Made In China

Richard and I were talking about China the other day, and whether we were planning to bring the boys with us. I had originally said we wouldn't unless we went in the summer, but after you see what crazy things people pull their kids out of school for, I think we will take them. We hadn't said anything to them, but Cade came up to me and this is the conversation we had:
Cade: "Is the China wall still there?"
me: "Yes, it's there, you can even climb on it."
Cade: "Could you send me a picture of it when you're there?"
me: "I could, but how about you come with me and we can climb it!"
Cade: He didn't know if he wanted to or not, but later he came up and said, "OK, I want to go to
China and climb the wall".

Richard ended up talking to the boys about it one night before bed, and told them we wanted them to come with us (this is assuming they're not in college at the time!). The next day, Braden asked out of the blue: "Can we go to a bouncy ball factory in China?"
me: "What?"
Braden: "You know, how everything we have is made in China? Can we see how they make the bouncy balls while we're there?"
me: "We'll see, but probably not."

I have to remember they don't spend all their time on the computer following the trips of others. They don't have a clue, except for the small amount they've been told. All they think is it must be a toy fairyland because everything is "made in China".

OK, I'm bored!

As much as I despise hearing those words come out of my boys' mouth, here I am joining in! I think things must just be too calm here. After the craziness of building the house, moving, Christmas, etc., things are just a little too quiet. Gives me too much time to think about China and how long of a wait it will be. No worries though, baseball is around the corner, and I chair a huge auction for our elementary school in the spring. That will get ramped up soon. I am also dabbling in the digital scrapbooking trend. I am going to a Creative Memories digital class in Feb., so I am looking forward to that. After the fire, I swore I would never scrapbook again, but this seems like the perfect balance. It gives me a great creative outlet, does something great with all those pictures, and won't eat up days of my time (hopefully). I am also going to the camera store tomorrow. I have a great digital SLR, but the pictures haven't been so great these days. Of course, it would help if there was something exciting to take pictures of!!!

So, I know...wah,wah, you all feel SO sorry for me!! (and I don't blame you!)LOL

What a Great Weekend!

Richard was actually home!! Hunting is now officially over! Can you tell I'm just a little pleased with that? It was so nice for all of us to be home for the weekend. We got some things done around here. I actually have a couple of pictures hanging on the wall, and Richard's outside kitchen is coming along nicely. They did alot of the tile yesterday.

Friday night we had a meeting at our house for Braden's baseball team. We had 10 boys and 1 little sister here that night. Talk about crazy. I'd be lying if I said I didn't want to cover the furniture with plastic, but everything seems to have escaped untouched. Pretty unbelievable. I am getting very excited for baseball season. Since we didn't play basketball, we have had alot more free time, but I have missed watching them play ball.

Saturday we got to celebrate my nephews 1st birthday. What a party my SIL threw! My boys were surprised that they had such a good time. They thought they would be to old to enjoy a 1 year old's birthday party. Cade, who insisted that he hates clowns, became her favorite. Go figure, since he's pretty much a clown himself. Here are a few pictures:




So, Sunday we got a break from the freezing, rainy weather and enjoyed the sunshine. We went to church, and then I weeded the flower beds while the boys played outside and Richard started tiling the outside kitchen. I actually enjoy weeding as long as there aren't too many. You see the results instantly.

Hope you all had a great weekend as well. I don't have too busy of a week. The builder will be back AGAIN to try and finish some of the things that aren't done yet. I have had enough with all the crews in and out of the house. I know some of it has to do with our decision to move in before Christmas, but enough is enough. I have been making sure that I'm not around. Anything is better than hanging out with these guys who think they're my best friend. I think Walmart's calling my name. (You know it's bad if I'd rather be in Walmart!!!)

Have a GREAT week!!

Cade-ism

So Braden, Cade and I are sitting together looking at a photo album yesterday afternoon when Braden fills the air with a particular funk. Cade says, "Braden, you smell like a dead yak on a city bus!" Where in the world would he get something like that? I about died!

Yesterday morning on the way to school he comments about the hair gel that is spiking up his hair. He says, "This gel in my hair smells manly". What does that mean?

Coke in a Jacuzzi

The other day, Richard told Cade to get me a Coke. When I came in, he said, "I have your Coke in a jacuzzi". I had no clue what he was talking about. We don't even have a jacuzzi, and if we did, I wouldn't want my Coke in it. Well, here's my Coke in a jacuzzi:

I love that kid.

The Brother Club

Well, as you can see, this sign hasn't made it to the wall yet, but I thought I'd share the upstairs with you. Upstairs truly is "the brother club". We built the upstairs over the garage so we don't hear all the stomping and craziness. So far, it has been GREAT! The other night we had 9 total children (8 boys, 1 girl) over. They all went upstairs and we didn't see or hear them almost all night. The adults had a great time downstairs too. Here is a picture of the children's den. This room has the playstation, wii and all the "cool" electronic stuff. It's a great movie room for the whole family because it has surround sound. You should hear the playstation with surround sound! It's a hoot!

