Gave Brandis a Haircut

Brandis has curly hair so we can't cut it short or else it would stick up in every direction. We keep it a little long so it will lay down but it also grows pretty fast so he often looks like a cute little girl. I don't like taking him to get his haircut because they never get it right, it costs money and he hates it. So I decided to do it at home. Here is the result.


Today I also made a thank you card for my old counselor. Dougan and Brandis wanted to make some too so here's Brandis holding his card that he made for Dad.



We also had Uncle Sam over for dinner last night and Eades took a picture of him holding Taygan for the first time. Koen wanted to get in it too so he jumped up there just in time.

Spoiled

My boys really wish they were spoiled but they're not. On Sat. I went to a woman's dinner and meeting. At the table there were a bunch of mom's. One of them was talking about how much her husband spoils their son and it will probably be worse when the baby girl learns to ask for things too. I was surprised to hear how much of a sucker this dad is. The mom said it was so bad once that he had to say no and tears welled up in his eyes. (Not the boy's eyes, the dad's eyes.) That was the only time he ever said no.
I couldn't even imagine getting my boys everything they asked for. They ask for things all the time but we're all so used to the answer being no that there usually isn't any crying or fits. There are things that they ask for that I really do wish I could get them but sometimes I just can't, things like a trip to Disney World, or a horse lol. There are probably things that they want that they just know they will never get so they don't even bother asking. But I tell you it is the best when they ask for something and you can tell they're ready for a no and I get to say yes. Oh they get so excited. The funny thing is it's usually something small like bananas at the grocery store. Or like this past Saturday when we got to go to a free festival. They thought it was cool that they all got their own little bag of cotton candy and chips and a snow cone. It was fun saying yes that day. Can we stand in line for some popcorn? YES!! ALRIGHT!!! Another great time was last Christmas. My sister sent us a sundae gift basket. It had marshmallows, sprinkles, Magic Shell, syrups, nuts, cherries, etc. The boys loved that they each got to make their own monster sundaes like three night in a row.
So what's my point. I don't get to spoil rotten, but I do get to indulge them sometimes. As a parent I want to spoil them a little. It's like I wish I could spoil them without having them turn out to be spoiled brats. Is that even possible? The way it is now is working for us and I hope that I have happy kids. I also hope that someday I could afford to give them everything they want but I won't. That would be terrific.

oh the drama

Koen made his first batch of brownies without my help yesterday. They turned out really great and we all praised him a lot so ten minutes ago he asked if he could make more. I told him he should try to make a cake today. So he's cracking eggs and measuring things out and Eades catches him. He starts to throw a fit that Koen made something yesterday so he should get to do it all by himself today. So I chatted with him about how Koen is older and had to wait until he was this age to do it all by himself. So Eades is distraught and starts crying and I said maybe you'll have to wait till next year when you're Koen's age. He agrees and cries some more. I am trying hard to hold back the laughter because he's being so dramatic about the whole thing.

Then Koen tells him he can help stir so they got two large spoons out and started stirring and then they each sprayed half of the cake pan. They both helped pour it into the pan and now it's time for me to put it in the oven while they both lick the spoons. So crisis averted. Everyone's happy. The best part of this little story is that I get cake in less than an hour.

The Great Exercise Plan

I did not have an exercise regime whatsoever. I know how good exercise is for your body and spirit. I know that it would be good for my joints which I always seem to have a problem with and I know that it would give me the strength and energy that I need to be a mother of five. Knowing all this I still did not have any exercise routine set up. I mean it wasn't even a sporadic walk outside or anything. It was absolutely nothing. Then at the beginning of this week I saw a commercial. It said that standing is better than sitting and walking is better than standing. I kept thinking of that all day. I decided that I would do my daily routine of housework all in one big shot without sitting down. Usually I would pick up the floor then break. Then soak dishes, then break. Then do some laundry, then break. I wasn't taking long breaks but they were breaks none the less. So on Tuesday I spent three hours straight doing anything and everything that I could think of and even after I was done I did dance party USA with Brandis to burn some more calories. Then the baby woke up and I had to sit down to feed her but I tell you, I was sweating up a storm and I know that I got my heart rate up into the fat-burning zone.
I was so excited. I think I found my perfect exercise. Here I had gold this whole time and I didn't even know it. I can't believe all this time I've wasted breaking up my housework. Before, anytime I started feeling a little hot or tired I took a break. Duh, that's when I should have kept going. So anyway, it only lasted two days because today I had one boy stay home from school and then I had to go pick another one up because they were sick. That really put a halt to everything because I had to keep taking care of them and they kept waking the baby up. I know I have to keep them home tomorrow but on Monday, the plan is on again. I just wish I could weigh myself to know how much I could actually lose without adding anything extra to my day, but just rearranging it a little. By the way if I never mention this again it's because it didn't work out as well as I hope it will, but if I do mention it again that means it was a great success. Just so you know.

A Short Story

I borrowed this from a friend of mine because I found it cute.

One day long long ago there was a girl who did not complain, or whine or yell. That girl was me but it was a long time ago and it was only one day.

Picture of Water

Let me set the stage. Dougan came up to me with a cup and some Crystal light. He asked if I would make him some. I said in a little bit but first I needed a pitcher of water. He walked away. He came back with a glass of water and my camera and asked me to take a picture. I did without realizing he thought I said I needed a picture of water not a pitcher of water. I laughed so hard.

Here are the pictures of water.

Eades' Questions

Today Eades told me about a problem he is having. He says he does like to go to church but it's hard. He says he believes in Jesus but his problem is that he can't see Him. He thinks he should be able to see Jesus at church. He said that this is bothering him so much that it gives him a headache. We talked about it for awhile and he says he knows that he can feel the love of Jesus and that he understands that he just needs to have faith and be good because he believes.
Then he started asking me about how it feels when you die. I told him I've never died before but that it won't hurt after he dies. He also wanted to know if there are toys in Heaven. He actually bombarded me with a whole bunch of questions then. I can tell he's really been thinking about this stuff. All I can do is hope that I answer them well enough. I remember having similar questions and thoughts when I was young. I used to think that Christ walked around the chapel during prayers because we all had our eyes shut.