Dancing with the Stars, Fifth Grade Edition

When Cullen came home months ago with a paper from his school announcing they were doing a "Dancing with the Stars" type of class for the fifth graders, I was eager to sign the permission slip and get Cullen started. Cullen, on the other hand, was totally against it. I had a feeling when I signed the permission slip, it wasn't going to get turned in. I even threatened him, saying I was going to check up on him and this dancing at the parent/teacher conferences, to make sure he was attending. It is during the PE hour. Well, guess what, I didn't follow through. So, months go by, and one day Cullen slips up and says something like, "That's the time all the other kids go to dance."
Wait! Hold up! Back up!
"Cullen, you didn't do the dance class like I told you to?!" It had been a couple months in at this point. Oh, did he get an ear full! He was grounded from all the glorious things he liked. I knew that permission slip was going to disappear!
Within a few days, without me telling him to, and in trying to redeem himself, he approached the coach and professional dance instructor at school and tried weaseling his way in the class. He was successful, too. That boy! He is a permanent substitute, in case any kids miss class, but he has been learning the dances and catching on quick and...HE LIKES IT! Imagine that. My whole point in wanting him to sign up was to try something new and see if he would like it. I want my kids to be well rounded and learn all sorts of new things while they are young. Cullen is a fantastic soccer player, baseball player, he's figured out football is not his thing, nor basketball, he is in Jiu Jitsu, is an awesome artist, and he is learning a second language of Spanish. He can add ballroom dancer to that list now. I want to push them to experience the most out of life. One day, they will thank me. As for now, he is giving me great memories to cherish forever.
Cullen, and his friends


Here are the video links of his new found skill...
The Salsa
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ii97DSTbFUk
The Waltz
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AQv5J8XBY1k
Swing
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AHXEkQwlhdM
Tango
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=549pNxMXz60
Merengue
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FaAvpg8sYmU

A gift for you, a gift for me...

Cullen and Aiden's school had a Santa's Secret Workshop going on this week. That is where they bring money to school and shop for mom/dad/siblings/etc. on their own time. The gifts cost anywhere from $1-$15, or so. I gave them each $6 per family member, with five people to buy for, equals $30 each.
When I handed the boys their envelopes filled out, Aiden immediately asked if he could have some extra money so he could buy himself something. I explained Christmas is about giving, not receiving, blah, blah, blah. I asked him how he would feel if I bought myself a Christmas gift, and not him, which he answered he wouldn't like it. We had a good five minute conversation, which I thought ended with him clearly understanding what Christmas gifting is all about.
I walked to pick them up from school today and the first thing Aiden says is, "I bought myself something today. I had enough money!". "How was that possible?", I wondered. His answer, "I spent less on you all and I had money left over." I think we may need to have the whole "what Christmas is all about" discussion again! He was mighty sad when I told him it, too, was going under the tree with all the other gifts.
Cullen, on the other hand, informed me he brought his own birthday money he had left over from last month so he could spend MORE on us than what he was given. Awww, my baby! Goes to show you what a few years difference will do to a child's maturity level. Makes a momma proud!

Baby, it's cold outside!

It is really starting to feel like winter down here! The two little ones and I had been hiding in the house on Monday and Tuesday. Today, we decided to go have lunch and grab some ice cream. I love snuggling with my two small, silly, babies in this weather. It is a challenge to get out of our pj's.

Thanksgiving 2010

A few people that I am most thankful for...

