Miss Brooke

What is Miss Brooke up to these days? Here is the 4-1-1:

She wants to do anything her brothers do; thus, we are going to have to strap her down somehow in a stroller this spring during soccer and T-Ball games!



She talks constantly. I know what you are thinking..."Just like her mother!" And you are right - she repeats everything I say, her brothers say, TV, etc. Her favorite sayings are "Oh, Man!" "What the...?!" and, my favorite, "I always be you baby, Momma."

She loves her bunny and blanket; being outside; going anywhere in the car; her Hello Kitty backpack; fruit snacks & "eminies!" (M&Ms); giving hugs and kisses; and saying "NO Cade!"


But most of all...she completes our family fabulously.
Love you, Baby Girl!

The Tradition Continues

Blame it on the time of year.
Blame it on Butler going to The Final Four.
Whatever the reason, Andy decided Sunday was the day to embark on the next chapter of traditions with the boys.

He let them watch "Hoosiers."
THE.BEST.MOVIE.EVER.

The boys actually made it thru most of it. And the parts where they were bored? They ran behind the couch and shot baskets on their hoop. Then they would run back to the couch to watch some more. Sure to become a favorite movie for them, too. Who doesn't love this movie?


See Jack? See Gene? Fabulous.

Andy and I continue to ask each other...how did this movie NOT win an Oscar?
Blasphemy!

Sometimes...

A picture...


is worth...


more than...


a thousand...


words.

HOT DAWG!

Remember when we did this? Who would have guessed we were watching one of the future 2010 NCAA Final Four Teams??!!

Big CONGRATS to Coach Shrewsberry and the entire Butler Team. We are super excited here in Cincy! And next weekend it will be fun to be in Indy for the Coaches for Cancer Dinner on Friday and Coach Beitzel's (Andy's college coach) reception for receiving a Lifetime Achievement Award for coaching. I am sure it will be lots of Hanover Basketball memories and fun, not to mention a lot of Final Four excitement!

Go Dawgs!

This and That

This little guy, my nephew Cade, has been staying with us this week while his parents are on vacation.


That innocent looking girl has been terrorizing him since the minute he got here.


This big cousin has been a lot of help.


That sweet face has been a big help, too.


This is what I love - holding my babies!


That is what I love too...kids playing together nicely!

We will miss Cade when he goes home Monday. But we will see him again soon - spending Easter weekend together and our Spring Break in Texas visiting Uncle Jon and Aunt Molly.

Yes, we are driving again.
Yes, we are insane.
No, you can't go with us...we don't have enough room.

Happy Saturday - Go Butler Bulldogs and
Good Luck Coach Shrewsberry!

Startin' The Day Off Right

As we were descending the stairs this morning to start the day, Jack informed me that he needed "lots of Viagra" for his itchy spots (eczema).

WOW.

We're startin' the day off right...are you??

"I Got A Feeling..."

This song is sung everyday by my children (thanks to Angela and the Alvin and The Chipmunks CD) and it also explains our life now and the future...

I Got A Feeling...


...that Jack is going to love T-Ball this spring


...that Will is going to be so much better at soccer


...that Daddy made a mistake allowing Brooke to get on the neighbor's trampoline
(I despise them - now all 3 of my kids love it).

I Got A Feeling...
that it is going to be a backyard-havin'-fun-playin'
kind of summer.

Don't you think??!!

Welcome Back!

Welcome back monitor, postings with pictures to the blog and SPRING!



We had our first trip to the zoo last week with The Markarians - we are taking advantage of this beautiful weather!
OUR animals welcomed THEIR animals back!


I love this picture of the two "babies" of the bunch.
And immediately after I took this picture Brooke hoisted herself OVER the bar and into the dirt!
Angela and I laughed so hard at her misfortune and kept saying she was pulling an "Anchorman!"
(If you have not seen that movie then that makes no sense.)


Me and my animals at the zoo.

Hope you are having fun outings with your animals, too!

"Oh, What A Beautiful Day..."

"Oh, What A Beautiful Morning..."
All my kids slept in and we still made it to school on time!

"Oh, What A Beautiful Day..."
We helped our photographer, Mandy, today with a project she is working on. She came here, took pics of me and the kids AND I get a free disc of the pictures! SWEET!

"I Got A Wonderful Feeling..."
I am going to The Crank tonight - you know, the OB-GYN.
So this one may be a tad bit off...

"Everything's Going My Way!"
Dancing With The Stars starts TONIGHT!

