Biter!

Jaxon has officially been added to the book of biters. Apparently he figured out that he has a nice set of chompers and decided to test them out on Maddox.....unfortunately for him, they happen to be a little too nice. The first time it happened I think it startled both of the boys, but Jax quickly turned that surprise into a sense of accomplishment. Granted, I agree Maddox does tend to bully Jaxon a little bit, but they need to be on level playing grounds when they take it out on each other. Maddox, thank goodness, never was a biter, so I just don't think it's fair! So Maddox is now sporting a nice scab on his shoulder, hand and back where Jaxon literally drew blood each time. How do I handle this you ask? Immediate finger of soap in the mouth floowed by an escort to the room. Well, I get the blank stare with the soap and a grin when Jax stomps off to his room. I think the kid actually likes the taste of the soap and as for the room, it's nothing more than a little game. I say this also because he isn't learning his lesson. Tonight all the kids and me were laying on the floor playing and next thing I know I think Jaxon is hugging Maddox when in fact he was going for the shark bite on the leg....deflected!!! I quickly swipe Maddox's leg away. A few seconds later, Jax turns to give Maddox what I think is a hug, but OH NO... He went for the eye. Maddox felt the warmth of Jaxon's mouth bearing down on his temple and quickly screamed, startling the beast. Phew, just enough time to roll out of the way and scramble to Mom who saved the day. I'm tellin' you it happens just like that. The three other times it happened right in front of me and there was nothing I could do. They can go from friends to enemies in a flash. Poor little Ty is going to have some catching up to do if he wants to hang with the big boys!!!

Anyways, Maddox had his first day back to school today and he did awesome. The teacher told me he was super and acted like he never took a break. Maddox actually just asked me if he could go to school again next week. He was excited when I told him he gets to go again tomorrow. I think he really likes his new teacher and getting to see a lot of his old friends from last year. Alright well, I better go. I have about 12 hours of DVR video to catch up on and the house is quiet.

I CAN DRESS MY KIDS ALIKE IF I DARN WELL PLEASE!

Mistake on my part. I was driving home and almost made it back without stopping and spending any money. ( Not that I will spend a lot, but you know a few bucks here or there for coffee/snacks ) .....Anyways, I turn down a side street I usually don't take and low and behold there is a yard sale. Well, I decide I can't pass it up when I see the colorful buckets of kids toys and potential other treasures sprawled across the lawn. Sure enough I found some great buys. I immediately saw a pile of kids costumes and two perfectly good cowboy hats with blue stars on the front. "How much for the hats?" I ask. "1 dollar." the woman replies. ( I'll take those thank you very much) Hmm and how about that nice blue toy moped. Granted, the license plate says Barbie, but what will the boys know. .50 cents ( I'll take that too, thank you very much ) AAANND there was my mistake. What was I thinking? One moped.....for the boys to share?? HA! But, along I went purchasing the "fight generator 3000".

........Fast forward. Clearly my awesome one toy buy played out exactly as anticipated and naptime was led with promises that if they slept good I would take them to the store to try and find another moped. The boys slept and of course remembered my vow verbatim when they woke up. So I decide to get them dressed and scoot off....Now, if the above isn't clue enough that my boys need double of everything then let me make it clear. MY BOYS FIGHT OVER EVERYTHING!!! If I buy them the same toy, but different color one inevitably wants the other. This holds true with clothing too. So why not take advantage of the double outfits I have of pretty much everything in their closet. ( Not to mention I think it's pretty dang cute ) So I get the boys dressed in their matching Abraham Lincoln shirts, jean shorts , matching tennis shoes and of course their new matching cowboy hats and we take off to the store. The boys looked so cute and were so excited to wear their new hats. I listened to, " Yippe yo ki-yay, ride em cowboy!" pretty much the whole ride. We get to the Goodwill ( best palce to buy kids toys...again, great cheap little treasures you can find!) and the boys hop out. They immediately grab petchies ( hands ) and start walking to the door. I am casually walking behind them admiring the cuteness when a mid-twenties couple hops out of their car behind us. All of a sudden I hear the guy say, " Now that's just mean. " and the girl says in a more sypathetic tone, "well." A visualization of what was going through my mind would be my face with a look of shock placing my hand over my heart and gasping, "WELL, I never!!" "Who do you think you are commenting on my two little boys??? They are adorable I'll have you know and do you even have kids!! Clearly not, or you wouldn't make such a negative assumption. And to be quite honest, I think your ugly EMO glasses are just mean! ....Rude " But instead, what do I do I smile, hold the door open and usher them through...... ( Not to say I wasn't gritting through my teeth butthead :P ) ....... Sorry, just venting!!!

