Copycat

Max is at the age where he copies people ALOT. It really annoys Ben because mostly it is Ben that Max is copying. Ben is becoming more tolerant now that I told him that Max only copies him because his ideas are so cool.

Max also picks up on words or phrases that people say and repeats them. The funny thing is that he mostly uses them in the correct context. It's hilarious to hear these grown up phrases being uttered in Max's cute little voice. He also loves to repeat song lyrics. Today he comes in from the car and says, "Ben - if you don't know, honey, then you don't..." Ben looked at him like he was crazy, but of course Max was repeating a Jimmy Eat World song he had heard earlier in the car. He also said,"Mom, your ripping my heart right out" (another Jimmy Eat World lyric) when I told him "no" the other day.

I never put on the Radio Disney for my kids - they've always just listened to whatever music Ian or I put on. They've never complained. I've had to tone down some of my music tastes but that's just as well. I remember when Ben was a baby he hated the Red Hot Chili Peppers. I could listen to anything but when the Chili Peppers came on he would cry like someone was hurting him. Ian did an experiment once where he turned on the Chili Peppers - Ben started to scream - then he switched to Foo Fighters - silence.

Par-tay!

Last Saturday we had a birthday party for my mom. For her birthday she got an air hockey table and a nintendo wii (from my dad). She always wants stuff for the kids to play with. It goes without saying that her party was a hit! We swam, bbq'd, hung out, played wii and had a great time! Ian successfully lit the grill without taking anyone's eyebrows off (ahem - Darrel - but I'm not naming names...). I know I posted alot of pictures but I'm too lazy to sort through them so you get to see them all! My favorite is the one up top with Evan & Rowan.

4 going on 14

"Max, come take your medicine!"
"Mom, don't start with me..." (as he holds his hand out - palm facing me)
"Max, come take it now and I will give you Sprite to drink after."
"Mom, I'm not in the mood!" and he stomps off.
I'm sure looking forward to the teenage years - it can only go up from here.

Our handicap license plate is on order...

I know you all have noticed that Ian has been wearing glasses lately. We have kept his handicap quiet for far too long...the fake contacts weren't enough, he needed the fake glasses too (thanks Jared for enabling my husband's vanity). The first time he put them on Evan screamed everytime he saw Ian. I was screaming on the inside too ;o. I kept thinking, "Wow, Ian seems really smart today - wait, it's the glasses!" Then I thought, "Crap, how much is this going to add onto the already lengthly getting ready process (because folks it takes a village of beauty supplies to ready Ian for the day!). So a few days later Trina calls me and asks about Ian's glasses. "I never knew Ian needed glasses" she says. "He doesn't" I answer. "What? then why?" Oh Trina, you haven't been in the fam long enough to know. You just don't know...

All in all he does look handsome and also like the dad on "Father Knows Best" or whatever that 50's show is where the dad wears glasses.

Growing Pains

Sometimes it's really hard to watch my children grow up. I want to control everything - to fight their battles, to do things for them - just so they won't have to be sad or in pain.

Thursday at school Alexander had a melt down. MAJOR meltdown. He was accused of doing something that he didn't do and instead of staying calm and sorting through it with the teacher, he lost it and hid in the bathroom. A so-called "friend" had told the teacher that Alex was making fun of another kid. Alexander was crushed that this "friend" would do something so dishonest and mean. Many of his true friends tried to calm him down and get him to come out and eat his lunch, but he refused. He learned a hard lesson - because he had been hanging out with the kid - the teacher assumed that he was telling the truth about Alexander. It's hard for me to let him learn these lessons when what I really want to do is give the kid a good talking to and then drop kick the teacher that made my kid cry (just kidding...sort of).

Ian came across this video on you-tube. I've seen it before but it really touched a chord with Ian (he gets so emotional when he sees things with dads and their kids). We thought it was appropriate for this post.

Evan the Climber

Evan still is not walking but as you can see is scaling everything in sight! I came in from running this morning and he was up on a chair in the parlor - knocking candles off the short wall. Yesterday he was climbing on the chair in my mom's playroom and fell over. Sigh...I try to turn all chairs etc. on their sides so that he can't get on them but he still finds something that I have overlooked. It's frustrating! His face has bruises and red marks everywhere and I just noticed a new bruise under his chin - I have no idea where that came from! As you can see, he is sooo proud when he gets on something. He tends to giggle and do a little dance (which causes the chair to shake and sometimes fall). The other day Evan climbed on the stool in front of my mom's kitchen sink - and started to throw dishes. He is definitely keeping me on my toes!