Growing up, all I ever wanted in life was to fall in love and live happily ever after. Seriously. I didn't dream of getting a big job position or earning a title in the business field. Money has never mattered to me. I'm not materialistic, though I do enjoy some modern things;) I remember a guy (some strange date once) asked me what I wanted out of life. I don't think I had given it much thought before that night, as I was young, eighteen. I vividly remember we were on the beach in Florida, it was late, and my answer was...a husband, a nice three bedroom house, two cars in the driveway, and a couple kids. Some might say that wasn't dreaming big, but I am a romantic at heart and all I hoped for was that perfect mate. Hoped. I dated many turkeys back in my time, and though I didn't always make the best decisions, I somehow always came out OK. (I must have had a guardian angel somewhere.) I learned from many of those experiences, and there were many experiences. lol No two relationships were the same. There were no patterns. I never had a "type". I liked tall, dark and handsome, but always found myself with guys very similar looking to Jude (not tall, not dark!). I think God was just preparing me for what was to come.
This Thanksgiving, I have so much to be thankful for. Jude is at the top of my list. HE is what I was always searching for. The day I met him, I knew he was the one, we just had many years added in there to build a friendship and get to know each other. My life was very messy back then. We took our sweet time getting to know each other and that is something I had never done before. Now, we have a relationship like no other. We were newlyweds the first five years of our marriage. That's a great start! I knew going into this marriage what I was looking for and he has fulfilled every hope and desire. You may have an impressive degree, the finer things in life, or a super duper fancy title...but I have all I have ever wanted right here at home: an amazing husband, and four handsome little men that I hope grow up to be wonderful husbands just like their father, as he leads by example. I believe everything happens for a reason! (I met this person, so I could meet the next person, and the next, and so on. I took this job instead of that job for a reason that led me to this time in my life, etc.) I can literally trace back all the steps to that night back on the beach talking to that guy, that led me to right here, right now. All my blessings in my life today have to do with family and friends. Thank you, Jude, just for being you. Thank you, God, for gifting him to me.

Erikk, The Elf on the Shelf

Attention parents: YOU MUST BUY THIS BOOK! $29.95
I can't believe I didn't know the story behind this book any sooner.
People have failed me!!
This book answers the age old question, "How does Santa really know if we are being 'naughty or nice?'".
The answer: a small pixie elf remains in your home for a few weeks until Christmas Day, acting as Santa's eyes and ears. He reports the children's behavior to St. Nick himself daily, and each year the elf returns to perform its assigned task.
The Elf (which the kids name) goes back to the North Pole every night while the kids are sleeping and gives Santa a daily report. Each morning, the kids have to find where the Elf is because he moves around at night. That's a fun game, too. If they touch the Elf, he loses his magic and Santa will think the kids forgot about him. Only parents can talk to the Elf. He has strict orders from Santa to not talk to the children. Whenever there is drama in our household, all we have to say are four magic words..."The Elf is watching!". For $29.95, you can't put a price on the peace and quiet it brings!
Jude is reading them the book, and Erikk the Elf is sitting on the window sill

www.elfontheshelf.com

Happy 11th birthday, Cullen!

The day I found out I was pregnant with Cullen, my life changed almost instantly. The year was 1999 and I was days away from turning twenty one. Looking back, I was definitely at the worst stage of my entire life, though I didn't realize it then. I was wild, carefree, irresponsible, partying, and had no true path in front of me. I met a boy in a bar in New Orleans and within months, we were in love, expecting, and married. I almost got whiplash from how fast things changed. From that point on, I knew I wanted to be the best mommy I could be, even if it meant being a single mother to provide a better atmosphere and household for him. Cullen and I have been through so much together. When I look back at his eleven years, I not only see how much he has matured, but I see how much I have, too. From the day I met Jude, my life only got better. We were an official couple on Cullen's third birthday, got engaged on his fourth birthday, and married by his fifth birthday. Jude and I, together, with God as our leader, are raising him the way I envisioned life should and would be. Today, Cullen has four loving parents, four sets of families that adore him, and though life isn't the perfect cookie cutter scenario, I can't imagine it any better with all the love and support he has.
Cullen always throws me the curve balls. By the time you have a second child, you kind of know what to expect with each age and stage of that next child. By the fourth child (in our case, fourth boy) I feel very sure of myself. But Cullen, he is almost like my experimental child. I am going through life trying to raise him with no experience, without knowing what to expect next and questioning myself all along the way. When I look at him and see that sweet, loving, sensitive, smart, artistic, well mannered, handsome child, I am reassured we are ALL on the right path...together. I can't ask for much more in life.
His little brothers have some big shoes to fill!
Happy birthday to my baby!

Cullen, his friend Christian, and Aiden

Our weekend

Saturday, Preston, Roman, and I went to the park to play in this beautiful weather.




Sunday, my dad was in town so he and I went to the local market and walked around. I bought some cute glasses, too.
Here, Preston is modeling a pair.


*Cullen was at his dads this weekend.
*Aiden spent the whole weekend at his Nanny and Paw Paws's house having Aiden-time.

