A ton of Christmas pictures, finally.

Since I was not happy with the way our other Santa pictures came out, we took another trip to see a different big guy. And what better day to go see Santa than Christmas Eve. I think we might just have to make that a new tradition.



He couldn't totally decide if Santa was someone he wanted to get to know better or just pack up and run away from. I guess he figured it was not too bad. After seeing Santa, we walked over and had lunch at Berryhill, yummy!



We went to the 5pm Christmas Eve service at church and man was it windy! Gee Gee and Pap met us there.



The obligatory "kids in front of the tree on Christmas Eve" picture, crazy momma waited until most of the kids had stripped out of their nice shirts before taking the picture. Oh well.



Ummm, not really sure what is going on here but aren't they super cute?!



Getting cookies and milk ready for Santa!



Mighty Mite had to help too. Hehe



Then he decided he had to taste the cookies first, you know to make sure they were safe for Santa. Funny thing is, the is the first year Boog has not done that. Guess Tutti-Frutti is taking over that responsibility!



Santa's cookies and milk. Freshly prepared and waiting.



Before bed, Daddy read a few Christmas stories.



Listening to the story!



Santa came! Wheew, boy did he!



The look of pure joy when discovering that Santa had been there.



Santa brought me new cups!



Crazy mismatched socks! He loved them. Still wearing a pair everyday. Boy that is fun to keep up with in the laundry department.



Humm, how does this work?



What is this thing?



Huh?



Wow! I got the Spiderman gun I asked for!



Ohh, a bike!



Santa ate all of his cookies.



Having fun in the Handy Manny car.



Alright! The scary castle!



Something must have been funny.



This gift is the reason we had been fussing back and forth about spending money right before Christmas. A NEW paintball gun. A few months back, Sour Apple started playing paintball with friends from school. He had a gun from a while back but it was used. On the first day he went to play, he discovered that something was wrong with the gun he had, he was heartbroken. He borrowed a gun from a friend and had a great time. Well, a few days later, he began asking how much money he had left from his birthday. He had a friend that was selling an old gun for $50 so he could put the money toward a newer nicer gun. He kept on and on and on. I continued telling him that he was not going to spend that much on a used gun...yadda yadda yadda. I had decided the day he played and the gun did not work that I would get him a new one for Christmas. Boy, he did not make it easy. But the look on his face when he saw the new gun, by the way it was the same brand, possibly same gun that his friend was selling, made it worth it all. He was so super happy!



Oh boy! An iPod touch. Yes, I know...we bought an iPod touch for a 4 year old, so what's your point? That means that we all have access to our phones when we need them and it was the best investment EVER. He loves it. Glad we decided to go ahead and do it, otherwise there would have been a very unhappy little boy (who thinks that he is the same age as the big kids) who did not get the same thing as his older siblings.



This is cool!



Yay! Fuzzy boots!



Whatchu' lookin' at, Monkey?



presents...



presents...



The hats that grandma made.









I got a scarf, but found out just last night that I am now the proud owner of a hat too! Thanks grandma, you're the best!



Riding the skateboard from brother's new game.



New scooter...



and new bike!

Weekly Wednesday

Hey, how about that? It is on time this week! Woo hoo! These are not actually from today but they are from Sunday. So technically I am not really cheating.

We took the kids to the church Sunday afternoon and shot some pics of the 4 of them together and separately. They turned out pretty good for the most part, considering...1) They are my children. 2) Boog did not have a nap. 3) I was practicing with lighting and locations so we were there for a while. 4) Tutti-Frutti was so tired he fell asleep in my arms on the way back to the car.

I am working on proofing them so as soon as I pick out my favorites, I will put them up. Promise to try to work fast. Meanwhile, enjoy the little man.
Also, on another note...he (Tutti-Frutti) is having hernia repair surgery Monday morning. Not sure what time yet, will keep you posted. Remember us in prayers, please?

Not me! Monday

Welcome to Not Me! Monday, where we can be brutally honest with each other, and live to tell about it. When you are finished here, head on over to MckMama's blog to see a list of more not me's. You will be so glad you did!

This week, we most certainly did not celebrate Lemon Drop's 11th birthday 3 different times on 3 different days. That would be just plain crazy, I mean people only have one birthday, right? Well, obviously not at our house...and we certainly do not have cake twice!!! Seriously people! So...you will never find evidence of Boog shoveling in eating chocolate ice-cream cake.

We also did not have a sleep over with 3 extra pre-teen girls...WOW...so glad we did not do that. That might have been insane. Speaking of that kind of insanity...does anyone know when the head jerks and eye twitching will subside?

Ok...so maybe it wasn't that bad.

Oh yea, I did not meet a photographer friend of mine this weekend to take some awesome pictures of my little monkeys in the gorgeous bluebonnets. Nope, not me. That might have been a good idea and we all know, I rarely have those! Intentions...that is what I have! Almost forgot...while not taking pictures, it was soooo not me who was standing within arms reach of Tutti-Frutti when he did not flip over head first out of his basket, right into the bluebonnets! Nope, not me! I am a way better mother than that, and a whole lot more careful too! I would never let anything like that happen to one of my babies! So, no, that is not road rash you see on his head!

