Thanksgiving with the Spendloves

Year after year we make the long trek to San Antonio (3 hr. car ride) to spend Thanksgiving with our dear cousins, The Spendloves, Brents sisters family.  There is always great food, yummy treats, lots of video games, this year it was Rock Band, and of course lots of Football.  Thanks for a great time Kari and Family, see you next year!!!!

my do's and Don'ts

It's about time you all got a bit of my wisdom that I have collected throughout the years.  Here is my list, take it for what it's worth, but surely it is worth a lot somewhere.

Don't falsely impress someone before you really know them

Do let them see how imperfect you really are then you can only get better in their eyes.

Don't have your kids clean their own bathrooms until they are old enough to really clean and not turn it into a water fight and the toilet cleaner is used as a weapon.

Do have your kids clean their own bathroom, it teaches them an important lesson; less mess, less you have to clean.

Don't buy store bought cookies

Do make homemade cookies (Lauren does this in our house)

Don't watch scary movies alone

Do watch scary movies with a good friend that lets you scream in her ear and hug her if needed.

Don't buy cheap toothpaste

Do buy what 4 out of 5 dentist recommend

Don't miss out on hugging your kids everyday

Do grab them whenever possible and plant a huge smooch on them.

Don't let a day go by without telling your kids and spouse how much you love them.

Do show your family how much you love them, not just tell them.

Don't gossip around your kids

Do talk nice about people.  ( if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all)

Don't swear abound your kids

Do swear when they aren't around if you really need to.

Don't wear too much makeup

Do wear a bit of makeup

Don't wear a thong bathing suit ever

Do wear a bathing suit even if you think you look horrible in it.

Don't let your kids go TP ing alone.

Do take your kids TP ing at least once in their life.

Don't buy your kids everything they ask for.

Do make your kids earn and buy their own stuff. (even if you are a celebrity)

Now here are just some don'ts:

Don't laugh with Jello in your mouth

Don't leave the dishes in the sink too long

Don't pick your nose

Don't dress like a teenager if you aren't one

Don't tell people too much info.

Don't drink caffeine ( my weakness for sure)

Don't stay up too late playing guitar hero or Harry Potter video games

Don't forget to wash your kids football gear everyday, or it will stink up the whole house.

Don't let your kids beat each other up.

Don't ever weigh yourself unless you really want to know.

Don't ever forget to lock the bedroom door when you are in your unmentionables and your kids have all their friends over.

Don't forget to lock the door when you want to kiss your husband!!

Now for the DO's:

Do make new friends

Do take a walk in the rain, or snow, or sunshine.

Do chase your kids around the table and give them a spanking if they need one.

Do call you family on the phone if you are thinking about them.

Do let your kids know that you will stick up for them no matter what.

Do kiss your husband ever chance you get, even in front of your kids so they see that you love each other.

Do stay in bed as long as you can sometimes.

Do read a great book.

Do cry during a wedding.

Do cry when a baby is blessed.

Do volunteer for something that doesn't sound like fun.

Do go to church once a week.

Do act like a crazy person every once in a while.

Do put on lotion after you shave your legs.

Do get your toes painted in the summer, a pretty bright pink is fun.

Now do your own list of do's and don'ts.

Movies with a two year old

I promised Lauren and her friend that I would take them to go see High School Musical at the movies today.  Brent has been out of town since wed., Austen was at a scout campout, and I couldn't find a babysitter so Ashlen had to come along.  I usually don't take Ashlen anywhere remotely like a movie or public for that matter cause she is a handful to say the least.  (she swore at me in spanish just now, I heard the word poo in spanish).  Anyway, I decided we had better go to the ghetto movie theatre so not many people would be there bothered by a two year old running around.  I gave her a bit of cough medicine, brought treats, a blanket and a pacifier and tried to do my best.  There was no one else in the theatre, I was so relieved and good thing.  Once Troy Bolton and Gabriella started to sing it was all over for Ashlen.  She was running circles around that place.  She chucked her paci too many times to count, did summersaults down the aisle, threw her sippy cup in the theatre trash before I could catch her, dumped popcorn on the floor, flew out of her theatre seat more times that humanly possible and the untimate, pooped her pants.  I realized I forgot to bring a spare.  I thought, no problem, i'll just dump the poop into the toilet and put the diaper back on and she can wear it for a bit longer.  Well, that doesn't work with the "Runs".  I had to chuck the diaper and wash her bum with a million paper towels while she kept trying to escape.  She just happened to be wearing a dress so no pants to cover her bum, so when we were walking out of the bathroom, she flashed everyone in the lobby, yelling, "diaper yucky".  I love that child!!!!  The rest of the movie was spent hoping she wouldn't tinkle on anything, but really by that point, did it really matter? 

