Stupid Stomach Virus

Oh stomach virus ... how I hate thee ... let me count the ways ....
1. You've been an uninvited guest in my home since last Thursday .. it's time to go!
2. My boys are just babies ... pick on someone else!
3. We are hosting our annual fundraiser at our home this Saturday ... we don't have time for you this week!!! Arrrrgggg ... you really, really need to go!

** A BIG thanks to Les and Kevin (on Sunday) and Molly and GiGi (on Monday) for your help with the kids while I tried to shuffle one or the other child to the doctor, do laundry, clean up nasty, sick-kid-stuff (I'll spare my blog readers of those details). Not sure I'd have ever managed without your help ... gracias, gracias, gracias!!!

Beautiful Saturday

After spending all of Friday couped up in the house, Everett was very happy to run around outside today. While Brayden was having his T-ball pictures taken at the sports fields, we tagged along (with GiGi & BaBa) and enjoyed the beautiful weather.

Mother's Words of Wisdom

My friend, Amy, was nice enough to mail me a few articles from May's Parenting Magazine, since she knows that I never get around to actually reading my copies but she thought I'd enjoy the articles.

One page she sent was from their "Mom Exchange - You Said It" and was titled "What words have come out of your mouth that, before becoming a mom, you never imagined saying? Some of the responses had me laughing hysterically, so I thought I'd share them here. The truth be known, I've actually said some of these phrases myself or can see myself saying them sometime in the near future!!!
Here goes:
- "We don't play with our poo, please."
- "This is not yelling, THIS IS YELLING!!!"
- "No more wetting your hair with spit, okay?"
- "Wow, vegetables, yum-yum-yum!"
- "Nobody touch anybody ever again!"
- "Get the plunger out of your mouth. Yucky."

When I shared this article with my sister today, she said, "As a matter of fact, just last night, I heard myself telling one of my kids:
- "Don't put Superman up your butt and then in your mouth!"
LOL ... ahhh ... those wonderful little nuggets of wisdom we never dreamed we'd be sharing with our kids ... priceless!

And here's a couple random pictures from today of my little guys. Everett was actually home from school today because his tummy was upset. It was nice to spend a whole day with the boys ... although I wish they had both felt better.

Potato Scrubbing 101

Everett is quite the "helper" these days. He LOVES to "help" cook, clean, do yard work, you name it. I'd say cooking is his favorite hobby at the moment.
Just a few tips for those of you who might also like to have your 2 year old help scrub potatoes:
1. Remove the dish soap from arms reach. (He'd "washed" about 3 potatoes before I realized he was using Joy to get them extra clean.)
2. Make sure he can't reach the sprayer on the faucet.
3. If he can reach the sprayer, cover the floor with towels before potato scrubbing begins.

Nikon Class

I attended a beginner's Nikon SLR class held by Camera Stop yesterday morning. (This is also where I purchased my camera. The staff there are all so helpful and knowledgeable.) The class only lasted 2.5 hours but was full of good information. I now know what most of the buttons on my camera do and have some great tips for catching good shots of the kiddos ... or whatever else I might like to capture. My kids (and David) have all been wonderful subjects and incredibly patient and tolerant of me sticking my camera in their face all weekend. If ever they become famous, they'll have no trouble handling the paparazzi!

new camera

We purchased a new camera last weekend. I haven't gotten many opportunities to play with it yet, but I did take a few pics of our walk to the park last Sunday. I hope to enroll in a class soon to learn how to use all the bells and whistles. After much deliberation about which Nikon SLR we would purchase, we settled on the D60. So far I've been very pleased. It is quite a bit bulkier than my little Canon Powershot, but I guess that's the compromise you make for better quality and even more importantly (for one with fast moving boys) there's little to no delay when I'm trying to capture a shot.

First Tooth

I finally got a nice shot of Pryce's first tooth. And how sweet is that face and those big beautficul eyes?!?!

Our weekend

Here's Pryce "dancing" with Gigi. We are quite amazed by how mobile he is at almost 8 months old!


















At Kian's 3rd birthday party, the kids had fun with the water guns ...


















Even Pryce enjoyed the water-based ammo! He was mostly just happy to be crawling and climbing about. Thanks Mary Nell for his cute shoes!

Yardwork

Everett was quite the helper in the yard this weekend. He was more than willing to help out Daddy with yard work. We hope this enthusiasm lasts into his teenage years!

April Showers ...

Remember the lovely Bradford Pear tree that once graced our back yard?
Sadly, it, along with another large tree in our front yard, could not withstand the ferocious storm that whipped through our neighborhood last night. From the reports on the area news, I'd say we were lucky that all we lost were a few trees. We found ourselves seeking safety in a closet at 3:30 this morning. Although the neighborhood sirens never sounded, there was a tornado warning issued for Collin County and we thought it better to be safe. The city trucks drove down our alley this morning evaluating damage and said they felt sure a small tornado had swept through part of Plano. One described an area of North Plano as looking like a "war zone".
Soooo ... I guess we'll be tree shopping soon!

I didn't get a picture of the tree out front before our neighbors had already started pitching in to saw it up and move it. The trees had completely blocked our alley way in two places.

Sunday

Les stopped by on Sunday to visit with us. She was impressed with how mobile Pryce has become.
He also makes a pretty cute sailor.

Look at me, I can pull myself up into a standing position!

Visit with Rankin Grandparents

Grandma and Grandad Rankin came in town this weekend to help David select some new plants for some landscaping projects he has planned. After a yummy lunch at Sea Breeze Fish Market & Grill (I'd highly recommend the crab cakes and the fish tacos but there's SO many yummy things on the menu that I haven't tried yet), Everett enjoyed going to the nursery. It was a little tough keeping him wrangled as there was so much to look at. Grandma kept him interested in the pond full of minnows for quite a while. Everett also enjoyed hunting for monsters with Grandma and going on walks with Grandad. We had a nice visit and David and I even had a night out while Ray & Brenda babysat -- Thank You!!!

First Bowling Trip

Also while Aunt Debbie was visiting, we took E on his very first bowling outing. We all had a great time. However, the next time we will be sure to start the night out earlier as E was pretty tired and cranky by the time we finished the game.

I'll refrain from posting a caption on this picture

I was super impressed that Stephanie was able to bowl while wearing Aubrey!

And Pryce just slept through it all.