Struggle Monkey

My cousin Bill used to call Donna a "Struggle Monster" when she didn't get a joke. Now, Bryson is my "Struggle Monkey"! Struggle is his new buzz word. When he forgets to do something, or answers a question wrong, he says, "Sorry Mommy, I struggle." I have no idea where he got that from, but it's so cute, I had to post it!

Game #3-Win #3!!

The Huskys did it again today! No goal for Ry, but not for lack of trying. He shot the ball 3 times! 24-12 was the final score.

A Tale of Two Patricks

I LOVE Grey's Anatomy. Every Thursday night, I go downstairs to the gameroom, alone, and cuddle up on the couch so I can watch Patrick Dempsy, almost life-sized, on the big tv, or I snuggle up in my bed to watch. Angie and I almost always talk on Thursday during the day, just to remind each other of what we already know we'll both be doing at 9pm that night! As we were on the phone today, Bryson was sitting on my lap. Angie said something about tonight and I said "I'll be cuddled up in my bed with Patrick." Bryson jerked his head sideways and said "HUH?! PATRICK?!"
(In case you live under a rock, Spongebob's best friend is Patrick, a starfish! By the way, Patrick Star lives under a rock, too!)

CTR--Choose the Right!!!

Bryson just started in his new class in Primary at church. Last year, he was in the Sunbeams class. This year he started in CTR 5. He has been so excited to be in a "big kid class". CTR stands for "Choose the Right". All of the kids at church get a CTR ring to help remind them to choose the right. Bryson has been asking his teacher for weeks when he would get his ring. Since I am the primary secretary, it was my job to give them to the teachers the first Sunday of January. OOPS! I forgot! Anyway, I finally remembered this past Sunday and no child was happier than Bryson! Just check out his smile-chapped lips and all!

B-Ball: Game 2

Riley had his 2nd game on Saturday. He scored AGAIN!!! His team won again, too,
21-10!!

Guitar Hero Show-Offs!

My cousins Tyler, Whitney & Taylar Kiser and Whitney's boyfriend Trey came last weekend for a game night. Tyler is insane on guitar hero! He plays "expert" like I play "easy"! He taught Riley how to play behind his head. We played games,laughed, ate way too much and had a great time. I can't believe how they've grown up so fast! I remember when they were born. I'm so old.

I'm a Barbie Girl!!!!

Sumer gave me an idea for exercise motivation-Take a picture of yourself in a swim suit and put it where you have to look at it everyday! So, I squeezed myself into the itty-bitty little number I bought last year on clearance with the intention of it fitting nicely by this June. Can I just say: HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!! No, seriously, I felt like I didn't have as much work to do as I thought. I gave the camera to Riley and had him take front, side and (gasp!) rear shots. When he took the second picture he said, "You look like a Barbie doll mama." Pure joy and love overcame me! I was smiling and gushing with "Thank you, son! You are so sweet! Mommy loves you!!!" When he took the third picture he said, "Really boys, look! Mama's skin looks like plastic!" Bubbles bursting-Dark clouds looming overhead once again...A few minutes later he said, "You really do look like a Barbie, Mama. You just aren't as skinny."
I live in a house full of men. Sigh....

Invasion of the Skinny Pig!

What's wrong with me? We have 3 hermit crabs. Why was that not good enough? They're low maintenance, don't have fur and I don't have to clean up poop. Good, right? But I had to go and do something totally stupid...
I got the boys a Guinea pig. Yep. I brought a living breathing furry creature into our home. I swore I'd never do it again after Chevy died. But, here we go again! At least he's in a cage! Bryson's preschool was giving it away yesterday and who am I to pass up anything FREE?! So, I called Jeremy to have him talk me out of it and he told me to be a "good mommy" and let the boys have a real pet. So thanks to Daddy, we now have a Bryson's preschool Skinny Pig. You've never seen 3 boys more excited! They were giddy, actually! His name started out as Brown. I convinced them that it wasn't very creative to name him Brown, so they went with Rocket. But, after calling him Guinea all day, it stuck and now he's just Guinea. Guinea the pig is in the house...Yay Me.

He Shot! He Scored!!!!

It's basketball season again. Riley had his first game yesterday. Before we left home, he was complaining how he's already bored with it and that it's taking up too much of his time. (What the...?!?! What "time" does he have to worry about?!) I got a wee bit ill and kindly explained that I didn't pay $80 for him to go to 3 practices and quit. Anyway, we went to the game and he sat out the first half of the first quarter. When his coach put him in, I got nervous, like I always do. He did so good!!! He got the ball a lot and shot it twice. He even scored!!!!!! He played the entire game! They won 30-12!!! He has now decided that basketball is a lot more fun this year and he's really excited about playing. We have a lot of fun at his games. The whole family was there (except for Ryan and Travis) and that means a lot to Ry. Now we're looking forward to next Saturday and hopefully another win!

Be-U-Ti-Ful!

Riley and spelling tests do not mix well. We really struggle each week to study, drill, hammer the words into his head before his Friday test. This week his struggling word was beautiful. When he got in the car today, I asked him how he did on his test. He told me he thought he got them all right. "Okay", I said, "How do you spell Beautiful?" He tried three times before he finally said, "Oh, forget it Mama. My brain shuts down after school!" A few minutes later I heard him (through my laughter!) spelling it correctly!

Tattletale, Tattletale, hang your britches on a nail!

I asked Bryson to hand me a towel yesterday. This was his response-
B: Mommy, towel sounds like Tattletale, doesn't it?
Me: Yes, it does kinda sound the same.
B: But, I'M not a tattletale, am I mommy?
Me: No, son, you aren't. (Knowing that he is the biggest one ever!!)
B: But you always call me that.
Me: I know I do. It's because you really do tattletale a lot!
B: (looking very serious) WHAT?! I tell the truth!

Cold Shower

Bryson likes showers better than baths, now. All the boys like having their own time, alone, in the shower. My shower. We have three bathrooms, and they fight over mine! Bryson was first a few nights ago, so I told him to hurry so the brothers could have their turn. (He's really bad to just stand there and not wash. I have to remind him several times to wash his hair, and most of the time, I just end up turning off the water, even though he never touched soap or shampoo!) Anyway, I told him to hurry, and he said, "Mommy, I just need to stand here and get the burrr off." I was confused. "What?", I asked. He paused for a second and said, "Mommy, can I just stand here for a second til the cold gets off of me?" I quickly said yes and ran out of the room to laugh!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

2008 went out with a bang last night! All my family and our friends the Hovis family came over for food and fun. If you've never played Guitar Hero or Rock Band, I highly recommend it! It is SO much fun! The kids (all 10 of them!) had fun with fireworks and sparklers, and by midnight, Avery was the only one that was a bit droopy-eyed. Here's hoping that 2009 will be a wonderful year!!!