning, and by midafternoon, it's perfect. Chicken - some was baked, some was cooked on the stove in stock, some was cooked in crockpot. Sausages - stovetop. Did it all at the same time and let it all cool.</li>
<li>I then just set up an assembly line and used my chart to determine what all the main meats were for. It got very confusing since I was using beef in several recipes, chicken in several, etc. </li>
<li>For most items, I cook them halfway, allow to cool, then freeze. And usually, you'll have to cook it according to the full time instructions, since you're cooking from frozen.</li>
</ul>
<div>
So out of this batch, I made:</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Shredded chicken - fajitas</li>
<li>Buffalo chicken wraps</li>
<li>Cubed chicken (for salad, soup, casserole, whatever)</li>
<li>Sausage wontons (a good way to use up leftover sausage). Glad I took the time to freeze this, since Troy ate them all the next day :)</li>
<li>Ham and cheese (with broccoli, gag) stromboli</li>
<li>Turkey and cheese stromboli</li>
<li>Calzones - several different kinds, I just put in whatever I had - beef, sausage, cheese, tomatoes, peppers, ricotta, seasoning, sauces, etc.</li>
<li>Turkey meatballs</li>
<li>Sausage/beef meatballs</li>
<li>2 pounds of taco meat</li>
<li>Bacon rollups</li>
<li>Grinder meat</li>
<li>Twice baked potatoes</li>
</ul>
<div>
The best thing about this list is that it is all things that Troy likes and can throw in the oven, throw together some sides and make a meal, or just warm something up for a snack. If you want any of the specific recipes or instructions, let me know...I'll be happy to send them to you. Get inspired! Make a chart...it feels SO good! And stock your fridge...then take an evening off - go shopping, go get a coffee and do nothing, whatever, and leave your happy hubby home with food. I just might do this! </div>
</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13839578822708777375noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2451479079098698156.post-1428902438923274412011-11-08T18:42:00.000-08:002011-11-08T18:42:29.754-08:00Good CLEAN fun, for FREE! Early this morning, before we left for the day's adventures, we took about 5 minutes to prepare a "surprise" for bath time tonight. We filled an ice cube tray with water, and the boys took turns squeezing drops of food coloring into the different cubes. They know their colors (and if Seth hasn't already told you 4,569 times, his favorite color is GREEN!), but are still practicing mixing colors....red and blue makes PURPLE! Wow! Pretty amazing stuff to a 3 and 4 year old :) So, they made some plain, some mixed...we said some magic words and popped it in the freezer.<br />
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Tonight at bath time, we pulled out our colorful ice....learned what happens when you freeze a liquid!....and then the fun began. We dropped a few into the bath and the boys had a BLAST trying to catch them, watching them melt, seeing all the colors spread and combine in the water, what FUN! You've GOT to try it. I *might* have some green under my fingernails tomorrow, but it was totally worth it! An hour of fun for FREE and we learned quite a bit along the way. Winner!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG_3LPignGDstUlRDL2KoLw5048Hd7ySBHHQ7CY84_0b7bl4t3UdqNzPsXgf2OD_Isb7SZ04DS5bhO0G9w8OE9yU6zkuO81I1xMU3jR2ATxMrG5C0bRl68-jn-IngkKdgBHqlu9_Tgew/s1600/DSC00027.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG_3LPignGDstUlRDL2KoLw5048Hd7ySBHHQ7CY84_0b7bl4t3UdqNzPsXgf2OD_Isb7SZ04DS5bhO0G9w8OE9yU6zkuO81I1xMU3jR2ATxMrG5C0bRl68-jn-IngkKdgBHqlu9_Tgew/s320/DSC00027.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">He caught one!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7DLVC6WE_rmSO2V35oev2L_zpoMUUT9So70f2EI_envjXDHq39kpKkuXrbJlI07i3FzOR5BrxrCCNV3IEajU7CURtI3zsE9BtFcoXu7NAphCmdRELdMokpvnUWVJTL58IIfFetWrifQ/s1600/DSC00037.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7DLVC6WE_rmSO2V35oev2L_zpoMUUT9So70f2EI_envjXDHq39kpKkuXrbJlI07i3FzOR5BrxrCCNV3IEajU7CURtI3zsE9BtFcoXu7NAphCmdRELdMokpvnUWVJTL58IIfFetWrifQ/s320/DSC00037.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We ended up with a green bath. Seth was THRILLED!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnn88ZXWSe3KqqqmMhu4dzdMTqJ0L76fMtBu6oux4CPFQK7HjEEyssc9RtlwWTqMR7agj5pjueFlbWfSRbZiEqXxzFxGKhgu2btbWaXTGfG6z0loVxcLTw9uZyfGHvlWuHXEX6PhPKUw/s1600/DSC00040.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnn88ZXWSe3KqqqmMhu4dzdMTqJ0L76fMtBu6oux4CPFQK7HjEEyssc9RtlwWTqMR7agj5pjueFlbWfSRbZiEqXxzFxGKhgu2btbWaXTGfG6z0loVxcLTw9uZyfGHvlWuHXEX6PhPKUw/s320/DSC00040.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We were only going to do a few...but it was too fun! Did all of them :) </td></tr>
