This week Andrew dominates the Tiny Talk Tuesday post. That kid keeps the whole family laughing. He is not the least bit shy and will say just about anything...sometimes to a fault! ;-)

We have been eating out a lot these days with the construction and baseball. We are in serious need of fruits and veggies in our diet! We stopped by Sonic one evening last week and Andrew placed his order to dad...

Andrew: Dad, I want a Smack in the Box.

Dad: You want what?

Andrew: A Smack in the Box.

Mom: Do you mean a Wacky Pack?

Andrew: Yeah, a Smack in the Box.

We laughed and laughed. I have no idea where this came from. With all the fast food kids meals we have ordered they are all running together. I just don't remember what fast food restaraunt calls their kid's meal by such a catchy name. Andrew was just glowing when he saw that he was making his brother laugh. The sound of their laughter is the sweetest sound I have ever heard! What a blessing these crazy kids are to us.

WELL, THE WORK IS MOVING RIGHT ALONG NOW. WE HAD TO WAIT FOR THE WEATHER TO DRY UP AND COOPERATE AND THAT TOOK A LITTLE WHILE. I THOUGHT I WOULD POST SOME PICTURES TO SHOW EVERYONE THE PROGRESS. WE ARE ALL GETTING EXCITED NOW...

THE BOYS REALLY ENJOYED WATCHING THE CEMENT TRUCK AND CEMENT "PUMPER" (I AM SURE THERE IS A CORRECT TERM FOR THAT PIECE OF EQUIPMENT, JUST NOT IN MY VOCABULARY). BIG MACHINERY IS JUST AMAZING TO THEM...IT'S PRETTY AMAZING TO ME TOO!

ANDREW KEPT TELLING ME HE WANTED TO GO SEE "DADDY'S FRIENDS" WHILE THESE GUYS WERE WORKING THE CONCRETE. THESE GUYS DID A GREAT JOB AND WE APPRECIATE IT SO MUCH.


THE WALLS START TO GO UP IN THE ADDITION.

ANDREW AND MARK CHECK OUT THE WORK. THE BOYS WERE PRETENDING THE ADDITION WAS A JAIL. ONE WAS ESCAPING WHILE THE OTHER WAS THE POLICEMAN. MASON MUST HAVE BEEN ON THE RUN WHEN I SHOT THESE. I LOVE WATCHING THEM USE THEIR LITTLE IMAGINATIONS.

HERE IS A VIEW FROM THE BACKYARD. HOPEFULLY IT WILL KEEP GETTING BETTER AND BETTER. STAY TUNED...

ROO ROO WONKA AND THE SKITTLE FACTORY

ANDREW: CAN WE MAKE SOME SOUR SKITTLES?

MOM: WE WILL JUST NEED TO BUY SOME BECAUSE I DON'T KNOW HOW TO MAKE THEM.

ANDREW: YOU JUST GET SOUR STUFF AND PUT IT ON SOME SKITTLES.

ISN'T THAT JUST LIKE ME? ALWAYS MAKING THINGS SO COMPLICATED!

ANDREW: MOM, CAN I GET ONE OF THOSE BICYCLES WITH ONE WHEEL?

MOM: WHY DO YOU WANT ONE OF THOSE?

ANDREW: SO I CAN BE A CIRCUS MAN WHEN I GROW UP.

HIS DREAMS ARE ALWAYS CHANGING. I LOVE IT! LAST WEEK HE WANTED TO BE A CONSTRUCTION MAN. I WONDER WHAT NEXT WEEK WILL HOLD?

