Colter Jackson Trent finally arrived to complete our family. He has already taught me lots of lessons in patience. I fully expected him to arrive at least one week early, if not 2 weeks - he arrived 2 short days prior to his due date. I felt like I was 3 weeks overdue! Additionally, I thought my labor would last 6-8 hours (as this is how long my labor with Bear was), and clearly, Colter has a timeframe all his own. I went into labor on November 20th at around 6am and was in labor until I had him at 9:31pm that night.

Thus far this little sugar has been such a good baby. We were able to make it to both family's Thanksgiving dinners. The food was wonderfully prepared by Auntie Al, Uncle Archie, and Grammy and Pa. We all ate a little too much and hopefully Colter followed suit. After all, his main job right now is eating and growing. We go in for a follow up appointment on Tuesday to see how much he has grown.

Mimi and Grandpa were SO nice to take the boys out to the ranch both weekends. It was nice for the boys to get to go out and run for the weekend. It was also nice for Corey and I, to have both weekends "off" and be able to focus on our new addition. Both boys have responded well to their baby brother thus far, although I am sure there is quite a bit more adjusting to come. Thanks to everyone for the prayers and well wishes!

Halloween and Bear's Birthday

We are all still recovering after a very successful Halloween Trick or Treating extravaganza. Both boys did very well in the candy department and both were still happy with their costumes weeks after making the decision of what they were going to be. Below are both boys showing off their stash:

LT initially wanted to be a glow in the dark skeleton (after an attempt at getting me to buy into a skeleton with blood all over his face - clearly which wouldn't fly...yet), but then ultimately decided on a ninja, with the most important sword accessory. I too love accessories, so I can relate :)

Bear was a bit more difficult. These days he is obsessed with fire hydrants. While driving we take note of all types of hydrants: red ones, tall ones, short ones, ones that have a different color "hat" - you name it, we are admiring it. Of course, a spewing hydrant is an especially fabulous find. Anyways, when asked what he wanted to be for Halloween, you guessed it, he wanted to be a fire hydrant. Thanks to Mimi, we were able to whip one up for my little guy. It was a homemade costume, and a little abstract on the theme, so we were often telling people what he was vs. people assuming he was a fire hydrant - he was quite okay with it.

In addition, we celebrated Bear's birthday a bit early with a trip to the fire station then back to our house for pizza and cupcakes. Bear was in high heaven since the day was all about him. I love that! I also love that the party took place before baby brother's arrival. I want to make sure that his big day isn't overlooked since he will be sharing his birthday month with Mimi, Daddy, and Baby Brother.

Bedtime -

So bedtime at the Trent house should include the following: Bath, Book, Bed (+ Prayers too). Bedtime with 2 boys has continued to evolve into more and more of a process. Getting both boys into bed earlier with the school year has also added complications.

Typically, our evening ensures a number of ups and downs prior to the boys being asleep. Each night is a new adventure, although many times it is comical. For instance, tonight included the following:

Bath - both boys took a bath, and needed a bath badly! Bear had dried snot on his face with dirt mixed in - yick! There was also paint under fingernails, and more dirt there too...

Breathing Treatment - Bear is once again struggling with his breathing, so twice daily, the boys get a break in the action for Bear to inhale a smoky concoction through a nebulizer treatment.

Brush teeth - Hmmm, which brush to use? Can I use your toothpaste? I want to do it first! Whoops, don't mind the toothpaste all over the counter...not to mention the cap of the toothpaste tube.

Hydration - both boys get to have 4 drops of water prior to bed (approximately, I am joking kind of, but not really), not to much so that we don't have an accident, but this is also an integral part of the routine.

Kleenex - Bear feels it necessary to clean out his nostrils prior to hitting the hay...God forbid us forget!

Bathroom - Everyone needs to take a potty break, no matter how small the attempt. Bear has this down to a science and often goes to the bathroom 3 times within an hour time frame prior to being asleep. Yes, he really is going - he knows this is the only thing he can get out of bed for, and he works it!

Hostage negotiation - this was a new step this evening. LT asked if he could sleep with one of Bear's stuffed animals. Bear is a REALLY good sharer with his brother, so of course he said yes. LT then offered to let Bear borrow one of his "guys." Bear picked out one and that is when all heck broke loose. Poor hubs walked into this mess right in the middle and ended up doing the negotiation. We knew things weren't going to go well RIGHT at bedtime - not the best idea in general. LT ended up crying himself to sleep with the stuffed animal on the floor. Bear, of course, went to bed happy with a new "guy" in his bed.

