Luke, the pirate

Luke went to his friend, Reece's birthday party last weekend and it had a pirate theme.

As a result, he has been playing the part of a pirate a bit more since then. Here he is in various forms:

Luke the happy pirate

Luke the mean pirate

Luke the sleepy pirate

Also, two new friends are blogging!! Yay for friends!! Check out Jenny and Michelle as they share all their deep dark secrets and thoughts on world peace!!

Cleaning out

I found myself at home this afternoon with only Luke and Landry and decided it was time to do a little cleaning out in the big boys' rooms. Alex is just messy and Parker is a full-blown packrat/keeper/NEVER throw anything away kind of kid.

Last year on the last day of second grade, Parker had to clean out his locker and brought home no less than 5 sweatshirts that he had worn during the winter!!

Grudgingly cleaning my kids' rooms because I knew they could never do it as good as it really needed to be done, I was taken back to my childhood. I fondly remember my mom begging, pleading, threatening me to clean my room and I guess I just didn't ever do it. I don't remember being a rebellious kind of kid, but I always put off getting my room cleaned.

After my mom would get sick of the begging, pleading, threatening routine, she would spend no telling how long in my room, putting it all back together and making it smell very nice!! I would then come home and feel terrible that my mom had had to clean my room AGAIN and vow that it wouldn't have to happen again. Until the cycle started again!!

Now, here I am cleaning the boys' rooms because I just can't take it anymore!! Alex has been missing a favorite shirt for weeks and I found it today in his shirt drawer - go figure!! Parker had lost his webkinz a couple of weeks ago and I found it today in his closet!! Alex spilled a cup of tea on his dresser last week (no - he's not supposed to have tea in his room) and did a marginally mediocre job of cleaning it up. When I was dusting off his dresser today, it looked like it had been painted with tea and there were 2 trophies that could not be moved because they were stuck with tea!! I managed to pull the smaller one off, but broke it in the process. The other one would NOT budge for anything. Scott finally got his hammer and a work glove and hammered at the base of it until it flew off!! Amazingly, the dresser (handmade by Poppy) came out without a scratch!!

The rooms look much better for now. I'm sure the boys will keep up with them so this little story will never have to be repeated!! :)

And the Oscar goes to . . .

. . . Parker Ryan!!!

Way to go Parker - Your drama bedtime drama tonight was something stolen straight from a tear-jerker on the big screen!!

Here's the story -

At this point in Parker's young life, pretty much every night he wants to "start" in my bed. This just means he doesn't have to go to sleep in his bed and if he's lucky, he'll get to stay in my bed all night. (not likely!) Tonight was no exception and, as usual, the answer was no.

Parker is known for his antics and ability to draw some drama from no where, especially at bedtime. A couple of weeks ago, after he was put to bed, he managed to dislocate his shoulder (his diagnosis) and that was his second dislocation of the day. His other was the opposite elbow!! Kind of a rough day for dislocations!!

Back to the point - Parker is in bed - the house is quiet. I get a phone call and am talking to someone who really called for Scott. But since he is a fellow Upward coach, we talk about that and how his team killed us last week and how it really wasn't fun for him either!! (sure!!)

Anyway, in comes Parker in full blown sob mode - huge tears running down his face. I'm like - Dude - what's up?? He manages to let me know he'll tell me when I get off the phone (stall tactic #1) I, of course, have NO idea what is going on but assume it must be big to merit those tears. (wrong assumption on my part) I whisper for him to go to my bed until I get off the phone (score 1 for Parker).

When I get off the phone, Parker runs into the kitchen to meet me starting the hysterical crying all over again.

Me: What is wrong?
P: I'm ... just... (sniff sniff) so ... sad ... that (aaaaa hhhh) Pluto's not ... a planet ... anymore!! (sob sob sob)
Me: Are you serious? (empathetically, of course)
P: It was my ...... (sniff) faaaavvvorite planet.
Me: OK??!!??
P: Just because it's small doesn't mean it shouldn't be a planet.
Me: I totally agree but I'm not sure it deserves this much emotion!!?

Anybody know any great places to let this kind of talent flourish??