WHEN MASON WAS HIS AGE HE TOLD ME OVER AND OVER HE WANTED TO BE A GARBAGE MAN WHEN HE GREW UP SO HE COULD HANG ON TO THE BACK OF THE TRUCK AND RIDE. I ALWAYS JUST SUPPORTED HIS DREAM AND SAID, "THAT SOUNDS LIKE FUN". ONE DAY WE WERE OUTSIDE WHEN THE GARBAGE MAN CAME. HE RAN OVER AND SAID, "I WANT TO BE A GARBAGE MAN WHEN I GROW UP" THE GUY LAUGHED AND SAID, "IT IS PRETTY STINKY BACK HERE, YOU MIGHT NOT REALLY LIKE IT." THAT WAS IT, THE MAN CRUSHED HIS LITTLE DREAM. WHEN HE GROWS UP TO BE SOMETHING PRACTICAL AND STABLE AND ONE DAY TELLS ME HOW UNFULFILLED HE IS, I'LL JUST REMIND HIM THAT IT IS NEVER TOO LATE TO FOLLOW HIS DREAM! :-)

IT IS TINY TOT TUESDAY AND YOU CAN CHECK OUT MORE CUTE THINGS OUR KIDS SAY AT NOT BEFORE 7.

APPLIANCES, FLOORS, CABINETS...OH MY!

WELL, THE SHOPPING HAS BEGUN...OR SHOULD I SAY, THE FUN PART OF THE SHOPPING ANYWAY. MARK HAS BEEN "SHOPPING" FOR PLUMBING, ELECTRICAL, LUMBER FOR SOME TIME NOW. I AM JUST NOW JUMPING IN THE GAME. WE HAVE DECIDED ON THE APPLIANCES. THIS GE SERIES IS THE WINNER.

THE CABINETS...STILL NOT SO SURE. MARK HAS SAID FOR SOME TIME THAT HE WANTS TO BUILD THEM HIMSELF. I KNOW THEY WOULD LOOK FABULOUS, BUT HE IS ALREADY SO BUSY WITH EVERYTHING ELSE I THOUGHT I WOULD LOOK AT OTHER OPTIONS. THE PROBLEM IS, THE PRE-BUILT CABINETS HAVE A HARD TIME ACHIEVING THE OLDER CRAFTSMAN LOOK THAT I WOULD LIKE. CUSTOM MADE CRAFTSMAN CABINETS ARE INSANELY EXPENSIVE. WHAT TO DO? THE PROBLEM WITH A HUSBAND THAT IS A RENAISSANCE MAN... YOU JUST KNOW HOW NICE THINGS REALLY CAN BE BUT ARE NOT GOING TO FEEL COMFORTABLE PAYING THAT PRICE. TO PUT IT ANOTHER WAY, CHAMPAGNE TASTE - BEER BUDGET.

THIS PAST WEEKEND WE WENT TO THE BIG CITY TO SHOP FOR MANY OTHER THINGS WE NEED TO MAKE A DECISION ON SOON. I WAS SO EXCITED TO FIND SOME WOOD FLOOR THAT WILL MATCH THE OLD FLOORS VERY CLOSELY, AND AT A GREAT PRICE. THE STAIN COLOR IS CALLED MOLASSES... SOUNDS YUMMY HUH! THE OLD OAK FLOORS HAVE AGED TO THIS COLOR SO I AM EXCITED TO FIND FLOORING THAT IS VERY CLOSE TO PUT THROUGHOUT THE EDITION, EVEN IN THE KITCHEN. FOR ME, THIS WAS THE FIND OF THE WEEKEND, BUT NOT FOR MARK. HE HAD ANOTHER COMPANY QUOTE THE WINDOWS AND MAY HAVE FOUND A WAY TO SAVE A FORTUNE AND STILL GET EXACTLY WHAT WE WANT. HE WAS SO EXCITED IT WAS FUNNY. MARK DOES NOT GET OVERLY EMOTIONAL ABOUT THINGS SO WHEN HE IS A LITTLE ANIMATED WITH HIS REACTION IT IS SO CUTE TO ME. I WAS GLAD TO SEE HIM JOYFUL IN THIS PROCESS. DON'T GET ME WRONG, HE LOVES WHAT WE ARE DOING BUT I KNOW IT IS VERY STRESSFUL FOR HIM. HE IS BASICALLY DOING THE REMODEL WORK ON THE EXISTING STRUCTURE, CONTRACTING THE NEW STRUCTURE, AND WORKING A STRESSFUL JOB. WHEN I STOP TO THINK ABOUT IT ALL, HE IS PRETTY AMAZING! I AM TRULY BLESSED. SO THE CARTOON ABOVE IS JUST FOR GIGGLES. WE ARE NOT NEEDING MARITAL COUNSELING OVER THIS PROJECT...NOT YET ANYWAY :-)

MY MEMOIR

I've been tagged by Patti and Lisa.