</tbody></table>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13839578822708777375noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2451479079098698156.post-33964168109717934952011-10-31T20:21:00.000-07:002011-10-31T20:21:28.813-07:00Family picturesI've been checking the mail with sweaty palms and pounding heart.....in excited anticipation of receiving our pictures from the one and only, amazingly talented C&A Photography. I don't know how she turned 2 wild monkeys, 1 hungry/fussy baby, 1 grumpy football coach and 1 self-conscious and obsessive mom into moderaly normal looking people...but she did. Here are a few of my favorites. XOXOXO!<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13839578822708777375noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2451479079098698156.post-52192087077237777062011-10-30T20:31:00.000-07:002011-10-30T20:31:59.659-07:00Party like he's THREE!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
We had a smashing weekend celebrating our little monkey Seth's birthday. He took the day in stride....having a blast at a monkey-themed party, hanging out with friends and family, and getting an abundance of gifts. So! Much! Fun! Here are some picture highlights of the day:</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I have no idea why there is a bite missing....</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">(Nice crazy lady in the background)</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Opening his brother's gift....or more accurately, watching his brother open his gift.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Poor Uncle Matt's back went out during the party. Ouch. But had to take a picture, right? </td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I don't know why he didn't like his tattoo...I thought it was pretty cute!?!?</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The birthday boy wanted Monkey tails (hot dogs) as his main dish. I think the guests were thrilled to eat such fine cuisine :-/</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Observation 1: Football is ALWAYS on (though it was muted). Observation 2: Grandma Sue shoving her mouth full of cupcake. Ha ha ha ha!!! </td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Seth and his cuz, Sydney....all the other cousins were outside wrestling, of course :)</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Some purty girls eating banana splits.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The shirt says it perfectly...</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Refuses to look at the camera, but he's still cute.</td></tr>
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Thanks for making this day such a fun one for Seth. Seems like last month I was wondering what kind of kid Seth would be, trying to imagine him talking and walking. And now.....wow. Seth really rounds out our family. A great combination of silly and sweet, talkative and watchful, energetic and thoughtful, sensitive and confident. The middle child....right in the middle of my heart. Happy birthday, buddy!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13839578822708777375noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2451479079098698156.post-27501396118521817332011-10-20T18:12:00.001-07:002011-10-20T18:13:06.245-07:00He's almost THREE<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZ1cMlkWXn9Gg9HS6l7HY6eJy68MfBLeCQfF-DHDtaEjPUs9eDFVWvA-HM42Gx5eHyjZS_xtnClqpyOIqVcKrUp7X8P7phqWvl2i0Mqpw6Ip0_kVQ1gUMCVIkbXNOtIFl-EkplfwgMSw/s1600/Seth+age+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" rda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZ1cMlkWXn9Gg9HS6l7HY6eJy68MfBLeCQfF-DHDtaEjPUs9eDFVWvA-HM42Gx5eHyjZS_xtnClqpyOIqVcKrUp7X8P7phqWvl2i0Mqpw6Ip0_kVQ1gUMCVIkbXNOtIFl-EkplfwgMSw/s400/Seth+age+3.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13839578822708777375noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2451479079098698156.post-41418005519920338862011-10-18T19:52:00.000-07:002011-10-18T19:52:25.984-07:00Trying to cope with "the Hoarder"...you know who I'm talking about<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJZBctxOHla4R2dQGHa8cmJdf6bCf_aMTGRF82wND-4XaoVwJZNxNRPvcwapiF9vKrRe2XT3wrALEfbT3nnHicTrFbLYteBP7QYuGyU3BxZSFhXEL79-ygfQMoiHxrQjlWCLvqnZe25A/s1600/DSC00022.