Aren't the faces he's making hilarious! He's such a little character! Also, I am realizing he's naked in every picture - I promise I do dress him!

Happy Birthday!

Two weeks ago we celebrated Rowan's first birthday. Then a few days after that we celebrated Joshua's first birthday (sorry no pics of that one). It's crazy how time flies!

Rowan is such an awesome baby. He loves everyone (especially if you have food). I fed him a brownie the other day and now we are friends for life! Really - when he sees me he squeals and quickly crawls right over to me and stretches his arms up. I admit it - I have a soft spot for him. He is such a happy, go-lucky baby. It makes me so happy that Evan has friends for life in him and in Joshua. Happy Birthday Ro!

P.S. How cute is the mohawk?

Conversation with Max

"Max come clean up the playdough."

"No."

"Max, you need to come clean up the playdough now or we will not have lunch with Liam."

"Mom, how old are you?"

"Why?"

"Are you 2? Am I the mom?"

"MAX! COME CLEAN UP THE PLAYDOUGH!"

"Because you are older and you are the mom you need to clean it up."

Ahhh...the logic of a 4 year-old.

My Mom a.k.a. The Dumpster Diver

My mom calls me yesterday and informs me that she has lost her cell phone so I shouldn't try to reach her on it. She has turned the house upside down looking for her phone and is now about to go through the trash. She calls me back about 10 minutes later. She went through the trash and didn't find her cell phone. However, when she got to the bottom of the barrel she found a $50 bill which she at first thought was fake. When she realized it was real she was very excited (to put it mildly). Mom said she's sure it was dad's but since she found it - it's now hers! I'm sure once she tells my dad that she was scrounging through the trash and found it he will give it to her anyway. She still hasn't found her phone.

Then mom calls back 15 minutes later. Apparently she realized that she was also missing her Target gift card that my grandma gave her for her birthday. She again she dumps out the trash. Whala! She finds the gift card. You know, she's been looking for a job - I think she'd do fine just going through the trash.

Oh yeah, she found her phone downstairs on the floor.

Bad Day

Here's a picture from yesterday. Max was emotional and unreasonable pretty much the whole day.

A Good Day

I am compartmentalizing my life into "good days" or "bad days". Yesterday - BAD DAY! Beyond bad day. Some of you might have seen me at pick up at the kids school - holding both my 4 year old and the baby. Wearing my comfy clothes (just a step above my p.j.'s)- looking frazzled. Max was screaming his head off because I told him I was upset at him. The kid can take a punch to the stomach and not flinch but heaven forbid you should tell him you are mad at him. Then the floodgates open. He refused to put on his shoes so I am holding on to all 35 pounds of him frantically looking for Ben and Alex. I was tired, my dishwasher had broken the day before and we just found out that we do not have enough vents into our attic - which is a whole other headache. I was doing stuff all day yet got nothing done. I raised my voice at my children many times only to be ignored. The baby was grumpy. Max had locked the keys in the car. Ben refused to do his homework. Alexander threw a fit because someone moved his science experiment and the list went on...

I decided today was going to be better. Even if the forecast said 110 degrees. This morning Max said, "Let's do something fun today". I really felt like I owed it to him. I mopped my floors and did office work all morning. Around noon we headed to Superstition Springs Mall where we met Trina and her kids. I am kicking myself for not bringing the camera. First we played at the play area. Max played Spiderman with Addy (she was Spiderman and he was Green Goblin). Addy is a great little actress and very convincingly "died" each time Max "attacked" her. Evan was in heaven! He crawled around to his hearts content and loved it! Next we went to the merry go round. Max and Evan had a blast! The look of joy on Evan's face was priceless. Then we had lunch and met up with Tiffany and Elliott. Max was really upset when we had to leave but I promised him the library later this week. It's nice when I can get things done for me and spend quality time with my kids. Disregarding the fit Max threw as we left the mall, it was a good day.