The Rules:

1) Write your own six-word memoir about yourself.

2) Post it on your blog and include a visual illustration if you'd like.

3) Link to the person that tagged you in your post and to this original post ifpossible, so we can track it as it travels across the blogosphere.

4) Tag more blogs with links.

5) And don't forget to leave a comment on the tagged blogs with an invitation to play!

I challenge:

Jen

Mary

Kim

SIMPLE PLEASURES

ARE BLESSINGS BEYOND MEASURE.

Look-alike Meter

MyHeritage: Look-alike Meter - Family history - Geneology

MyHeritage: Family trees - Genealogy - Celebrities - Collage - Morph

I knew my boys look a lot alike by WOW! Maybe the meter tips my direction because of my lack of facial hair...for now! Thanks Jen for posting something so fun that I could steal ;-)

MORE DEEP THOUGHTS

More funny conversations with our crazy boys. Beware...slighty off color bathroom humor below.

...as I am wiping the ice cream off his face as we leave DQ and he gets a piece of napkin in his mouth.

ANDREW:Mom, what would happen if i eat a napkin?

MOM: I guess it would just taste bad.

ANDREW: Would I poop a napkin?

MOM: I guess you would.

ANDREW: Would I still need to wipe my booty?

CAN YOU TELL WE ARE WORKING ON MASTERING THAT SKILL? I don't even want to go there!

Mason and I were discussing his school work one afternoon and it went something like this:

MOM: That will be a piece of cake.

MASON: What does that mean?

MOM: Oh, it is just something people say when they mean something will be easy.

MASON: I know, but what does it mean?

MOM: I really don't know, that is a good question. It is just a silly thing people say.

MASON: People are crazy these days.


That Mason is always acting older than his years. That sounds like something his grandpa would say!

Check out what other funny kids are saying at NOT BEFORE 7 and get the giggles.

MORE SPRING BREAK FUN

WHILE WE WERE ON OUR TRIP TO VISIT FAMILY IN TENNESSEE, WE VISITED THE CHILDREN'S MUSEUM. IT WAS AN ABSOLUTE BLAST. THERE WERE SO MANY INTERACTIVE THINGS TO DO FOR THE KIDS...OK, WE ADULTS JOINED RIGHT IN!

MY SISTER TERESA IS JUST HILARIOUS. I ENJOY HER SO MUCH. SHE JUMPED RIGHT IN AND HAD A BLAST PLAYING WITH ALL THE KIDS AT THE MUSEUM. SHE WAS REALLY DEALING WITH THE TIREDNESS OF THE FIRST TRIMESTER OF PREGNANCY BUT SHE DID NOT LET THAT STOP HER GOOD TIME WITH US. SHE WAS A TROOPER! WHEN WE GET TOGETHER WE LAUGH ABOUT THE SIMPLEST THINGS. WE DON'T NEED MUCH TO ENTERTAIN OURSELVES. I THINK WE WERE THAT WAY WHEN WE WERE GROWING UP. I GUESS THAT IS A BENEFIT TO GROWING UP IN A BIG FAMILY THAT DID NOT HAVE MONEY FOR FRILLS. WE MADE OUR OWN GAMES AND FUN. SPENDING A FEW DAYS WITH HER WAS SO NICE BUT MAKES ME REALIZE ALL THE MORE HOW MUCH I MISS HER. I'M HOPING SHE AND CLINT CAN COME FOR A VISIT BEFORE "LITTLE BIT" GETS HERE. THERE IS NO PLACE LIKE TEXAS IN THE SUMMER FOR A PREGNANT WOMAN. ;-)

ME...OLD!

Andrew, Mark and I were at the baseball field watching Mason's first baseball game. I was really glammed up in sweats with my hair pulled back in a ponytail because I am in desperate need of a haircut. Andrew was hamming it up for my our friends Tonya and Wayne and Tonya's parents. The dialogue went something like this"

Andrew: Mom, you look like an old lady.