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" oda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJZBctxOHla4R2dQGHa8cmJdf6bCf_aMTGRF82wND-4XaoVwJZNxNRPvcwapiF9vKrRe2XT3wrALEfbT3nnHicTrFbLYteBP7QYuGyU3BxZSFhXEL79-ygfQMoiHxrQjlWCLvqnZe25A/s320/DSC00022.JPG" width="320" /></a>Oh, our little hoarding monster. I LOVE that he LOVES so many things. I LOVE that he understands the importance of keeping and valuing things....but *things* can become *idols* pretty quickly and we're trying hard to keep *things* as just *things*. But to a kid that wants to keep every single Sunday School paper, instructions, daddy's paper trash, receipts, paper inserts in DVDs or games, plastic baggies, you get the picture, we know it is going to be a struggle to balance appreciating the things we have and not making them a big deal by keeping and becoming attached to them. [Ok, I know some of you that are thinking I'm going totally overboard with this, but trust me....we come from a long history of hoarders. Not like the dirty TV show, more like the kind that keep 17 vacuum cleaners just "cuz". Gotta get this under control.] Aaaaanyway, so preschool has opened up a new chapter of hoarding opportunities. Treasures come home each day and EACH deserves fridge-honors, right? So, I had the crazy forward-thinking liberating idea of putting a cap on the keeping. I certainly didn't pitch it to him like that, more like this: "Hey! Lets decorate a special folder to keep your most special papers from preschool! Only your favorite and best work should be saved in this special folder, and other things, we'll just look at, learn from, and then let them go...." Thinking, hey!...not a bad idea. One folder for each year of school: 13 folders, 3 kids, this is manageable. Only problem is that it is the 6th week of school and the folder is already full. Love that kid. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ6TX3S-VNA3Op1qvqoZ_pmZwjP4FNBOs_8ta48D27hTDIFjU19zU5ozwv-jEAPH-MkM6hQ1LyR3hlmyudSw8WkcvMVYcRSMdDXWrJwjb8Id9wsG6yG65nbC0WmCr6cOTn1j-4k0MOoQ/s1600/DSC00024.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" oda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ6TX3S-VNA3Op1qvqoZ_pmZwjP4FNBOs_8ta48D27hTDIFjU19zU5ozwv-jEAPH-MkM6hQ1LyR3hlmyudSw8WkcvMVYcRSMdDXWrJwjb8Id9wsG6yG65nbC0WmCr6cOTn1j-4k0MOoQ/s320/DSC00024.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13839578822708777375noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2451479079098698156.post-57716974644750186792011-10-13T12:52:00.000-07:002011-10-14T08:14:41.373-07:00No monkeys were hurt in the creation of these invitationsI really like birthday parties. I *tend* to go overboard....all for my own entertainment. That's all I'll say. Seth's birthday party is coming soon. He settled on a monkey theme. Fits him perfectly, right? Well, here's the invites. Super easy, no really - took about an hour. And cheap!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiks6wv293y60ufMEoFE0fW_YeXcwGgnvE_D66l5dDBnJENU9ct4s5aMm1oBPFGqlsHvd51vSMfVFqjDyxWhCT9ZlbLKQmjdpWhyxOfc1hNjlvtGfQR7dDV9axnTRnfO6MaD2OPIm3eKQ/s1600/invite2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240px" oda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiks6wv293y60ufMEoFE0fW_YeXcwGgnvE_D66l5dDBnJENU9ct4s5aMm1oBPFGqlsHvd51vSMfVFqjDyxWhCT9ZlbLKQmjdpWhyxOfc1hNjlvtGfQR7dDV9axnTRnfO6MaD2OPIm3eKQ/s320/invite2.jpg" width="320px" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The invite package.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJCLihNwxTpHNL6zitE6dDdbcfk0aRD4tyz3pWbL8zQ4dNMQa-yKdVEGHDv9Ov1E24ZDV8xn-3Dr6e1C2ACQWSbv5PY0EKwX8qlwDKbaJmIPPdt1KEp2uPileU4MN3mqkvxx-TXYNu1Q/s1600/invite1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240px" oda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJCLihNwxTpHNL6zitE6dDdbcfk0aRD4tyz3pWbL8zQ4dNMQa-yKdVEGHDv9Ov1E24ZDV8xn-3Dr6e1C2ACQWSbv5PY0EKwX8qlwDKbaJmIPPdt1KEp2uPileU4MN3mqkvxx-TXYNu1Q/s320/invite1.jpg" width="320px" /></a></div> <br />
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<tr><td style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYEqZ_uB4xs1eFBhbvKVyNX9ZL09oHgaMGtCj935MsokKVBRyZ0F9oOyRzqD-RZX9MoP4bnkaAvqBJXpNDvTRcOSPdLGkOPcM67PUfIHTALUfKSKnHVf_aI_DIw3Lhyphenhyphenex64UTgj3VenA/s1600/DSC00002.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240px" oda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYEqZ_uB4xs1eFBhbvKVyNX9ZL09oHgaMGtCj935MsokKVBRyZ0F9oOyRzqD-RZX9MoP4bnkaAvqBJXpNDvTRcOSPdLGkOPcM67PUfIHTALUfKSKnHVf_aI_DIw3Lhyphenhyphenex64UTgj3VenA/s320/DSC00002.JPG" width="320px" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Step 1: made moon shapes in Word, typed invite information inside the moon. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Used lots of puns, cuz i'm punny like that. </div></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9bGMwUksHuE-dz0LnLf7Z6PLAcMKq1ekmXdL2pELOn2IcAK71KIubvT8i_IfFw2pEhdz_DprQ0VB15xu5yZI4WmGFHFsKV7uCqXXgc4_DZPfJB1_wvKhvm-swhogsXEWG_z1-01b04Q/s1600/DSC00003.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240px" oda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9bGMwUksHuE-dz0LnLf7Z6PLAcMKq1ekmXdL2pELOn2IcAK71KIubvT8i_IfFw2pEhdz_DprQ0VB15xu5yZI4WmGFHFsKV7uCqXXgc4_DZPfJB1_wvKhvm-swhogsXEWG_z1-01b04Q/s320/DSC00003.JPG" width="320px" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;">Free-handed the stem at the top, cut them out, then cut a section for the top of the banana - it will be the part you see when you open the banana so I used a lighter yellow textured paper that I had on hand.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxv83jWX7fP4I71g6i9SNkNsFd555sRj5rNy-0tHOYeSvn9OfF0fWhu9GELBEBqS6hEd-97Fi79OJGNZcjUAYchYNS_VujS_PkHLTMklatxHo4V5G29uePxalbNyU2uMaXOGa4knO29g/s1600/DSC00004.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240px" oda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxv83jWX7fP4I71g6i9SNkNsFd555sRj5rNy-0tHOYeSvn9OfF0fWhu9GELBEBqS6hEd-97Fi79OJGNZcjUAYchYNS_VujS_PkHLTMklatxHo4V5G29uePxalbNyU2uMaXOGa4knO29g/s320/DSC00004.JPG" width="320px" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;">Inside view. Just colored the stem with a brown marker, cut the bottom off at an angle and glued on the lighter yellow waffle-paper.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCUp0Hm-5PG3TuhfGZEKATJ1Q1CT6jwnSrPmcYHZ27jJ2lbwrDZYu_L1VlgeHFds59pgW9Eal9y-TtrreY957NnaiH1u6a29RaXWEAgKOoTl4uiua_mkfILanWM_-VqFYiRIdR7ywkuQ/s1600/DSC00006.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240px" oda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCUp0Hm-5PG3TuhfGZEKATJ1Q1CT6jwnSrPmcYHZ27jJ2lbwrDZYu_L1VlgeHFds59pgW9Eal9y-TtrreY957NnaiH1u6a29RaXWEAgKOoTl4uiua_mkfILanWM_-VqFYiRIdR7ywkuQ/s320/DSC00006.JPG" width="320px" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;">Cut out foam fronts - using the pattern I already created. Then just cut down an inch or two to make a peel in the banana.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhArlVRJNSGBn8_Ozrc9VS_OzLDG53dI0R4Qcbomjh5446nRnK9vX0KgOUEe-KNGqHIkZlv15vcDT641dwgqyagEXF9goj4rCMk2ybz2FabLbeNTcQipIxoIOGx8Ux4WKFocTaZVwLWZA/s1600/DSC00010.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240px" oda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhArlVRJNSGBn8_Ozrc9VS_OzLDG53dI0R4Qcbomjh5446nRnK9vX0KgOUEe-KNGqHIkZlv15vcDT641dwgqyagEXF9goj4rCMk2ybz2FabLbeNTcQipIxoIOGx8Ux4WKFocTaZVwLWZA/s320/DSC00010.JPG" width="320px" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;">Hot glue-gunned the foam part on the invitation part - just at the very bottom.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-COEhubJxqiqQ92TIn3uUuZNaipdOYsBpSWKFDzsOaUwrlmidlKCB3RTSLKKHQW9vdWrPRWzaorwFjSrXQ8paaHNe0N50Sq8We-ZGm9W9aU84epeXinNIaqBvxslfMtj2gklC9IEdOA/s1600/DSC00007.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240px" oda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-COEhubJxqiqQ92TIn3uUuZNaipdOYsBpSWKFDzsOaUwrlmidlKCB3RTSLKKHQW9vdWrPRWzaorwFjSrXQ8paaHNe0N50Sq8We-ZGm9W9aU84epeXinNIaqBvxslfMtj2gklC9IEdOA/s320/DSC00007.JPG" width="320px" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Front view - the monkey is a foam sticker; just moved him around so it looked like he was hanging/peeling the banana. Stuck the peel part under his head to keep it peeled open. </td></tr>
</tbody></table></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13839578822708777375noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2451479079098698156.post-30106600056076985402011-10-10T19:39:00.000-07:002011-10-10T19:39:32.698-07:00Mom, you deserve a spot on my blog for your amazingness.I've spent the last 31ish years making fun of my mom's craftiness. Awful, I know. But does YOUR mom have 16 chests of drawers full of random craft supplies? Does she have a ribbon maker? Does she still have leftover fabric from making your coming-home-from-the hospital outfit? Does she make a wreath in the time it takes you to sneeze? Does she know how to make your skirt last another year by sewing some lace or other nastiness to the bottom of it (oh yes, she did....out of necessity). Does she? I dare say NO! My mother is truly one-of-a-kind. But I suppose I should admit that she is pretty stinking cool. And as I get older (and she, therefore, gets cooler), I must admit that she is one fancy shmancy crafty mom. Take this. She turned this:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTT8tD9iRzilK_YbkcViIqgClERL38sjdEOUBN9IPgzyvI2w1cpMyM9w099xHALPAwTcQR2X2vg3xYn5PQ4sIvV7vvNXOa7t4l362fNUC-6S5B_fMzY4ccjpmlIBuuEuZj4Lggv5CsAw/s1600/before" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" kca="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTT8tD9iRzilK_YbkcViIqgClERL38sjdEOUBN9IPgzyvI2w1cpMyM9w099xHALPAwTcQR2X2vg3xYn5PQ4sIvV7vvNXOa7t4l362fNUC-6S5B_fMzY4ccjpmlIBuuEuZj4Lggv5CsAw/s320/before" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> INTO THIS:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj599Ywpi7RCb9jwpn6u9aLkSt8bpt-AngYrwD-lzlk8oO3ePav-uTkkvYKwyYNu1gaZHopF3ZrLrpGQTzyUDEkj6cc64Y0er5Q2T4_OOC7ndpzlhKNITe9c3sxYflFT1ZPg6WZIZ1DJw/s1600/after" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" kca="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj599Ywpi7RCb9jwpn6u9aLkSt8bpt-AngYrwD-lzlk8oO3ePav-uTkkvYKwyYNu1gaZHopF3ZrLrpGQTzyUDEkj6cc64Y0er5Q2T4_OOC7ndpzlhKNITe9c3sxYflFT1ZPg6WZIZ1DJw/s1600/after" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">Amazingly beautiful, huh? </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">And she made little Reed THIS:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjowsEd9BiVCUjFfDP1VYpdRS42qp-Haq9mq6SNEsHZIQhtVOOGJWGeFUEZOXWzGPtMGOOE7YQHUGsQKPPU3qndHestRNm8N30sYKY3Mrls5k4WCPKVVzpwlqiqIiqFuaCAruqeUiupww/s1600/HPIM2220.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" kca="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjowsEd9BiVCUjFfDP1VYpdRS42qp-Haq9mq6SNEsHZIQhtVOOGJWGeFUEZOXWzGPtMGOOE7YQHUGsQKPPU3qndHestRNm8N30sYKY3Mrls5k4WCPKVVzpwlqiqIiqFuaCAruqeUiupww/s320/HPIM2220.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div align="center"><br />
</div><div align="center" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">And she made little Ryan THIS:</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtP8yG45spZ5orHfts32A0BTYUKgP51DVymDpK2MCgKkNrWuzsTXnu46MceYz2cGO-Kr3yQAXHdp4sVwZ6ixdvDczseGrT91kuEUq6bWETZFh44EdIh-xM9A_Og1hX-jFreK2R8S-teg/s1600/DSCF0562.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" kca="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtP8yG45spZ5orHfts32A0BTYUKgP51DVymDpK2MCgKkNrWuzsTXnu46MceYz2cGO-Kr3yQAXHdp4sVwZ6ixdvDczseGrT91kuEUq6bWETZFh44EdIh-xM9A_Og1hX-jFreK2R8S-teg/s320/DSCF0562.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">And she made little Seth THIS:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9rmYh6UJpsq2CbfCsf4NYSUtiGcCG3J_47WDVslhK4VRlafrLs7HSMQed59OtjSXAk5oIev7t5t2NYJqaMKzX6g-JcRmsGcn34oLbkI6rlRV_7dpHnkhmHLshtdx17oFacxvmqAJ95A/s1600/100_1168.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" kca="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9rmYh6UJpsq2CbfCsf4NYSUtiGcCG3J_47WDVslhK4VRlafrLs7HSMQed59OtjSXAk5oIev7t5t2NYJqaMKzX6g-JcRmsGcn34oLbkI6rlRV_7dpHnkhmHLshtdx17oFacxvmqAJ95A/s320/100_1168.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">And she made the boys THIS:</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2ldLJq9naaxAMo-Vm_1Z5lDZL5bTgtg0JrxLYT0ygGsyJJaQu8e2MWfxhLv2hm14cDT4a8sG229xajMMLNTh3UTkLLdZOWDOGpplEIkkMG9wt3zaY-TmixxHVg90QBoscmvGFyHSW1w/s1600/DSC00013.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" kca="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2ldLJq9naaxAMo-Vm_1Z5lDZL5bTgtg0JrxLYT0ygGsyJJaQu8e2MWfxhLv2hm14cDT4a8sG229xajMMLNTh3UTkLLdZOWDOGpplEIkkMG9wt3zaY-TmixxHVg90QBoscmvGFyHSW1w/s320/DSC00013.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Its a town for all their cars. You probably can't see all the little garages that the cars can drive under/in. SO CUTE>>>hours of fun.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">Sheesh, Mom. I've always wondered where I've gotten my coolness. I figured it must have just been from Dad, but I'm starting to think you might have had a *little* something to do with it. </div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13839578822708777375noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2451479079098698156.post-16855992504887675542011-10-10T19:11:00.000-07:002011-10-10T19:11:01.487-07:00You NEED to eat these cupcakes.Totally unhealthy but I don't care. Every once in awhile you just have to throw down all rules of proper eating and go all out gluttonous. Just a smidgen gluttonous. (I s'pose that's an oxymoron.) True confessions: I am really indecisive on how to best utilize my calories - I crave everything at once - cake, cookies, frosting, chocolate, all of it. Welllllllll, my dreams came true when I made this recipe. Its....wait for it.......get ready for this.......it's everything you want ALL AT THE SAME TIME. Say it with me now:<br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: magenta;"><strong>Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcakes</strong> </span></span></div>Did you see the "DOUGH" part of that? Yep, anyone can make chocolate cupcakes. And most people can make chocolate chip cupcakes. But hold! on! to! your! belts! this baby has DOUGH in it. Ok, HUSH! to all you people who pretend you don't eat the dough. I know you do....and if you really don't, you WISH you did. You're missing out on one of God's most amazing creations. <em><span style="font-size: large;">D...o...u...g...h</span></em>. (said in my most dreamy voice.)<br />