Infirmary - Bear often takes his time going to sleep. It seems to just take him longer to settle down. LT is asleep in 3 minutes, literally. Bear came out 30 minutes after getting in bed with a bloody lip. When asked what he was doing, he gave me a visual of a somersault into his headboard. Not really settling down in my opinion...Seriously???

Can you believe that they get any sleep at all with this drama???

Had a rough week...

So no baby yet, that isn't what made last week a doozie. We had quite an illness that was hanging over our house for the week. (God willing, I will not get infected!) All 3 of my boys almost died last week from some unknown virus. (Not really, but it seemed that way.) Corey brought it home from work and the rest was history. The week went something like this:

Tuesday night: I woke up around 3:45am and couldn't get back to sleep. I figured, this is good practice for when baby arrives, so I just rocked out my day accordingly - and did a pretty dang good job if I do say so myself :)

Wednesday night: I nestled myself snuggly into my bed for a long night sleep which was quickly interrupted by Bear around midnight. He took a number of trips to the bathroom throughout the night and needed my help. When he was in bed, he slept like a hot potato hopping all over the place. His belly did NOT feel good.

Thursday night: Again, nestling myself into my bed for a long night sleep, which was quickly interrupted by LT. He comes down to our room and I was nice enough to let him climb in with us. BAD CHOICE. His entry into our bed means absolutely NO sleep for this Mama. He too might as well have been doing the Macarena in bed because he was ALL over the place. I was still in good spirits feeling sorry for my guy, so again I rocked out the next day under 4ish hours of sleep.

Friday night: After keeping LT home from school, I felt for sure that the end was drawing near, the other two had finished up within 24 hours, so I was banking on a good night's sleep. Not so lucky. LT had another bad night on Friday and was still puny Saturday.

After being sequestered to the house all week and going on just a few hours of sleep for the week, I was starting to get into real bad place. Luckily the cloud lifted on Saturday and all beings under this roof were better.

Around this time during pregnancy I am prepared to do a sort of "boot camp" in the sleep department. This is somewhat like God's prep course for baby's arrival. I am up a number of times during the night going to the bathroom or just up being uncomfortable...but last week takes the cake! Like Mimi said, thank heavens this happened now instead of after baby's arrival...

Kinder is kicking our rear...

Kindergarten has been far more of a challenge for the whole fam than I anticipated. (Now, I will look back on this when I have one in 5th, 2nd, and Kinder and laugh my hiney off, but for now, this has really been a challenge.) Let this serve as a warning to all of you girls who have kiddos in preschool and are enjoying that gig, that someday it will be over. I clearly just have a lot to learn on the big kid school circuit. First of all, homework...seriously, in Kinder? Apparently his teacher is pretty dang serious. LT has homework 4 nights a week, and although not difficult, it can be after he has been "schooled" all day long at his desk. Second, it seems like time has just been ripped from our hands. We have to have LT at school by 7:50, which doesn't sound early, but it is a heck of a lot earlier than 9am, which is when preschool started. We are also getting everyone in bed earlier too so that the group is well rested, which means bedtime is 7:30 pm around here lately. I don't feel like I have nearly enough time with my big man :( Third, there is all this other "stuff" that you have to figure out: buying lunch, snack time, which specials are which day, where to drop off/pick up, and the list goes on and on...below is a picture of LT on his first day, ready to get the "party" started...

Speaking of big man - he just turned 6 on Thursday. That's right folks, he is the big 6. Many of you are thinking, holy buckets, where has the time gone? My thoughts exactly! We had his birthday party recently and he was in heaven! He wanted to have a "water party" which included slip n' slide races, water gun fights/freeze tag, a pinata, and cake. After 1/2 a can of bug spray, 2 tylenol, a dose of benadryl, and a band aid, I think the group had a great time. He had a hard time going to sleep because of all the excitement! Below is a picture of LT taking a turn at hitting the pinata...

Bear also started school a few weeks ago. That transition has been much easier for all of us. He LOVES it! He has 3 friends which he knew previously and also is really enjoying his teachers, playing on the playground, and doing lunch/nap at school. There were no tears on his end when I dropped him off thus far. In fact, he barely has time to say 'goodbye' to me prior to leaving. Below is a picture of Bear with his teacher on the first day...