Sleep Patterns

Ben and Max can sleep anywhere.

When Ben is tired he doesn't fight it - he just lays down and sleeps. Last month he had an eye infection and my brother the eye doctor (thank you Jared - you are the best!) prescribed some gel for his eye. This entailed Ben keeping his eyes closed for 20 minutes so the gel could work. I bribed him into doing it by letting him listen to Ian's I-Pod. It worked like a charm! He listened to music and would promptly fall asleep.

Max is a little different. He fights sleep. He goes, goes, goes but once he sits still he's out like a light. I went to check on him the other day and he was asleep playing X-Box. I knew he was tired but it still amazes me when I find him asleep because he fights it the most. He can't stand to think he might miss something. It took me 3 tries to wake Max up.

Dear Mom,

I am truly a lucky person because you are my mom. You have taught me so many things over the years. You taught me service as you brought meals to others, gave kids that weren't your own a temporary home and always put everyone else's needs or wants before your own. You taught me unconditional love when your forgave your deadbeat dad (sorry but it's true) and encouraged me to forgive those who had offended me - even if they didn't ask for forgiveness. You taught me how to have faith when we had family prayer, went to church and had family scripture study. You have made my life the best it could be by being my mom.

Some of my fondest memories are of riding in the car with you. Whether on road trips or shopping trips I look forward to those times when I have your undivided attention and can ask your advice. You have told me to parent with love and patience. To give people the benefit of the doubt. To be a loyal friend. And so much more. I am a better person because you are my mother.

Thank you so much for everything you do for me everyday. Thank you for loving me and for loving my family. I love you! Happy Birthday!

Love,
Sheri

Boys vs. Girls

Alex's friend Kohl was over and he commented on how when he gets ready for baseball practice he has to put on a cup, long pants, a belt, etc and it takes him only 10-15 minutes to get ready but when his sister gets ready for softball she has much less gear and it takes her an hour.

"And that my friend is the difference between boys and girls", I say. Then I think about it a little. "Unless your Ian", I add.

Alex pipes up, "Yeah, we all get ready for church on Sunday and my dad takes the longest. He never even helps with the kids and we all wait in the car for him." Ummm...maybe I need to keep some of my comments to myself.

Then Max says (using his hands for emphasis), "Yeah, if your name is Ian you are slllloooowww!"

There were giggles all around. Poor Ian, he was in the bathroom primping for the day and didn't hear a thing.

Edward

O.k. I changed my mind. James Franco is my Edward. I'm done, no more posting about Twilight.

P.S. It's Stacy, not Kim that wants Hayden Christensen for Edward (happy Brian?).

IAN IS GROUNDED FROM MY BLOG! GET YOUR OWN BLOG IAN!

Twilight the Movie

My Edward

My Bella

We all know that Stephenie Meyer has sold the rights to "Twilight". After seeing "Becoming Jane" I would LOVE Anne Hathaway to play Bella. She's pretty but not beautiful. The only problem being that Bella is short and Anne is tall. Who cares! Edward was harder for me. My sister insists that Hayden Christensen would be a perfect Edward but I can't see it. Then I remembered Mr. Wickham from Pride and Prejudice. If I have to pick someone, it would be him (although Edward is still much hotter in my brain). Any thoughts?

My Glass is half empty...

My air conditioning has been not working properly in my house (I am currently in a dispute with the company who installed it because it has been less than 2 years and we are pretty sure there is a free-on leak)

The air conditioning in my car is not working, period. Stinkin' KIA.

There is a heat advisory today.

Evan threw a bottle of nail polish on my kitchen tile and it broke - therefore my house stinks (I'm sure I will never hear the end of it from Ian)

and I just caught Evan playing in the toliet.

What doesn't kill you makes you stronger - er, right?

Lists

I already posted a blog like this yesterday but it only included the things that annoy me so I took it off (not wanting to depress all of you). Today I felt a little better about life so I felt I could make 2 lists.

