name fail...

Last night, I had to laugh while watching "The Voice". In a random, but related thought, isn't it funny how Adam Levine has become more charming and even hotter and you don't mind him being such a player anymore, and Christina has just become alarmingly irritating! She grates on my nerves like I couldn't have fathomed. I look at her and all I see is cleavage, makeup and lots of nacho hair! Wow! Anyway, this post is not to rant about Adam or Christina or Cee Lo or even about Blake Shelton's adorable gray hair and self deprecating wit. This post is about....

"Javier Cologne"!

Last night I was laughing and telling Dave that Javier's name is so sexy sounding it must be made up, right..."Javier Cologne"! This is how Carson Daly pronounces the name, "Javier Cologne"! But when Javier's name appeared below him on the screen, I read that his name is actually "Javier COLON"! That's right, not "cologne", the French word that connotates masculinity, appeal and allure...but rather, COLON....as in COLONoscopy! As in COLON obstruction and COLON cleanse. A little ironic that cologne is also called "eau de toilette" or "toilet water" in this minor name debacle.

I know I am immature, but I found this hilarious! "Javier COLON" just doesn't have the same ring to it. I'm pretty sure you can legally change the spelling of your last name, and I just want to put it out there...Javier, just go ahead and DO IT. If you are going to call yourself "Mr. Cologne", make it legal. In the meantime, I will giggle every time your name appears on my TV and I hear someone try to make it sound sexy.

WARNING...annoying Mom blog (awesome stuff Eddie has been saying)

Eddie is just too funny. It's hard to explain if you haven't lived with him, but I never know what is going to come out of his mouth. He is hilarious. Check out the "snorkel" he built for his bath the other night.

Other funny Eddie stuff...

Eddie in his whitey tighties..."I'm VERY naked right now".

I asked Eddie to find a frisbee and put it in the car as were heading out of town with our dog. He said "Mom, I'm not really good at finding frisbees....but YOU are!". His Daddy's son, I think so!

Eddie's new favorite expression, "I'm on it!". Me - "Who can pick up these bath toys?", Eddie -"I'm on it!" or "Dinners ready, come downstairs!" "I'm on it!".

Eddie's constant complaint about Price "It's too windy outside for kids!".

I overheard Eddie yelling at Saren the other day, "Hey! Nobody is supposed to grab anybody else's penises!". BTW, I had to google plural use of penis to figure out how to spell that.

We play a game, after bath time, where the boys crawl out of their bath towels pretending to be some kind of animal emerging from their cave. The other day, Jacob came out of his towel growling, and nodded when I asked if he was a bear. Then, Eddie making some crazy chirping noise starts to come out of his towel and I asked, "Is it another bear?" Eddie's response "No! I'm an evil sperm whale!". What?

My favorite start to a conversation with Eddie is his overused expression, "Mom...we talk?". He says this a lot, but the next sentence caught me off guard once. "I've been a little lonely". Awwww, funny and cute and sad all at the same time.

And, when writing a letter to his cousin Kyle, who is on an LDS Mission, Eddie only wanted to say..."Dear Kyle, Come home Kyle."! I don't think you are supposed to say that to missionaries.

graduation...

"Summer break" was officially here two weeks ago when my kids finished Kindergarten and Preschool. Today was the first day all summer, with temperatures in the 80's, and as soon as we go swimming, I think Jacob will finally believe me that it's here.

During Kindergarten graduation, Jacob was adorable, sang like he meant it and smiled through his whole program!

The second the program was over, he ran up to me, gave me a big hug and said "Let's go!". He loved school, but loves playing even more. Miss Tawna has been an awesome teacher.

Jacob has been is speech therapy for 3 years now. He is learning so much and getting better all the time. Thanks to his wonderful therapists and aides who makes him feel so special.

Eddie was a little shy, but still managed to get his rock and roll on for his little Preschool Program.

The boys had a great year. I'm so thankful for their amazingly energetic teachers, who they loved. Miss Raquelle and Miss Kelly are about the cutest teachers I can imagine.

And I'll be thankful, most days, to have a little more time to be together without such a busy schedule. On the other days, I'll be hiding in the bathroom, trying to ignore three little sets of fists pounding on the door and asking me what I'm doing.

tis the season...

I couldn't drag my feet any longer. It was time to cut Samson's hair. Eddie was not happy, in fact, he fought with all his four year old might to keep the scissors away. It took all my strength and patience to hold him down. He literally went ape s$#% through the entire ordeal. His Aunt Sherri couldn't have been sweeter, and somehow she got it done. Eddie can see now. He looks so handsome! The rest of the day, Eddie kept telling me, "Mom, I don't like my haircut!". But I think it is growing on him now that he doesn't have tangles every morning.

Before...
After...
Jacob was a champ, his haircut was a breeze and he loves it. Here are his before and after shots...

I'm not sure how I feel about him looking this grown up, but I'm pretty sure I can't stop it!

love this lady...

This week we got a chance to visit Jacob and Saren's birth mom, Maggie. Isn't she beautiful? I love her so much! I see her so often in my kids....when Jacob makes his nervous face or grins his charming smile or when Saren nods her head cooly and says..."Yah" and every time I fix her beautiful, black hair.

This is our kids' adorable, look-a-like, Marshallese cousin, Robbie.

Thankful, is not an adequate enough word to explain how glad I am that God brought Maggie and my family together, almost seven years ago. I will never be able to tell her what a blessing her children are to our family. She made me a Mommy! Maggie, as well as Eddie's birth Mom, Jenny, are my sisters! I know God has great things in store for both of them because they have blessed my family in such an immeasurable way. I respect birth mothers in a profound manner. Birth Mothers are willing to suffer and have their hearts broken, so their children can have the best life they can give them. It is a true act of selflessness, which is what being a Mom is all about. Lots of love to you, Maggie and Jenny.

the butcher, the baker, the candlestick maker...

In an attempt to channel "The Hunger Games" Peeta, Dave is learning to bake bread. Just kidding, he doesn't know who Peeta is but the baker part is not lost on me. Maybe I should buy him a manly stenciling kit?

Normally, my Dave doesn't cook, bake, fry, saute, baste, boil, carve, stir, cut, chop, dice, simmer, sear or do anything that requires a culinary skill set. In the past Dave has occasionally grilled, but kind of badly. Since he got excited about this whole sour dough phenomenon, he has made nine loaves of bread! What is going on? And the sourdough loaves are getting progressively prettier and tastier. It is awesome! I knew there was a reason I looked cooking over baking. He is always surprising me. I was not, however, that he could only slightly hide his annoyance at me taking this photo.

what college did for me...

My day is filled with all kinds of small battles. Little conflicts like making Saren think she chose her outfit when she is insisting on knee high boots with shorts in the winter, deciding when Eddie is skilled enough to brush his teeth without help even though he wants to do it himself and making sure Jacob has time to play after school but still gets his homework done.

And, of course, every Mom found themselves in the midst of the classic Mommy dilemma...pancake shapes. I am happy to make a pancake "J" or "E", a little pancake snake, or Mickey Mouse ears. But, one fateful morning, in my hurry to get breakfast done and my constant mental marathon of what task was next on my list, I made round pancakes. The horror! Eddie was beside himself, and the round pancakes finished off the rest of the batter. He was not happy. In a flash of pure Mommy geniusness, I told him the round pancakes were "Hot Wheels Tires"! He was so excited. That was two years ago.

This morning Eddie requested pancakes breakfast. When I slid the little round cakes onto his plate, he gasped and smiled..."Are those hot wheels pancakes?". It's sad that this makes me so proud and happy...but it does. I love it when I can be manipulative in a productive way.