Me: What? How do I look like an old lady?

Andrew: You have those marks on your head.

Tonya: Andrew, do I look like an old lady?

Andrew: Nooooo (with a look of love in his eyes)

He was referring to the lines on my forehead...OK, I know the no bangs look may not be working for me. I'll schedule a haircut next week. Andrew is pretty sweet on Tonya. She will never let me live that down. Later that evening Andrew had this conversation with Tonya:

Andrew: Miss Tonya, you are going to be my wife when I grow up.

Tonya: Really, you might need to take that up with Wayne.

Wayne: You don't have to wait, you can have her now. (those ornery husbands!)

Tonya: Where will you work, how will take care of me

Andrew: I will be an eighteen wheeler driver

Tonya: Will I still have to work?

Andrew: Yes, you can't just sit and watch movies all day.

Now I have to say Mark prompted him in his last statement to say "Yes, you can't just sit around". Andrew added the part about watching movies all day.

We all got a case of the giggles at that crazy kid. He sure does not need help from Mark and Wayne to be a cut up...it comes to him pretty naturally!

If you want to hear more cute stuff out of the mouthes of babes go visit Mary and check out Tiny Talk Tuesday

APRIL FOOLS!

WELL, I HAVE FINALLY DONE IT! I OUT WITTED THE MASTER PRACTICAL JOKER ON THE BIGGEST DAY OF THE YEAR FOR CUT UPS EVERYWHERE. SOMEHOW I MANAGED TO DODGE THE WHIZZING BULLETS COMING MY WAY FROM MARK ALL DAY. HE WAS IN CAHOOTS WITH MY SWEET SISTER LAURA, ENLISTED THE HELP OF MY LOYAL COMPANION KIM, AND EVEN INVOLVED THE GUYS AT WORK TO TRY TO PULL ONE OVER ON ME.

JUST WHEN EVERYONE THOUGHT IT WAS SAFE TO LET THEIR GUARD DOWN...I GOT HIM! WE WENT TO DAIRY QUEEN FOR DINNER AFTER MASON'S BASEBALL GAME ALONG WITH MANY OTHER FAMILIES ON OUR BASEBALL TEAM. MANY OF WHICH WERE IN LINE WITH US WHEN MARK HANDED THE CLERK HIS DEBIT CARD. SHE LOOKED AT HIM AND SAID,
"YOUR CARD WAS DENIED". HE LOOKED HER AND SAID "WHAT" AND LOOKED AT ME AND SAID, "DO YOU THINK THE DUMPSTER COMPANY DRAFTED OUR ACCOUNT?" I JUST SHRUGGED MY SHOULDERS AND SAID "HOW WOULD I KNOW?" I COULD SEE THE WHEELS SPINNING IN HIS MIND TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHAT COULD HAVE GONE WRONG. WITH THE REMODEL AND ADDITION ON THE HOUSE IN FULL SWING IT IS QUITE AN ART TO MANAGING THE ACCOUNTS FOR ALL THE DRAFTS AND PAYMENTS THAT ARE BEING MADE. THE CLERK FINALLY SMILED AND SAID, "APRIL FOOL". THE LINE OF 2O OR MORE PEOPLE WAITING FOR THEIR LATE NIGHT MEAL ROARED IN LAUGHTER. WHAT MARK DID NOT KNOW WAS I CALLED DAIRY QUEEN ON MY WAY TO MEET HIM THERE AND GAVE THE SWEET GIRL HIS DESCRIPTION AND ASKED HER TO PLAY ALONG. SHE DID GREAT AND BROUGHT A LOT OF SMILES TO MANY FACES...EVEN MARK.

"The first of April is the day we remember what we are the other 364 days of the year."
- Mark Twain

PATTI HAD THIS QUOTE ON HER BLOG TODAY. I LOVE IT! WHAT A GOOD REMINDER NOT TO TAKE OURSELVES TOO SERIOUSLY. A GOOD LAUGH AT OURSELVES IS GOOD FOR THE SOUL.