Nicholas Jude, Preston's first friend

I was so excited to find out my friend Heather was pregnant, only weeks after Jude and I learned we were. I had a friend to go through pregnancy with!

Also, that meant my baby would have a baby friend, too. A win, win. Nicholas Jude (how can you not LOVE the name?) was born about seven weeks after Preston entered the world and today the two little men met for the first time. Nicholas is adorable! The two little blond boys peeked at each other. I'm sure they were just shocked and amazed to see someone their own size. Here are a few pictures from their meet and greet...



Preston in disbelief...

There will be many more play dates to come!

Welcome Preston!

Two weeks and some days ago the sweetest little man was born to complete our family and make us a six pack. Preston Rene arrived September 14, 2010, with a little help called inducing. He was stubborn leaving my womb, but oh-so-precious at his arrival. 8.15 lbs and 21.25 inches. He was long and skinny. The first thing he did was stretch his legs out and pee on me. Great first impression! The hospital has this new skin-to-skin thing they do, so they immediately layed him on me, where he stayed for at least an hour. He didn't cry much, and surprisingly, neither did I. That's a first! No tears. We were so content just cuddling. He roomed in with us. I wanted him as much as possible. Reason being, I knew when I got home there would be no more one-on-one alone time. I attempted breastfeeding for the first time also. When we left the hospital, my new baby had a bad case of jaundice. He was yellow. His skin, eyes, mouth, everywhere. We had to go to the doctors office, and even the hospital lab (on Sunday) to test his levels daily. By his one week birthday, they were down to a good level and we were done worrying about that. All my boys were born with it, but none had it as bad as Preston.
His older brothers adore him! He was a hit the moment he was carried in the front door. He is really a good baby, too. He likes to stay up late and sleep in late. This morning I had to wake him after 4 1/2 hours of sleep to feed him. He was out! His nicknames so far from mommy are Press-Press, Sticks, and PRD (pronounced PURD). Sticks because he loves to stick his little skinny legs out and stretch, just like he did when he came out the womb. At times, it looks like he is doing pilates. So cute! Not related, he also like s to throw both arms up in the air randomly, like he is riding a roller coaster. It is usually when he is startled. There are times we do not remember his name, sadly. It's not that we draw a blank, we just call him Roman, over and over. Tonight, we were checking out at Party City and I heard Jude talking so sweet to him, and he's calling him Roman in their private conversation. I think he is going to be so confused in a year if we do not straighten that out!
Preston is perfect! He is our last edition/addition and he is the missing puzzle piece to this family of all boys and one queen B.

The sex talk, minus the sex

Friday night is family movie night at our house, a tradition we just recently started. Tonight we rented "Look Who's Talking" so the boys could see a newborn baby with his "daily thoughts". Anyway, as soon as the movie started, you have the sperm swimming to the egg. From that point on, Cullen tried to ask a million questions during the entire movie. I tried to fast forward through a few parts, including the opening, but that didn't stop him. I told him to hold all his questions until the movie was over, and for when his brothers weren't around. Then Aiden chimes in, "We're ALWAYS going to be around!". So sorry we picked this movie! When it was over, it was late, almost eleven, and I told Jude to have a seat because I was not doing this sex talk alone. I already knew the questions to expect for the most part, but I was SURE he was going to ask about the birds and the bees. We haven't had that talk yet. He's ten.
So, Cullen starts the conversation off asking if those were sperm. "Yes, they were."
C: "What were they doing?"
Me: "Swimming to the egg."
C: "The woman has the egg?" "Yes."
C: "How do they know to come out?"
Me: Thinking logically, I said "Gravity". I was thinking the wrong way.
Jude: "When a man and woman are married, the sperm just know that it is time to come out."
C: "Then how come people who aren't married have babies?"
Me: "Because you can do anything you want to do with your life, but there will be CONSEQUENCES! Some people make the wrong decisions before marriage."
C: Starts going through a list of young people he knows that are single parents.
Me: "Do any of those people have wonderful family lives or do they struggle taking care of their child alone?"
C: "Struggle." I gave him a few examples.
Me: "You can do anything you want, in the end, it is your decision, your life, and you are the one who will suffer the consequences." I then brought God into the conversation and also informed him that just because the girl has the baby doesn't mean she will raise it. He could end up raising the child, and I told him to look at his little brothers as examples of how demanding children can be. You don't get a break. They are permanent.
The conversation continued with questions about sperm donors, enemas, and lesbians; not in that order.
Jude tried to answer the sperm donation question and it started off with "A man puts his sperm in a jar...". I almost fell out my chair to stop him. I told Cullen it is a very technical medical procedure and is something he can wait to learn about later on in life. There is a such thing as TMI.
The entire talk was an awkward conversation to say the least, but he did not once ask about the actual act of "sex", and it was too late in the night for me to dive into it. My brain was half off. I am a little worried he may already know things I don't want him to know from his peers.
My parents didn't have the birds and the bees talk with me until it was too late. I don't want that for him, but I am also clueless in this area on what to say. I think I need a book of some kind. Any suggestions?

