From the mind of Andrew...

Just wanted everyone to know what kind of little boy we have...

Andrew at the dinner table:

Andrew: Mommy, I have something I want to tell you.
Kristina: What's that?
Andrew: I love you.
Kristina: Do you have anything you want to tell Daddy?
Andrew: Daddy, I want to watch TV.
Kristina: Do you have anything nice to tell daddy?
Andrew: ... Daddy, I like to watch TV all day long.

Andrew's Prayer

Tom: Ok Andrew, I'll help you with the prayer. "Dear Heavenly Father"
Andrew: Ribbit.
Tom: Thank you for this day.
Andrew: Ribbit.
Tom: Thank you for Mommy and Daddy and Madeline.
Andrew: Ribbit.
Tom: Please bless us that we can sleep well and have a good day tomorrow.
Andrew: Ribbit.
Tom: Ok, Andrew, you need to say this right ok -- "in the name of Jesus Christ amen"
Andrew: Amen. Ribbit.

Andrew at church

Tom: Andrew, we are so glad we found you -- we were looking all over for you.
Andrew: I was going to the bathroom.
Tom: I see that. Please put your clothes back on.
Andrew: Ok.
Tom: And in the future, you shouldn't walk around in the girls bathroom with your pants off.
Andrew: But I was just going potty.

And to top it all off, Tom was singing in our ward choir today for the Christmas program. Guess who followed him up to the stand, and started running barefoot right in front of the bishop while the whole ward was watching? ANDREW!!!

Anyone else have any good stories from today?

Look at us go!

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Playtime For Madeline

Madeline is finally to the age to enjoy the finer entertainment in life: Wet Wipes pulled out 1 by 1 is so much fun!

Do you really have your license young lady?

Those ornaments sure look tantalizing!

Already technologically inclined just like her older brother. (Andrew came crying to me today that Madeline changed the input on our TV and I laughed my head off about it)

He's got to be old enough to be driving his little sister around, right?

And the winner is...

Drumroll please...




Natalie with her suggestion:

"How about a piece of furniture that you pick out together. Maybe a desk, leather chair, armoire, etc. Or, a set amount of money to spend on decorating an area of your home."

I was surprised and excited by Tom's choice! I will be thinking hard about what piece of furniture I'd like or which room to decorate!

The second place pick is from Charity with "Under the counter Ipod dock and player." I've been wanting one for awhile!

Natalie, please confirm you have an ipod and if that's something you want, because Tom said you can negotiate your prize if need be. (o:

As a special surprise, we would also like to reward Charity with an Ipod player. Please also confirm that this is something you would like.

Thanks for all your thoughtful and creative gift ideas. Hopefully, Tom will be using this list for many special occasions to come!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Patience is a virtue! (o:

No word from Tom yet on the winner. He is currently travelling fron Houston to DC, so we may not have a winner until this evening. I will share the news as soon as I hear it. Have a great day!

Giveway

Only one more day to enter the giveaway! (Please see post below for more details)

I also need to mention that in order to make the contest fair I will be sending all entries to Tom anonymously, so he is not biased in picking a winner.

Second Best Present Ever For You

This post is going to require lots of participation from my faithful blog readers. Tom is stumped about what to get me for Christmas, so this is your chance to suggest what you think he should get me for Christmas. Tom will then judge all the suggestions and pick the winner. The winner will receive what Tom judges to be the second best present on the list. Multiple entries are welcome. If I don't know your email address, then you will also have to leave your email in your comment, so I can contact you if you win. This contest will end Wednesday evening, so start suggesting NOW! The winner will be announced Thursday morning.

Please come!

Andrew just informed me that he really wants Lara to babysit for him tomorrow. Would you mind Lara? I'll be expecting you.

I agree with Andrew...

Cleaning can be such a waste of time sometimes!

Andrew's room shortly before his friend arrived:

Andrew's room shortly after his friend arrived: Remind me why I bother to clean BEFORE friends come over. Arghhh!!

Who Would've Thought?