We are all getting very excited about the arrival of baby brother. I am measuring 2 weeks ahead, although my doctor was very quick to tell me not to get too excited about him coming early. He has been really busy in my belly and the boys are ready for him to get here. 9 months is a long time to a 2 and 5 year old! I feel HUGE - and look huge. Many people assume I am due in a week or so, when in reality my due date is 9 weeks away. Ugh.

Last weekend we headed out to the ranch and it was so nice to get away. We had a very relaxing time and I slept in BOTH mornings. Corey got in a couple of dove hunts while out at the ranch and the boys had plenty of fun in the mud. (It rained on Saturday morning...) I was thinking the rain would put a "damper" on our weekend, but it actually was a plus for my little men :) Grandpa gave LT a Daisy BB Gun for his birthday to use out at the ranch under MUCH supervision. The gun was an antique of sorts because it was actually given to me many years ago. Daddy had high hopes that I was going to be a big hunter - which, unfortunately for him, didn't work out very well. Fortunately for Grandpa, he didn't have to go out and buy a new BB Gun, right????

I've Got Stuff To Do...

Well, actually, we didn't have a lot to do over the week before last, unless you include going to the beach, taking naps, eating, and playing. My parents were generous enough to have my entire family down to Galveston Beach, where they rented a beach house...as we have done a few times in years past. My Aunt Betty and Uncle Ken also rented a house and a number of other people came down to play. It was a huge party the whole week and everyone had a blast. The boys of course thoroughly enjoyed themselves and Bear continues to ask when we are going back. He seems to think of it like going to the park down the street.

Bear was so cute, because I would ask him if he wanted a snack or wanted to go in the water and he would answer with "I've got stuff to do." The busiest 2 year old on the planet, right?

Another tid bit that I know many of you are dying to know about is the butterflies. Well, we brought them all the way down to the beach and many of them happened to "hatch" out of their cocoons en route...right in the back of my car. What a treat to have them all fluttering about when we arrived in Galveston. All 5 of them made it, and the boys released them in Galveston...we saw many other butterflies and knew they would be partying with their friends out there :)

Bear with Uncle Tommy

Both boys "fishing"

LT started Kinder today! Woo hoo! Now he is a true "big kid" going to a "big kid school" like a lot of his friends. We knew plenty of neighbors and friends from pre-school, so he felt right at home. There were no tears from LT, and none from yours truly either, I am proud to say :) He was ready for us to take off right after he sat down in his seat. I can't wait to pick him up to hear all about his day.

Grammy and Pa were so sweet and took LT school shopping for his first day. They got him a Bakugan backpack, lunchbox, and thermos...along with some fun pool toys for he and Bear. Logan also picked out his first day of school shirt...please notice the "big boy" skateboards below...

Bear has been enjoying being the only man of the house since LT's departure. He will have that coveted role for approximately 2-3 months until baby brother comes along. We attended a playgroup with a number of HIS friends today. A lot of our previous activities were centered around big brother, so he had a blast playing with kiddos just his age.

Premeditated Gorilla Face

As a kiddo, it was the family saying that whenever someone was pouting and sticking out their lower lip, they were making a "gorilla face." This was a term that was coined by my father - at least in our household - and we were often told to lose our "gorilla face" if we were behaving poorly. My middle sister Allyson was especially good at making gorilla faces back in the day.

Fast forward a few years and now the "gorilla face" has made an appearance at our house in Flower Mound. LT must have learned how to make this face from one of his friends. One day the face didn't exist, and now it is in full effect. Now LT has shown his "gorilla face" making skills to his younger brother. The other night I was cracking up because after about 5 gorilla faces prior to bed Brody was giving me a lesson on the "how to's" of gorilla face making:

First, you cross your arms

Then you make a grouchy face

Then you put it all together...and voila! Gorilla Face!

Additionally, we have 5 new members of our family...5 painted lady butterfly caterpillars arrived via US Mail the other day. We already had the butterfly habitat, which was a gift from Mimi and Grandpa for our birthday, so we decided to grow some more butterflies. All of this was a great idea, until I realized the butterflies will be going on vacation to Galveston with us. Nothing like a good road trip, with a few of your caterpillar friends, right?