Is this a great day or what??!!
Happy Monday to YOU!

March Madness

BE HEALED!
dear computer monitor, so I can return to downloading my pictures and posting on my blog.

STAY STRONG!
warm weather and temperatures, that you may stay around and not be bullied by those frigid temps that tap on your shoulder like the devil.

REJOICE!
dear friends, with these sunny spring days, sleepy nights for tuckered-out kids that have played outside all afternoon, and basketball on TV for 10+ hours a day.

March Madness. In more ways than one!

Spring Fling

As many of you are, we, too, are enjoying this Spring Fling.
We went to the park on Monday with the Markarian Crew and finished an awesome afternoon with Dairy Queen. Ahhh...simple (sinful) pleasures!


My Baby Girl


Ben stylin' and smilin' for the camera


The Three Amigos


Ben giving a helping hand


Newly accepted Kindergartener to IHM - YEAH!


This = quiet ride home for Mom.

Will On...Friday?!

I was afraid I would forget this one so we are getting a dose of Will at the end of the week. That kid is somethin' else.

First, allow me to begin this post with something that is very hard for me to admit.
VERY. HARD.

I have a 4.5 year old that still poops his pants.

WOW - I admitted this to the world. Not sure if I feel better or worse.

This is, by far, the most humiliating Mommy thing of my life.
Jack - potty trained in 7 days. No joke. Will is another story. I have tried everything. And I mean EV-ER-Y-THING to get this kid to use the potty when he needs to "do the deed." But he simply refuses. First, because there were crabs in the toilet that were going to bite his butt. Next, the excuse was "I just like to stand up and do it." For awhile it has been "I will poop on the potty in 4 days." Well let me tell you...those 4 days have come and gone
4. MILLION. TIMES!

With that admission out of the way, here is the rest of the story.

Will likes to pretend that he goes to school like Big Brother Jack. Will wears a backpack everyday to drop Jack off and pick him up. He knows the class roster forward and backward. He hugs Jack's teachers like they are his own (and they will be next year - whether they like it or not). Tonight Will was telling us at the dinner table all about "my school." Will's school is really big. It has WAY more kids than Jack's school and it is really cool. Wanna know what else?! At Will's school everybody poops in their pants - even the 5 year olds - and that is ok. 'Cause everybody does it.

IN. HIS. DREAMS.

Will also likes to talk about his "other family." This is nothing new to us, seeing as Jack had his imaginary friend "Pojo" for almost 2 years. Pojo, who has red hair, has since moved to New York City with his parents, who both have red hair, in their red car. Will's other family lives "around the corner." The best part about Will's "other family?" His "other Dad" is none other than
Carson Palmer.

So tonight, after explaining his "cool school" to us, Will informed us he was leaving tomorrow to go see his other family, including his Dad, Carson Palmer. This is when the "Man of the House"
said: "Well if Carson Palmer is your Dad, then who am I?"

Will looked right at him and said:
"You're Andy. But you have a shirt just like Carson Palmer."
Shirt meaning jersey.


Ohhhhh, that kid. Don't know where he comes up with all this stuff. But life surely would not be as much fun without it...or him.

A Happy Week

It has been a happy week around here. LOVED having all my babies come get me at the airport Monday night. Jack could not stop talking, Will could not stop snoring (he had fallen asleep on the way to the airport) and Brooke could not stop staring. It was like she had to remind herself who I was! We quickly returned to reality with Mom, many hugs and kisses later.

The weather has improved so we have had 2 happy boys playing outside with their neighborhood friends. And Miss Brooke's vocabulary has grown leaps and bounds in the last few weeks. She talks very clearly and almost always tries a complete sentence. This week's highlights have been her yelling "ONE!" when asked how old she is and learning "JUNE!" when asked when she will be 2. Oh yeah, and today she gave me a fist bump and exploded it at the end - keepin' it classy here in Cincy!

And the other highlight of my week?? The Dancing with the Stars cast reveal, of course! Holy crap - this season is going to ROCK! OchoCinco AND Evan Lysacek??!! The Pussycat Dolls' lead singer, Nicole AND Kate Gosselin?! ARE.YOU.KIDDING.ME??!! Just don't even bother calling me on Mondays and Tuesdays...I will be lost in a sea of tranquility.

Back to work Saturday...Cincy Home and Garden Show this weekend and next Wednesday thru Sunday. But at least I get to sleep in my own bed and see my kiddos every day. Icing on the cake!

Have a beautiful weekend!