A Bruiser Another Year Older

 Gavin has been so excited to turn four.  I put all of his Spring/Summer clothes in his drawers and he's refused to wear anything that says 4T because, "I not four yet, not until April 25!!"  Now, why this rationale doesn't translate with the 2T Spider Man jeans he still tries to sport is beyond me. I took the idea from my friend and fellow blogger, Tricia, to start Gavin's special day with covering his bedroom door with streamers.  Although a little groggy he thought it was pretty cool to bust his way through dark purple (his new favy color) streamers on his way to the bathroom.  Makes even your morning pee a little more special. 

I saw these cupcakes on none other than Pinterest and had to make them for G's preschool birthday party.  I mean, really, what kind of mother was I before I found this website?  A plain and boring one, for sure.

Harrison jumped in the car after school and said, "Yes! I've been waiting all day for school to be over so we could go to Monkey Joes for Gavin's birthday!!"  A little sad to celebrate another birthday without the friends and family of birthdays' past. I'm grateful the sadness stopped with Steve and I, Gavin didn't even seem to notice the difference.  So, who are those big parties for anyways? 

We all agreed (well, actually, Steve disagreed) that Cannon was plenty old enough to go down the 25 foot slide.  I can't say he loved it, more that he tolerated his crazy Momma taking him on a completely inappropriate ride for an infant.

Gavin loved, loved being able to gather as much fake money as he could in a minute.  His 'jazz hands' were in full-force, he was so excited he could barely slow down enough to grab the money!

 A tough but important lesson learned when you have siblings--sometimes it's not about you and you just get to watch and encourage your sibling in the grab-as-much-money-as-you-can-thingie. And, oh my gosh, are those not Steve's hands on that boy?! 

Gavin's first choice for dinner was McDonald's, Steve and I gently guided Gavin towards his second favorite place, Hibachi-- "where they make the fire!"  We have still yet to find a great Hibachi place here in ol' South Carolina, an hour and a half into our terrible meal we looked at each other and said, "We could've just gone to McDonald's." One disappointing meal later we headed home to our next activity.

I told Gavin I thought I heard some bad guys in the other room and now that he was four is was high time he took care of it.  I laid out his 'weapons' and told him to pick wisely.  He chose the Hulk fist and nunchucks while Harrison chose Wolverine claws and Thor's hammer, they closed their eyes and waited for the room to fill with helium balloon bad guys so they could attack them.

Check out Steve's drawrings on the balloons.  

Gavin and Harrison both thought this was awesome!

Gavin has a smile that is infectious.  As I sit here typing this looking at his face I can't help but smile.  He has a larger than life personality that demands your attention.  It's attention that's given fairly easy due to the antics and entertainment that he brings.  From minute-to-minute costume changes to snuggling in your lap and asking for a back scratching, he fills our house with stories Steve and I laugh about as we're going to bed each night.

Mr. Mom

It has been an adjustment living here in South Carolina without family to help take care of all these babies we keep having.  As hard as it's been for me, it has to be doubly hard for Steve.  He really took advantage of enjoyed his Mom and Dad being within shouting distance from our house.  I would often drop Steve and the kids off at The Bergs on my way to work so they could spend 'quality time' with Grammy. 

It was really, really challenging when I had to work twelve hour day shifts for orientation.  I would leave before the kids were up and wouldn't come home until they were in bed. Steve, with the help of a sitter here and there, would have to do everything for the kids.  There are some things that he's naturally good at doing--dinner and wrestling.  Two very important things, right?  Those two things, alone, will keep my boys healthy and happy.  However, the little things like, brushing teeth, homework, and combing hair, Steve tends to fall a little short.  It's why it takes two, right?

By the end of my day shifts Steve had just about everything down!  The last day I came home, the kids were in bed, house was picked up, and I had a dinner waiting for me!  Steve said, "Thank God those day shifts are over, this has been hard!"

