My worst nightmare come true

I think I may have expressed my deep and ever growing hatred for all things creepy, crawly. I mean, just writing about them makes me get all wiggly and I start thinking I have bugs crawling up my leg or on my head and I just want to spray myself with a big bottle of Raid to kill them all and set a massive Raid bomb off so as to never, ever have anymore. We're talking I won't even kill a minute thing because I am that petrified of going near enough to them to smash them into oblivion. {Funny side story, my MIL Jennifer once called 911 because no one was home and there was some kind of bug/pest/animal in her house that she couldn't/wouldn't kill. Awesome}

I am particularly scared of snakes and bees and wasps and big spiders and cockroaches and mice and lizards and geckos and June bugs and mosquito hawks. Just to name a few.

Being that we live in Texas, we get to see a lot of these horrid creatures; especially during the summer. More so, since we live in a really old house, these vile beasts make appearances inside the house more often then a house that was built after 1930.

Last night Stuart and I were getting ready to go to bed. {Another side note, yesterday was quite possibly one of the hardest days EVER because of the extreme close quarters and the lack of a nap due to the amount of noise radiating from the living room} I went into the bathroom first. I turned on the closet light and then walked into the bathroom and turned on the bathroom light. I turned to sit down and use the restroom when I glanced up at the sink.

Oh

My

GRACIOUS!

There,

on my TOOTHBRUSH

was

the

BIGGEST,

most gigantic,

poo eating,

COCKROACH.

ON

MY
TOOTHBRUSH!

I screamed.

And shut my eyes.

And screamed some more.

Stuart came running in the bathroom sure that I was being attacked by some malicious opossum and stopped dead in his tracks when he saw the creature that has overtaken MY TOOTHBRUSH.

His first reaction?

He grabbed a magazine from the toilet lid and WHACK!

Now, here's where things get bad. Really bad.

That cockroach?

It went flying.

Right

At

Me.

Did I mention that I am pool-up-on-the-floor-screaming-like-a-baby-want-to-pee-in-my-pants scared of cockroaches?

Yeah.

So this hard shelled menace goes flying and I literally shriek and Stuart has to grab me to hold me up and then carry me out of the room because I am just that mortified.

It took another 5 minutes of him rubbing my back and three trips into the bathroom to make sure nothing else was hiding for me to calm down.

And then I had nightmares all night that cockroaches were crawling into my ears or on my legs or in the sink and no matter how many times I woke up and realized that I was dreaming, I just couldn't shake the horrible, awful image of that animal flying at me from MY TOOTHBRUSH.

Flan FAIL

Last week Stuart called from school asking me if we had any condensed milk. My first thought was "why?" After looking in the pantry and finding none, I asked him why he needed it. "Because we're making flan tonight!"

Ok.

Turns out Stuart volunteered to make flan for his Spanish class in order to get extra credit. Alright, I'm down with that.

Being the brilliant person that I am, I called one of my co-workers (who happens to be Hispanic) and asked her if she has ever made flan. She had. She then informed me that Jello made a "flan-in-a-box" that was "just as good as homemade." And being the slacker that I am, I jumped on it. I called Stuart and told him that Laura told me about "flan-in-a-box" and it would be ridiculously easier. He then came home with 5 boxes since each box yielded 4 servings and his class has 20 students.

The next morning, I started "baking."

See how the box makes the flan look so pretty?

First you pour the milk into a pot.
Then you coat the bottom of the cupcake tins with the caramel sauce.
Then you add the flan mix to your milk and bring to a boil.

Transfer the mixture into the cupcake tins.

Refrigerate for 1 hour.

Invert cupcake pan and VIOLA!

Flan SNOT!
Total flan fail.

None-the-less, Stuart took these little globules of grossness to school. He even explained to his teacher that my best friend Laura (not to be confused with my co-worker, Laura) who got her college degree in Spanish and then went to Pastry Chef school recommended the Jello flan-in-a-box. {oops! Guess I should have clarified which Laura I talked to}

Hey, at least he got some extra credit!

Is this what it's like to live in New York?

Today we are getting our wood floors redone.

By a professional.

Who does this for a living.

And we are paying him to do this gigantic task for us.

Stuart has no hand in the drama that is about to unfold.

Not that he couldn't do it.

We just chose to have someone else do it.

'Ya know, so that we wouldn't have the livingroom in our bedroom for 6 months.

{and for you information, the bathroom is still not done}

And here's our bedroom.