1. Dishonest people
2. People who take advantage of other's kindness
3. People who eat over my shoulder - you know who you are!
4. Whiners (no, not winners, W-H-I-N-E-R-S)
5. Complainers - it's o.k. to complain sometimes but constant complainers annoy me - someone always has it worse than you
6. People who create drama for attention
7. Grudge holders - sometimes it takes me a little while but eventually I WILL get over it!
8. Rude people - you know people who say something rude and then when you call them on it are shocked, like they didn't mean it how you took it. Do I have STUPID tattooed on my forehead??!!!!
9. People who can't be happy for other's good fortune

Random things that make my day...

1. When someone takes my side or defends me
2. When I get a hug - or even better a kiss!
3. People who will talk to me about Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse or Harry Potter
4. Thoughtful people - you know - those people who know your favorite drink and bring it to you or know you want Twilight in hardcover and buy it for you...
5. Selfless people - those who see you might need something and immediately help without you having to ask (you know who you are!)
6. Kim, Darrel and my mom's sense of humor
7. Listening to the music on my blog
8. So You Think You Can Dance - SABRA! SABRA! SABRA!
9. Ice-cream
10. Going for a run
11. Playing on the floor with my kids
12. When Ian rubs my feet or massages my back
13. Spending time with family & friends

and the list goes on...

Big Mac Attack

Yes, it is about time that I interrupt this blog to put in my two cents now and then. I've guess not everyone knows the Mac n cheese story. So here it goes... Let's preface this with a little background, shall we. Okay, I know Sheri would now be rolling her eyes saying, "here we go, get cozy, grab a blanket cuz Ian's about to write a book. I do tend to embellish and certainly must go into every detail to paint the perfect picture. Hey, call it the artist in me. I just want to let everyone know my deep love of CHEESE. --and not your kind MayorMcBrian. It's true, I did just buy to 50 gallon drum o'cheese at Costco--but I countered it with spinach, blueberries, tomatoes, avocados and several other healthy foods. You see, that tub of straight fat can be null and void with a few other smart purchases. Oh how I love dipping those blueberries into that nacho goodness. (J/K) I have always ate The Cheese: those nachos, cheese pizzas, cheetos, cheese and crackers, easy cheese(it's not even cheese, but it says so --therefore i'm in). When Sheri and I were newlyweds, I would ask her to make top ramon, or tomato soup, and of course, the coveted Mac-n-Cheese..pah-leaze. That was mostly because I loved them, but also I was afraid of Sheri's.. what is the word. Oh yeah, I've heard some tribes call it C-O-O-K-I-N-G. My absolute fav to come home to was the baked basil with just a dash of chicken. HELLO!! Do you read the cookbooks? -- don't just stare at the pretty pictures of food. To her credit, I thought I was the Swedish chef from the muppets.. HUrDy GuRdy.. as I throw in way too much of everything (soy sauce, curry, paprika, garlic salt pace picante and an egg) into the meal I was about to ruin. Ah good times..we are so much better at feeding ourselves now. ..and Yes I am old. I know I made a muppet reference. Do you have a problem? yeah, that's what I thought.

Anyway, I had come home to my loving wife who offered to make me my Mac N Cheese. To my surprise she was already prepared with some water boiling on the stove. I tell ya what , I sure did marry up with this one. She's a keeper. Sheri finished making the meal I sat there with my giant plate of mac. She continued to play around with Alex who happened to be a little baby. Man, they are so cute... I thought to myself ...

"hey, this kinda tastes funny"I said. She ignored and played around some more. ...I continued eating.

"Sheri, is this Kraft macncheese?"

..."yehesss"(annoyed) ...

Okay keep scarfing-thata'boy "you know what, it kind of tastes dirty. yeah, a little gritty."

Oh well. Chomp..chomp.

"I'm serious Sheri it's gross tonite"

"I put everything in it, I don't know what to tell ya" She replied.

Okay pep talk, last bite and---done. ...whew

"it kind of had a plastic taste to it."

Just as I said that Sheri bursts out laughing.

"What!" , "what is it?" I scream.

"NO..no, I can't tell you. You'll kill me." still laughing.

"Oh .. you must tell now."

"Do you think it could have been from the breast pump?" she chuckles. Umm... what in the heck does that have to... then I realize her heinous crime against humanity(namely me). She just left the water on the stove on after boiling breast pump parts to make sure they were all CLEAN... so Alex wouldn't get sick from that disease infested milk catcher. I did not think it was funny and seriously started to gag, I think I threw up in my mouth. The aftertaste was even stronger when I knew what was the culprit. Sheri laughed harder as it affected me more and more. To this day I do not eat Mac and Cheese the same way that I had once did as that carefree and innocent child.

Sheri, Can you put up the song - Tainted Love - on your high school mix ? I think it would be fitting to hear it right now at the end of this.

Handsome Devil

I thought Max looked so cute dressed for church yesterday. His faces in these pictures are a crack up! He hates getting his picture taken - I had to bribe him with Reeses. If only the way he looked were directly related to his behavior. Sometimes I feel like we are a three-ringed circus. I can see the looks in people's eyes when we enter church, it's like "Here comes the entertainment!" During sacrament meeting yesterday Max threw down his etch-a-sketch and said (loudly) "I'm the worst draw-er EVER!". I could hear the snickers as Ian took him out.

*P.S. I am working on the macaroni & cheese story - but I want Ian to write it - he tells it much better!

WWF

This is how we spent our Friday night.

Mitch was over and he jumped right in.

This is one of Max's signature moves. It was hilarious because Ian kept moving Max's legs and then Max would quickly wrap them around Ian's neck again.

We don't have cable at our house and I feel like we don't really even need a t.v. Not when we've got our own entertainment in the form of 4 very active boys.

Reasons you never take your husband grocery shopping

1. You will spend twice as much as your grocery budget allows

2. You will have to walk down every aisle

3. You will end up buying things like marshmellows, jello, V-8 juice, nutter-butter cookies - things you NEVER would buy otherwise (see #1)

4. Hurry, shmurry

5. He will get mad when you want to buy the family size chocolate chip bag yet will insist on buying the family size vat o' nacho cheese (yes, you are reading this correctly)

I remember when Ian and I were newlyweds I sent him to the store for milk (I needed it for the mashed potatoes I was making with dinner). He came back with (I kid you not): orange soda (which incidentally he wanted to buy again today), foot rub and a candy bar. No milk.

My sister is always bragging how her husband will do errands for her - grocery shopping being one of them. I say thanks, but no thanks!

10 facts about Ben

Ben's picture of Jango Fett

I love to eavesdrop on Ben and Max's conversations. The other day Ben was telling Max how to wash his hands - you know - first you start with a little squirt of soap, ect..It's so cute. Ben really loves being a big brother. He is so great with Evan. It breaks his heart everytime Evan cries. Ben is (dare I say it?) my easiest kid. So when he misbehaves it really throws me for a loop. It's like I have no patience for it because it doesn't happen very often - although I am starting to see that Ben's stubborn streak might be a major issue later on.

Yesterday I sat down with him and asked him some random questions. What I found out wasn't news to me but might be news to all of you.

1. Ben's favorite subject is math but he's favorite thing to do at school is recess.

2. Ben doesn't have a girlfriend (thank goodness) although there is a girl he's had his eye on since first grade (let's just say he has great taste!)

3. Carson, Zach, Luke, Zane, Ashton, Christian & James are his best friends

4. When he grows up he wants to design video games

5. Ben loves the band Snow Patrol & music in general. When he was a baby I could always sing or play music to get him to calm down.

6. He loves to play Lego Star Wars, Battlefront and Ultimate Alliance on X-Box

7. Ben's favorite sport is baseball but that might change since he is about to start soccer

8. He's favorite books include: Stellaluna, The Legend of the Indian Paintbrush (he just read it) and Harry Potter (I'm reading it to the boys)

9. Ben loves to swim, play video games, play sports and make up games with Max & Alexander

10. Ben is one of the kindest people I know

Vampires and such...

I finally finished "Eclipse". Wow. I LOVED it! I think one of the reasons these books appeal to me so much is because I'm facinated with the supernatural. Stephenie Meyer writes so that I can actually see and believe that these characters exist. And I like these books much better than the Anne Rice vampire books (although "The Vampire Lestat" is still one of my favorite books). I love that Stephenie Meyer could write about Vampires but not make the book about vampires -you know? Anyway, I was up late last night and my mom had sent me this link for an interview with Stephenie Meyer: http://www.bordersmedia.com/shows/bookclub/meyer.asp
It's a pretty informative interview. I agreed when she says that everyone needs to read "New Moon" twice. The first time I felt like I muddled through it. The second time I loved it...Anyway...read the books - they rock!

Insomnia

Those that know me well know I have insomnia. I'm not going to lie - it sucks! I was reading Eclipse last night (thanks mom!) and I couldn't stop! So I didn't get to bed until late (well, late for me anyway) and then I didn't fall asleep for about an hour of laying there. Then Evan wakes up at 2:30 then again at 3:00. And then (lucky me!) Ian wakes me up at 3:30 to tell me that there is a strange truck parked across the street and the light in my dad's office is on. He wants to know if he should call the police. "Go ahead" I tell him and then it dawns on me that my dad mentioned yesterday that he had a concrete pour this morning at 4:00 so it was probably one of my dad's workers. I tell Ian that then try to go back to sleep. Evan wakes me up again at 5:30. I feed him and get back to sleep at 5:50. Then my internal alarm wakes me up at 6:05. I think about exercising then go back to sleep. Next thing I know it's 7:10.

You know, when Ian woke me up this morning at 3:30 he didn't come back to bed until after 4:00. Looking on my blog I now know why...I think I need to come up with a new password so Ian can't post things anymore...except that he knows me so well that he's been able to guess every password I have came up with.

Brothers, friends?

This picture is hilarious. If you look closely you can see Evan's teeth as he bites the side of his binky (something he loves to do). He's just started doing that so I took the picture. The added bonus is Max. He's upset because he thinks Evan is going to get his toys (which Evan was trying to do minutes before I took this). Max is such a crazy character. You just never know. One minute he loves you death, the next he hates you. Our house is so much more interesting because of him. It's 9:30 and Max should be in bed but as usual he is trying to sweet talk me into laying by him. He just said, "Mom, I never see you! Come lay by me so we can talk". Ummm...so the 50 conversations we had today don't count?

O.k. my next blog about one of my kids is going to be about Ben - as my sister pointed out to me today, he's due.

Uh, oh

One of my fears as a parent is that my children will inherit my bad habits. Yep. It's already happened with Evan. He has inherited my uncanny ability to smell chocolate, search it out and quickly devour it. A few days ago I gave Max a small bowl with some chocolate chips. It took Evan mere seconds to find the bowl, empty the chocolate chips and shove as many as he could in his mouth.

And that's not all (I can't believe I am going to admit to this next part). I was feeding Evan carrots the other day. Meanwhile I was eating some Ben & Jerry's Low Fat (I feel it is very important that you all know that) Cherry Garcia ice-cream. Evan recognized the carton! He saw it and immediately started refusing the carrots. I tried to hide the carton behind the high-chair (on the counter) but he twisted his body and propelled himself so he could still see it. And then he started to squeal! He wanted some! I ofcourse gave him some (as I have before). Isn't dairy a food group?

***The part I don't want to admit to is that I give my baby chocolate and ice-cream and that Evan recognized the carton! I swear I'm a good mother - I'm just a sucker for a cute face.

FHE

The first Sunday of each month my whole family gets together at my mom's house for Family Home Evening (all 26 of us!). I LOVE IT! It's so fun to see all the kids together and to talk to the people I never see (even though we live so close). We start out by singing a song and saying a prayer. Then my mom goes through the calendar to let us know what's coming up in the next month (August is a doozy - 4 birthdays!). Then we do a lesson for the smaller kids. I did it on obedience. I had something for the little ones to color while my mom & dad gave a lesson for the rest of us. It's nice to have a discussion with people who believe the same things you do - it really strenghtens my faith. Then we ate dessert and chatted. We also try to do one activity as a family each month. It's so nice that I not only love my family members but I like them too...

*P.S. Tricia and I (and maybe Trina) are going to take a hip-hop dance class - anyone else interested?

Date Night

Tiffany has been wanting us to go with her to this Italian restaurant in Scottsdale for a while. If you have atleast 6 people you can get 2 appetizers, 2 salads, 2 pastas, 2 entrees and 2 desserts for about $25/person (this price includes an endless amount of food). Ian and I don't go out to dinner very often (and normally wouldn't spend that much if we did). It seemed like a fun time- so Tiffany got 2 other couples to come and made reservations for Saturday night. Ian's parents drove out from east Mesa to babysit. I was a little nervous for 3 reasons:

1. What to wear? I am a jeans, t-shirt & flip flops kind of girl. I always feel out of my element when I have to dress up. Tiffany assured me I could still wear jeans (which I did) so I just had to put on a semi-nice shirt and sandals.