Somewhere in those day shifts Harrison had picture day at school.  I ironed and layed out his outfit, leaving Steve with the only instructions to comb his hair and don't make him look like a goob. 







Shirt tucked in? Check.  Belt? Check.  Combed hair?  Dangit!  Steve swears he did brush his hair and it just popped back out like that.  That is clearly bed-head, folks.  I can even guess how he was sleeping by the shape of his hair.  He looks like a combo of the two guys from 'Dumb and Dumber.'

I ordered the smallest picture package just to forever remember these days....and to make sure Steve never lives it down.  That's what wives are for, right? 

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Cannon 10 Months Old

 We've been busy this month crafting and growing boys!  Our chalkboard table was super easy to make and a huge hit with the kiddos.  Harrison and Gavin draw chalk pictures and write letters while Cannon comes from behind as the 'sweeper,' cleaning off the table with his hands.  They have quite the trio worked out.

 Crawling has allowed you to explore every nook and cranny in our house.  As it was with your older brothers, the endless toys hold nothing compared to electrical outlets, cell phones, and remote controls....oh, and dirt!  And, everything goes directly into your mouth!  We've tried to outsmart you by giving you a toy, say, a Nerf bullet, that will fix your oral addiction and keep you from putting e-v-e-r-y-t-h-i-n-g else in your mouth.  It makes us laugh watching you crawl around with a Nerf bullet hanging out of your mouth like a cigar. 

Daddy says you're the happiest baby he's ever known. Not that he's known that many, but a compliment nonetheless. 

 Everyone says you're a 'Mini-Steve.'  I guess I'd be crazy not to say I see the resemblance.  Could you pull out something that looks like me though?! 

My favorite thing about these piggies is the overlapping toes. 

 There's just not enough room on your pudgy feet to fit all five toes in a row.

Minute to Win It- 'Cause That's How We Celebrate a 13 Year Old

 Is this not the cutest picture?  

Cameron has so much energy we thought we'd strap Cannon to him to see if we could wear him out!

 Harrison has become very interested in studying our family calendar.  He loves numbers and easily memorizes birthdays and the ages of people. While Aunt Mindy didn't appreciate Harrison greeting her with, "You're Aunt Mindy and you're 39!" (That's what Mindy WISHED he had said.  What he actually said was her REAL AGE!)    Cameron loved Harrison telling him he was about to turn 13!  Harrison said, "You'll get to play T games and watch PG-13 movies!!" 

 

No birthday can pass in our house without being celebrated, but to turn 13, we had to plan something special.  My mom is great at organizing games, add to that a little Pinspiration  and we came up with a 
Minute-to-Win-It Birthday Party!

 To begin our  Minute-to-Win-It Mega Game 13th Birthday Party, we first had to get plenty of energy. We discovered that Cameron's favorite food is hamburgers.  He'd never been to a Fuddruckers, so, off we went.  What are Minute-to-Win-It games?  Well, site back, relax, and enjoy the show, because these are games that put the F in Fun. 

Game 1- How many M&M's can you transfer from one bowl to another, in a minute, using only a straw?  As clearly indicated by the W and L, McKinzie won that round.  I think the score was something ridiculous like 8-1.  Cameron even tried to claim he had a bum straw, but changing it didn't bring him much luck.

Fun-filled Game 2- Using only a toothpick transferring as many Cheerios from one bowl to another, in one minute.  Gavin was so into this game his mouth was completely agape with drool steady-streaming from it.  Despite his best effort (and even a little cheating here and there) he lost to Harrison with a score of 17-15.

Game 3- Steve and I were slated for this competition.  This is a picture of us squaring-off like boxers before a match.  We had to slide Necco wafers down our face and into our mouth...and see who could get the most from forehead to mouth--in under a minute. 