Chores gone awry

For some time, I have felt a strong need and a great sense of guilt that our kids do not have a regular chore schedule. Besides the discipline that it teaches them, it would be a huge help to me! I'm not saying they don't do anything - they keep their rooms semi-clean, put away most of their laundry (you can tell by their drawers!!), and pretty much do whatever I ask them to do at random. But I've always felt that they needed a consistent plan with regards to the chores and we have implemented and abandoned many variations of this with little or no success. And I'm all for paying them an allowance too. I know not everyone agrees with paying for chores, but honestly, I would like the kids to have a little of their own money to learn the finer skills of money management and have something to spend at the Upward concession stand. (I think my Mom and Dad who seem to be pretty much financing our Saturdays would appreciate this too!)

Fast forward to present . . .

We started a new chore list on Monday and so far, so good!! The list is fairly simple - everyone makes their bed every day, has one other everyday chore, and maybe a once/twice a weeker. I feel like I'll add more as we go, but maybe not.

Well, Alex usually goes to Reagan's house on Wednesdays after school/club and I had mentioned to him last night that he would need to get his chores done before school if he wanted to go to Reagan's house, since he wouldn't be home again until 8:00. So, he gets up this morning, gets dressed and makes his bed. Chore #1 taken care of!!

I'm helping Parker in the bathroom and I keep hearing loud noises coming from the kitchen. I'm thinking to myself - Good grief - why is he banging all those dished around?? Then I remember - He's emptying the dishwasher! What a good boy!! I had never been so happy to hear banging dishes at 7:00 in the morning before!! It was a proud moment, for sure!!

I finish with Parker and go to the kitchen to check on him and am about to say how proud I am that he was doing his chores without any reminders from me and he's such a great kid and that that really showed me how responsible he could be - all these amazing compliments flowing through my head.

Then, I look down into the dishwasher and see a glass lid that was used to cook a pot of spaghetti - still totally red and greasy!! I look down into the bottom of the dishwasher, and see big brown spots - who knows what really??

I calmly say - uuuummm, I don't think I ran the dishwasher last night.

To which Alex responds - Yeah, I thought it looked kind of dirty in there!!

So I explain that a dirty dishwasher usually means dirty dishes and that he was done with that chore for today!! He was thrilled that he didn't have to finish and thankfully, he had only done part of the bottom, none of the top, and none of the silverware (Luke's job).

I think I rounded up all the put-up dirty dishes - hopefully!
Anyone want to come over for dinner??

Friends - old and new

I had a neat opportunity last night to get together with some old - meaning, known them a long time - friends from my days at good ole' CHS. Laura, Heidi, Jennifer and I got together at Mira Vista's restaurant and had ourselves a great time of catching up and remembering the crazy things we said and did as middle schoolers and high schoolers. We try to get together once a year but it doesn't always work out that way, so it's always good to see them and catch up on what's going on in their lives. While we're not as close as we once were, we can still share in each other's joys and heartaches and have a good time together.

Seeing them again reminded me of what amazing friends I have in my life now. It's interesting to me how friendships ebb and flow sometimes, but God always brings someone new into my life when someone else may be slipping away. I have a great group of friends at this point in my life and they all offer something different and unique. They are all, but one hold-out, my bloggin buddies, too!! Here they are in a nutshell --

Sherry - is an amazing, exciting and crazy fun person to be around. Her energy is contagious and her laughter livens up a room! She is constantly rearranging her house or painting a room. It is never the same from week to week!! Another great thing about Sherry is her great family. She has 3 kids that match up almost perfectly with my four, with Nattalee totally taking over Landry. I never see my kids when they are here!! Sherry is a great go-to person and a great friend.

Shellee - cracks me up pretty much every time I talk to her. Her humor and sarcasm are quick and she can make almost anything funny! Shellee and I are the only members of the At Least Four Kids Club and she actually has me beat in the kid department. She is very passionate about her job - kids' ministry at church - and does it well. She is an amazing decorator, making beautiful things from what appears to be trash!! She has a great house that has her creative fingerprints all over it. She has three girls and a bonus boy that are very close in age to my boys. She is a fun friend.