I.heart.summer.

I LOVE summer. I love everything about summer...vacations, the heat, swimming, watermelon, BBQs, lazy days, sun tanned little bodies - really, pretty much everything. Now, per my blog regulators (my sisters), this post is extremely delayed. I don't disagree one bit.

Once again, my family moved. Yes, for those keeping track, that is move number 2 for my group, and I am pretty stinking glad to be settled. During our last move into our rental house, we were in essence "camping out" and only got out bare essentials to survive. (Toys, minimal clothing, sheets, plastic plates, and our TVs.) After all, why box it up twice, you know? There were many luxuries that were missed and I have been relishing in getting to know them once again. (Ahhhh, to have more than 2 dishtowels in the kitchen!)

The boys have settled into our new "digs" nicely. They were initially obsessed with our stairs. For those of you who have always or never had them - you might not get this...but, going from a house without stairs to a house with stairs was monumental. The boys have been sliding down the stairs, jumping off the stairs, playing on the stairs, throwing things from the top of the stairs and just enjoying every last step. I would say I didn't get it, but once upon a time in my childhood, I did get it. We loved playing on my grandparents stairs....I remember, so I am trying to be patient about the whole thing.

I do feel as though 1/3 of our summer has been robbed from me. I am just now getting "back to normal" and it is stinking JULY for Pete's sake! So, now it is time to get my "summer" on. We will be having much fun and many adventures from this point forward...I have already told the boys to get their game faces on. As the stay at home COO of our household (or cruise director) this is really MY time to have the boys full time and enjoy every minute.

I did decide to finally take the plunge and put Bear in underwear full time. (Just ask him, he is happy to show just about anyone.) I was really hesitant to do so prior to the move, expecting him to regress fully and hop right back into diapers after we finally settled. I waited until after the move then realized I was being lazy and didn't want to deal...so here we are...wearing underwear full time and doing pretty well. He has conquered his fear of "big potties" and is standing up and handling up on his business. Which is really SCARY because now I have two boys 5 and under who are standing and peeing in my bathrooms. Yuck-o! Any of you moms who have this situation happening at your houses know EXACTLY what I am talking about. Any of you who will one day have this happening under your roof, may the force be with you. It gives me the heebie jeebies just thinking about it.

I have included a slide show of all of the stuff we did to the house. We purchased a foreclosed house and decided to put some money into it to make it what we wanted. We painted the whole thing, replaced all of the floors, remodeled the kitchen, master bath, and media room...among many other things. Bless my hubs for being the General Contractor of our remodel project. He did a fantastic job and I must say we are thrilled with the outcome. Please remember we still have lots of things that we still need to do to the house - it is still a work in progress. I have included before and after pics for your enjoyment. Just copy and paste the below address into your browser...and play the slide show -

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8BZtWbJy1bMj-

I am also going to close by asking you to pray for my Nana. She passed away earlier this month and we are all sad, but also thankful to have her in a better place. I am sure she was very happy to see my Dad's side of the family together again at the funeral - it had been a while and was wonderful to see the group. Thank you Donna and Grandpa for hosting the weekend.

Memorial Day weekend

Last weekend the Gruningers headed out to my parents ranch for our annual gathering over Memorial Day. It was very relaxing, although a smidge warmer than I would prefer. Texas is heating up in a hurry. The ranch was crawling, literally, with all kinds of critters. Auntie Al even tried to pick up a real snake! (Brave, and super sporty, I think so!)

LT is really into bugs right now. He tries to find a bug EVERY time he is outdoors...which is quite often in the life of LT. Last weekend he found and caught approximately 20-30 grasshoppers, and about 5-10 caterpillars. He attempted to catch a number of lizards as well, but was unsuccessful in his efforts.

The group was really lazy and ate way too much over the weekend like we always do when we are out there. Daddy smoked both of our dinners on the smoker and they were delicious! We also enjoyed sopapilla cheesecake for dessert...yummy!

Everyone took naps, read books, and rode the mule and 4 wheeler. The boys enjoyed "helping" Grandpa with a number of projects...there is always work to be done out there, and the boys love to be in the middle of it. Here are the boys with Grandpa after putting together a bench near the house:

On another ranch related note, last night LT seemed to break out in a mysterious rash. I was somewhat in a panic thinking chicken pox? Fifths Disease? Poison Ivy? So prior to our move this morning, we made a $25 trip to my pediatrician's office for him to tell me that LT had been attacked by chiggers out at the ranch...which the bites aren't currently itching. Yes, I am grouchy that I wasted $25, however, I am relieved it isn't one of the other possibilities.

