It's Not Easy Being Green

We have a plethora of little green caterpillars/silk worms that fall from the trees like Manna from heaven. The little boys go around the yard "collecting" them. Whit has a name for each one he finds and Murphy insists on carrying them around the entire time we are outside. Unfortunately, he is not the most gentle and some of our little friends have gotten a little too much love from Murphy and are now in a better place.



Fred- one of our many wormy friends-



I think this little guy made it out alive





Nice DIRTY hands

Water, Water Everywhere

Happy FROG boots

And so it has begun- the season when our water bill increases because my kids think that the outside hoses and sprinklers are some kind-of waterworks that need to be constantly going. We spray the driveway, the grass, the plants each other and fill up bucket after bucket of water for washing toys, filling water guns and dumping over our heads.

More FUN outside:









Nothing like running down a hill at full speed- Murphy usually falls!



Leap Frog

Favorite "Toys"

Here are a few of the boys FAVORITE "toys" right now:

Paint Roller





Murphy in his FAVORITE outfit: His diaper!

Squirt Bottle





We have had a few knock down, drag outs over these two "toys" in the past week. I really don't understand why they insist on playing with these when we have a house full of real toys? It just proves my point that buying real toys is a waste of money!!!

Mr.Lizard

Mr Lizard

These little guys are abundant in our backyard. I am not exactly sure what their "scientific" name is but to us they are all "MR. LIZARD". The little boys love to chase them around trying desperately to catch one to keep as a "pet". Fortunately, the lizards are way too fast. Murphy especially loves these little critters and he squeals with delight when he spots one.



Murphy pointing out the lizard





So excited to chase that poor lizard around the yard

Land Shark

There used to be a "SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE" skit called "LAND SHARK". It had a guy dressed up in a SHARK suit who would knock on people's doors pretending to be the pizza boy, delivery man etc. to get the inhabitants of the house to open the door. When he would finally convince them that he was anyone BUT the "LAND SHARK" they would open the door and he would eat them. I had a similar occurrence at my house. Whit and Murphy LOVE to go into Griffin's room- it's like the WARDROBE in the Narnia books- a whole world of fun and danger on the other side especially if Griffin catches them in there. One evening they were trying sooooo hard to get Griffin to let them. This is what I heard from downstairs:

Knock-Knock (no answer)
Whit: "Pizza Boy" (no answer)
Knock-Knock (no answer)
Whit: "Present Man" (no answer)
Knock-Knock (no answer)
Whit: "Beautiful flowers for Griffin" (no answer)

Since Griffin was not responding to their knocking they resorted to stuffing "gifts" under Griffin's door (mostly plastic food from the pretend food basket). Unfortunately, they did not succeed in gaining entrance- they got BOUNCED- but they were very persistent and they usually find a way to get in there when Griffin is not at home.



Somebody's knocking at the door



Trying to "bribe" their way in with plastic food



"Gifts" for Griffin under his door- looks like the door could use some touch-up work

Where's The Beef?

(Think Brady Bunch theme music as you read this)

Here's a story
of a naughty boy
who was really good at getting into trouble

He had done some crazy things
in the past
like pouring out the bubbles

Here's a story
of a hungry puppy
who was always on the look out for a treat
she would eat anything
to fill her tummy
especially if it was thrown at her feet

Well, one day when the boy saw the puppy
He had an awesome treat he knew she would adore
so he took that pound of ground beef
from the counter
and proceeded to throw it on the floor,
On the floor
On the floor
He proceeded to throw it on the floor.

Insert Picture or Naughty Boy and Puppy



Notice the shifty eyes- dead give-away for guilt!
BTW- marker on forehead was him pretending to be Harry Potter



Notice bloating around midsection

Here's how it went down:

I had taken (or at least thought I had taken) a pound of ground beef out of the freezer to thaw so I could use it for tacos. When it came time to make said tacos I couldn't locate my beef! Who loses meat? I dug through the trash can, drawers, pantry- everywhere I thought I could have possibly "stuck" it in the midst of my afternoon mayhem. NO MEAT!!! Than I began to wonder if I was losing it and hadn't really taken it out. By this time it was too late to thaw anything else before I had to feed the masses and get them back out the door for their evening activities. I just chalked it up to senility and moved on.

Fast forward- Next afternoon:

I go to feed the dogs. They are usually chomping at the bit to eat and standing by the door anxiously awaiting their chow. Parker eats as usual but Paisley doesn't touch her food. She is known to eat all kinds of nasty things so I just figure she ate another pacifier (she has eaten about 15 since Murphy was born) and will feel better and eat after she processes the latex.