<br />
So here's the scoop (pun intended):<br />
<ol><li>Make your favorite white/vanilla cupcake recipe. I like Wilton's Vanilla Bean or French Vanilla. (I tried this with chocolate, it wasn't as good). Pour batter in wrappers in muffin tin. WAIT! Don't bake them yet!</li>
<li>Make your favorite chocolate chip cookie dough recipe. I like <a href="http://onegirlamongboys.blogspot.com/2009/10/ultimate-chocolate-chip-cookies.html">this one</a>. But it helps if you use mini chocolate chips. WAIT! Don't bake these either! </li>
<li>Freeze the dough in small balls. Or if you want to be like calorie-loving ME, you'll make a quadruple batch (oh yes, I do) and freeze them in balls to always have cookie dough around to <strike>eat </strike>bake.</li>
<li>Drop a dough ball down into each cupcake batter in the muffin tin. </li>
<li>Bake according to cupcake directions. If you want to have a kinda doughy bite in the middle, place the FROZEN cookie dough in the cupcake batter. If you want a more solid cookie bite in the middle (more of a cakey consistency), put the dough ball in chilled, but not frozen. </li>
</ol><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyR8wI5LsrfQ1Cz8BI9pwHIl5Dej2gp0g3G810H96dWbVkuNOx3-ESgATtv2y0DvnD3iao0TVmmNhtthCA5qH_-wKJ6kyz6GQdM5tcktidRxMcVfz53WW4qS_g3E3YRdO4b5q2cmA4lQ/s1600/chocolate-chip-cookie-dough-cupcakes-12.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" kca="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyR8wI5LsrfQ1Cz8BI9pwHIl5Dej2gp0g3G810H96dWbVkuNOx3-ESgATtv2y0DvnD3iao0TVmmNhtthCA5qH_-wKJ6kyz6GQdM5tcktidRxMcVfz53WW4qS_g3E3YRdO4b5q2cmA4lQ/s320/chocolate-chip-cookie-dough-cupcakes-12.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>HELLO!?!? Are you still here? If you ran off to the kitchen to start baking, wait just a minute. You need the frosting recipe. Here it is. And its gonna blow your mind. It takes like cookie dough, too. <br />
<br />
<strong>FROSTING:</strong><br />
3 sticks softened butter (don't judge)<br />
3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed<br />
3 1/2 cups powdered sugar<br />
1/2 tsp. salt<br />
2 tbsp. milk<br />
1 tsp. vanilla extract<br />
<br />
Combine the butter and brown sugar in a mixing bowl and cream on medium-high speed until light and fluffy. Beat in the powdered sugar until smooth. Beat in the salt, milk, and vanilla extract until smooth and combined.<br />
<br />
Sprinkle with mini chocolate chips. I'm not joking - best cupcakes ever. You can play with the proportions of dough-cake. And when you make these and your eyes roll up into the top of your head as you sink your little teeth into this masterpiece of caloric wonderfulness, think of me. And bring me one.<br />
(Thanks, Tish, for the heads up on this amazing recipe.)Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13839578822708777375noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2451479079098698156.post-54694791289555294112011-10-10T18:46:00.000-07:002011-10-10T18:46:35.913-07:00Who has the best babysitter in the world? Hands down.....WE DO!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">So, no preschool today so our amazing, wonderful, fabulous, marvelous babysitter took our boys and her kids on a special trip to the Boone train place (whatever it is called, Boone Scenic River blah, blah, blah....it's the TRAIN). The kids were THRILLED! AND, she is awesome enough that she took all kinds of pictures and sent them to me so I could enjoy it *almost* as much as they could :)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg14E_7zMdERhQbBS7y-dD6G6J9sf1l1tYf-cAjpdFdB854f_cS3-VDj9png1-y-UsCiL-2PIVr07xwECKBhskahV36i80iQbNe1TKbqSraiq8Az1a1Qp0mMg3v_qGzafDS5psk9mxGsQ/s1600/downsized951010011126.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" kca="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg14E_7zMdERhQbBS7y-dD6G6J9sf1l1tYf-cAjpdFdB854f_cS3-VDj9png1-y-UsCiL-2PIVr07xwECKBhskahV36i80iQbNe1TKbqSraiq8Az1a1Qp0mMg3v_qGzafDS5psk9mxGsQ/s320/downsized951010011126.