Pregnant Part 3

For all of those who aren't yet aware, I am pregnant with Baby T #3. I am not much for announcing our news to the world, so I haven't put it on Facebook thus far, nor been shouting it from the rooftops, but if you have seen me lately, there is no mistaking that we are expecting again. Once again, I am even bigger - earlier in my pregnancy. Thank goodness Corey was able to find my maternity wear amidst all of our boxes in the garage. I was definitely busting out of my "normal" clothes.

Thus far I am approximately 15 weeks along, so through the typical worst part. There were a couple of weeks which I was COMPLETELY exhausted, and another couple of weeks in which my belly was really bothering me, but otherwise I have felt great. I do feel as though I have been more tired in general than my other pregnancies, but I think it is because of my different "job position" as CEO of the Trent household. I am somewhat surprised by this because I am under far less work stress, but I am chasing 2 very busy boys all day.

We have told the boys about the baby coming. For a couple of weeks LT must have been processing the news because we didn't hear a peep from him about it. After that two week period he warmed up quite a bit and has started kissing my belly and asking a number of other questions. We have told Bear, although I don't know how much he really gets it yet.

Baby T is currently the size of an apple. The baby can now squint, frown, grimace, pee and probably suck his/her thumb. LT Loves these details. He loves to see the pictures online of what the baby is looking like now and all of the things he/she is doing.

We are moving our final move into our "new" house this Friday. We have had a ton of work done over the past month and a half to our house. When all of the details are complete I will be posting before and after pics. We are still lacking a fireplace, a stair rail, and some of the tile backsplash. (Some other small details too!) I am so excited (crazy, I know!) to start unpacking. We haven't seen some of our stuff for 5-6 months. I am so ready to be settled and "normal" again...or as "normal" as our group gets! Please feel free to pray for our family this weekend, week, and month. Again, thanks to all of those who have helped us through this process over the past few months. We truly couldn't have done it without you!

Spring Has Sprung

Spring has sprung around this town and I am LOVING it - with the exception of my allergies. Seriously, this time of year, I might truly live outside to enjoy all things Spring if it wasn't for the sniffling and sneezing I do.

Our time has been filled with outdoor fun - non-stop. The boys and I have been relishing in the weather. We only get a short window of FAB weather, so when it is here, we are out. Last week we had the pleasure of seeing a better concert than Bon Jovi, Cher, and Celine Dion put together. That's right, we got the pleasure to see the St. Ann's preschool Spring Sing, in which LT was a star. The theme was red, white, and blue and the group sang some very patriotic songs. That's him in the front and center:

We have also been pre-occupied with some great soccer playing in our house. LT started soccer this season and has become quite the player. Thus far, he has scored one goal - in which Grandpa took him to get ice cream. His team won yesterday and we decided to do our own team pics instead of having a company do them. I think they turned out pretty well, what do you think?

Bear is finding himself smack dab in the terrible two's. Earlier this week I thought he truly might have broken my nose during a tantrum because he had to put his shorts back on. (The boy loves to sport just his diaper.) Let's just put it this way, there was a toy fishing reel that made such contact with my nose in which I was swollen, bleeding, and super grouchy. Additionally, he might have broken HIS foot after jumping off of a bed last night. He is currently limping and has been all day. Some call him Evil Kinevel, we call him Bear :)

Potty training part 2?

You might think I am just off my rocker to even think of training my youngest little bub. I think I am crazy and we have barely started. My friend was nice enough to donate some little bub Elmo underwear, size 2T. Bear has been doing some potty attempts and has been really liking the sweet treat perks associated with going potty. Now, here are the reasons I think this endeavor is a BAD idea:

1) You shouldn't potty train (says doctors) prior to any significant upcoming life change...ie yet another move coming up in May...hmmm, just what we are planning on doing.

2) I swore I was going to have Bear BEGGING to sit his hiney on the potty vs. me BEGGING him to handle it.

3) Just this morning in our 2nd underwear attempt he pooped and peed in his bright shiney new Elmo undies. (2 different pairs!)