(Let me just end this post with, as an adult, I am aware of many healthy, wonderful, families who are headed by single parents, but I am not about to fill my young child's head with stuff I do not want for him. I only pray he does not knock up some teenage girl, which could make me a grandparent in the next three to nine years.)

Summer is done!

Another non-blogging month long hiatus and I am ready for story time again.

Cullen started school last week. He is an "old and wise" fifth grader now. (At least that is what he would like to believe.)
Aiden's first day of school was today, my big kindergartner.

They were drawing pictures of themselves. Notice the yellow hair Aiden has drawn. First thing. That is how he identifies himself in every self portrait. I love it!


Time just flies on by, and this time next year, Roman will be entering into the Spanish Immersion program his brother is in. They will be talking about me in Spanish in no time, I just know it.
The good news is I survived the summer, and no one was harmed. Bonus! Having just Roman home today was nice. Very nice. We even took a nap together in my bed. Jude has been on vacation all week and home from work. He has cleaned the house from top to bottom and taken care of majority of the household duties, while I have sat and watched television, leaving nothing left on the TiVo to watch. The last couple weeks of being pregnant has caused me quite a few issues and Jude doesn't want me to do ANYTHING, though I think bed rest would drive me absolutely nuts. It is HARD to sit and do nothing all day. Jude is the greatest husband a girl could ever ask for! I hope my boys are learning from him:)

Just...can't...stop...

SEWING! It is so fun to create all these cute burp cloths and very relaxing to sew. This morning I took the three boys to Krispy Kreme for breakfast and we dined inside and watched them make the donuts, which we've never done together. After, we went over to the library and played, checked some books out, and met up with the Castillo's. We then headed to a fabric store to pick out some cute(r) fabric and ribbons since I've semi-completed ten and still had fourteen more to do. Amy was a big help in picking out some designs. It's like having four eyes instead of two. She also has different tastes than I do, so she sees cute patterns that I may overlook. We make a great team:) We headed to our house with some lunch. Then we went down to another fabric store for more fabric quarters and ribbons. I am really beginning to love this new hobby. Here are the latest creations. I cannot wait to embroider little Preston's name (or initials) on them!
This is the basic look of the cloths opened up.
Love the blue and white polkas with yellow trim

A fave: the brown designs on the blue, with the brown ribbon trim

Pirates ahoy! A treasure map with black and white polkas for trim

Another fave: Ships, labeled by type under them, with dark blue and white polkas

Boy pattern all the way with different wheels, trimmed in dark blue and white polkas

I really want to make some girly ones, so when I am done with Preston's, I may just do that for the fun of it.

Happy birthday to our one and only, Mimi!

My mom's birthday was this past Thursday so we went across the lake today to celebrate with her. It was a lovely day. The boys even played super well together. She had a yum yum chocolate cake

that Aiden and Roman were all over. It had butterflies, a dragon fly, and rocks (chocolate, that is). We laughed for hours and really enjoyed ourselves. I don't get to see them enough; I wish they lived closer.
Aiden eyeing up the cake!

Mimi laughing at her card from the boys

The boys eating "rocks"

Nanny, aka-Mimi's mom or my granny, whom does not willingly take pictures at the young age of eighty-three so I have to steal them:)

Spit happens!