Emily - is a fairly new friend that I feel like I've known for a long time. She was Alex's teacher last year and became much more than a teacher to him. She is unique, in that, she regularly asks me what she can do to make my life easier. I do not have a long list of people who specifically go out of their way to help me make life easier, but she asks and she follows through. Emily is funny, kind, and very thoughtful. She puts me to shame with thank you notes and is a kindred spirit in the deep thinking department. She has absolutely changed my life for the better in the short time I've known her and has taught me lots of things that I didn't even know I needed to learn!! She is great friend and huge help to me.

Jenny - is a beautiful person, inside and out. She has such a sweet heart - a Kindergarten teacher's heart - and a kind, compassionate soul. She has a great eye for design and style, always looking great and keeping an amazing house. It's been an interesting few months for Jenny, as she has been in bed for most of that time, growing little Brody in her belly. She's up and going again, ready to get on with life with two kids! And I get the awesome privilege to watch Baby Brody some when she returns to work. How much fun will that be?!! Jenny has always impressed me with her drive and determination to achieve a goal. When she puts her mind to something, there is not stopping her. It was so cool to watch her as she worked so hard to get through college, while being a wife and mom, and now enjoys the benefits of being a teacher - and a great one, at that! Jenny's working on a blog and I'll link to it when it's all up and going.

Deneise - is the only hold-out in the bloggy world. Someday, Deneise, someday!! Deneise and I have been friends since Alex and Reagan were in our tummies. We didn't know each other at the time, but our moms were friends and to be total strangers, we had a lot of similarities about us. We were both teachers, due within days of each other, told our parents we were pregnant on the same day, and did our nurseries in the same exact design. Reagan and Alex were born four days apart and have been friends from the beginning. Deneise is the self-delegated Mamaw of our group. She always keeps us in stitches because of something that she misunderstood or misinterpreted!! She has a quick wit and a quick smile. She loves all things pink and pretty much all things candy!! She is super fun to play Wii tennis with, but in all fairness, beat me in bowling tonight!! She's a great go-to person - if she can remember what you came to her for!! Love ya - Neesinator!!

Each of these friends brings something unique to my life. That God has allowed their paths to cross mine is an amazing thing and for that, I am grateful!!

Overheard . . .

. . . in the last 24 hours in this house -

** I NOT DUMPY - Landry, insisting that he isn't grumpy!!

** I have a headache from not playing video games - Parker

** I wanna do my FI-NESS test - Landry, referring to the wii!!

** Why is there a wienie in your window?? - Me, referring to a half-eaten one of those in Luke's window sill.

Never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined that that sentence would have come from my mouth!!

Happy Friday!!

Slumping

I just noticed that this is my 80th post and I've about decided that I've told about all there is to tell!!

80 paragraphs/stories/events just about wrap up the last 5 months into a nice, neat little package!

I don't know if it is just that life has gotten busier or (oxymoronically - wow - is that a word??) there isn't much to tell about, but I just don't seem to have much to write about much anymore.

The kids are all doing well and I think I learn more with each passing season just how crazy life is going to be once all the boys are actively involved in something. Basketball practices take up three nights a week, church is a fourth night, and that leaves Monday as the only free night. Factor in Scott refereeing sometimes 3-4 nights a week and things are getting a little crazy. I've been working a little more the last couple of weeks so that makes a difference in my getting things done.

This is starting to sound like a whine-fest!!

The point?? I'm not sure!!

Life is full and God is GOOD!!

ps - Grandma's home from the hospital!! Way to go Grandma!! :)

Total Randomness

Life has settled back into whatever we call normal.

The kids are back at school, I'm back at work, and the boys started Upward basketball today!!

Our Saturdays will now be filled with 3 basketball games, starting at 1:00. This is one of my favorite sports that the boys play because they practice one night a week for one hour and have a one hour game on Saturday! Another great part is that it is all indoors!! It's a win-win-win! Unless, of course, you do like we did today - lose, lose, lose!! But, as you would expect, we do not play just to win! It's all about the team-building, character-developing, exercise-getting fun that we have! That's why we play!!

Grandma had her knee replacement on Monday and she is doing great! It's amazing that someone can cut out your knee on Monday and on Friday you can get up and move and walk slowly and start getting back to life. We are really proud of her and hope she can get all her rehab accomplished so she can get home and live life again!

That's it for me - hope your life is whatever normal is for you!!

Look who's bloggin'!!