A 3-year-old who hates naps would do this in order to get out of picking up the toys in his room:I can hardly wait to hear his excuses when he's a teenager.

What do your kids do to get out of cleaning?

Question of the Day

When will someone invent a self-cleaning house? I would like to be first in line when they do! Maybe I can just have Ellie over. Please?!

Santa Pics

My babies with Santa.

Merry Christmas to me!

Thank-you Mr. Landlord! You just made my life so much easier. This sweet little machine dried my load of towels this morning in 41 minutes rather than 3.5 years, as was usual with the old, archaic, clunker dryer we've been using.

Can I add a REAL laundry room to my list of things I want next year or is that too much to ask? At least the faster dryer will mean my clothes won't be lining my hallway waiting their turn for quite as long anymore. (o:

What's wrong with this scenario?

I ate almost an entire bag of mint M & M's while watching the Biggest Loser tonight. Mmmm...mmmm good!

Attempted Family Pictures

These are our attempts at taking a Christmas photo:

Heather I can't wait until you come to town and can take some real family photos. 23 more days until Christmas. I am so excited!

Million Dollar Prize...

...will be awarded to the person who can get all 14 kids looking at the camera and smiling all at the same time. (all children are under 13 years of age, 8 of them are younger than 4 years old) We loved spending time with my family, even if the picture didn't quite turn out!

Pictured here are: Lauren, McKenzie, Bridgette, Andrew, Madeline, Spencer, Cami, Emma, Adam, Ellie, JD, Lily, Sylvie, and Jakob

It's my party and I'll cry if I want to...

Turn up your volume and click on play in the box below to hear the kind of phone calls I've been taking the past 24 hours or so.

Gabcast! The Golden Seven #1





Sniff, sniff...can you see why that would bring tears to my eyes?

For Hire: Three-year-old Boy

Name: Andrew Thomas

Birthdate: April 5, 2005

Special Skills:

A gifted foodie --not only can he find food in any hiding place, but he also has a knack for "needing" food desperately the moment we've walked out the door of our home. Of course being a foodie means he has very discriminating tastes...if it's not found in the top of the food pyramid he doesn't want it!


A talented escape artist: He can wiggle his way out of any seat belt or buckle and uses this knowledge to his advantage in escaping shopping carts across America.




Amazing technological skills: knows how to start DVD players, computers, video games, and my i-touch and can kick butt in Zelda like no other three-year-old you've ever met.


Complete lack of fear: has no problem running as fast as possible in the opposite direction we are heading without even a glance to see where we are!


Endless energy: not only does he not take naps, but he also prefers not to sleep at night either!


Desired salary: Cookies available 24/7, toys from every store, no bedtime ever, alternating routine of movies and video games throughout the day.


Any takers?

Special Delivery

What's happened to my baby? Normally she is cheerful, easy-going, and giggly (like in this picture).


But jet lag and a bad bout of cold sores has turned her into this irritable, grumpy baby who will only sleep in 15 minute increments...So Mom, be watching for a special delivery package sometime soon...

Overheard...

While I've been here in Virginia staying with my sister's family of five kids, I've had the opportunity to overhear some intriguing conversations between the kids. Here are some of the highlights:

Conversation #1 "Worst kind of insult"

Cousin Ellie (3) [very upset]: "Mom! Andrew called me Obama. I don't want to be Obama."

Andrew in response: "Obama, Obama, Obama." and then starts laughing when he notices our snickers.

Hmmmm...I wonder where he got that insult from? TOM!!!

"I am NOT Obama!"

Conversation #2 "Not going to Scripps"

Cousin Spencer (13) giving his sister Cami (11) a spelling test: "ballet"

Cami [giving him a quizzical look]: "That wasn't on my list."

Spencer: " Oh I meant 'bull-ay' "

Cami [thoroughly perplexed]: "What the heck is a 'bull-ay' ?"

Spencer [sheepishly]: "Oops. I really meant 'bullet'."

"Do you have any bull-ays in that rifle there?"

Conversation #3 "Needing anatomy lessons?"

