The battle of the brothers

These are some of my most favorite pictures of Parker. They just totally capture who he was at that time.

Parker and Jack have been fighting since they woke up this morning. It makes me just want to crawl in a hole and hide. They are equally responsible. Jack usually does something to make Parker mad and then Parker retaliates--usually by hitting Jack. And they do this repeatedly. I am constantly separating them into their rooms. Maybe if I got off the computer, and gave them something to do, they would cut it out. What would Supernanny say? I think I know so I had better get going.

Have a lovely, fight-free weekend!

My dad would do this!

I saw this on another blog. The caption read, "Never underestimate the value of a good woman." Just in case you missed it, she is weighting down the back because the tractor is missing one front wheel. If my dad had a tractor (which he is looking to buy and it will probably be in a condition similar to this one) and it was missing it's front wheel and my mom was heavy, he would 100%, no doubt about it, do this. However, I like to think my mother would refuse. Actually, if my dad was heavy, this looks quite like him! They are the two best people I have ever known. I haven't know that many people so that isn't saying much but Tracy's father-in-law, Bob Montgomery, has literally probably met as many people as a United States President--maybe more because Bob meets thousands of people in countries all over the world and even he thinks that our dad is one of the best people he has ever met, "a true gentelman." And that is quite a compliment from a man who has had a private meeting with Pope John Paul! Can you tell I think very, very highly of my parents!? Love them and RESPECT them so much! Lucky, lucky Tracy and me (and Parker, Jack, Stella and Jacob).

My love/hate relationship with Target

Obviously I love Target--I mean, what's not to love? They always have really cool stuff. I especially love their Pottery Barn knock-offs. I love their clothes too. And children's clothes. And their store-brand kleenex in the nice, plain boxes. I pretty much love everything that Target sells. That isn't where my problem lies. It's with the employees. Every time we are there, one of them tells my kid to sit down in the cart. This really hacks me off. I mean, Jack is three years old and he's standing in the basket portion of the cart--usually right by me. In fact, I am often holding his hand to keep him steady. I am ALWAYS moving at a snail's pace for a few reasons: 1. I am looking at everything; 2. I am being careful because my kid is standing in the cart! Usually I just ignore the sales associate and keep moving on with Jack in the cart but it always ruins my Target experience. However, today, I looked right at her and said, "He is fine. I am his mother and I have the situation under control." and then we kept moving so I didn't really give her the chance to respond. I know that management is telling their employees to say this stuff to protect themselves from crazy litigation but there is a difference between being reckless and just trying to get your shopping done without your kid running all over the store. You might wonder why I don't just avoid the whole scene and make Jack walk. Well, it's just easier to keep him in the cart AND most importantly, I AM in control of the situation. Now that being said, when he falls out of the cart and splits his head open and has to be taken to the emergency room and I am out several thousand dollars in medical bills and I am mad a Target, anyone who read this can remind my that they warned me!

Spring Grouchiness

Spring allergies have arrived in our house which means two boys with red, itchy, swollen, pussy eyes and very, very bad attitudes. Medication sort of relieves the eye issues but they always remain grouchy and rotten for about a month. I am so sick of whining and crying and smarting off and being rude and mean to each other. I love spring, but this crap is going to drive me crazy!
I'm ready for a rainy day. With all this nice weather, we've been outside all the time--which is very nice. But it also means that nothing is getting done inside. I made a list last night of all the things we need to do were we to put the house on the market. Actually, it's just cosmetic stuff that I can take care of like touch-up painting, etc. I really can't see us moving any time soon, but I would like to be ready to do it quickly if the time should ever come.
I haven't done one single thing related to Easter. Usually I do a little bit of decorating but this year, I am totally not interested. I'm not even inspired to fill Easter baskets. We don't need any more candy or toys or ANYTHING in this house. Plus with the bad attitudes floating around here, I am unmotivated to do anything nice for my little offspring. Maybe a basket full of Claritin, Benadryl and Zyrtec would be appropriate. Can you tell I'm at my wit's end!?
I gave up on the header. I have no idea what the instructions are talking about. There must be an easier way. I keep messing with the color, but I'm never really happy. Right now it is terribly boring. I'm going to go have a cup of coffee and hopefully my day will brighten because it started out with---"Mommy, the bed is wet. It was an accident." Great.

Still working

Still can't figure out the header thing but I did make a scrapbook page.

Heading up my blog

My goal this weekend (well, not my only goal) is to create a header for my blog. I have no real idea how to do this, but I think I have found the instructions. So, if you see a new header, it worked. If not, I probably gave up. Or it could be that I got distracted. That happens a lot too. We have new neighbors moving in across the street. We have heard some very unpleasant things about this family (from some of their relatives) so our whole cul-de-sac is a little on edge. Hopefully everyone is exaggerating and they will be just fine. I'm willing to give them the benefit of the doubt. We have a sort of a happy little world down here on our court. Everyone is very friendly and enjoys the kids. I would hate to see anything ruin that. What did Forrest Gump say about life? it's like a box of chocolates--you never know what you might get. However, we might see "For Sale" signs popping up on Fawn Ct.!