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A little playing in the park before the train</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaVWb5n3pTGbdTHPaZJDxTP3RQCWfahp9-rGCeG-cgk9x9TdP6z1EdK7CxoH-7KVreKe5vmb2Lb6EB2Ir1KoUzT-ymDzLwkale017zEBN2wfHqKadjenTrI63gaKiQg9IdhU3AmNRwag/s1600/downsized951010011128a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" kca="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaVWb5n3pTGbdTHPaZJDxTP3RQCWfahp9-rGCeG-cgk9x9TdP6z1EdK7CxoH-7KVreKe5vmb2Lb6EB2Ir1KoUzT-ymDzLwkale017zEBN2wfHqKadjenTrI63gaKiQg9IdhU3AmNRwag/s320/downsized951010011128a.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Such a sweet face....would NEVER be naughty....</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZ5DBYqVbM7n8SXykADIGan99yqt5kwmyj5x6dVutCAqVKn-KHSvQ-Od3ZH-smqzV29hU5UZUL4dxitCyh5sJtgubZ5alve4DPRetFnVvaVb8At1OxNdrBLSESSADxwjjzL9wH8G9-Jw/s1600/downsized951010011144.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" kca="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZ5DBYqVbM7n8SXykADIGan99yqt5kwmyj5x6dVutCAqVKn-KHSvQ-Od3ZH-smqzV29hU5UZUL4dxitCyh5sJtgubZ5alve4DPRetFnVvaVb8At1OxNdrBLSESSADxwjjzL9wH8G9-Jw/s320/downsized951010011144.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">CHEESE! </td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh98p9fGarHPs_oncWvAxbTTVKqPXZkI-5JlpIliu4oTVpn6yuyX8F0MRR7TpKzFagWMxB52SdoduRTLU3aWkzTUmgjjOLcK8RKv7aIugJc-cKpqXTrGuNlLIxos4odYGo46W1JRJT7Ng/s1600/IMG00812-20111010-1315.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" kca="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh98p9fGarHPs_oncWvAxbTTVKqPXZkI-5JlpIliu4oTVpn6yuyX8F0MRR7TpKzFagWMxB52SdoduRTLU3aWkzTUmgjjOLcK8RKv7aIugJc-cKpqXTrGuNlLIxos4odYGo46W1JRJT7Ng/s320/IMG00812-20111010-1315.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">All ABOARD!!!!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuRv5_IZXkKF4T56KiGecogfWLAp0ZWkvUWYDUJDoiAl_f5teuxTZjR2jaeBxIyjaTXGfNNWzVeziMIbZ31Q6J1VF7F0P2QjYo_ewbtUJNcvvXpVTHay7zAQa5zku15QKzgFsns33fpQ/s1600/IMG00815-20111010-1320.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" kca="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuRv5_IZXkKF4T56KiGecogfWLAp0ZWkvUWYDUJDoiAl_f5teuxTZjR2jaeBxIyjaTXGfNNWzVeziMIbZ31Q6J1VF7F0P2QjYo_ewbtUJNcvvXpVTHay7zAQa5zku15QKzgFsns33fpQ/s320/IMG00815-20111010-1320.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Seth is so excited :)</td></tr>
</tbody></table> <br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmzMzZG4ESOSr4gCVVOxUDv3LPkKvaRHgLjOv4EpJ2zZzCsuVnVfyWGRVwY7L8XV6e7lc8gB2yMCtPUB0AH_uJxuXwUXzByNZjO-3Xn457GjLllErviWyDiMJcOs9aQSgkmOvht3tteA/s1600/IMG00816-20111010-1321.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" kca="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmzMzZG4ESOSr4gCVVOxUDv3LPkKvaRHgLjOv4EpJ2zZzCsuVnVfyWGRVwY7L8XV6e7lc8gB2yMCtPUB0AH_uJxuXwUXzByNZjO-3Xn457GjLllErviWyDiMJcOs9aQSgkmOvht3tteA/s320/IMG00816-20111010-1321.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Got his ticket and he's ready to go</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCeDEXGqACGwMNsFxC0VFssxak2ca2Zat0dUOUGUv3oF0KWiDokMVBJD5oaV8Tkhzwbk3feJyG8IeHsL3eaV7_utgWmDqRuN5b-im8fdl3f76H-6jk50akKdOZf-FeoE04epz5eP7dpg/s1600/IMG00818-20111010-1326.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" kca="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCeDEXGqACGwMNsFxC0VFssxak2ca2Zat0dUOUGUv3oF0KWiDokMVBJD5oaV8Tkhzwbk3feJyG8IeHsL3eaV7_utgWmDqRuN5b-im8fdl3f76H-6jk50akKdOZf-FeoE04epz5eP7dpg/s320/IMG00818-20111010-1326.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhesgzCqYl0jt-ci7VdQWQE067r5gaX45ITsTrlezsZe6xad_fyp-yu7GBP3O4WSEtGscsRj6TINrtB-xXkg0R6RBDxvYdg6tfw1nyiYlDq8IT4_2EiJg-OjSthS9te1Y0SM6Bmx_85XQ/s1600/IMG00819-20111010-1327.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" kca="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhesgzCqYl0jt-ci7VdQWQE067r5gaX45ITsTrlezsZe6xad_fyp-yu7GBP3O4WSEtGscsRj6TINrtB-xXkg0R6RBDxvYdg6tfw1nyiYlDq8IT4_2EiJg-OjSthS9te1Y0SM6Bmx_85XQ/s320/IMG00819-20111010-1327.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The boys with their "big buddy, Riley.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgny2bENaN3xvFfcbvxESTFc-Zcp6Z16gXqqilsRTIAgdk40r0m9qzDf0yxXbDJn_Eo9qvUJh4_ICeCL0uY3nFR8LfT0g7lPyNAXA27uNYzoMLQQ0zAMMbr35H_B05Xj8OYnwpr585JVA/s1600/IMG00823-20111010-1345.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" kca="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgny2bENaN3xvFfcbvxESTFc-Zcp6Z16gXqqilsRTIAgdk40r0m9qzDf0yxXbDJn_Eo9qvUJh4_ICeCL0uY3nFR8LfT0g7lPyNAXA27uNYzoMLQQ0zAMMbr35H_B05Xj8OYnwpr585JVA/s320/IMG00823-20111010-1345.