In anticipation of baby Preston, I took the time today to decorate some burp cloths (aka cloth diapers). Aiden and Roman both had very bad reflux when they were born (they take after their father) and I am almost positive little brother Preston will follow in their footsteps. It's gross, it stinks, it's extremely messy, and it happens. Over and over and over again! Years ago, an employee of Jude's made me some adorable homemade burp cloths for Aiden, and I eventually gave them all away after Roman. They were one of my favorite baby items, very useful, and I thought I could create my own. I purchased these cute strips of fabric about a year ago when I was taking on the new hobby of sewing. That hobby never really took off, hence I still had the masculine fabric in my closet. I think I did a decent job, though there are many minor imperfections. Now, I can't wait to monogram them with the new monogramming machine that should be delivered any day now that Amy and I are purchasing together. Let the lettering begin!!


For dinner, we took the boys to Chick-fil-a and let them burn off some energy since I had them inside all day.

To induce, or not to induce

That is the question on my mind as I approach thirty weeks. Let's start here:
Cullen, my first born, was due November 17, 1999. The day came and went and he decided that wasn't HIS day. He waited five more days and at about four in the morning on November 22, he decided to put me in labor. My water didn't break but I could feel the contractions. I woke my then-husband up and we were on our way to the hospital. They broke my water there and I was in labor for twenty plus hours. It was miserable! There were two nurses pushing down on my stomach each time I pushed, trying to push the booger out. I had no idea he was so big, or I would have asked for a c-section. Cullen was 10 pounds, 5 ounces. My body hurt for days and the recovery sucked. There was an epidural and then after many, many hours, another hit to the back of epidural meds. I threw up during delivery and passed out right after. I had sworn I wasn't having anymore kids for at least a year after that. Once the memory faded, I eventually wanted more.
Five years later I was remarried and pregnant again. I shared with my new doctor my past experience and she said we could induce two weeks early. I was due April 1, 2005 and I went in for induction on March 18, 2005. Talk about a piece of cake! Aiden was 8 pounds, 9 ounces. When the doctor was cutting the cord, I was on video saying "That was easy. I could do this again!". And we did. Two years, two months later.
Roman was also taken two weeks early from the womb by induction. Roman was 9 pounds, 2 ounces. Also, a very easy delivery for me. Always lots of drugs involved.
Jude loves inducing. He can plan his work schedule around it and vacation time. I remember being in the doctor's office with Jude, pregnant for Roman, and the doctor said she could induce tomorrow. Before I could say anything, Jude's reply was "I have some things to take care of at work. What other days do you have?". I was so pissed, yet sat there in shock. I think we ended up scheduling it a few days later, but I let Jude have it in the car and called the doctor to change it back to the following day. How dare he?! Was he the one going in to deliver a baby?! I look back now and laugh. Jude has always gone to every baby doctor appointment with me. I think it's cute. That day he could have stayed his ass home!
What bothers me is this is our last baby and I want to feel my water break, or at least my contractions come on naturally again. I want Jude to experience the excitement of it all too, as he hasn't before. Grabbing stuff running out the door, driving fast, the pain I will complain about... I asked my doctor about not inducing this time (only if I pass my due date) and she was encouraging. She said the first child is always hard, and though she is pretty sure I will have another big baby, it shouldn't be as traumatic. I just wonder if, as the time nears, I will change my mind, or if I am even making the right decision. Is the naturally brought on labor experience really all worth it? Should I induce and spare my (fill in the blank) the extra pound or two, and have an almost guaranteed easier delivery, well planned and all? I mean, what if he comes so fast there is NO time for an epidural? I would rather die!! Should I let Preston pick when he is ready to enter the world? Trying to weigh my options here and I'm not sure what the right choice is.

7 month belly shot

I was getting dressed the other day and decided to take a belly shot. Aiden walked in the room and I asked him, "Aiden, does this shirt make my belly look big?". Aiden stares for a few seconds, thinks, and replies "No, it doesn't look that big."
Little liar.
He is going to make some woman very happy one day.

A ten year old boy, and his laundry

A few weeks ago Cullen was at his dad's house and I was home doing laundry. I went in his room and his laundry was all over the floor. Total mess! It seems I am always getting on to him about picking up his clothes after himself, for five years at least. So, I closed the door and decided he can pick them up and he can wash them himself. When he came home last week, I informed him of my plan, told him to bring his clothes into the laundry room and then waited for him to take the initiative. When he ran out of shorts yesterday, he was ready. I made him sort colors, turn the washer on, load it, unload it, load the dryer and operate that, listen for the buzzer, take his clothes out, hang them, and fold them. He had three loads. He did it three times. After folding the first load, he turned to me and asked "You have to do this times five? Why do you want more kids?". It was great to see the understanding on his face. I told him as long as he picks up his clothes and just puts them in his hamper, I will continue to wash his clothes. The point is...DON'T BE LAZY!! I am praying he got it. It took me twice as long to teach him everything, compared to just doing it myself.