Steve won by something like 5-1.  I would like to think this is because my face is so baby soft the wafers just slide right off, verses Steve and his, well, not so baby soft face.  There really should be a sarcasm font created.  Whatever the reason, I lost terribly, but not nearly as bad as our other face-off, game 4--bouncing quarters from the table into a bowl (sorta like Beer Pong but without the beer..or the pong)  I was losing so badly I threw Steve's bowl off the table and he still managed to score 10 to my 2.  He wants me to also include that one of  his shots was tossing the quarter from under his leg, bouncing it off the table and landing it in that dang bowl!

Game 5- Oh, did I mention that we were split into two teams? Kinz, Gavin, and me versus Harrison, Steve, and Cameron.  G-Jo and Mindy were the judge and jury, and trust me, when you play any game with Steve you need a firm judge, that man will stop at nothing to win.  Game 5 paired Harrison and Gavin against one another and required them to carry in their mouth, using only their mouth to secure the block,  as many blocks as they could from one box to another crawling on their hands and knees.  Even though Gavin lost to Harrison he loved this game so much the next morning he was playing again by himself.

Game 6- Taking turns within your team (meaning you can't leave the little ones out!), stacking as many blocks as high as you can without having it fall.  Our tower was a lot taller than this but toppled right before the buzzer, we still managed to win!  By this time Harrison was SO into the games that he shouted, "Cameron's birthday is the best!!"

Game 7- Kinz versus Cam in a wild game of slide a quarter between the straw goalie without it sliding off the table.  I honestly can't remember who won this game, but since Kinz is on my team I'll say she was the winner.

 

 Game 8- Bouncing a ball at least as high as your waist, as many times as you can in, you guessed it, a minute!  I think Steve won this round, too, but everyone took turns trying their luck with the ball.

Game 9-This one was probably my favorite.  Each team was given a cookie sheet and we had to fill it with 25 items picked around the house.  The cookie sheet was then given to the other team and given one minute to study the contents before one item was removed.  The first team to identify the one item missing wins!  This might have been my favorite game because I won this round for my team.  

We were all so competitive we ended up with a tied score that required Mindy and Mom to create a sudden death match.  They had to corroborate in the laundry room and emerged with a picture on their phone and whichever team was able to decipher the picture first won.  It took a couple clues, but Team K.G.G. emerged victorious!

Cameron is the kind of, now, teenager that makes me look forward to having my boys growing up.  It was fun getting the low down from him (dang it, I forgot to ask him if 'low down' is lame to say) on what's hot and what's not. He can still get rowdy and play along with my little ones but then tell me during his birthday interview that he wants a wife to be smart, funny, and look kinda like Taylor Swift.  Happy 13 Cam-the-Man, hope it was a memorable one!

Highlight and Lowlight Spring Break 2012

We had a staycation this Spring Break and let the fun come to us! And by fun I mean,  G-Jo, Aunt Mindy, and cousins McKinzie, and Cameron! They came all the way to South Carolina to spend time with their favorite Bruisers.  I love to recap vacation days with 'highlight/lowlight', sharing what you liked most about your day and what you rather not do over.  Here's the highlight/lowlight for our Spring Break Egggg-trava-ganza!

Day 1-

Lowlight- The two-hour traffic jam Mindy, Kinz, and Cameron spent in Knoxville, Tennessee, on their way to us.  This is a picture of what they got to stare at for two hours.

'

 Highlight-  Welcoming everybody! We love having family come visit us!  We get all sorts of excited with anticipation of the upcoming fun. Steve did his usual Costco runs buying the food that is never allowed in the house otherwise, the kids made welcome cards complete with chocolates for the beds, and the house is cleaned--complete with rarely made beds!

 Day 2-

Lowlight- Getting up so early to start our day.  I hate waking up to alarms! A runner-up for my lowlight was a Pinterest-inspired recipe that was a bust.  Crescent cinnamon rolls--boo on you!  You did not turn out like the picture, but somehow I still managed to shove you into my mouth on our way to church.

how they were supposed to look, but not at all how mine turned out. 