Ashlen loves her brother Austen

It is a Magical love those two have.  

Family Fun

Family night + Ashlen sitting on the potty chair = chaos, but yummy banana bread for desert.

Lauren is no longer a "brace face"

Before and After photos of Laurens braces.  Isn't her smile beautiful?  

Conversation between two 9 yr. old boys

Ok, I wasn't really eavesdropping on my son Peyten and his friend, they just happened to be sitting in the back seat of my car while I was driving them so I got the whole conversation and boy was it a hoot.  What they can come up with.  This is what it went like, not exact word for word, but darn close.

Peyten: your dad is hairy

Peytens friend: I know, it's gross

P:why is he so hairy?

PF: cause he's so old, he has gray hair in places,  like under his arm, I think black hair is the best under your arm

P: yea, I want dark hair when I grow up, my sister has a unibrow

PF: weird, I would hate that, hey Peyten your eyebrows are blonde, you can't even see them.

P: I know, my eyelashes are too long, but my mom said I better not cut them with the scissors or she'll cry, but she won't, she'll just yell at me. 

PF: your sister really has a unibrow

P: yea, and her back is really hairy too, she was born that way, my grandpa's hairy, my mom says it's his fault.

PF: I feel sorry for her.  Did you know my brother use to eat dog food, he's a dork

P: Maybe that's why he has long hair, do you think?

PF: No, don't be stupid.  Do you think your mom will take us to get icecream?

P: Maybe, she has been kind of nice today, but she did yell at my brother for messing up the clean clothes, she is not a good laundry person, my dad  always takes like forever looking for clean socks in the morning.

PF:What?

P: Never mind...mom, can we get icecream?

They are funny boys.  It Ashlen who has a unibrow, I have shaved it a few times cause it is so bad.

Well, lets get on with it...

Well, it's  over and I had a rough night last night, being worried and stressed about Obama, but I realize I just need to make more of an effort to keep conservative values around me and my family as much as I can.  Brent reminded me that always after a democratic president won office, the car business did well.  I guess I will focus on the positive.

Ashlen is yelling at me from the bathroom guess she wants out of the tub.

Todays the big day

Well, we should know soon enough our fate.  Nothing I can do about it now so I am going to enjoy a fun day with my kids while they are off of school.  We are going to start by cleaning up the house, fun for me, then move on to something else.  Haircuts, shopping, lunch out, and a movie perhaps.  Austen already went Golfing with Brent early this morning.

Two nights ago my neighbor Kim and her husband invited me over to watch a scary movie.  I love scary movies but don't watch them often due to the fact that I get too scared.  Anyway, the movie was "Strangers".  Anyone ever seen it? Supposedly it was so scary they didn't release it into the movie theaters.  I put the kids to bed and then walked over to the neighbors house to settle in for a good scare.  I brought my own blanket so I could cover my eyes whenever I needed to.  Well, let me tell you, it was scary, SCARY!!!!  I spent most of the time under the blanket and was shaking by the time I walked myself home.  I woke up Brent and told him I was scared and he said,"SHHH, go to sleep".  The next morning Lauren and Austen came running in my room to ask me all kinds of questions about the movie, "was it really scary, were you scared, what happened, could we watch it, did people die?"  (I don't let my kids watch scary movies, do as I say, not as I do, I know i'm lame).  Peyten then came running into my room, plopped on my bed and looked like he was going to ask the same questions all over again, but instead asked, "did you have any popcorn?"  I love Peyten, he's my favorite!!!!!

HALLOWEEN

The kids all had a great time for halloween.  Ashlen wouldn'twear her bee costume, she said it was hurting her, so she opted for Cinderella thanks to my neighbor having an extra costume.

Saturday football

Another successful football day.  Both boys teams won.  Peytens team is undefeated and Austens team has only lost one game.  Only one more week of play until playoffs begin.