Good food, great conversations

Tonight, a few girls and I got together for a quick dinner. I was literally texting from the restaurant asking friends to meet us there. What I thought would be four girls getting together ended up being eight, and I enjoyed every second of the adult conversation. I didn't have to get up and fix anyone a plate, pour a drink, wipe a mouth or get juice off the floor...it was great! We talked about hair, makeup, men, jobs, weddings, diets, vacations, liquor, sex, pregnancy, and so much more. There was no talk of Transformers, Buzz Lightyear, cars, legos, boogers, or any other boy talk. It's the simple things in life that bring such happiness:) I love my girlfriends, new and old, down the street or across the states. They matter in my life, are a priority, and bring me so much joy. Here is a pic of the group tonight...

Save a life!

A couple weeks ago I read an article in the local paper about a young, beautiful, stay-at-home mom that has acute myelogenous leukemia, or AML, a fast-growing cancer of the blood and bone marrow. It really hit home to me after reading the article because I used to live next door to her husband, Justin, when I was younger. I don't know her personally, but he comes from a great family and I used to call him my best friend. I can't imagine him losing his wife so tragically, and him having to raise two precious daughters, over something so simple as not finding a match for a donor. There has got to be someone out there that can help this family! I thought to myself, what if this was me or MY husband? I immediately signed up at http://www.marrow.org to receive a testing kit to see if I match ANYONE whom I can help. I was never aware of bone marrow donation until I read about this...

According to Amanda, joining the national registry through the National Marrow Donor Program is a simple swab of your mouth, and if you are a match, they will call you. Donating bone marrow is almost as simple as donating blood.

It's free to sign up online, test, and mail back. You can also make a monetary donation online, if you would like. I signed up Thursday night on my computer, received the kit yesterday,

took four swabs of my mouth this morning, and already mailed it back. Today is Tuesday and makes day five.
I really hope I am a match for someone! I would love to save a life. I pray Amanda finds her match soon and gets her health back, so she can enjoy those two beautiful daughters and watch them grow up. I ask that you log on to http://www.marrow.org and take ten minutes to sign up, you could literally save a life!
*Amanda's family has organized a bone marrow donor drive and fundraiser set for July 24 from noon to 4 p.m. at Christ the King Lutheran Church, 1001 West Esplanade Ave., Kenner. She needs to find someone with a Filipino or Asian background to donate.

If I had a pair, I'd want to know more about cars!

Jude came home last week with an issue. He usually does have issues. (I say that lovingly.) His SUV was making a funny sound, like there may have been a bad squeaky belt, and he asked that I take it over to the local mechanic shop the following day. We both have our own mechanics we like to use. Mine is in the neighborhood and his is the next town over. Now, I am used to a little bit of car luxury these days and riding in his SUV is one of my least favorite things to do. The air gets cool (not cold) and he makes a mess in it, which I'm not there to clean. There is no DVD player, no XM radio, no cleanliness, yadda yadda yadda. So, I drive it over to the shop the following day, Tuesday, and it's CLOSED. Closed till the following Monday. Guess who has to drive the Big Dick around for the week? Yes, me...while he gets to drive my baby, Big Betty. Why? Oh, what if something should happen on the interstate? That's the reason I'm given. I really stayed in the house a lot with all three children, as to not use his truck. That's a little piece of hell, right there.
Monday (today) comes and I drive over to the mechanic. Now, they know me there by now because I always bring Jude's truck in with issues. Not mine. Issues Jude sends me with. There is a guy there, we will call him G, and G always ends up waiting on me. He looks like he is straight out of an 80's video, with the long hair, tan, grease look. Think, Billy Joel, Uptown Girl video. I get there and of course the belt is not squeaking. (It hadn't been all week when I drove it.) I tell G that there is a belt that is making noise, not right now, but it was last week, and I needed to see about getting it changed. He tells me pop the hood, he looks, says the belt is fine, closes the hood, and goes to send me on my way. Now, I have to ask the million questions Jude is going to ask me...
"Why is it squeaking?"
"Can I oil it?"
"Which belt is it? Like, what does the belt do exactly?"
"Etc. Etc."
Now, I am beginning to think ol' G thinks I have a thing for him, because Jude sends me there more than I need to go. How idiotic did I look today?
Last time I went, I asked G to put some freon in the SUV because the air doesn't get very cold, and he checked it and said the freon was full. How is that?
Well, the time before that, I asked G to put freon in it with a repair kit Jude purchased from Auto Zone because it was blowing hot air, and G did it for free. Yes, Jude made me bring my own freon to a repair shop that sells freon. I think G just felt sorry for me...look at this poor lady with three kids in a '99 Suburban bringing freon here. lol
I hope I do not need to see G for a very long time!
As I was stuck with the Big Dick today (Jude's SUV), the boys played their Wii game and painted some beautiful photos while we were avoiding the heat inside.
Tomorrow, I get my freedom back!