Cousin Ellie (3), Cousin Adam (6), and Andrew are all gathered together in the bathroom while Andrew is using the potty. [Don't ask me what the appeal of hanging out in a bathroom is.]

Ellie: "Ew ew ew ew! Gross!"

Adam: "What are you saying 'Ew' about?"

Ellie [sticking her tongue out in horror]: "Ew ew!"

Adam: "Ellie, are you saying 'Ew' because Andrew has a 'weewee'?"

Ellie [emphatically]: "YES!"

and to think she has two brothers...

"Where did THAT come from?"

Conversations at home are going to seem positively dull when I return home.

Top Ten Things to Do When Your Husband is Working Too Much

10--Go shopping!

9--Stay up too late blog stalking

8--Get caught up on favorite tv shows

7--Rent a chick flick

6--Eat PB & J's for dinner 5 out of 7 nights a week...the other 2 are cereal nights

5--Look at old wedding photos so you can remember what he looks like in day light

4--Call all your friends to compare whose husband is working more hours

3--Go through his closet and sell all his clothes that he's had since junior high school on ebay.

[Mom--you may want to close your eyes and start singing a hymn now]

2--Start making quilt blocks with all your old under-used lingerie

and for the best thing to do when your husband has been traveling and working 60+ hours a week....
1--Ditch him and go hang out with your sisters and old friends!

Mini high school reunion in Minnesota

Hanging out with Lara and PP in Virginia!

See ya in a week honey!

Delayed Flight

How often does something good come out of a delayed flight? It was my lucky day. We now get to take a DIRECT flight to Minneapolis and get in at the time we should've orignally arrived, but we are leaving 3 hours later. I had to go to the airport to work out all the details, but it worked out. Thank-you American airlines! I think it helps to have two cute kids! HA!

Yucky Halloween

*****Please do not read if you have a weak stomach!

This Halloween was one we will try not to remember. It all started Thursday night when Madeline threw up all over me. And to make a long story short and to spare you all the gory details, I spent Thursday night and Friday taking care of both my kiddos with the stomach flu. Can we say YUCK! I hope that never happens again. Andrew stole the battery from my camera and I haven't seen it since, so this picture

is the only one we have from this year's Halloween. I'll get the kids dressed up for some more photos once I find the battery or once I decide to buy a new one! (o:

I hope everyone had a less exhausting Halloween than us!

Photo Tag

My sister Lara tagged me for this photo tag. I went to the sixth album in my photos and posted the sixth photo. Here it is:This picture is from April 6, 2006. Andrew turned 1 the day before. Does he look like Madeline?

I tag anyone who would like to post the 6th picture from the 6th album on their computer.

Babysitter?

I hate finding a babysitter. It's much easier for me to not go out, than it is to find a regular babysitter. The one person that used to always babysit for us moved an hour away, which means there isn't anyone left that I am comfortable calling for babysitting help. So, here's my dilemma, Tom has a choir concert tomorrow night and he promised that he would find a babysitter for us, because he knows how much I hate finding a babysitter. The problem is, he didn't do it. Now it's less than a day away from his concert and I'm trying to decide how hard to try and find someone. I technically could bring the kids to the concert, but the location is very kid unfriendly. Mom, can you just hop on a plane tomorrow and come help us out, please? (o:

I'm sure no one wanted to hear my rant about babysitters, but while I'm ranting I have a few more unrelated things to whine about. I am completely sick and tired of hearing anything related to politics and I don't want to hear another word about prop. 8. Please let this election be over already.

Ok, I'm done now. Thanks for listening via your computers. Have a good night! (o:

Great Website about Prop 8

For all of you living in California who have the opportunity to vote for Proposition 8 next month, I found this great website about the issue that I recommend:

http://protectchildrenandfreedoms.blogspot.com/




I also recommend the website to anyone outside the state who wonder about the consequences of legalizing gay marriage.

Vote YES on 8!

What a fun week!

