You are not a real child unless you have...

Cut your own hair.

Hello. My name is Lucas. And I cut my own hair in the fall of '07.

It was the morning of our family Christmas card photography session.

My mom flip flopped back and forth from hysterical laughter to anger. It was cool.

Muuuuuaaahahahahaaaaa (maniacal laughter)

Constant questions during a movie

Okay so I might have made an error in parental judgement letting Luke watch a PG13 movie. I am usually pretty protective about what I let him watch. John let him watch Transformers and I figured this wasn't much more violent.....well, it is. GREAT movie though. Anyway, the point is that Lucas will NOT stop asking questions.

"Why is that thing in his chest?" (asked 4 times)
"Will he die?"
"Is that the bad guy?"
"What is following him?"
"Why are the rockets following him?"
"When is he going to be red?"
"What do the bad guys want him to do?"
"Is he going to make a missile?"
"Is he going to be hurt?"

Geez boy! Finally John and I both lost it and shouted "Just watch the movie!" And we all started laughing. :) Even you. Thanks for having such an inquisitive mind, and thank you for your patience with those that can't always keep up.

Sense of Humor

My love,

When I looked at these pictures today I am reminded how THANKFUL I am that you have an inexhaustible sense of humor. It never quits, (well almost never) and sometimes that is really, really, really annoying (LOL) but now that I am taking an objective view, it is really, really, really valuable and does wonders for our marriage.

We have survived/been blessed with SO MUCH in five years of marriage.

Thank you for making every day fun.
Thank you for keeping it all in perspective.
Thank you for loving me even though I am not always lovable.
Thank you for all your pep talks.

I love you.

-Your too serious wife

(pictures taken at a cool wildlife preserve museum in NoCal during a recent trip with my grandparents. John made me take pictures while he posed with the bear.)

A fantastic video

I am not a huge YouTuber or whatever, but seriously this video is not only funny, short and carries a positive message, it's FUNNY! (wait did I just say that?)

There are some well timed swear words so watch out for the kiddies.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0vtHwWReGU0

Chubby Cookie

In class the other day the teacher was reading a book about different family members. So the brother part was about how they can be stinky and then Dads and they have loud voices and are so tall and then mothers, and how they are so sweet and cuddly, etc. The teacher asked each child what their mother reminded them of and some said candy, and others said flowers, etc. She asked Lucas what his mom reminded him of and he said...

"Oh! Oh! A..a..a...A CHUBBY COOKIE!"

LOL LOL Okay the back story on this is he LOVES my mushy post-baby tummy. He is obsessed with rubbing it, petting it, and putting his cheek against it. And the cookie part, I think he was trying to come up with something sweet. The teacher said he declared it with so much love. I laughed until I cried and then I keep repeating that story. I love it!

Finger Lickin Good BBQ Sauce

I found this recipe for homemade BBQ sauce - and seriously folks, it's SO GOOD. Totally lives up to it's name. I copied and pasted it from recipezaar.com. Fabulous website by the way! I have made it three times and I always get rave reviews. I usually make double or triple batches and store the leftover in a mason jar in the fridge. Keeps for weeks.

Ingredients:
1/2 white onion
3 cloves garlic
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 2/3 cups ketchup
1/2 cup white vinegar
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup Worcestershire sauce
2 teaspoons chili powder (I use one)
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (I use a little less, I'm a wimp)

Directions
1) Put olive oil in a sauce pan on medium heat and cook onion and garlic until they are soft.
2) Then add the white vinegar, ketchup, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce, chili powder, and cayenne pepper.
3) Let this simmer for 30 minutes.

A little of Luke

Current Luke...

Favorite book: "I will never, not ever, eat tomatoes." This is a very cute book about a brother that gets his picky eater of a little sister to eat good and healthy food. We make jokes and references to this book all the time. VERY good book.

Favorite toy: No current obsession. He has been on a kick of playing with all his old toys. I love it!

Favorite food: apples. He and his teacher have this thing going where they are going to plant all the apple seeds from the apples Luke eats. God love her. Also digging fish sticks, and dried figs.

Can't go to bed without: A made up story about the twins John and Jack (see John and Jack post), a loooong back scratch, kissing my tummy (not sure why), and a nice long cuddle. Oh and if he hears Charlotte demand some water, he'll need some too.

Cute things: He has been coming home singing the state song, it's a song they teach at school so the kids learn the names of all the US states in alphabetical order. I love it (learned it when I was a kid) and so he sings that a lot and then if he hears a state mentioned on the radio or in conversation, he says "Mom!! Alabama! Like Alabama, Alaska, Arizona,.....(and breaks into the song)" Very, very cute.

Current Charlotte

Okay so some current Charlotte things.
Can't go to bed without a sip of water, her "first beela*," a back scratch and a nice, long cuddle. Also John and I are done with the nightly fight, she now occupies the center of our bed a good part of the night. It was a nightly battle and ruined the relaxing evening we craze. "Why fight it when it just doesn't matter that much" John would beg. So I gave in, and it's not killing me. She is pretty good to sleep with, nice cuddling form, but I just can't do the deep sleep I love so much. I suppose this is one of those "mothering ain't easy" moments.

Favorite foods: Bananas, she has been eating like 2-3 a day. Popsicles. She gets to have a homemade juice Popsicle after dinner if she eats well and has good manners. Well....if she fails, ohhhhh man. Everyone up and down our block knows how upset she is.

Favorite article of clothing: This year we did actual back to school shopping (so fun) and I let Charlotte pick out what she wanted (mostly). The thing she picked out and would not let go of was this yellow hoodie with pink cupcakes all over it. She is just in love. And what I love....it goes with NOTHING! haha

Favorite toy: Seems she has been neglecting the doll house these days, and is more interested in the hamster and making beds for her dolls out of her blankets and wash clothes. ALL OVER the house I might add. It is not uncommon to walk in and find 6 blankets spread out with dolls and doll clothes littered about. And these blankets aren't just strewn about, they are PERFECTLY folded, I am so impressed. Her doll games are hard core. Oh and a few days ago she asked to play with the hamster and lost him. So we spent the next 40 minutes hunting him down. I keep having these "I'm a real mom" moments. That was definitely one.

* "Beela" is the pink, soft, silky blanket she is obsessed with and takes everywhere she can. "first" implies the one we gave her first, the dirtiest, ugliest most stained one. Why? Who knows.

Mahi Mahi

My sister is one of those annoying people who just looks in her pantry and can throw together really good meals with a dash of this and a little of that. She does not follow recipes and her food is always unique, sometimes bizarre but really yummy.

She finally made the leap and posted one of her recipes on recipezaar.com (love that website!)

Check it out, make it, then vote on it for her. I will win "good sister points" for this.

http://www.recipezaar.com/326832

Oh Joy!

Oh Joy!!! I FINALLY figured out how to add the comments link!!! YAY! Jen will be sooo happy!! :)

Now that I have it, please leave me a note by clicking the "comments" button at the bottom right of my post. That way I will feel in touch and loved!