Our despicable weekend

Friday I went to the OBGYN for a shot, and got the results of my blood work from Wednesday's testing. I have to start taking these iron pills as I am anemic, though very low range. Saturday I took one of those funky pills and felt disgusting all day. They gave me terrible indigestion, so I pretty much slept off and on all day while the children entertained themselves. I haven't taken another one since!
Sunday I even slept through church. Jude took the boys to mass and I stayed in bed. Later, we took them to to movies to see "Despicable Me".

It was really cute. Sunday evening I went to the Parish to see Stacey; she was having a home-business party.

It was great to see her and her family, as Stacey and I have been friends since we were about eight. I have moved many, many times in my life, and have never lost contact with her. She'd call my momma and find me:) and she's always been pretty easy to find, herself. I'd call her momma. She is a true friend and a wonderful one to have.
(*As you can see, pregnancy is now catching up with me. My face is starting to swell. Wonderful! Only ten weeks left.)

Also, we picked a name over the weekend for Baby IIII. The winner is...
Preston Rene
Preston=ends in a N, like all the other boys; definition: priests town
Rene=after my dear friend Brandi Renee, whom passed away when Roman was three months old in August 2007

Here's some crack...go play!

Desperate times call for desperate measures! I am running out of ideas for the children to keep them entertained this summer. Just yesterday we went to a local bounce house

and it was $26 for all three boys to jump for not quite two hours. That is crazy to do more than twice a month on my stay-at-home-mom budget. I feel like I am just giving money away, with nothing to show for it.
As you may know, Aiden has a love and addiction for video games (a.k.a. crack), but more for computer games these days. We have limited his play time to just the weekends starting on Fridays, then it went to just Saturday and Sunday; and just recently we've taken the computer away all together. Lego.com is dangerously fascinating to him! Last night I decided to purchase Toy Story 3 for them. It was $50, equal to four hours/two days of bounce play. I think I may give them one hour each day to play with a timer, which gives them something to do indoors while it is sweltering hot outside, or raining. I am going to be honest and say that it is very hard to keep my three children entertained at all hours of the day, ALL summer. I value our quality time together, I do. I also feel a total disconnect from the outside world as I have children under my feet and in my hair non-stop all day, every day. But today, I feel like an enabler to Aiden. I feel guilt. Defeated. At the same time, I feel peace and quiet at this very moment while they are all playing the Wii so well together. Okay, Roman just watches, but he doesn't know what he is missing...yet.
It was so cute earlier, I made finding the Wii game into a scavenger hunt. I placed notes throughout the house and told Cullen he could only read them and hint to where to go and to let Aiden find the next note. Well, by the third note, Roman was onto what was going on and he grabbed the note. Aiden got a little upset, but was ready to find the next one. As Cullen read it, the word "tub" was actually written in it, and Roman took off before Aiden could and grabbed the second to last note. Aiden was so upset. At that second, I wasn't sure how a fun game turned into sibling rivalry. I kept Roman back as the last note was read and the prize was found. There were three very happy little boys then!

Here are a few pics from this week...
The day Roman ate his entire peanut butter sandwich at lunch goes down in the books!

Aiden, with his favorite Shrek glass that was recalled the day after we bought it. It's still here.

Sprinkler/slide fun

A baby pool for my baby

Playing games with Cullen