Or livingrom, depending on which way you look at it.
For those of who you have fancy media centers, take a look at ours!

I've always loved FFH

Third Times a Charm

Go see it.

You'll love it.

And you'll cry.

Well at least I did.

My Baby

is not

a baby

anymore

A Trip to the Wichita Mountains

For Father's Day Stuart decided that he wanted to load up and head to the Wichita Mountains (which are neither in Wichita Falls or Wichita, KS but in nearby Lawton, OK) for the day. I found this rather surprising since recently all he has wanted to do is head to the range when he has any amount of free time. In fact, Stuart had planned on going to the range early Sunday morning but then changed his mind to this more family friendly idea. I liked it.

So off we went.

One of the things we love about the Wichita Mountains is all the open land and of course the free range buffalo and long horn.

We were greeted by the aforementioned as we entered the reserve.

Then we took to the trails.

I hung out with Tucker while Tyson was literally walking on Stuart's heels.
Daddy did some guiding.
Despite the grimaced faces, the boys loved being outdoors.

My boys...1, 2 and 3.

Break time.
And for comparison's sake, here are some pictures from past Wichita Mountain adventures.

March 2003
April 2006
October 2006 (6 months pregnant with Tucker)


I love how wonderful Stuart is with his boys. I could not have asked for a better father and husband. I have been blessed beyond my expectations!

10 Things Tuesday

1. I got to sleep early today because Stuart didn't have class this afternoon (and consequently got to wake up in time to cook dinner and actually be with my family)
2. We are getting our wood floor redone in preparation for selling our house-yea!
3. We are going to be selling our house (soon) and I am getting more than a little anxious about it
4. Stuart has 26 more school days till graduation (HALLELUJAH!)
5. Stuart has a rather long honey-do list
6. I tried Nutella for the first time this week-hello new BFF
7. Today is my grandmother's birthday-Happy Birthday Neenee!
8. Tucker just unrolled an entire roll of toilet paper
9. It's 5 million degrees outside
10. Luke is vent free and doing fabulously! Praise the Lord!

Pirate Bug Man

Recently the boys saw an episode of Billy the Exterminator.

Yes, please shake your head in a disapproving way. I did too. My first thought when I saw a clip of the show was, "a man who wasn't shown enough attention when he was 16 so now feels like as an adult, he can do whatever he wants because people will notice him." And, " really, are the spikes on his shoulder necessary for pest removal?"

Either way, I wasn't impressed the the show, or the man, or his actions. BUT the boys were enthralled. Immediately they coined the phrase "Pirate-Bug Man" which I think is beyond fitting and ask to watch this show all the time (which we don't).

From that brief encounter they have been "chasing" and "finding" all sorts of creatures and lore in the house.

Searching

Can you see that snake?

Oh, that's a big one!

Another extraction tool.

Tucker's gonna make 'em dance out.

Such a proud mom.

And for your viewing pleasure...

These boys, they just make me laugh.

Happy Father's Day!

I love these three more than words can ever say.

A post in which I don't really have much to say so I'll give you some pictures

Another toy

I got a {nother} new phone Monday. Yes, another one. And again, this one was not my doing. (But really is technology ever my doing?) I do have to blame this new phone entirely on my sister's brother-in-law EG. While we were at Kate's birthday party, EG busted out his new phone and Stuart practically tripped over himself trying to get ahold of it. It really is sad that way this man drools over electronics. Then again, the same could be said for me and purses. Anywho, so EG is all excited and Stuart is all bananas over the greatness of this phone and all I heard about on the way home was about the awesome powers of this phone.

Thursday, Stuart comes home from class beyond giddy. You know how little boys get when they want to tell you something that is so out of this world and they just can't get the words out of their mouths fast enough and then it all just ends up falling out and turning into something completely different than they meant it to but they are still just so stinking happy about their news that they don't understand why you are looking at them like they just spoke Martian? Yeah, that was Stuart.

After all the word misplacement was corrected, I found out that Stuart's dad wanted to leave AT&T and was interested in starting a family plan with us. Hmm. Interesting. Now, we already had a kicker plan with Sprint. Not-to-mention that we've been with Sprint for over 10 years (Stu and I both were with them before we got married).

Immediately Stuart jumped into "researching" mode. {If only he put that much energy into school} He was waist deep in plan and phone details when his entire face lit up like a Christmas tree and proclaimed, "WE GET TO GET NEW PHONES!"

