We've got trouble!

About a month before his first birthday, this little guy...

decided it was in his best interest to find an alternative to crawling. Having 3 older brothers is tough when you're slow, especially when they take your toys and run. Not any more! Watch out brothers, here I come run.

Slow, choppy baby steps quickly turned into running. Nearly 3 months later, Z can keep pace with all the big boys. Looking for the next challenge, he decided he ought to dedicate a little more time fine-tuning his climbing skills.

I was doing the dishes today and turned my back to put the silverware away. When I turned back around, I had a little boy standing in the open dishwasher. Mission complete! And so it begins.

"Any Guesses?" Reveal

***Original Post***

There is never a dull moment at our house. Being that there are a few weeks between semesters, we've got to find something to do around the house. Would you like to take a wild guess at what our latest project is? [Those who already know, you're not allowed to guess!]

Here is a hint:

The second hint (of which I don't have a picture to post): a big-o smile on this Momma's face.

Look forward to more pictures either later tonight or tomorrow.



***Update***

It started when

was introduced to a 60-lb

and went out to the

and made it look like this

[which was exciting to more than just Mommy]

and when Uncle B can to visit, he was included in the festivities.

At the end of day 1, this

then looked like

and after working day 3, our space looked like

There are 3 types of people.

Type 1 - People who have a pool and hate all the things that [always] go wrong with it. Every time something breaks or doesn't function properly, there is always a "piece of ....." comment uttered, whether it be verbally or internally.

Type 2 - People who love having a pool because they hire a pool company to look after it. These people don't mind paying $40+/month for chemicals alone, $8 for EACH o-ring when they break, $250 for a new motor, $100+ for pool sweep repair/replacement, etc. These people generally tend to work so much anyways, they don't always have an abundance of time to enjoy their pools.

Type 3 - People who do not have a pool and really want one. [Clearly they have not spoken to enough type 1 & 2 people to truly understand what pool ownership is like!]


We are type 1 people. We were paying decent money to maintain something that yielded a small amount of satisfaction. We can [could] only use our backyard for 3 months out of the year. We had a stained concrete slab and an over-sized bathtub play pool crammed into a teeny tiny backyard, and that is it. The remaining 9 months of the year, weeds looking to multiply found refuge out back. And of course a higher electric bill for running the sweep to keep the pool clean for ..... ? [scorpions?] For many months, we had gone back and forth between leaving it as is and ripping it out and making a more 4-boy-friendly environment.

It was around the time fall semester started (and swimming season ended) that our feelings towards parting with the pool grew. Boys need to be boys, and boys need a place where they can be free and roam play. After weighing the pros and cons, we decided our pool-owning season had indeed come to an end. Hopefully within the next three weeks our project will be complete and we will have some

and I won't feel like

.

In the meantime, this

has become a bad word at our home.

Any Guesses

There is never a dull moment at our house. Being that there are a few weeks between semesters, we've got to find something to do around the house. Would you like to take a wild guess at what our latest project is? [Those who already know, you're not allowed to guess!]

Here is a hint:

The second hint (of which I don't have a picture to post): a big-o smile on this Momma's face.

Look forward to more pictures either later tonight or tomorrow.

Not Me Monday

Hooray, my first Not Me Monday. This is a time for me to share all the things that totally did NOT happen this past week. (For the rules, click here.)

Our sweet little G did not pull up the blinds in his bedroom to make the cord really long. He then did not proceed in wrapping it around his little brother's neck. Mr. S does not have a scabbed-over rope burn around his neck.

Big E did not buy me some mineral powder foundation for my birthday that was used to "clean" the bathroom mirror. G & S did not proceed with their cleaning and squeeze half of the new tube of toothpaste on the freshly cleaned mirror doors and in/around our bathtub, then invite Z in to help smear around. Not my children!

I was not excited to hear that even without taking my microeconomics finals, I still got an A in the class. Furthermore, I am not excited that I have 3 weeks off from school.

G did not watch Z play in the toilet after G used it, but before he flushed it. G did not come to tell me to get the camera so I could take a picture of Z having "lots of fun."

I am not needing to finish my Christmas shopping. I've got 4 kids at home and I am not going to take them out to get a few last things, with the thousands of other people out shopping. Nope, not me!

The boys wanted to go play in the rain so I put socks on Z so his piggies wouldn't freeze. But I did not put our 5 1/2 year old's sandals on our 14 month old when he wanted to get down and walk. I did not put Teva-style sandals on a boy who was already wearing socks- that would be disgusting! I did not let him walk around like that and I did not bust up laughing when he looked like he was walking in skiis.

This is for you, Katrina

I've been busy (to say the least) with all of the end-of-semester stuff and haven't focused 100% of my attention on potty training the poor boy. Every time S goes down for a nap, he ALWAYS takes his diaper off. He hasn't been peeing (thank goodness), just doesn't like wearing a diaper. The other day I told him "keep your shorts on!" as I laid him down. Apparently I wasn't specific enough. He did however manage to put his shorts back on by himself.

Who said you can only fit 1 kid in a stroller?

On our way to pick up N from school.

C'mon now, who really needs a triple stroller? It appears as though a single stroller does quite well for our little family.

*the white stuff on Z's shirt.... truly, a sucker isn't complete gone until the paper stick has been devoured too!

This will do the trick

Me: "Umm, honey.... what's that on S's pants?"

Him: "I couldn't find a belt so I used the next best thing!"



Yes folks, those ARE zip-ties.