The only thing breakable in the entire upstairs is the TV, and if they break that - they're dead!

Before we moved in, I decided that my cleaning lady was not going to clean up after my boys. They would have to do that themselves. My motto seems to be: "To whom much is given, much is required". For two weeks now, each boy has been responsible for cleaning and vacuuming his own room, cleaning his own sink, and cleaning a toilet and shower. If they finish their chores correctly and with a good attitude, they get $5 for the week. So far, things have been working out great! I had to teach each of them how to do these chores, and I have been surprisingly patient as they learn. They have been surprisingly eager to learn. They actually seem to like it! Here is a picture of Cade vacuuming his room. He has the built in bunk beds that I showed you earlier (they are still not painted).

You can see his perfectly made bed in the background.
Here is a picture of Cade and Braden's bathroom. They have the huge "locker room" complete with urinal and the LSU shower.


Here is Bryce. He is finally unpacking his last box. I told him he wouldn't get his full allowance if he didn't get it done.

Bryce has a VERY cool feature in his room.

I don't know if you can see or not, but there is a set of stairs to the right of the bookcase. What do the stairs go to? Well, this is the best picture I could get:

We call it the "secret room". It is everyone's favorite place, and the envy of every child who comes over. It is only about 6ft by 8ft, but Bryce loves to go up there and read or play legos.
And here is Bryce's bathroom:

The last room is Braden's. Braden has the big view of the golf course, and the best closet. You can only see his back because he didn't want to be in the picture.

Braden just said to me "It feels good when everything is clean and picked up". Yea!! It's a good mommy day!!

Hope you're having a good weekend. It is rainy and COLD here, so we aren't doing much. My mom is making some soup, so we're going to head that way in a little while. Have a great day!

In Case You Ever Wondered...

All of you with multiple boys can relate to this, I'm sure. But in case those of you with girls ever wondered what it is like to go out to eat with these creatures, I wanted to share this with you. We went to eat tonight, and the whole time the boys were giggling, dancing, fighting over bread, walking around the table, etc. etc. By the time we got in the car, I thought Richard and I would both lose our minds. The second we were in the car, Richard announced, "There are four rules for the ride home: No farting, no burping, no touching, no talking!" It made me giggle and think of you moms with girls who would never think any parent would have to say those words. Boys, gotta love them, or at least survive them!!

Mama Bear is AWAKE!!

Yes, it's true, Mama Bear has awoken from her hibernation. Friday, Bryce came home with a D on his report card in Science, of all things. If you have followed this blog for any amount of time, you know that Bryce is a science fanatic. He goes to space camp every summer. His favorite TV show is Mythbusters. He scored the second highest score on his standardized test in science. He is also in the science club at school. Not to mention, he had a B on his progress report only 4 weeks ago! I say all of this to say, there is no way he deserved a D in science. My first reaction was to get mad at him. Then I remembered that the teachers in that class have been on a revolving door. The "real" teacher never came back after having a baby in the summer. So I redirected my anger at the school. I emailed the principal and requested a conference. I was not ugly, but it was close. I cried all weekend because I thought they would kick him out of the science club and knew that he would be devastated.

Monday morning came, and though I was calmer and more rational, I was still very worked up. I called the school to again request a conference. When I told them what the problem was they said they had already assigned a teacher to help the principal figure out what the problems were. So this tells me that the teacher screwed up lots of grades. Thank God! They called Bryce out of class yesterday and asked him for a specific paper he had written on an element. They wanted to check the grade. I am so proud that he knew exactly where it was and while he was looking for it, he told the principal all about his element, and what it did. When he showed them the paper, his grade was a 93%. He heard them say that it was written as a 56%. Are you kidding me?!? How in the world does that happen? We were so happy, we just had to go to Sonic and get a shake. We haven't received the final "verdict", but I can't wait.

I also spent the morning emailing my school board councilman and the superintendent. I am very frustrated with the number of students in our schools, and wanted to know what was going to be done about that. I am not content to sit back and complain about it. So looks like I am going to add school board meetings to my schedule. Whoo Hoo!!!

Other than that, I have been around the house waiting for workers to show up to fix some of the little things wrong with the house. I still don't have mantles hung, but at least all the outlets work now. I also had the pleasure of getting two teeth filled this morning at the dentist. That is always a joy!

I haven't forgotten about the other pictures of the house I was supposed to post. I'll start working on that very soon.

So the verdict on the swimsuit? Maybe I'll try it on, but like most of you, I don't think it will be the most flattering look on cellulite legs!! I guess I could just sit like she is in the picture the whole time! Yeah, right! And, sorry, but I'll be keeping the scale, thank you very much. Any of you are more than welcome to come and use it!