It's been such an exciting week with not one, but TWO brothers coming to visit. First, my older brother Nate came out for a job interview. It looks like he will be moving back to the area shortly, which I am so happy about! (Nate is eligible, so feel free to set him up if you know any nice, single girls in the area. (o:) Then, my little bro, Peter (aka PP) came to town. My kids haven't had the opportunity to spend much time with Pete since he lives across the country in Northern Virginia, but

both kiddos instantly fell in love with him. They played together all afternoon. Madeline hasn't been able to stop staring at him since he arrived this morning.
I wish all my siblings lived closer, but for now I am just so happy with the occasional visits and regular phone calls.

Happy Birthday PP!

My little bro PP and I have always been close. We both even received our mission calls on the same day and served in neighboring missions in Siberia. I was elated when Pete announced a few weeks ago that he was coming to the Bay area for a work conference and that we'd get to see him. Hooray!

Pete arrived into town this morning just in time for his birthday, so we got to break the budget and take him to our favorite steak place in town. Happy Birthday Peter! We are now only 1 year apart (at least for another month)! HA! (o:


Come again soon and next time bring your cute girls with! (o:

Andrew's Favorites

Andrew's Favorite things at 3 1/2 years old:

Color: Green

Song: Old McDonald and the Donut Song

Show: Max and Ruby

Movie: Cars

Friends: James, Cami, Tristan, Adam, and Braden

Food: Bean and Cheese Quesadilla (he eats one every day!)

Aunt: Lara (sorry to all the other awesome aunts)

Uncle: Matt (sorry to the rest of you)

He doesn't see any of his Aunts and Uncles enough!

Book: Batman

Drink: Milk

Shirt: Batman or Cars

Video Game: Mario Kart (He got this after being fully potty trained . He often beats me in races. I should also add I never thought I would have a 3-year-old that liked video games)

Activity: Ride Horses

There's a glimpse into my little boy's life.

The economy post is coming soon. Tom will be my guest blogger.

Economic Meltdown

The topic for my next blog post will be "who I blame for the current state of the American economy". Anybody want to know? Can you guess? And no, I don't blame Bush. Sorry to disappoint anyone who blames everything on him.

Life

I love that Andrew and Madeline are finally getting old enough to play with each other. Madeline laughs so often when Andrew is around.

Here are my two boys being silly.

I love talking to my sweet baby girl. She is sporting one of her cool hair bows again!

We are making progress with our weight loss goals! Hooray! Tom is a lot closer to achieving his goal, but hopefully by the end of the year we will both make it to where we want to be. I should add that Tom ran a mile in under six minutes this past week.

Bowling

Andrew thinks bowling is by far the coolest activity we've ever done for FHE. He did a dance after every single frame he bowled! Andrew is a lot of fun to bowl with! On a side note, I bowled one of my best games ever. I didn't have a single gutter ball! I think I ought to always bowl with bumper lanes!

My Sister-In-Law is the Coolest!

Is there anything more exciting than getting an unexpected package in the mail? Yesterday, I received not only an unexpected package but one with lots of amazingly cute hair bows for Madeline made especially by my sister-in-law, Mika. Here is Madeline modeling a couple of them: This one matches her high chair too! (o:

I love the butterfly!

Thanks Mika for making Madeline even cuter! (if that's possible?! Ha!)

Simple Pleasures...

Remember when...

running through the sprinkler was one of the most exciting times of the summer?!

Or when playing in the sandbox with your friends could go on for hours?

I think sometimes as adults we forget those simple pleasures and get too wrapped up in the craziness of our daily lives. I say we all take ten minutes every day and let loose...run through the rain with the kids, build a sand castle, lick out the bowl, stack your Legos as high as they'll go, make a snow angel (or sand angel), blow bubbles...something to reconnect not only with the kids but to momentarily forget the stresses of the day.

You are cordially invited to our house next time it rains to splash in the puddles with Andrew and me...I'll even save you some cookie dough. :)

One more thing

Every time one of our law school buddies buys a house that looks like this and probably pays a lot less in a mortgage payment than we pay in rent for our tiny, falling apart house, it makes me really want to leave California.