You'll never guess who's bloggin'???


SHERRY!!!

Emily and I have been strongly encouraging her to jump into the bloggy world and today was the day!! I am so excited for her and can't wait to see all the wisdom she has to share with the world!!

Sherry is such a gift as a friend. She has helped me and encouraged me more than she'll ever know. She has also helped me find some amazing deals on some amazing shopping trips!! And she has really broadened my vocabulary - but that is a post for another day!!

Go by her blog and say hi!!

He's waited his whole life . . .

. . . to be FIVE!!

Happy birthday to Luke Martin today!!

He has wanted to be 5 for as long as he can remember and his day has finally come!! He celebrated with Pizza Lunchables (ugh), his favorite movie, The Garfield Movie, and a party with a few of his girlfriends at Chuck E Cheese tonight!

Luke is our third baby and is similar and unique all in his own special ways.

He is the only child with a dimple (only 1).

He was the only child to decide for himself that he was ready to come into the world. (The others were forced out!!)

Because HE decided when he wanted to arrive, he chose to do it at 2:30 in the morning!!

He is the only one who wants to wear uniforms when he starts school next year!!

He loves playing ANY sport and looks so stinkin' cute while he does!!

He has the middle name, Martin, because he was going to be the last baby and we wanted to give the last child the Martin name to carry on, since it ended with BigPa and Grandma. (Who knew Landry was coming??!!?)

He is very sweet and loving, loves to be held and likes being close to Scott and I. When he sleeps in our bed, he must be touching someone, usually hugging!!

He has the bladder of a small peanut!!

He can't wait to start Kindergarten and would really rather skip the last half of this preschool year so he can go ahead and go to "real" school. He can read and spell small words and love to write and draw.

Overall, it has been an amazingly fast 5 years and Luke has grown into a smart, handsome young man who fiercely loves his brothers and mom and dad. We can't wait to see what God has in store for him as he continues to grow up!!

Love you Luke-y!!


On a totally different note, my Grandma had knee replacement surgery today and is doing well. Please pray for her that her recovery will go well and she will be back on her feet (happily) in no time!!

So you think you can dance??

I had the privilege of watching some great kids today, in addition to my own!!

Jordan, Abbee, Emma, and John Wesley came over for a little while today and, hopefully, had loads of fun.

But the funnest part of the day was watching their momma, Shellee, take on our new Dancing with the Stars game on the Wii!! Shellee can pretty much bust a move anytime, anyplace, so I knew she would be great on this game and fun to watch, too!!! She didn't disappoint!!

Carrie Ann, Len, and Bruno agreed and she scored at least one 10 on her first day of playing! But the pictures I took totally cracked me up!! This one is one of the funniest pictures I think I have ever taken! It totally captures the moment and a great face, at that!!

Thanks for the good times today, Shell!! Come over anytime!!

It's going to be a great 2008!!

Happy New Year!!

We had our own rockin' good time here at the Bagg house on New Year's Eve. We are nothing if not a party just waiting to happen - anytime, anywhere!!

The night included friends, food, fire, and fireworks. Look at me and my alliteration!! We ate lots of good food - sour cream and enchiladas (Marcy's recipe) lots of chips and hot sauce (Ryan's recipe) rotel and guac (Mike's recipe but made very well by Sherry!!) and I tried out this pie and it was actually edible!!

Scott built a bonfire out back for the kids to light their sparklers in and probably to keep us warm while we watched his little fireworks show. The fire was very nice and kept everyone very warm.

Notice all the small children crowding around Sherry at the left of the pic!!

Luke is branching out and touching a sparkler!! Very impressive!!

Landry thinks he likes holding the sparkler but he can't take his eyes off of it!! Ella is amazed by the fireworks!!

It looks like Luke and Landry are no longer afraid and are throwing their fire onto Nattalee! Kids and fire - a crazy combination!!

I didn't get any good pictures of the fireworks - only a black, black sky!! They were very cool though!

One of the best parts of the night was a brief visit by Baby Brody!! He showed us his best best trick - sleeping!! He is so stinkin' cute and is just so little!! Can't wait to watch him grow up!!

While our plans for a Dancing with the Stars dance-off didn't work out, we still had a great time!! Here's hoping 2008 will be the best year ever!!