Hope you're having a great week!!

What Do You Think?

Can it really be that time already? Time to start thinking about squeezing my pasty white body into a swimsuit? I know it's only January, but I am already getting email from VS pushing me to "get ready for summer". We are talking about going to the beach at Easter, too, so that's right around the corner. So, what do you think about this new style of bikini?


I can't decide if I like it or not. I cannot wear a regular bikini because of "baby fat" and stretch marks, so this is intriguing to me. Tell me what you think? Would you wear it? Would you make fun of me if you saw me in it? Tell the truth!!

I did get a bit of good new yesterday. A couple of friends came over last night and stood on my scale. They both confirm that my scale reads 7 to 8 pounds to heavy!! That's right, I lost 7 whole pounds instantly!! Whoo Hoo!!!! Maybe I am ready for that swimsuit after all!!

I Can't Wait!

I have been checking SCC's website for a while to see if his tour was coming anywhere close to us. For months, nothing. But yesterday, I found that he is going to be in New Orleans on Feb. 16th! I was so excited. I asked Richard if he would take me for Valentine's Day, and he agreed. I can't wait! I wanted to take the kids, but then I thought better. They would be ready to go right after it started and then I would be mad the whole time. We'll let them have a sleepover at Maw Maw's and Paw Paw's. BTW, Mom, can the kids stay at your house on the 16th? We are actually going to have a date night! Unbelievable!

For Glinda

Glinda asked about the chair in the previous post. It is probably my favorite piece of furniture so far. She thought I was the one sitting in the chair, but it is actually my mom. (I was taking the picture.) I'll have to post a picture of me and my mom because we look very much alike. Strangers have stopped me in Walmart and asked me if I was Linda's daughter.

I wanted you to be able to see the whole chair because the back of it is my favorite part, so here are a couple of pictures:

And here is the back. Notice the laundry baskets in the background. I was going to retake the picture with them moved, but why? Laundry is my life!


I bought the chair at a store called Stomas. The brand is Lexington Home Brands, and the fabric number is 3253-61. Hope that helps.

How 'Bout Dem Tigers!!!

As some of you may know, LSU won the BCS last night. Yesterday, everyone in town was wearing purple and gold. We were no exception. Here we are decked out in our team colors:

The game didn't start until after 7:00, and the kids had to get up to go to school today, so we let them stay up until half-time. We did, however, have our own little tailgate party. They feasted on popcorn, pretzels, coke, and chocolate chip cookies. They thought they were in heaven. They even called Maw Maw and Paw Paw to come over, but gave them strict orders that they had to wear purple and gold. Here are some pictures of our tailgate party:
Bryce and Paw Paw played a game of chess

Cade made a poster for his team

The whole crew (minus the photographer, of course)

In the end, our team came through, and every Tiger fan is happy today.

You want to know the REAL reason I'm happy today? My kids are back in school!!!!!!
Yes, I am ashamed to say, I am VERY happy today!!!

When we decided to move forward with our paperwork to adopt from China, we were told that the wait would be about 2 years. We figured that we could have the paperwork turned in and be officially waiting while we finished building the house and getting settled. Well, we have been so busy with the house and the holidays, China has been the last thing on my mind.

So, we are in the house, and Miss "Chinababy" has her own room (and some clothes hanging in her closet), but she is still so far away. I was in a small grocery store yesterday when I looked up to see a mom with a little girl from China who looked to be about 4 or 5. My heart skipped a beat. I wanted to chase after them and talk to her (aka: be nosy), but I refrained. I think it was God's way of stirring that desire in my heart once again.

As I sat down to my blog tonight, I see on my counter that we have reached the 7 month mark today. This is very exciting, but I am aware that the wait will only get harder (and longer). I guess I'll have to find another distraction. Baseball season is around the corner, so maybe we'll go with that!

What is a Keeping Room?

Well, some of you asked, and the question threw me a little. I thought keeping rooms were everywhere. I googled it to see if there was a real definition. All I found was "a family gathering place". I also found out that in colonial days, they called the one room in their house that held everything a keeping room. Here, when we say "keeping room", we mean a sitting/family room that is part of the kitchen. It doesn't have to be big, but it always seems to be where everyone gathers. I have always wanted one, and have to say, am loving it! Here's a picture of mine from the kitchen.

You can see that the TV is the main attraction. This room is going to be great when we watch the LSU tigers win the BCS!!

So, the kids are still out of school until the 8th. We have really enjoyed our holidays, but they have reached the fighting stage. All day long, they are on each other's nerves, and on mine! Cade is going to spend the night with a friend, so that will help. I am definitely ready to get back in the routine again, however, today was our first day to really sleep late, which I LOVE.

Hope you're enjoying your vacations! Happy New Year!