Best Big Suckers - I Mean, Brothers a Girl Could Ask For

Last night I had one of those melt-your-heart kind of moments. I was headed to my bathroom and heard Paul talking to Mady, so I stopped and listened. He was giving her instructions on how to comb her hair. I listened for a minute and then I went in. He had her on the sink and was combing her hair, painting her fingernail (yes, only one) and teaching her how to put on makeup (maybe someone should teach HIM how to put on makeup). It was so sweet!!

I commented that I could not wait for the day that she wanted to show her talent on Daddy's face. Then I went and got eyeshadow and lipstick, just to see what she would do if I handed it to her. Daddy let her use his face, but I had to swear not to get the camera out (which I agreed too THIS time). She put some makeup on Daddy. Then she got her suckers, I mean brothers, to lend their faces as well! There was a lot of screaming from her when I finally put the make-up away. Here is her artwork:

I think her hair would have been enough to send me running!



After she did this to Caleb, every time he came near her until he washed the makeup off, she would scream. It is sad when her work scares HER!


Doesn't she have some AWESOME big brothers! Isaac was not able to be persuaded today, but if I know Isaac and how much he likes to make people happy, it is only a matter of time! I am sure if she had tried harder with him she would have won! They all washed their faces off quickly, but I had the camera ready!

I failed to realize that she had Colorstay lipstick. Ummm....well, it really stays. Unfortunately, she did not get much on their lips. She also got it on her chin (where you can still see it) and all over Andrew's hand (which you can also still see).

My life is so awesome!!

My Cheerleader

I have been looking for a Saints cheerleader outfit for Mads and I finally found one this weekend. She was so cute running around yesterday in it, doing somersaults, running with the football and trying to tackle her brothers while we all played football. The cutest part though, is that she learned how to say "Who Dat"! So, yesterday she was running around in her cheerleader outfit yelling "Who Dat"!

Training Him For His Future Wife (In Ways Most Would Not Think Of)

After a conversation this morning at the store with Caleb (and the rest of the family), I have decided Caleb needs to be trained for something that most parents do not train their sons for.

While we were at the store I went to pick up some feminine products. When we stopped so I could find what I needed Caleb says "OH, so you are menstrating?"

"No, not at the moment."

"Then why are you buying stuff for when you menstrate?"

"So that I have it when I need it."

I figure since he is so interested and doesn't mind discussing it in the middle of the store he should have no problem carrying them for me next time I need to buy them. I will just "forget" to get a buggy when we go in the store and have my hands full (which I usually do anyway).

This will either teach him not to talk about menstrating or it will make him used to buying the feminine products. Either way - I am sure his future wife would appreciate which ever one of these lessons he takes away from it!

Miscellaneous Pictures

Divide and Conquer and First Swim Meet

Life has been so crazy lately. For the first time, we (as in Paul and I) are really having to take a divide and conquer approach to our evenings! Between swim, golf, Beta meetings, volunteering, dinner, five kids and homework for three - our evenings are CRAZY!! A typical afternoon would be something like I get the little two up from nap around 2:30. Caleb gets off the bus at 2:50. I drop Caleb off at the Library around 3ish, on the way to pick up Bryce and Isaac from school. After they are picked up I pick Caleb up around 3:45 and have him to swim by 4. If it is a non-golf night, we hang out at swim until practice is over around 5:10. If it is a golf night we drop Caleb off, take Isaac home to do homework and change and take him to golf. Hopefully in that time Dad is back with Caleb (who he picks up on his way home from work) and he stays with everyone else while I take Isaac to golf. We get home between 7:30 and 8 and Isaac eats dinner and finishes homework . Somewhere between all of that we do practice test for three for spelling, vocabulary and whatever test they have, listen to two read and do any other homework the three have. The crockpot has been well used the last couple of weeks for dinner!

I watched Isaac play a short game in golf last week. He really impressed me with how well he did! He knows what club to grab for where he is at on the course, pretty good at judging how hard to hit and is able to make the ball go to the green. It was nice to see him having so much fun doing it, too.

Caleb has had one swim meet so far. It was basically just a meet to get times for all of the kids. They are placed in heats against other kids around the same time as them so it is a little bit more fair (these are 6th through 8th grade kids competing together). He is his worst critic and came home quite upset that he finished in "last place". We explained that he is competing against himself more than anyone else and as long as his time is getting faster at each meet than he is doing well. We also told him that most of the kids have pools at home and swim regularly and have for most of their lives - unlike him. He was in a bad mood most of the night, but it made him work harder and listen more at practices, so it was probably a good thing.

His coaches have told him several times (and me) that he is, by far, the most improved student on the team. He has a friend on the team that has a pool. The kids dad has invited Caleb over several times to practice and he actually gets in and works with him. I can't wait until his next meet (this Friday) to see what progress he has made!

Here are some pictures from his first meet. I tried to show them to him the night of the meet to cheer him up. He, instead, got more upset because he was looking at the pictures and telling me what he was doing wrong (I wasn't breathing to the side, etc). I told him that it was great that he could recognize mistakes and that will help him see what he is doing wrong so he can fix them.