Highlight-  Another toss-up!  First, it was attending church.  Church usually isn't something that gets me too excited, but this one was different.  St. Anthony of Padua Catholic Church has a congregation that's about half African American.  Take part Catholic traditions that I've grown accustomed to and add to the mix the pizzazz of a bluesy choir with a couple "Amens" shouted here and there and I was in heaven!  

Highlight Number 2-  We took a trip to Paris Mountain State Park and took the kids on their first canoeing trip!  I wouldn't say Cannon loved the idea of being zipped into a tight life jacket, but he went along for the ride anyway. A third highlight could be that we all stayed in the boat which is a big accomplishment having a three year old lean from side to side to peer into the water.

Day 3-

Highlight- Steve does a great job an' all taking care of the kids, but let me tell you it's not quite like the skills of my 'sister wives' aka Mom and Aunt Mindy.  I layed down for a nap because I had to work Monday night and when I woke up the house was picked up, children were fed and accounted for.  It was amazing!  In fact, on Wednesday (I'm skipping ahead here, but it's my highlight continued) when I woke up early from working the previous night Mom and Aunt Mindy had our picnic packed, kids dressed and ready to go, and Aunt Mindy even made me a cup of coffee!  It was perfect for Steve, too, he would make dinner as he loves to do, but someone else was there to clean up.  Steve teased he could barely put his cup down before Aunt Mindy was there to swoop it up.

Lowlight-  As much as I love what I do, it's hard to leave to go to work when everyone at home is having fun. 

Steve was sweet trying to ease my pain of not being home and tried to only watch movies that I wouldn't be interested in, but it was still hard to miss all the excitement.

Day 4-

Highlight- Everyone spent the day at the zoo and the park filled with dizzying whip-you-around rides.

Lowlight- I missed all the fun because I had to sleep to go back to work.

It would be nice if I looked this peaceful as I slept.  

Steve tells me most of the time I furrow and look angry.

Day 5-

Highlight-  This is the day I woke up early with everyone and everything ready to go!  We went to Reedy Falls, had a great picnic complete with sandwiches packed in personally labelled Ziploc bags. We loved walking of the rocks, Cameron even scaled the rocks climbing to the highest point!

Lowlight- After a fun-filled day of swimming and walking on Reedy Falls we all came home a little tired, so we didn't think much when Kinzie took a nap on the couch.  She woke up hours later on the floor with a fever of 103, crying incoherently, hyperventilating, and gesturing her head hurt.  With Steve's background as a licensed athletic trainer he does really well in emergency situations like that and he was able to calm her a little, but only long enough for Mom and I to decide she needed to go the hospital STAT!  The ER doctor was initially just as suspicious as we were that it could be bacterial meningitis, but after lots of tests and three types of pain medicine later it was concluded to be a sinus infection gone really, really bad.

Day 6-

Highlight- Celebrating Cameron's 13 birthday!  His birthday party requires a blog post all its own.  More to come on that later, but, rest assured, it will be talked about for ages!

 Lowlight-  After spending the night before in the emergency room we decided to scrap our plans of a long day trip and spend it closer to home instead.  We went to see Mirror, Mirror.  This was not, however, my lowlight.  The movie was great with the ending causing Harrison to literally sit on the edge of his seat (although I'm not sure if that was because it was a nail-biting ending or that he really, really needed to pee from all the soda he drank.  But, he wiggled with anticipation nonetheless.) My lowlight was the shock of how much it cost to go the movies!  I know I'm showing my age here by even uttering the words, "when did your prices go up?!" But, seriously, buying three matinee tickets, one popcorn and two drinks should NOT cost $48.00!! 

Day 7-
  


Lowlight- Having to say goodbye to my family.  I continue to be blessed with a family that gives endless love and friendship. 

Highlight- A nap!  Our days of activities and our late night chats left me exhausted!

 Again, pretend this peacefully sleeping chic is me.

  If you squint your eyes you can see some similarities.