2. Evan. 6 o'clock is his grumpy time and I hated the thought of leaving him with my in-laws if he was going to cry the whole time. I shouldn't have even stressed about it - Ian's mom said he hardly ever cried and apparently magic runs in the family because she held him and sang "Silent Night" and he fell asleep for her! I know! I couldn't believe it either! I think part of it is that she doesn't get stressed out and kids really gravitate towards her.

3. The money. I am still stressing about that one. Oh, well.

It was so much fun! I worried a little because we didn't really know the other couples and sometimes Ian can be a little PG-13 (o.k. sometimes he's even rated R). Jason & Tiffany know when he is kidding but others sometimes don't get his sense of humor. It all turned out fine with Ian being his usual hilarious self. Holly (one of the other women there) was also pretty hilarious and between the two of them we were all entertained. And the food was delicious...my favorite was the spinach salad, the gnocchi pasta and the apple cronata. Yummm! Ian loved the clam pasta and the stuffed mushrooms (no surprise there). They sat us in a back room (we felt like the mafia might walk in any minute) which was nice because we could all hear each other. I felt like we made some few friends in the process. Thanks Tiffany for suggesting we go and especially thanks to John & Betty (Ian's parents) for driving all the way out and babysitting. We love & appreciate you so much!

*more about Ian wearing glasses on another blog...

Rico Suave

Alexander has been bugging me to put this picture on my blog. As I've said previously, he loves all things Ian. Ian's had these aviator sunglasses for a while and Xander loves to put them on and feel "cool". What do you think?

I just want to give a shout out to two of my friends - Tiffany for letting me "shop" in her closet today (free of charge!) Everybody needs a Tiffany in their life. And to Merilee for showing me how to put music on my blog. She rocks!

Playdate #2

Max's first playdate went so well that I decided to do it again. On Tuesday he had Addy over. The first thing they did was play "Don't Eat Pete" with some M&M's. Mostly Max shoved as many M&M's in his mouth as he could while Addy ate one at a time (like you're supposed to). Next they (or shall I say Addy) made play dough. Max was watching "SpongeBob" at the time and couldn't be bothered - although he did insist that we make the play dough blue and not red like Addy wanted. Max did come in and play play dough with Addy. They played for quite a while. Addy is such an adorable girl (how cute is her Batman shirt) and loves Max. Max likes her too, just sometimes has a typical boy way of showing it (you know - pushing her down, taking her toys, ect). She came over again yesterday for a little while and they got along great. It gives me hope that my child can play well with others (when he feels like it).

Overheard

Ben has a friend spending the night tonight and I told him that he & Max needed to clean their room before said friend could come over. Poor Ben! He tries so hard to clean and then Max gets out more toys and Max refuses to help. It's a sad, vicious cycle! Anyway, I was in my room and I hear Ben and Max coming down the hall...

Ben: "I'm telling dad you won't help!"
Max: "Nooo! Not DAD! MOM! Tell mom!"
Ben: "I won't tell if you will help."
Max: "I will. I just need to rest. Just a little rest."

At this point I was laughing pretty hard. Max is never tired except when it comes to chores.

Magic!

As much as he likes to complain about Evan not liking him, Ian sure has the magic touch when it comes to putting Evan to sleep. Ian will cradle him and sing "Silent Night" or "I am a Child of God" to him. Those are the same songs he has sung to each of our children when they were babies. Alexander still will fall asleep if you start to sing "Silent Night". I don't really know why we picked that song except it is my favorite Christmas song. Anyway, yesterday Ian picked Evan up and started singing. MAGIC! Evan was asleep within 5 minutes. I admit it - I was a little jealous. The only way Evan will let me hold him like that is if I am nursing him. Sigh...

*A side note: Notice Ian's old-man shorts. He usually has excellent fashion sense...I am thinking of accidentally "losing" those shorts in the laundry (and then burning them!).