4) We are still having potty issues with his big brother. Now, big brother has issues of his own, but he still has problems determining when to go ahead and make his way to the bathroom...sometimes it is just too hard to tear away from playing with his matchbox cars, ya know? I have that problem all the time when reading the White House/Black Market catalog :)

Reasons why I think this is a good idea:

1) We are in the rental house - seriously, pee and poop all over this bad boy, it isn't my carpet and we will be leaving the stains behind. (This has been my motto in this beaut from day #1, and it is kind of nice to be able to shrug this stuff off.)

2) Have you ever seen a 2T hiney in 2T underwear? It is truly just about the cutest thing you have ever seen...even when the underwear gets all faded from all of the accident washings. Although I am a little biased of course!

3) I think we can get out of the initial "oh, I just peed/pooped and it doesn't just go away like it does in my diaper" the underwear is a goner, right to the wash - and later tweak the true accidents...maybe.

One other note - I am sure many of you know the true fabulousness of Pandora radio, but just in case you don't, you will love it. Just hop on there and it whips up a sassy little station right up your alley. This side note is brought to you by Pandora radio - Jess' fave and it should be yours too. (I am jamming to it right now and it just makes me happy, and I thought it might make you happy too!)

p.s. These pics are not cooperating and honestly, you get the picture (pardon the pun!)

Spring Break!

Many people trek out to Orlando for Disney World, or the Bahamas, our group decided to stay right here in the heart of TX. Although staying right here, I am trying to make this week super fun and special. The fun thing is the kids are absolutely digging it. Now, who wouldn't dig the following:

1) Going to the ranch for 3 days with Mimi and Auntie Em - always a crowd pleaser?

2) Going on a hike after playing at the park

3) Having lunch at Costco and having special "breakfast for dinner" options including cereal and waffles?

3) Playing with tons of friends

4) Having movie morning and movie night - we normally don't get to watch movies, simply because you end up in front of the TV for 1.5-2 hours minimum, but this week is Spring Break...let's get crazy!

Who moved my cheese? Seriously.

For those of you "cheese" readers, my cheese has definitely been moved. As I mentioned in an earlier post, we received an offer on our house in approximately 2 days after putting it on the market. 25 days later and we are moved out of Sumac. We leave behind many faithful neighbors and pool-goers who will be greatly missed. The main reason we didn't want to leave our 'hood' was because of our fab neighborhood. Our entire fam will miss all of our good friends and neighbors who we became so close to.

Our house on Sumac that will be greatly missed

Our last night at our Sumac house was fun too - Corey suggested to have a family camp out in our old house for the last hoorah. I think everyone loved it, even me considering how exhausted I was after moving that day. Corey set up our 12 man tent in the empty living room and all four of us camped out that night. We roasted marshmallows, told ghost stories, and everyone got to stay up past their bedtime. I am glad that we ended on a high note, because otherwise I would have been weepy about leaving that house. When we moved into that house, Corey and I were newlyweds with no kids. We had lots of responsibilities to work and friends at that time. Looking at how far we have come and how much we (and our family) has grown makes the house that much more special. BUT, a house is really just a house without your things and your love in it :)

The boys peeking out of the tent

So, where are we living, I am sure you are wondering. Our fam took a time machine back to 1985 and moved into Coppell to #425. We chose to move back to the 80's because the price was cheaper, and the place was bigger for all of our stuff. Although I don't love the wood grain counters or blue and pink floral wallpaper, I think overall it was a good temporary move. Shortly after moving in, I also realized that homes built before the 90's don't come with a built in microwave. I realized that AFTER moving in when I was cooking lunch. The boys like this little house because it has an open backyard to play in whenever they want and also a little tiny room that is ALL theirs for their toys.

Our beauty of a rental

While moving I feel like I fell into a black abyss during these last few weeks, so I wonder who knows where we are and if we are ever coming back to real life. I felt like the move was consuming my ENTIRE life and I am glad it is over - one more move into a real house to go!

Speaking of real houses, we have a contract on a house, not far from where we were living previously. It is a foreclosure home, so we will need to do some work prior to moving in, thank goodness we are renting this beauty for 3 long months :)

The house we are going to close on

I also need to thank all of the people who have helped us over the last month. I have been overwhelmed by the amount of love, prayer, and support our family has received through this process. People have watched the kids, packed a box, unpacked a box, made us dinner, organized shoes, and just loved us through this endeavor. We are truly thankful to each and every one of you!