Just like I said..............

I came home from Tuscola with a bag full of stuff for Parker and not one single thing for me. I tried on 8 pair of pants and 2 shirts but didn't love anything. I bought Parker 6 shirts for a total of $47.00. That makes me happy. He gets all the new clothes because Jack will be able to wear them too. I'm sure that this will not always be agreeable to Jack, but right now, he doesn't care. Oh, and I did eat a cupcake today. Actually, I ate 3. No wonder I can't find clothes!

A shopping prediction

I am hoping to go to Tuscola today--by myself. I would really like to get something for myself, but I usually end up with things for the boys instead. Shopping for clothes used to be so fun, but extra weight sucks the joy out of it for me. Every morning I say "today is the day I'm going to start losing weight" and then I go eat a cupcake. Ughhhhhhh!!!

Wish me luck. I will post my shopping outcome later!

This is a picture of Tracy's mirror for the new house. Doesn't it look like a small mirror that is sitting on a shelf? It's not. In fact, it is so big that we had to rent a U-haul to get it to the house. Not a U-Haul trailer--the kind you drive! The good thing is that it just confirms that no matter how much it costs, it is ALWAYS better to have your purchases delivered instead of doing it yourself! I learned this one time when I bought an armoire and my dad and I tried to move it up 3 flight of stairs. We had to stop in the middle of the staircase because we simply couldn't lift it another inch because it was soooo heavy. Panic started to set in and about that time a man came along and offered to help. I had never seen him before in our apartment building. I have no idea who he was but I think he was an angel. Seriously. I truly believe that he was heaven sent that afternoon. Maybe not exactly an angel, but someone that God divined to be there at that moment. Wow, I didn't think this post would end up being a sermon! That's a big mirror, huh!?

Jacob's birth announcement

I love how this turned out--sort of a vintage look. The little astronaut at the top was holding a gun but I cut it out and gave him a sparkler instead. Somehow it didn't seem right to have a kid holding a gun on a birth announcement!

Super Heroes

I bought a new idea book yesterday and I was inspired to create this layout. The book is by Elsie Flanigan who just has the most original, cool ideas about scrapbooking. I tried to just kind of "wing it" on this page. I tried not to use stars, but come on, a super heroes page must have stars!!!
We finally watched Episodes 1, 2, and 3 of Star Wars this weekend. I need to watch them again to figure out exactly how everything ties together. I have to admit that I enjoyed them and am looking forward to watching them again. I'm a geek. I know it. If I haven't mentioned it here, Parker is obsessed with all things Star Wars.
I'm putting off going to the grocery store because it is something I do not enjoy at all. However, it must be done.
We went to St. Louis this past weekend. Stella is soooooooo funny. She just looks like a cartoon character. She is such a happy little thing. She followed Jack around all weekend. Poor thing, she tried so hard to keep up with the boys but could never quite manage. They love her too. I have totally fallen for baby Jacob. He isn't an easy baby. When he is awake, he fusses but he can be calmed down pretty easily just by holding him close. Love that. (Of course, I had nothing but time to hold him--his mommy has another baby and is trying to pack up her house to move!) I love tiny babies, but I'm not sure I want another one of my own. I'm not into schedules these days and babies definitely require schedules!

Look--no stars!

I blogged about this in early February and Shelly (Travis' aunt) suggested that I make a scrapbook page about this event. I just printed off the blog and stuck it on the page.

I drove Arby's today to get lunch. I ordered a roast beef sandwich and when I got home it was a roast beef with melted cheddar cheese and Arby's sauce on an onion roll. I was soooo disappointed. Well, I ate it because I was starving and there was no way I was driving back down there. It was not as good as a plain old roast beef would have been. Like Jerry Seinfeld said, "you get &^%%* in the drive through!!!"

Just what I needed

After a very busy week, I was finally able to sit down and do a scrapbook page. It is sooooo relaxing for me to scrapbook. Maybe relaxing is quite the right word, but it just feels good to do something creative. This page has a double meaning because if you know Jack, you know he needs to slow down. However, that isn't really what the page is about. Sometimes I can't believe how grown-up he is getting! Still rotten, but definitely growing up.

Family reading night seemed to be pretty successful. If I had to do it over, I would change some things, but that always happens when you try something new. I'm glad it's over though! I must learn to delegate more!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My favorite scrapbook store in Springfield is closing. Very, very sad. The boys and I loved that place. It had a really nice children's area and the owner's were always very accomodating of two wild little boys walking around. (Even Jack knows that he cannot touch ANYTHING in a scrapbook store!)

Travis got his campaign signs today. They look very nice. If you live in Mt. Zion school district and would put one in your yard, let me know!

I need to do laundry because I haven't done it all week. Actually, I need to do many, many house related things that haven't been done all week.

