Nope, NOT ME!

Weeeee're baaaaack! I thought to myself, surely we won't miss one of MckMama's "Not me!" Monday posts. OK, really....who am I kidding:) Though she is punctual and delivers a perfect score each Monday....I have just realized that indeed I am not the perfect mother/housewife I once knew I was. (Ahem)

On with the show. My many moments from this past week of perfect parenting:

I did not purchase pink Disney themed princess Pull Ups for the boys to wear during night time. Who in their right mind would submit their tender 3 year olds to this sort of calamity? Not me! (It was my 2nd store looking for the nighttime Pull Ups. The first didn't have them and well, the 2nd only had the princesses in their size. I was already late to pick them up and had changed both beds that morning because the regular pull ups did not hold all their milk and juice from the night before...yes, I've started a fund to pay for therapy).

I did not wear my PJ's and slippers to take the kids to school all 3 days this week. My PJ's were a matchy, matchy set that closely resembled a sweat outfit. Who would know the difference. Besides the slippers were Uggs and clearly they look like shoes:) I think I pulled it off quite nicely as my "hey, I'm relaxing today....not I just rolled out of bed look".

One of the days was not carpool...I did not get out of my car like this in public to walk them inside. Not that I think about it...I'm pretty sure I was wearing the same thing on two of these days...yep.

I did not feed the boys "lunner" on Friday. They did not have awful behavior and attitudes, not my kids. They did not get sent to nap early as a result of said behavior, thus missing lunch. That would be plain silly to let my kids starve like that. Upon waking up they were given a combo of lunch and dinner = lunner...and ate with a happy heart:)

The boys did NOT eat animal crackers (ummm, cookies) and chocolate pudding for lunch Sunday. That would be way to lazy on our part and not wanting to deal with cranky sick kids...plus, when I'm sick I eat whatever I want, right? Not to mention we were running off less than 2 hours sleep from Saturday night. Clearly, animal crackers are way better for you than animal cookies!

I think I'm too tired to continue or remember any more at this point. Monday is looking like a GREAT PJ day!

Join with me in praying for MckMama and her family as they wait the arrival of their newest addition this week. MckMama and baby Stellan have had several medical challenges along the way and many God moving moments. Baby Stellan has overcome many medical challenges to make it this far. Our great physician has been hard at work. Prayers have been answered and our voices heard. We can't wait to "meet" you little guy!

What good is a post without a cute picture?

Miss Priss, loving her leg warmers

**For our neighbors who thought we might be entertaining seals in the wee hours of Sunday morning on our back porch...Peyton has croup...again this year. Thankfully not as bad as last year and the cold weather helped calm things down. So, that was our son we were reading books to at 1am...not a heard of barking seals:)** A group of seals...is that a heard?

Nope, NOT ME!

Looks like I've made it to another Monday! Kicking and Screaming, but I am here. Where do the weeks go? I can't believe I am only getting here on Monday mornings. Sadly, not much to say this time...we had a busy week and a fun filled weekend but not too many "Not Me!" moments. We spent a nice long weekend with my parents. It was filled with many adventures and a nice break for me. Maybe they should be posting this day since they took over kid duty for me. I did manage to come up with a few.

Sadly, I don't have any pics from the weekend. My mom didn't have her camera on our outings and Chris had ours back here at home. The boys had their first adventure at Chuck E. Cheese's. They loved the games and had the most fun placing their tokens in the slots. No telling how many we lost that way. Saturday was a fun day at The SC State Fair. Lots of rides and even more food. Mmmm Mmmm elephant ears! The fair always seems to bring out SC's finest if you know what I mean....sadly, I think you can add us to the list this year.

Don't forget to check out MckMama and her post of the day. A classic, as usual! I also just realized you can click on the orange box above and that will in fact take you to her blog....Who knew? Not me!

My son did NOT lock himself in the stall at his preschool to go "poop" as I was trying to juggle both of them and Miss Priss at the same time. This my friends is why we NEVER get anywhere on time.

