Lily

Lily 1 year

Lily 8 months

Lily 3 months

Lily 1 month

Lily 1 hour

Lily 1 minute (ewww slimy)

My baby is 1 year old. I can't believe it! 12 months ago I was laying in a hospital bed thanking my lucky stars that the castor oil worked! She was laying on me and we were happy. My brown eyed baby has been a joyful addition to our family. She is our baby born in the wilderness and the Lord has blessed us. She is up and walking as of today! She stood up and walked across the room to take the phone from Phoenix.

Playdough is my NEMESIS

I know you might all think that play dough is fun and cute... but really it's the bane of any mothers existence. We hate it. It's messy and sticky and mixed with carpet makes you want to stick a fork in your eyeball. Yep that good. But here's the crux of it... in order for your children to grow up semi-normal you have to let them play with it. They need to squish it through their fingers, and take a tiny taste of it's salty bouquet. Children need to make figurines out of it and let them dry. How else are you going to know if they are true genius sculptors? They need to mix the colors until it is one solid clump of grey dough. They need to learn how to ball it up and roll it out into a snake. So what to do? Here's what to do BATTEN DOWN THE HATCHES and whatever else. I declare this NATIONAL PLAY DOUGH DAY.

PS if it gets in your carpet, the easiest way to get it out is to let it dry, and then pick it out or cut that string or two out.

Here's a really good recipe that smells yummy (that way we KNOW the kids will want to eat it):

KOOL-AID PLAY DOUGH

Mix:
2 1/2 c. flour

1/2 c. salt

1 tbsp. alum

2 pkgs. unsweetened Koolaid (that's the little ones ladies)

Add to dry ingredients:
3 tbsp. oil

2 c. boiling water

Knead until well mixed. Let cool. May feel sticky at first, just keep working with it.

Just checking

wouldn't ya know...

Which Disney Priness Are YOU?

click on the cartoon to see it bigger

What with all the gushing about how fab our spouses are... I thought that we could all use a little snicker.

YOu know I love you when....

FYI these are french toasts. I used split top bread and cut the bottom into a point. I am however a pretty good pancake artist. I make perfect "snowballs"!)hardeee har har har.

Okay, so I know where the camera downloader cables are now, but the big computer still doesn't have the Internet (thanks big V for all the super fast service... its only been a month since we moved in!). Hence, NO pictures. I'll describe what I look like just in case you forgot.

• I weigh 122.5 lbs
• my hair is lustrous and thick and down to my waist
• I have unnaturally long legs (like Julia Roberts in Pretty woman)
• my skin is radiant and clear
• my fingers and toes are well manicured with little diamonds stuck on them
• I always have my hair and makeup done, no matter what, rain or shine
• AND I NEVER WEAR SWEATS ALL DAY LONG

Tomorrow I am going to have lunch with some of the ladies in my old 'hood. I miss them all terribly. I am so excited to see them.

Then when we get home we are all going to ride our bikes to the new Rite Aid that just opened near our house and visit the ice cream counter. The kids have already picked out what flavor they will get. They had to keep their rooms clean for a whole week to qualify for the ice cream. Since I put all their toys in bins in the garage in a HEATED moment it wasn't hard to keep the rooms clean. I will have mint and chip. Thrifty mint and chip is undeniably the best in the whole wide world. Dave will make the standard gagging noise and I will smile knowing all the while I will get to eat the whole thing myself without sharing any of it. Sounds like a wonderful day.

Babies R Us

This is the amazing Mrs. Hyatt, Mr Hyatt is in the picture too but don't mind him he's being replaced. Pete is there too but he's only there for decoration. I snaked this photo from their blog. I'm sure they will thank me later (in cash).

Phoenix is my only boy. Sometimes I wonder how it is that he can be surrounded by so much "girlie" and still be different. He says funny things often. Now he says them to other people too. His current fixation is on farting. He wants to know how to make them smell. That is so cool. He idolizes his dad who can clear a room.

The other day he and Poppy are playing. She is saying that she is going to have a baby. She even has the tell-tale bump under her shirt. She says to him you can't have a baby. He is distraught and hits her a few times. She is smug and says that he still can't have a baby. We have been over a very limited birds and bees with our two 4 year olds it goes something like this.... YOU.BOY.PENIS.....HER.GIRL.VAGINA....boy no baby.....girl baby. I know, so eloquent. I truly should have been a therapist. Just email me and I'll come talk toyour children for a minimal fee. So he is clear on which anatomy it takes to have a baby. I didn't let him watch that OPrah with the wierdo she-man who had the baby, I'm still a little confused over that one. So he is stumped, and he has to figure out a way to have a baby, fast. Then I see the light bulb go off in his puny little buzzed head. He questions Poppy on the daddy, Poppy has plenty of baby daddies this time it was Luke (heads up Team Fackrell). So he announces that he is going to marry Ms Hyatt. Then he will have a baby. And his baby will be bigger than your baby. His baby Laney will be able to tell Poppy's baby what to do.

He misses Mrs. Hyatt and her big baby.

Bet you thought I was going to announce that I was pregnant. Sneaky aren't I?