Getting a Family Photo Can Be a Bit of Work

Rounding the kids up...

Wrangling them into place...

Getting everyone to look...

And to stop sucking their thumbs... As good as it gets.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

I'm the Weiner!

Christy thinks my blog is great, so she gave me an award! Thanks for the compliment, Christy.

I think Kristin's blog is great, too. She is always inspiring me to try crafty and different things with my boys. Her honest view on all things "motherhood" are fun, encouraging and very beautiful. Thanks for sharing your life, Kristin! Your turn!

Here are your instructions:

A. Put this logo on your blog.

B. Add a link to the person who awarded this to you.

C. Nominate a blog; add a link to this blog; and leave a message for your nominee on their blog.

There, that wasn't so hard.

A Day at the Beach

We played hooky from church yesterday and spent the whole day at the beach. It was a really fun day. The boys were so sweet (Luke even without a nap) and we enjoyed the beautiful weather. We're back to jeans and sweaters again today, but yesterday's weather was perfect. The whole day was just perfect.

Fishing was fun, in spite of the fact that Luke kept swinging the pole around and I was terrified he was going to hook someone. I was, admittedly, a bit of a nag at that point.

My Little Girls Will Be So Pretty

A Little Roadside Assistance, Please

We were heading back home from meeting Kris at a park for lunch today when Luke said, "Mama, look what I did." I don't know about you, but that little phrase almost always strikes terror into my heart.

I turned around (We were at a stop light, thank God!) to see that he had a blue bead shoved neatly into each nostril. His nose was completely blocked, and he was trying to decide whether or not to stick his finger in there to dig them out. After hollering, "Don't touch!!", I wheeled the car to the side of the road, flung the car door open to assess the damage and come up with a rescue plan. I tried to just squeeze them out, but that wasn't quite enough. Thankfully, I had not cut my fingernails as planned and was able to use them to dig the beads out while squeezing the bridge of his nose to keep them from going further in. He alternated between giggling nervously and tearily saying, "No, no, Mama. Don't do that!" But I think he understood that letting me do surgery was better than the alternative.

All in all it was a good experience. The ER trip was averted and we gave a lovely roadside show. And Mama learned her lesson about beads.

The Things We Do

Luke got a new bed two weeks ago. It was a nice bunk bed set from Rooms to Go that someone was getting rid of for a great price. Here's a picture:

About that same time is when Luke kicked the passy habit. It was also when Luke had a nasty cold. Sooo, the fact that naps have not been going well is not a big surprise. The question is, "Is it the new bed? No passy? Not being able to breath because of the cold?"

After a week of nap time battles, I have decided it's the bed. Too much freedom.

He's not roaming the house. He's simply getting out of the bed to look out the window, stretching as far as he can across the room with his toes still touching the bed (so he's not technically out of the bed), laying over the edge of the end of the bed, etc, etc, etc. The other day, he laid in bed from 1:30 until I finally got him up at 4:00. I have threatened, punished, laid with him, let him stay up later, begged, and nothing has worked.

Today, I prayed, "GOD!!! HELP!!! This child needs a nap!" And I thought, what if I put him on the top bunk and take the ladder away? The bottom bunk if a full bed, but the top is a twin with rails all the way around. Kind of like a crib.

Ya'll. He fell asleep in five minutes.

Maybe I'm a terrible mother for letting my just barely three year old sleep on the top bunk (Kris will probably crap a brick when he finds out), but I am a terrible mother who is so grateful for God's inspiration.

Eli's Future Job

I told Eli to sit on the couch so I could take some pictures of him, so he posed for me. Apparently, he thought I was taking pictures for the Sports Illustrated, Swimsuit Edition.

The fact that I have WAY more pictures of Eli than Luke says nothing about favoritism and everything about the fact that Eli is a ham. Case in Point: