The post with the most!

"stuff" that is;-)

Where to start-so many things to report on and frankly, uploading pix is a hard thing to do-getting the right photo with the right story-such work!

And while I'm talking about work, my "blogosphere pal Beth" posted a great little ditty about why comments are so important to bloggers. I couldn't agree more and really feel that people leaving comments are my only "payment" for doing this. It means a lot to me that you read my posts and enjoy them. I do post primarily for the journaling aspect-it's my "cyber" scrapbook of sorts and someday, I believe my children will cherish this blog;-) But, I also love sharing our lives and appreciate knowing others stopped in-so, please visit Beth's site and read her post on commenting and then leave your comments here saying you stopped in-even if it's as tiny as "nice post"-I truly appreciate EVERY comment made here and am humbled that people visit my blog at all;-) I will do my best to do the same when I visit your blogs as I see the importance of commenting more so now than ever;-) Ok, so now on to the post with the most...

In no specific order:

Enjoying the nice spring weather-the boys have had a great time playing outside lately and they really do enjoy basketball...this little fisher price hoop has been a great find-I got it YEARS ago at a garage sale and it has had a well-loved life;-)

Notice Owen pushing Jacob on the little ride-on toy. Jacob is such a little manipulator;-)







Have I mentioned Owen's phone obsession yet? Even if I have, there's no way I have eluded to the mass scope of the situation. I think we need an intervention to break the addiction cycle. I mean, the kid is ate up with the phone. Thankfully, my gal pal Lindsay showed me how to "lock" my phone keys and that helps when his DT's go into full effect. Oh that boy-he is a very blessed kid-very blessed that I cried rivers of tears for his lil hiney...these days I've needed MORE than my fair share of mommy time outs from him-and trust me-no one is immune to his antics. He's shown his self in front of friends, family, strangers, his DT, PT and my how the list goes on-GEESH!







Oh, and have I mentioned-no phone is immune? He will swipe or beg for ANY phone he sees-yours, mine, strange men in the play area at the mall. Worst part? He's so darn cute people will hand their phones over to the kid! Ok, on with the count down.

Peanut allergies anyone? Thank God not Owen as he has PB&J from head to toe! This little (who am I kiddin' here) mess is compliments of daddy:-) Nice dinner da-da!







FYI-that was a new shirt-WAS, I said. It did say "my da-da is #1!"...I think it now says "da-da is mud!"

Spring program ALERT! Two programs, two nights in a row. Whew! What musical fun! At least they were cute;-)

Jake's:








TJ's:







Tball-Jake is playing in a big-boy 5 & 6 year old league (he's only 4 1/2;-) and he's having a good time so far, uh, kicking dirt and picking dandelions anyway;-)





He thinks he's pretty big stuff. And yes, that is Tim and TJ in the team picture as they are "coaches". Well, truth is, TJ is snack advisor (he lets us know if the snack was good or not) but Tim is coaching with lots of encouragement (as any man would need with 12 post toddlers to guide).

It's a bit blurry but Owen loves to put "things" on his head and walk around. This cute batman mask is frequently donned by the little terror;-)




Hmmm...what next? Oh, my new find: GLAM's...Greater Lafayette Area Moms. It's a great group that has tours and meet-ups and it's not your typical moms club as it's for SAHM's and Working moms and even for dads! We've done two tours now. An aquarium tour (just a small local one) and an awesome tour of our local Meijer store today! It was fun-here are some highlights:















Got milk?

Whew! Are you tired yet? I am. Hope you enjoyed our recent outtings though;-)

Hugs! ~Renay

Happy 18 months Owen!!!

I can hardly believe 18 months have passed since you were born. Oh, what a ride it's been! You hardly seem like a baby anymore. You toddle around everywhere you go (that is, when you aren't spinning in circles and dancing). You've started walking backwards and trying to run. You have the cutest belly laugh, infectious giggle and naughtiest tantrums I've ever seen!




We love you so dearly-words simply can't describe our love for you in fact. Your big brothers think you're really great too! You love them so much you repeat EE-JA and JA-OB and my favorite is your Ma-ma that you say wit such an incredibly sweet and soft voice!



Your new favorite that has caused more than one tantrum is the cell phone (and house phone). I can't even pick up the cell phone to check the time without you putting your cute little hand to your ear and signing more and please. You love to hear daddy talk to you from work and you've even called Grama while I was working out (oops).



You're a finicky eater but you do like variety. Still not a big fan of fruit either. You have 7 teeth cut thru and one molar that has a tip cutting thru. You know the following signs: more, please, thank you, all done, bye-bye, drink, eat and you clap for "yea". You also wave and blow kisses at ni-night time. You go to bed so well. You love books and praying and singing.



You can destroy a room faster than a Kansas tornado. You love to try to type on the computer, dial numbers on the phone, and sneak things out of the pantry.



You're also master escape artist and could give David Blane a good run for his money. You love to explore your toys and play with toy food and such.







As spring is "here" it's a good thing as you are finally outgrowing your 6 month clothes. At your 18 month check-up today, you weighed 18 pounds 9 ounces and were 28 3/4 inches long.




Your head circumference is staying right on track just under the 25 percentile. You may be small but you are truly a mighty little boy. I hear comments all the time about how cute you are. People are always checking you out!


You sleep about 10-12 hours at night and take one good 2 hour nap each day. You love to go for bike rides and you spent you first time away from mommy and daddy-10 days with Grama Becca!!! You were so good for her!




Aside from your curiosity, phone fetish, and tantrums, I couldn't ask for a better 18 month old.





We love you! Hugs, kisses and cuddles, Ma-ma

Don't mess with Mr. Valiant

I love my husband...I really do. He's fearless. I don't brag on him near enough, but today is a good day for a good story.

