Chaser

So, I have this weekly planner that I live by that is kept by the phone at all times. When the kids say or do something funny, I record it in there so that I will remember it. I used to have a calendar for each kid, but they were hard to keep handy enough to be able to jot things down really fast when they happened. I would find myself saying, "now what was I supposed to remember to write?" Thus...the use of the weekly planner for these little humerous tidbits arised. Lately, it seems all of my recordings are from Chase. Here are some of Chaser's antics...

At dinner, they have to ask to be excused before they can get down from the table. This is to cut down on the up and down, up and down, up and down throughout every meal. Aiden was in the highchair and the rest of us were sitting around the table at dinner. Chase all of a sudden said, "Mommy...Aiden say I'm excused." Now I could be wrong, but seeing as Aiden only uses small words one at a time, I doubt she took the liberty of excusing Chase.

Chase uses the term "very, very" to emphasize ANYTHING. For example..."It very, very hurts." Or, when he built a tall block tower the other day, "It's a very, very tower."

If you ask him a question that he is either unsure of, or doesn't want to answer...such as, "What did you do to your sister?"...he answers very politely, "I don't know. You tell me."

He either loves something or doesn't love something. "I love pizza." If it's something he does not want to eat, he'll say, "I don't love that."

Chase was pulling my good throw blanket, (which is off limits to kids) across the living room. I said, "No Chase. Don't pull my good blanket across the room." He held up the ninja turtle he was holding and said, "The ninja turtle did it."

Whenever he hurts something, he says kiss it mommy. Some areas I just don't particularly want to kiss. I'll pretend, or get close...but he always says "no...right here." the other day, he hurt his "bobbom." (that's what he calls it.) you get the drift!!

Little Chaser...one in a buzzilion!

Especially For Sue

"The Texas Sky"

This post is especially for Sue Sue! She always takes notice of the beautiful cobalt blue Texas sky when she comes for a visit. This is a picture from today...78 degrees...but 1 lonely cloud...and a nice warm breeze. If I listen carefully, I can hear Colton's class on the playground while Aiden is walking around me on our front walk with her bare little feet and sundress on. I believe she is wondering why I have the camera focused on the sky and not on her! Well, in honor of Sue...and the cattle drive coming into town this afternoon to signify the official beginning of the Rodeo...Best Wishes from Texas...and may your insides feel just as warm.

Sock Hop

The "T Birds"

(Colton, friend Chase, and brother Chase)

Chase's first dance with his first crush...Kylee

Chase and Mommy dancing

Aiden and Mommy dancing

Colton and his cutie-pie friend Anna Marie dancing

Colton...a.k.a..."The Stud" and his date...Anna Marie

(are they a cute pair, or what?)

Last Thursday night, Colton's school had a sock hop. It was soooo fun! It was the day after Valentine's day and love was in the air!! We had Anna Marie's family over for dinner and then they got to go to the dance together. Chase was thrilled to meet up with Kylee (a little girl in Colton's class who Chase is smitten with) once we got there, and Aiden hung with me the whole time. I was super excited to get to wear my poodle skirt, which I had from when I was in the musical Grease. So, it was a very fun night. I was so proud of Colton. He really got into character, which I'm sure you can tell from the pictures. He did not give a rip about what people thought and danced his little heart out all night long. I had to drag him off the middle of the dance floor when it was time to go. So cute!!

I Got You Babe

NEW YEARS 2007

In one picture, Chad's eyes were shut. In this one, mine are. I'm here for you babe!!

LOVE BUGS...

Colton: Our Little Punkin...Valentine's 07

Chase: Our Love Bug...Valentine's 07

Aiden Annee-Grace: Our Sugar Plum...Valentine's 07

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!! I LOVE Valentine's day. It makes me happy...always has. This morning started off with a bang! Colton and Chase opened their Ninja Turtles; Aiden opened her new "pretty" dress; Chad opened the 24: Season Four box set; and Chad surprised me with the best gift. He got me a mp3 player, which I have never had, and found my list of favorite songs from my lifetime in a journal from about 3 1/2 years ago. My plan was to eventually make a "Mindy's favorite hits" CD but had not ever done it. He downloaded all of those songs on the mp3 player before I opened it and I was so happy!! How thoughtful and sweet and so one of the reasons I love him. Happy Valentine's Day my love! I will list some of the songs on my player, and will list them ALL at another time.

Mindy's Favorite Hits (birth - 32 years & not in order)

• Jive Talkin (Bee Gees & my very 1st favorite song ever...i would stand up in the back seat of the car and dance!!)
• Baby It's Cold Outside
• Beat It
• Beautiful Day (U2)
• Bless The Broken Road (Selah version)
• Canon in D
• Clocks (Coldplay)
• Elevation (U2)
• God Blessed Texas (Little Texas)
• Hey Mickey (The Riplets)
• I Got You Babe (Sonny & Cher...this is our family song!!)
• I'll Fly Away (My Grandpa's version...He would play the guitar and we would sing this together when I was little)
• Kryptonite (3 Doors Down)
• Last Date (Floyd Kramer)
• Leaving Town (Dexter Freebish)
• Moon River (from Breakfast at Tiffany's)
• Music Box Dancer
• Queen of Hearts (Juice Newton)
• Rythym of the Falling Rain
• Somewhere Over the Rainbow
• Son of A Preacher Man (Dusty Springfield)
• Tennesee Flat Top Box
• The Longest Time (Billy Joel)
• The Space Between (Dave Matthews)
• You Got It (The Right Stuff)...(NKOTB)

That's enough for now, but sometime I will list every one!