Tryin' to get back in the Swing

Phew, I think I am still in vacation mode. We just got back from an awesome night away in Orlando and I can't get back in the groove!! Arik and I went with a group of our friends to a beautiful resort in Orlando ( great deal ). We went to dinner, a dueling piano bar and a dance club ( where I got to show the world where Maddox gets his rhythm from...ha ha ). It was just completely relaxing and fun for us to kick back for the night. But of course by the morning all of us were ready to get back to our kids. I don't have pics from the night, but I should be getting a few from some of the other couples and I'll post them then.

Anyways, this morning I took the kids to the mall for short little playdate. It cracks me up because almost the instant we settle in, boys take their shoes off, I park the twins stroller and sit down...I smell a poop. It's like the comfort zone of the mall or something and Jax just lets it go.....everytime. Just as I am contemplating whether to load everyone back up and trek through the mall to the bathrooms or just wait it our a half hour, Mad comes up and states that he has to pee. Now in his case I think it's more the novelty of walking past the lawnmowers, but nevertheless he ends up going and it gives me an excuse to get up. Not kidding this is routine. We had a good time, the boys made a couple friends and I kicked back for a few minutes and watched them play.

Other than that we really haven't done a lot today. We've been getting some afternoon showers so the boys have been playing outside in the rain. Thank you Adam now they REALLY now how to play in mud and boy do they ever!!

Well, i was just stealing a few minutes to type, so I better go relieve the hubby. Despite what he may say, I don't actually strand him...often:)

Back Again!

We're back! We had a great visit with family up in Illinois. We were lucky enough to be able to spend 10 days with Arik's family and friends and bring along all the kiddos ( plus some help!..Thank you Hillary!!) It was our first attempt at a plane ride with all four and we came out with smiles on our faces....for the most part ( cough cough...USA 3000 "forgot" our car seats and stroller in Ft. Myers ) But, it was a minor bump in the road for what otherwise turned out to be a perfect time. Great weather, the kids adapted really well and I was actually able to catch up on some rest hanks to all the helping hands:) Thank you to everyone who contributed to us being up there. As for the pictures apparently I took 204 , SOOO I decided it would be best to send them out via Kodak gallery. Most of you should be receiving them in the mail shortly.

As for when we got back in town, we had a special visitor stay a few days with us. My dad was able to make it down and spend some time with the kids and me which was awesome. I've really missed him and having him be able to meet the twins for the first time was very cool to watch. he boys really took to him quickly and let me just add that my Dad and Uncle Ben are fired.... you guys both spoiled the boys with ice cream thank you very much! :)

Anyways, it's been a crazy, hectic, exciting and fullfilling past couple weeks and while I am certainly looking forward to settling back into our routine I will miss everyone very much, as I know Arik will too. It's almost 9:00 and I am whipped! I wanted so badly to take a bath and shave this evening, but right now my pillow and beds runnin' first place. Arik and I are going on one more little weekend gettawa tomorrow to Orlando, so I will touch base when we get back!

Olivia pushing forward!!!

Well, Olivia is now rolling from her back to her belly. And doing really great holding her bottle on her own. Ty is still a few paces behind, but I bet it will be no time before he's caught up. Ty has his first PT session for his torticullis when we get back from vaction in Sept. His neck is definately straightening up, but the back of his head is still very mis-shapened. He may have to wear a helmet at night-time, we'll see what they say. I feel sorry for the little gy, but better it happens now then when he is older. The Doctor already told me it is very correctable. Anyways, I have got zero packing done so far, so that is what I plan on doing later when Arik wakes up. Here are the rain pics I said I'd post!