Now you can understand my eye rolling. We didn't need new phones. Shoot, both of ours are less then 6 months old. But these new phones were no ordinary talking devices. Nope. They were extraordinary.

After a few tense and panic stricken hours with Sprint, it was all done.

May I introduce you to my new addiction:

It's 4G (even though Wichita Falls doesn't have 4G yet). It has an HDMI out (something Stuart is batty about). It has a 4.3 inch screen.

I'm in love.

So while it took me awhile to get over the technology shock, I am a full fledged member of the my-phone-is-my-life club.

Have I mentioned, I'm in love?

Equation

Me + Technology = A lot of gnashing of teeth and saying bad words and rolling my eyes are Stuart

just saying...

Stating the Obvious

Me: Ugh, it's hot.

Stu: Yep.

Me: And humid. Ick.

Stu: Well, we DO live in Texas.

Me: I know, but geez.

Stu: Yup, it IS Texas.

Me: I know. I'm just saying it's gross outside.

Stu: Uh huh...Texas.

Me: I get it. We live in Texas. Where it's hot. And humid. And the south.

Stu: Right. Texas.

Me: Enough already. I KNOW where we LIVE.

Stu: Gah, you don't have to get all PMS-y.

Me: WHAT?!

Stu: Nothing. You're just going a little overboard with this.

Me: Overboard? All I was saying was that I was hot.

Stu: And then it turned into this whole 'nother thing.

Me: You're the one the brought up the geography lesson and then had to throw in "lady problems."

Stu: Well are you?

Me: Am I what?

Stu: You know...lady problems?

Me: Wow.

Circles

Working On It

Me: Tucker, what's your name?

Tucker: {thinking} Three!

Me: Yes, you are three but what's your name?

Tucker: Boy!

Me: Tucker, how old are you?

Tucker: Mame is Tucker!!

Me: Yes you're name is Tucker but how old are you?

Tucker: I am a BOY!

Me: Tucker, what's your name?

Tucker: Your mame is mommy!

Me: That's right, I am mommy, but what's your name?

Tucker: You're a GIRL!

Well at least we know that I'm a girl and he's a boy. Progress.

Happy official 2nd birthday Kennedy Kate!

Thanks for inviting us to your party!

I don't know what to call this, so...there

it's wednesday and i'm tired

i feel like i'm always tired

the boys are on a pbs kick

they absolutely love "super why" and "dinosaur train"

stuart taught them how to drink the left over milk from their cereal

they'll do anything that stuart does

have you noticed that stuart has knack from starting projects before ending them?

yeah

the van is still in disarray

i'm starting to get really nervous about the prospect of moving

it is june 9 and we are no closer to being able to put the house on the market

if we in fact move

which is yet another anxiety inducing dilemma

it's really hot outside

and we haven't even hit 100 degrees yet

it's gonna be a long, hot summer

potty training is still going

tucker has an affinity to pee in his underwear and then 5 minutes later, poo in the potty

it makes no sense

but that's tucker

stuart's thinking about going to houston this weekend while i work

but this time he'll take scout

we can't have another stress/anxiety induced hemorrhagic gastroenteritis

i really need to fold some laundry

but i really don't want to

that is all

Oh Tucker

Don't worry, those walls don't move.

Cleaning

Stuart: I'm going to go clean out the van

Me: Cool.

6 hours later...

Our van has been completely stripped out. Seriously.

{Also, my BIL Scott just wrote a message about his father's battle with cancer. Read it here and please keep Tim and the family in your prayers.}

Thinking PINK

Yesterday we made the short two hour trip to Dallas to celebrate Miss Kate's 2nd birthday. The boys love to play with their cousin, particularly Tucker who thinks Kate is pretty fun since she's smaller than him. Tyson boldly proclaimed that Kate was the "dorablist" baby he had ever seen. Couldn't agree with you more kiddo!

Here's a run down of the PINK party:

Tucker and Kate before the PINK massacre

Mimi reading to Tyson and Tucker tickling the PINK ivories (I know, the keys are technically not pink but I couldn't help myself)

Can you believe how much bigger Tyson is than Kate?

PINK balloons

PINK decorations

(My sister has an AMAZING knack for all things creative)

PINK attire required

(Chisholm, Doss, Haught and Brooks men)

Jumping fun!

Happy Birthday to Kate!

PINK cupcakes

And this is what we call "DONE"

Thanks baby Kate for having such a fun and PINK party!

We love you!

Happy 2nd Birthday!!