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Reed's first train ride....can you see the excitement in his eyes!?!?</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm6Bxyl2TwNJwStT3Ml2lzDddO59Q47QPr-EJYc52-uoCT5KCVzFgqlpURE6X7NC9MaDsgmFK1sho-gSccQ-HDmkU-e58c5pnwBo04JR43uCRblKu1PegmKJd0hwA1cGMBXf8vtMecbQ/s1600/IMG00825-20111010-1347.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" kca="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm6Bxyl2TwNJwStT3Ml2lzDddO59Q47QPr-EJYc52-uoCT5KCVzFgqlpURE6X7NC9MaDsgmFK1sho-gSccQ-HDmkU-e58c5pnwBo04JR43uCRblKu1PegmKJd0hwA1cGMBXf8vtMecbQ/s320/IMG00825-20111010-1347.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8W6YZQyJ4GsgiOPzdViZvss2dkwS0OypvMEGc3nPm6HmhLzxmqb4s1plqNGH-ehBHKdNLPt8-afTYvTirPKwVwyruaxS8LQWA0JPSSzMRibc8pdS0s5dknj4Qua1kH7rVRdNjJOgG6Q/s1600/IMG00830-20111010-1350.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" kca="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8W6YZQyJ4GsgiOPzdViZvss2dkwS0OypvMEGc3nPm6HmhLzxmqb4s1plqNGH-ehBHKdNLPt8-afTYvTirPKwVwyruaxS8LQWA0JPSSzMRibc8pdS0s5dknj4Qua1kH7rVRdNjJOgG6Q/s320/IMG00830-20111010-1350.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A little nervous about this one - DON'T FALL OUT!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTtep3URFAZfFzt5-1A6CWQGpCskeh_eeUQ_huZvQDIso5CUAktTO11k1OfI3YP-d2dLywjgqN_bdzt-4qmSLQq0wQT0kiEk8W0gfVSINlMhWAf_9KZSQG_p2V69jeWRyEQYhFqOShKg/s1600/IMG00837-20111010-1402.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" kca="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTtep3URFAZfFzt5-1A6CWQGpCskeh_eeUQ_huZvQDIso5CUAktTO11k1OfI3YP-d2dLywjgqN_bdzt-4qmSLQq0wQT0kiEk8W0gfVSINlMhWAf_9KZSQG_p2V69jeWRyEQYhFqOShKg/s320/IMG00837-20111010-1402.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Oh. My. SOMEONE GRAB THEM! AND CLOSE THE WINDOW! AND PUT ON THEIR LIFEJACKETS! (so, I'm a little scared of water...who isn't?!?!?) Good thing cooler heads prevailed and allowed them to have fun!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW6qZcRXQ7tyfQfEsxdfgcN638IMEp66y9WiulAGQ8aZZAm0snd0CEjbW-Bpdy2e0KwrgzVKo3WXxX2hrz2pIjzuCs0IlxbWS1J8mPi0qjMFqzzHoU9cnvCXuYs8vJnCUJshTCpXElCw/s1600/IMG00845-20111010-1444.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" kca="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW6qZcRXQ7tyfQfEsxdfgcN638IMEp66y9WiulAGQ8aZZAm0snd0CEjbW-Bpdy2e0KwrgzVKo3WXxX2hrz2pIjzuCs0IlxbWS1J8mPi0qjMFqzzHoU9cnvCXuYs8vJnCUJshTCpXElCw/s320/IMG00845-20111010-1444.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Reed checking out the view with our sitter's oldest daugher, Brianna.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjqUY-wiFV37Tit-Q1Q_NYVR0HY0rGWsAp7mrBrIgkgH7OdkP1Ke8CJLBTSgFtD737kkyY6NIKrhTdvQCHBy077-OO41fUnAqC463b0hrYeR_4T3noyK7AlUR34JfPSrIewrgIQ-3tpw/s1600/IMG00849-20111010-1451.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" kca="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjqUY-wiFV37Tit-Q1Q_NYVR0HY0rGWsAp7mrBrIgkgH7OdkP1Ke8CJLBTSgFtD737kkyY6NIKrhTdvQCHBy077-OO41fUnAqC463b0hrYeR_4T3noyK7AlUR34JfPSrIewrgIQ-3tpw/s320/IMG00849-20111010-1451.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;">Awwwwwww</td></tr>
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<tr><><> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmzMzZG4ESOSr4gCVVOxUDv3LPkKvaRHgLjOv4EpJ2zZzCsuVnVfyWGRVwY7L8XV6e7lc8gB2yMCtPUB0AH_uJxuXwUXzByNZjO-3Xn457GjLllErviWyDiMJcOs9aQSgkmOvht3tteA/s1600/IMG00816-20111010-1321.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" kca="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmzMzZG4ESOSr4gCVVOxUDv3LPkKvaRHgLjOv4EpJ2zZzCsuVnVfyWGRVwY7L8XV6e7lc8gB2yMCtPUB0AH_uJxuXwUXzByNZjO-3Xn457GjLllErviWyDiMJcOs9aQSgkmOvht3tteA/s320/IMG00816-20111010-1321.jpg" width="320" /></a> </></div></></><td style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixLGP1GvzePrYyieNwUqNk9qRSEu6VO9amHgZ7x3z2loE8pC-FNtnhqI5iRsTMC1L6SOsSsbbt2wxImLKPRUv44EpFq3aOs9j-K9I1MKL8GJ41hVKOYD7x35GKQ9DpS8qBKLnHcSG84g/s1600/IMG00850-20111010-1451.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" kca="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixLGP1GvzePrYyieNwUqNk9qRSEu6VO9amHgZ7x3z2loE8pC-FNtnhqI5iRsTMC1L6SOsSsbbt2wxImLKPRUv44EpFq3aOs9j-K9I1MKL8GJ41hVKOYD7x35GKQ9DpS8qBKLnHcSG84g/s320/IMG00850-20111010-1451.jpg" width="320" /></a></td><><> <div></div></></></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;">OUT. But notice, he's even hoarding in his sleep. Impressive, little buddy.</td></tr>
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</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13839578822708777375noreply@blogger.com1