First trip...

Thursday night we had our first "official" trip to the ER. Now, I am sure you are thinking...wowza, you sure have a bunch going on - and now this??? My thoughts exactly! Logan somehow (neither Corey nor myself saw the actual incident) had a collision with the wood floor and his chin. I knew the injury was bad because he seemed to be beside himself regarding the pain immediately. When I took a look at it, I knew we were in for a trip.

I understand now why so many people get stitches on their chin - it is a bad spot. Your head does a lot of moving about, so when you get a hole there, it is a given you will get stitches...which was our case. Mom came over and was hoping to do some skin glue to repair the injury. (This is one of those times I so appreciate having a nurse for a Mom.) Upon seeing the site she knew we were headed into the ER.

We went in and LT did awesome! The shots to numb the site were the worst part...and otherwise, we walked out with 6 blue stitches. How did the doc know it was LT's favorite color? Well, I think they give blue to everyone, but he still felt pretty special. The incident went down at 8pm, we were home and had him in bed by 9:30...not bad!! I think I am blessed to have not been into the ER prior to now...and pretty excited about our first experience.

Brody also wanted to get a shot of his chin:

Sorry to have you look up LT's nose, I couldn't get a good shot of it otherwise!

What's the update...right?

Well, after dropping the big news of putting our house on the market in my last blog, we received an offer on our house lickety split! The prospective buyer offered us our listing price, and additionally wants us out of our house on the 25th of this month...yes, that's right, the 25th. Since that information was brought to us, I have been busying myself with a number of moving duties...packing, fixing the issues that came back on the inspection report, finding a place to live, etc. The last one is the most daunting of them all. We have placed an offer on a foreclosed home and are really hoping for the best on that - but realistically we will be homeless on the 25th. (Even if we get the foreclosed house!) Additionally, Corey and I don't want to be rushed into getting a house that isn't "it." I have looked at a number of options for short term, but feel as though we will be moving to Coppell for the short term. The price, length of stay, and size is just right for our needs. It should be an adventure!

In other news, we had 11 whopping inches of snow here. Yes, that is a date that will go down in history as the most snow EVER received here. I will say that I feel as though Dallas has responded well to the conditions (even though every single school district was closed.) The problem we have, is that we don't really own snow plows here that do heavy duty work. So all 11 inches are just hanging out in the street...awesome! The boys have had a good time playing in it - although Brody quits early and gets cold. I have also figured out that I need to add some sassy boots to my wardrobe to slush around in this stuff. Tennies just don't cut it! Additionally, I just don't know how all you northerners do it with ALL of the wet clothes...ugh! I can't keep up with all the stuff that is wet, and cold. We often times break out in random prayer around our house (although, not as often as I would prefer!) and LT said "Thank you Jesus for ALL of this fabulous snow, please don't let the sun come out and melt it!"

Finally, LT has a mohawk. That's right, he has a mohawk. His friend Eli was sporting a mohawk by spiking his hair up, and LT's just won't do that. His is too thick and matted down to his head. So, I allowed Corey to cut it into a mohawk on Sunday afternoon. It's only hair right??? He looks pretty cute with it and I figure this is the time for him to do it - versus when he is 16...I hope he is getting some of his creativity out now. He also decided to put a tattoo across his forehead the same day...the following is a picture of him:

I am the Mom who...

I am the Mom who:

- Has a tinkerbell wand in her purse which goes off and makes a magical sound every couple steps

- Had a tupperware bowl in my garage which had dead moths in it awaiting "M week" for show and tell

- Knows Track #12 on Disc 6 is "Tickle Time" and knows that Track #2 is "You Are My Sunshine" and Track #22 is "5 Little Speckled Frogs"

- Has to read the title of each one of "Curious George" to the boys...even though they don't really get the clever meanings of them

- Has a dance party right in the kitchen at least once a week...I too am a part of the party!

- Always has at least one sweet treat on hand for any boys who eat their dinner

- Had her house sparkling clean EXCEPT the boys bathroom where someone younger than 6 forgot to flush the potty after going #2 - THEN SHOWED IT TO PROSPECTIVE BUYERS!