Speaking of not taking those pictures, remember my Not me! post from last week with my baby not in the leg of a pair of boy's shorts...Well, the jumper we did not make from those turned out absolutely perfect. So, all 3 of my boys most definitely did not have the cutest matching shorts for the pictures that we did not take. So this is surely not the little sneak peak she teased me with this morning! I am not just dying to see what the rest of them look like either. Nope, not me! I have way more patience than that!

Wednesday, we did not show up at Grandma and Grandpa's house with said jumper in tow, begging hoping for Grandma's help with sewing them for us. And, since we begged asked so nicely, she was more than willing to lend a helping machine hand. But then again, who could say no to our precious little Tutti-Frutti? Have you seen that face?

We also did not have a fantastic dinner with some dear friends of ours Friday night, nor did we have the best baked ziti EVER, along with great conversation and lots of laughs. The kids absolutely did not have a great time playing, especially Boog, he might have had a terrible time, if we had indeed gone. Since we were not there, we did not get home at midnight THE NIGHT BEFORE OUR WONDERFUL BLUEBONNET PICTURE EXPERIENCE! I mean seriously, who in their right mind keeps their kids out until midnight the night before family pictures?

Upon waking...Boog did not have a major melt down, proclaiming that, "I wanna staaaaay hooooome! I don't wannnna go taaaaaakkkke piiiiicccctures at the paaaaark!" Only to be the most photogenic of all of the children! Nope, not him.

Oh yea, and in case you are wondering...still no pirate ship!

Ok, well that is it for me and my Not me's! Not that there aren't anymore...I just cannot remember them all and I would hate to bore you past tears. So...while you are still clear eyed enough, head on over to MckMama's and see what everyone else has not been up to this week. Of course, that is if she has had time to put up a link to Mr. Linky this morning. She has had poor sick babies this weekend and is not feeling great herself, keep her family in your prayers, little Stellan has already had RSV once this winter, I would hate for them to have another hospital stay. So, if that is the case, I guess you are stuck with me. Have a great week! Y'all come back now, ya hear?

Not me! Monday

Welcome to Not Me! Monday, where we can be brutally honest with each other, and live to tell about it. When you are finished here, head on over to MckMama's blog to see a list of more not me's. You will be so glad you did!

First things first...you will be happy to know that I did indeed make it all the way up the stairs at MOPS this week with no incident! Yay! We can move on now...

This week, after weeks of hot humid weather, we did not get a cold front! I am so glad this did not happen because we all know how I do not just LOVE the cold weather.

However, to go along with the cold weather that we did not have, we also have not had 4 (yes 4!) days of rain. Eeek...now cold and rain, I am not a fan of.

Since we did not have cold rainy days this week, I did not drag take the two little ones to the mall this week! Nope, not me! I would never drag take my babies out intentionally in the rain (that we did not have) just to go to the mall. What kind of mother do you think I am? Since that did not happen, we certainly did not get soaked, several times, getting to and from the car as well as a few outside stores! Glad that did not happen, what kind of parent does that?!? I mean, what could possibly have been that stinkin' important?

Last Saturday at Church, my dear, sweet, wonderful, handsome husband and I absolutely did not under any circumstances at all bribe make a deal with our sweet little 3 year old Boog by telling him that if for the next 2 times we go to Church and MOPS, he does not cry, we will buy him a Beggie Tales (Veggie Tales) Pirate Ship from the bookstore. Nope, not us!

So, Friday morning, he screamed like a wild child going into his class at MOPS, but he made it thru and had a grand ole time. No pirate ship...Saturday night going to church, never cried the whole way there, dropped Tutti-Frutti off, headed for Boog's class and he started in, "If you leave me in my class, I evah won't see you." Sure enough, he pitched a big one going in but made it thru and had a grand ole time. So...guess what he asked us before he EVER got out of the room? Yep, the pirate ship. We did not have to tell him no because he had cried going in; therefore, no pirate ship this time. We again told him if he does not cry next time we go to MOPS or church, he gets the pirate ship. Well, being the softies that we are, we most defiantly did not take him to the bookstore and get him a movie! WHAT?!? We rewarded the behavior anyway? Well, it's not like we actually got the pirate ship!

It is getting better each week though, he now goes into kid's church from his classroom, sings and dances and has a boot scootin' good time. Now, if we could only get him in there without the tears. There's always next week.

Oh, and this week is not Spring Break! Woo hoo! I absolutely will not be getting up early any day for the next 7 days! Now, will someone come break the news to Boog and Tutti-Frutti! HA! Too bad that is just a fantasy! How nice would that be?!

Sunday night, we (handsome husband and I) did not cram gently place Tutti-Frutti into one leg of a pair of boys size 12 shorts in order to work out a way to make them into a jumper so all of the boys would have matching attire for an upcoming photo shoot. Nope, not us! That would not be a very nice thing to do...and he did not have a great time chewing on the pants and zipper while we were measuring him either! Nope, not our child! He has way too many toys to have to resort to that kind of behavior. So...I guess what I am trying to say is...you will never find pictures to prove it...

And, as I sit and type this tonight, waiting to be the first to post on Mr. Linky in the morning (yeah, right!) I am totally not singing...

Jingle Bells, Batman smells, Robin laid an egg...
Batmobile lost a wheel and Joker got away! Nope, not me!

That's it for my fun times, now get your hiney over to MckMama's and see what everyone else has to say for themselves, I know I will. Happy Not me'ing!