Oh, yes. Notice that this layout is yet another one with stars. I am making a solemn vow that my next layout WILL NOT have any stars on it!!!!!

crazy, crazy, crazy, crazy BUSY

I am crazy, crazy busy putting our preschool's Family Reading Night Sports Spectacular together so, for once, I am not blogging much. Yesterday, I locked us out of the house (the second time in a month) and wasted about 5 hours that I could have been doing the 423 things that need to be done. Today I am trying to catch up. I feel like Stella looks in this photo.

This is for you Sue

I'm climbing up on my soapbox right now. There is a letter to the editor in the newspaper today that has me riled up. Sue Jones of Decatur writes:
Peanut butter was the last straw for me.
It's now been banned from being served in the Mt.Zion schools; not because of salmonella, but due to nut allergies. The "land of the free" is experiencing an astounding erosion of liberty.
Last year, it was a sculpture that was rejected due to the depiction of "bullets." Sugary sodas were outlawed in January to reduce obesity.
The driving hours to receive a license has been increased to 50, and teen drivers can only carry one non-family member in the car for six months. It certainly seems we are becoming a "no" society.
I would like to take this issue before the courts, but I have to save my funds for state-mandated physicals and dental checks for my students, as well as their immunizations. I would rather not have my 4-pound Yorkie spayed, so I am paying a dog license fee four times the usual rate.
My personal protest against these restrictions is to give up exercise and begin drinking sodas with sugar. I'm not a smoker (God bless their souls, soon they won't be able to smoke in their personal vehicles), but I'm thinking about taking it up.
If you see me smoking, or chewing tobacco for that matter, it means I've finally been pushed over the edge. I feel sure you can find an administrator or a legislator who is willing to have me committed. If it comes to that, please be sure to buckle me in, and if force is required, have a FOID card in your possession. You would hate to break any of the laws of this good land. My final request, however, would be to please pack me a peanut butter sandwich for the road.

Isn't Sue just so clever!? This is a good example of the kind of letter to the editor that I just hate--the uninformed kind. First of all, the Mt. Zion cafeterias are going to stop serving peanut butter and they asked that parents stop packing peanut butter for their kids. If a peanut butter sandwich is that important to you, you can still bring one in your lunch. This is one of those rules that probably sounds ridiculous unless it's your 5 year old that has a deadly peanut allergy. This has become a common allergy so we are not talking about one child in the whole school who could become ill--there are many.
Then Sue mentions the sculpture again. I wish this one would just go away forever, or that someone would publicly speak up and put the accurate information out there. For anyone who might be reading this that doesn't know the story, last year, the high school art teacher came to a school board meeting with a proposal to put a series of sculptures at the high school representing each of the foreign wars. He had a sketch of the Vietnam sculpture which showed a soldier with bullets wrapped around his neck. A few of the board members questioned that, in light of the school's zero tolerance policy on weapons, perhaps the high school might not be the best place to put such a sculpture. However, the board unanimously APPROVED the sculpture. Then the artist decided to withdraw his "offer" because he didn't like the fact that he was questioned about it. It also turns out that he had taken the image for the sculpture straight from a photograph in a high school textbook but was passing it off as original artwork. The photo was not copywrited, so technically it isn't plagiarism--it's just wrong anyway. The sculpture is now in the city park which is a much better place for it anyway.
As for laws on sodas, cigarettes and seatbelts, legislators have to pass laws in these areas because people seem too stupid to know what is good for them. If they get fat, they sue fast food restaurants. If a family member dies in a car accident and wasn't buckled in, they sue the car manufacturer. And cigarettes--come on! There are so many things wrong with smoking that I can't even begin to address them all.
So, Sue, you seem to be one of the people that are too stupid to do the right thing, so the administrators and legislators are forcing you to make good decisions. The reason it comes to legislation and policy-making is because we are a "YES" society. We say yes to bad habits that make us fat and unhealthy and then we want to blame everyone else.
Go ahead and eat your peanut butter sandwich Sue.

Starlicious

I just noticed that the last four layouts I posted have stars on them. I am very into stars right now. They just seem to go with "boy" pages. With girls, you can do flowers, bows, hearts, birdies, and more. But with boys, the choices are a little more limited.

I am working on our preschool's Family Reading Night Sports Spectacular. It should be fun. We have some fun little stuff planned. Hopefully it will go smoothly and no one will be disappointed.

I think we drove through Decatur's tornado yesterday. Scary. Parker will probably be freaked out by storms from now on.

Kindergarten registration went shockingly well. Parker is just not usually good in those type of situations. He is a worrier like me and stuff like that just makes him nervous and anxious. However, I didn't say a word about the testing part until we were at the registration so that he didn't have time to think about it. I promised to buy him some Legos if he didn't fuss and cooperated. I was holding my breath when they came to get him, but he marched right in--NO PROBLEM! I could hardly believe it. I'm no fool though and I know that there is no way the first day of school will be drama-free. For either one of us! Oh yes, a little bragging here--the only question he couldn't answer on the test was his birthday. That is my fault so it doesn't even count, right?

Here is a picture of my baby with Tracy's baby. Jack really likes Jacob. As crazy as he is, he has always been very gentle and loving with babies.