- Has a very jealous boyfriend who is 2 years old, who does NOT like it when I hold other babies and bursts into tears if I do so

- Has 6 car seats total: 4 in my car to drive carpool, one in the garage in case I need to pick up any other kiddos, and one in my mom's car just in case

- Sees gross things every day

- Secretly puts on my lip gloss, so that the boys don't want to slobber it up

- Sits in pee on the toilet seat at least once daily in my house - you would think I would learn!

- Knows my pediatrician's phone number by heart

- Hates bananas, but has them in my house, diaper bag, and purse for all 3 of my boys

- Has cleaned up the throw up of 2 children who are not my own in the last month

- Thinks getting my teeth cleaned is a near-spa day

- Has begun hating meal time - the youngest boys don't like to be contained to their seats for 30 minutes, and I am convinced that they just might not enjoy eating all that much...I can't relate obviously!

- Isn't driven monetarily anymore, now I am driven by hugs and kisses

- Loves movie night, not for the movies, but for the snuggling

- Is almost as excited to go and get ice cream after a goal at the soccer field as my 5 year old

- Sneaks sugary cereal, I never thought I would miss it as much as I do

- Often runs a day care out of my house for my other friend's kids...everyone needs an afternoon off

- Tries to limit our TV watching to 1 hour day, like my pediatrician recommended. Some days this just isn't possible, especially during the witching hour. (5-6pm)

- Is humbled daily...just when I think I am getting to be a pro at this parenting thing, one of my boys throws me a curve ball.

- Enjoys girl time far more than I ever have previously, I also enjoy chatting on the phone, sometimes with 1-2 kids screaming/laughing/crying in the background.

I might be crazy...

Many things have been making me think I am crazy lately.

First up, running a marathon. That is just plain old buck wild CRAZY. I haven't blogged about that yet, so I thought I should start off with that - about 1 month late. (You would think I would blog about it that day, considering I finished, right?)

The marathon went great. I was super pleased with my time and my experience this year. I had been praying for good weather for months, and the Lord answered my request. We had picture perfect running weather that day - not too windy, not rainy or snowy, and not too hot or cold. My time was 4:25 this year, last year it was in the 5 hour + range. I was psyched because I really felt as though I ran my best possible race that day. I felt great. I have a sweaty pic of Em and I post race that I will put on the blog eventually after scanning it in.

I am crazy in LOVE with all 3 of my boys. The two of my youngest boys say the most precious things...like:

LT: Mommy/Daddy I love you really bad.

LT: The wind is attacking my door! (the wind was blowing super hard, making it difficult for him to shut it.)

LT: I forgot to remember.

BT: The moon is on!

BT: I lub (love) you mommy.

BT: Tem and Tal - this is what he calls his Auntie Em and Auntie Al...LT has also started using this too...

Finally, this might make me sound the craziest, but Corey and I will be putting our house on the market soon. We are hoping to get into something new before school starts next year that is a bit bigger. I have already been a HOT MESS after starting to clean and prep to put this house on the market, so I am sure that will intensify when the showings start. Feel free to keep us in your prayers that we find the house for us and that our current house sells!

Assault with cowboy boots

There is something about my little men in boots that just breaks my heart. Logan was wearing these new additions to his wardrobe all weekend out at the ranch. (Thank you Auntie Al and Uncle Archie!) They were perfect out there kicking up dirt and forging through the tall grass. He chose to wear his snazzy new boots to school today - with sweat pants. (Not my favorite choice in terms of a combo, but I try to allow independence and creativity in his daily attire.) He gets tons of compliments while wearing his new boots, I am sure you can see why...

Needless to say, I was NOT aware that boots could be used as a deadly weapon...much like they were today. It was a normal school day from what I understand until Logan chose to kick one of his friends (who is also in our carpool, which makes it even worse because the victim's Mom notified me of the incident) in the groin. Now, I can almost understand this from a girl, we just don't get the sheer pain associated with this body part, but from a boy....MY BOY???? What the freak??? So now I sit...waiting for his teacher to call to discuss "the incident." Corey and I are trying to come up with a creative punishment in which he will really "feel the pain" that he caused to his friend.

I must also admit that this parenting stuff is getting a little more difficult. I can't imagine what it is going to be like when my kids start making big mistakes, which aren't so simple to fix or create a punishment for. I feel terrible for the victim of the incident and also for my little man and the punishment he is about to embark upon. Any suggestions out there for a punishment? Send them my way!