Fast Forward- later in the afternoon:

Whit is misbehaving and runs to his favorite hiding spot- The Red Couch- to avoid a butt spanking. I go to retrieve him and in so doing notice some packaging sticking out from under the couch. It is the MEAT packaging- only there is no MEAT! It is spotless.

After an intense interrogation of our prime suspect (Whit) I come to find out the whole truth and nothing but the truth:

Whit says he took the MEAT because it looked yucky and he didn't want anyone to eat it and get sick. He said he stuck it under the couch so no one would find it but unfortunately Paisley was able to sniff it out and crawl under there and eat a POUND of raw ground beef- for goodness sake she only weighs 12 pounds to begin with! Mystery of the LOST MEAT and the un-hungry dog solved.

BTW-Paisley has been pretty lethargic the last day and a half as she processes all that MEAT but I think she is part goat because she hasn't gotten sick. She is definitely a Garbage Gut!

Feathered Friends

We took a trip to our local duck pond to check things out. We were hoping that all of the warm weather had brought on the hatching of some ducklings- no luck. But we still had fun playing on the playground and watching the BIG ducks swim around. Whit even made friends with one of the turtles.











Watching the Ducks



Whit's turtle friend

March Madness

Ok, this stinks! The first round loss by the Blue Devils (pathetic) really screws up our MARCH MADNESS fun not to mention our brackets- so instead of watching Duke we have had our own MADNESS in the driveway. Lots of games of HORSE, 1-on-1 and crazy shots to beat the imaginary buzzer. BTW- Brett is in 1st place of our family brackets challenge followed closely by Hadley who knows NOTHING about basketball teams and unfortunately, I am a distant last! I hope I can make up some ground next weekend and heres hoping for a TARHEEL loss! Go OHIO U!!!

Luck O' Thee Irish!

Sweet, Sweet Victory

All the girls played in the St Patrick's Day soccer tournament this weekend. They all played well and had fun (I think)! Reese had the MOST fun because her team WON! Yeah!!! It was a nerve wrenching battle that ended in a 1-1 tie after 2 overtimes so they had to go to penalty kicks! I thought I was going to throw up I was so nervous. Luckily, the girls were able to handle the pressure better than me and they ended up winning!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!!

GO GREEN BABY!!!

We spent the day at the soccer fields -6 games- but we did make and enjoy our annual rainbow cake- YUM!!!





Yes, I messed up on my rainbow layers- I put yellow before orange but it still tasted good!!!

Riding Solo

I finally broke down and let Griffin take my car and 1 of my other children out for a drive- SOLO!
No adults in the car reminding him of speed limits, cars in the other lane, STOP signs and other hazards on the road. I have to admit I felt a little sick to my stomach turning the keys and responsibilities of driving over to my eldest child but I knew I had to take the leap of faith at some point so I "bite" the proverbial bullet and let him go. HARD- it was HARD watching him drive away knowing that this is just another step toward him being more independent and needing me less and less. Another step toward him making decisions- important decisions- on his own. I hope I have given him the tools he needs to make good decisions because if he doesn't you know who they are going to blame- ME- because it always comes back to the mother!



Griffin on his first SOLO drive with Carson as co-pilot

May the Force Be With You

Does this look safe? Two rambunctious boys, jumping on a trampoline with light sabers? No, I didn't think so either but luckily no one was hurt in the filming of this scene- it was all done with stunt doubles.





Whit means business- don't mess with him! He is definitely on the "Dark Side" of the force!



It all worked out in the end and the adversaries in this battle found out that they were actually long lost brothers but I am not sure if they are joining forces for good or evil? To be continued...

Murphy @ 23 months

The last month of "Babyhood". Wow, time flies. Murphy is a busy, busy boy. Always on the move! He loves to climb and slide and run and jump. He is like most boys- he needs to be in constant motion and he is usually dirty. He loves trucks and fast cars, tools and balls- the only thing missing from this "all male" list are beer and easy women- hopefully those "loves" won't come for a few years! He is starting to communicate more- less caveman grunting and more intelligible words. He loves to eat- especially everyone else's food- some of his favorites are mac-n-cheese, chicken nuggets, fries and ketchup (the four basic food groups for my kids). He also specializes in mess making including, but not limited to, drawing on walls, emptying drawers, squirting out the contents of the toothpaste tube, rubbing vaseline all over himself and the counters, applying stickers (that don't unstick) all over the wood paneling in the dining room, removing and jumping on the sofa cushions and knocking over the trash can so that he and the dogs can inspect the contents and eat any "good" scraps they find. He is a modified "Mama's Boy" but loves to run errands with Pop so he can ride in the "truck" (Poppy's 4runner). Despite his antics and the exhaustion that comes from chasing him around all day, I guess we will keep him around a little longer because he is such a cutie!