Pout; Pout; Let it all Out

So, Chad has made up these versions of real songs that he sings to the kids in certain situations...which is really funny when you realize his vocal ability. He started when Colton was a baby, and the tradition has continued for Chase and Aiden. Whenever they are throwing a fit...he starts singing, "Pout; Pout...Let it all out...these are the things I can do without. (I believe this is from a Tears fo Fears song, if I am remembering correctly. It really goes, "shout, shout, let it all out...". Then if one of them has a "poopie", as we like to call it, he sings, "POOP, there it is...POOP, there it is." It really is quite funny. There are a couple more that I can't recall at the moment, and I'll spare you the words to read.

Speaking of pouting...Aiden has started throwing tantrums. Now, this is a first for me. Neither Colton or Chase were big tantrum throwers. I'm glad that she is my third, otherwise I would be less likely to just stare at her and laugh. It's not the tantrum itself that is so humerous, but the way that she throws it. She is very systematic in her tantrum throwing tactics. She is a pretty cautious individual...similar to Colton and the opposite of Chase. So, just hap-hazardly throwing herself on the floor is way too dangerous. She really doesn't want to hurt herself...her point is not that important to her, I guess. So, she very carefully gets on to the floor and slowly positions herself into the tantrum throwing position and then begins to kick and scream. It really is quite funny. The boys and I just watch her, and they kind of look at me with this, "is she serious?" look on their faces. She'll look up every now and then to see if we are watching. After I walk away, she gets up, dusts herself off, and comes to find me. Normally, it's over by this point. I'm waiting for it to happen in public. That should be fun.

Pancakes and Coffee

A winning combination, really. My coffee every morning consists of Folgers Smooth Decaf coffee with peppermint mocha creamer and 3 small spoons of sugar. I really love it when I remember to buy sugar cubes, and I can ask myself, "One lump or two?" I always pick two. The new smooth coffee is the way to go. It is for people who have acid reflux or stomach ulcers like myself. Well, technically I don't have an ulcer anymore, but I did...and let's just say, I don't want another one. So, I follow a "ulcer diet" that I made up myself with the help of the gastroenterologist that found the first ulcer by way of endoscopy...(not fun!) Anyways, it consists of no caffeine (so hard); no processed tomato products (kills me); no chocolate (totally cheat on this one); no spicy foods; no pepper; no high fat foods (please...it's not gonna happen); no citrus; and easy on the stress...(a.k.a...worry and anxiety). I'm really not supposed to have decaf coffee either because of the high acidity, but I just make sure I drink a lot of milk. Oh yeah...I take acifex too, which stops the acid pumps in the stomach from...well...pumping acid. So there. That's my story and I'm stickin to it. However, this does put a damper on my use of my starbucks mug collection. I drink and eat as much as possible out of mugs. My philosophy is that everything tastes better in a mug. Such as...coffee, of course; ice cream (Blue Bell Homemade Vanilla with 3 York peppermint patties crushed up in it); soup; ice cold milk; and hot chocolate or hot tea. So, the mugs are getting good use. So far, I have Alaska, Atlanta, Austin, Houston, and New York. I want Seattle (specifically from the first starbucks), Iowa, South Carolina, San Antonio, Dallas, North Carolina (Chad and I had some special dates in North Carolina), Oklahoma, San Fransisco, LA, Colorado ( I would love it if they made them from all the places I'v been skiing...but I'm sure they don't), and I think that is it so far. I will have to go more places to add to it! We'll see.

In other news...last Thursday night, John and Lindsey were getting in from South Carolina for a visit and I had some quick errands to run. I wanted to get out of the house quick and get them done, and Chase and Aiden both had colds, and Colton was being a little attitudy for my liking, so I just wanted to make something that I knew they would all eat without complaining. I decided on whole wheat frozen pancakes and fresh strawberries. Fast...Good...Just what the doctor ordered for me to get out fast. So, I had all the frozen pancakes set out on 5 plates...3 plastic and 2 regular for Chad and I. The kids were running around the kitchen and doing a victory dance because it seemed that I had given up on the healthy, veggie, yucky meal combination that was put in front of them most nights. There were 3 pancakes on each plate and I was quickly popping them in and out of the microwave. When I went to get one out of the microwave and put another one in, I noticed one plastic plate was missing from the cabinet. I did a double take...counted again...and then looked around. There was Aiden, on the floor, eating what she assumed to be HER pancakes. She was about half way through. Now, the most notable part of the story is that they were still frozen. That's right. Hard as a brick bat. I don't know how she managed to bite them, or much less chew them, but there she was...happy as a clam...enjoying her frozen pancakes. What does this say about my cooking?