Today he called me with the following story (dramatic emphasis added by author;-):

A man walks into to his local Walgreens and ends up at the returns counter. My husband is blessed enough to be the transaction officianado at hand. The man proceeds to ask for a cash refund for a $20.99 power outlet thingy (not sure exactly what the item was but you get the drift). Anyway, my smart hubby, thinks to himself "hmmm....what's this guy up to?". So he starts (professionally) asking the gentleman about the items purchase history as he is typing the details of it in the system to check 1) when it was last sold and 2) their on hand count. The "customer" doesn't recall when he got it (of course) and has nor receipt. My loving spouse asks the gentleman to wait there while he checks the current price in the aisle to make sure he gives him the right amount back (tricky, tricky). So, he (Tim) proceeds to dash down the aisle to see that there is one on the shelf (interesting, the on hand count shows TWO). Then he dashes into the office to check the security tapes (yes, this all only takes moments, but what a moron to stand there and wait). Of course, the security tapes show this fella walking in empty handed and walking to the aisle and picking up the item and taking it to the register for a REFUND. The nerve!

So, my fearless husband calls the police to alert them that the man may put up resistance when he refuses the cash request. And the dept says they'll send someone over. Mr. V must now compose himself to face the perp. He heads back out to the register and explains to the man that he is not able to offer him a refund since he did not purchase the item. The man maintains that he did but is obviously afraid of my ferocious buff spouse because he puts up little fight and my husband persuades him to leave empty handed. (The man still maintained that he walked in with the item even when leaving). So my husband ESCORTS him out (so brave) and watches him get into his car. As the dude is backing up the polk show up and Tim POINTS TO THE MAN AND THEY APPREHEND HIM!!! With little interrogation he admits to the crime and Tim saved the day!

He's known for another event where he actually chased a guy who had stolen a bunch of stuff so his employees this day were glad to know he didn't have to run any.

Ahhh...my knight in shining Walgreens attire! Je t'adore


A picture of us at Walgreens in 2002ish...where he still works, but is planning to open a new store here in town soon;-) And he now wears a bright blue shirt instead of the "smock"--- way more intimidating;-)

Happy May Day!

I can't believe it's May 1st already. This school year flew by! I am looking forward to the summer but I am sad that my TJ will be a 3rd grader (he can't be 8 1/2 already can he be?).

I have a cute story to share from earlier today. I went to Jacob's preschool to pick him up promptly at 11:30 and when I got to his class room, I didn't see him. So, I saw his lovely teacher (I'm serious she's truly a lovely lady and we are so thankful Jake has her as a teacher!) and said "is he in the bathroom"? And she looked at me like, uh, I'll check. So, when he wasn't in there, she promptly went to find him and I dumbly said, did you lose him? (I said it jokingly). She came back a moment later carrying my precious boy holding her tightly sobbing and she said he was already eating lunch with his school buddy Brock and she remembered sending him (accidentally) to lunch with the kids who stay all day. Jacob was of course crushed that he didn't get to stay and was so very sad. Mrs. Thomas felt so badly that Jake was upset. I was just happy he was "found";-) (and BTW, Mrs Thomas sent an email apology which made me feel bad, since I was seriously not upset about it-just sad for Jacob, but he needs to get used to disappointment, right?;-)

Anyway, in the van I asked him what he was eating for lunch and he told me pancakes and bacon and such (oh and BTW, the school offered to let him stay and eat, but the mean mommy I am said no-but they were great about the whole thing) and I told him I could make pancakes for him. He quickly threw in "and bacon?" and I said we didn't have any but I'd make pancakes. So I rush inside and start preheating the griddle.

I looked in the pantry and as you can guess...there was no blessed Bisquick. What would I do? Could Jacob really handle the devastation twice in one day? I had visions of having to go to Chuck-E-Cheese to make up this injustice to him. But, I came back to my senses and thought-how hard can it be to make pancakes. So, I opened my trusty Better Homes and Garden cookbook and voila, a pancakes recipe I could make.

Here's my happy boys enjoying their pancakes.





I love being a mom. Little things like this, I will miss greatly as little things turn into bigger issues than missing lunch at preschool. Speaking of "I'm gonna miss this" ...I love Trace Adkins (I loved him in the celebrity Apprentice)and he has a great song entitled your gonna miss this ... I know the song is more about a young girl wanting to be older and not an old mom wanting her kids to stay little a little longer but it still moves me. So, I added it at the bottom to my playlist and put it on as the first song for now.

Here's the lyrics:

She was staring out the window of their SUV
Complaining, saying "I can't wait to turn 18"
She said "I'll make my own money, and I'll make my own rules"
Mamma put the car in park out there in front of the school
Then she kissed her head and said "I was just like you"

You're gonna miss this
You're gonna want this back
You're gonna wish these days hadn't gone by so fast
These are some good times
So take a good look around
You may not know it now
But you're gonna miss this

Before she knows it she's a brand new bride
In a one-bedroom apartment, and her daddy stops by
He tells her "It's a nice place"
She says "It'll do for now"
Starts talking about babies and buying a house
Daddy shakes his head and says And "Baby, just slow down"

Cause you're gonna miss this
You're gonna want this back
You're gonna wish these days hadn't gone by so fast
These are some good times
So take a good look around
You may not know it now
But you're gonna miss this

Five years later there's a plumber workin' on the water heater
Dog's barkin', phone's ringin'
One kid's cryin', one kid's screamin'
And she keeps apologizin'
He says "They don't bother me.
I've got 2 babies of my own.
One's 36, one's 23.
Huh, it's hard to believe, but...

You're gonna miss this
You're gonna want this back
You're gonna wish these days hadn't gone by so fast
These are some good times
So take a good look around
You may not know it now
But you're gonna miss this"