I did NOT leave two three year olds in the same bathroom as above to go all the way down the hall to hand Miss Priss off to their teacher so I could return and retrieve Peyton from the locked stall.

I did NOT come back to find Parker standing at the door to the bathroom peering out in the hallway....with his pants around his ankles. No one else saw this either....

I did NOT just find my boys hiding under the kitchen table eating a Kit Kat bar as I was typing the above....who leaves their 3 year olds unattended these days...O wait, I think we have already pointed the guilty finger my way. Hey, at least they were sharing the candy!

On the same day as the above mentioned potty incident....I did NOT pull into a rest area for the boys to use the bathroom....and proceed to set up my own rest stop by my van with their very own potties. Nope, NOT ME! (It may have looked something like this...8th picture down)

At the second pit stop I didn't even bother with the potties....have boys...can stand to pee....Check!

(are you kidding me people, lug three very small children into a public bathroom so two of them can fight over who is going to pee first while the other mops up the floor with a tantrum and touches EVERY DIRTY THING in sight.....you know you would do the SAME thing)

As we were leaving the Fair grounds and loading up the car...."I have to go pee pee". No bathroom in sight and no re entry.... I did NOT, once again, whip their pants down and let them pee right there in the grassy parking area....I mean really, who lets their kids pee this many times in public areas in one weekend. NOT ME! This was the one thing I said I would NEVER do with my kids.....Yeah, well, I have learned to never say never!

So there you go...add us to South Carolina's finest that show up at the fair every year...they are the ones that let their kids pee in the grass parking lots!

I did NOT curse Georgia's fine governor for allowing paving to take place on a MAJOR interstate at 5pm on a weekday of a rather large town....did I mention a cop STOPED traffic on this major interstate of this good size town for 45 MINUTES! I was loosing my mind....as were my 3 screaming kids in the back of the van. Paving the road....really? Clearly, you can follow the chain of command right up to the Governor. Thank You Mr. Sonny Perdue....for the fine public service work you are doing on our roads.....AT 5PM RUSH HOUR TRAFFIC! A GREAT way to use our tax dollars.

Gosh, it seems MANY of my post are related to the potty lately....I guess that is why you call it bathroom humor? Seeing that we ARE STILL POTTY TRAINING, and I can only hope they will be done by the time we move them in freshman year for college....there should be plenty more stories to come. They are boys afterall....don't ALL boys dwell on potty humor anyway?

Since I have no pics from the weekend, I'll close with a few from our last day at the neighborhood pool for the summer. What good is a post without some pictures:)

Parker

Miss Priss

My three monkeys...she now gets included in the monkey category....she will be extremely mobile within the week. She has the "inch bug" method down pretty good now. Not sure I am ready for this! Um....not sure Monkey 1 and Monkey 2 are ready for this!

Nope, NOT ME!

It's looking like I'm having some difficulty keeping this blog thing caught up. Have no fear....Monday is here and there is plenty to report:) Seeing that Chris was out of town most of last week and I was single~moming it (yes that is a verb phrase)....not much luxury things got done. We did manage to do laundry and clean the kitchen after meal time though. Eat nutritious meals....not on your life. I don't think my kids saw anything remotely resembling a veggie last week. Well, that is a lie...Miss Priss did but that is only b/c I've been making her baby food and all I had to do was pop a veggie cube out of the freezer. Now that I think about it... did I feed the kids last week?:)

Won't you join me and McMama in her weekly "Not me!" Monday. It shows up midway down her post...but trust me, you will want to read the begining....something we can all identify with.

Yes, I feed the kids last week....oatmeal.......AGAIN. Just remember, there WAS a meal in between the two servings and of course it was ORGANIC...thus taking care of ALL nutritional needs.

We did NOT have a "name your body parts" episode before school last Tuesday. I did NOT have to for warn their teacher they were on this kick and certain names may or may not come up in class that day. It went something like this:

Setting: Mommy using the potty with two boys nearby (Oh, come on...you know you never go potty by yourself anymore these days)

Par: Mommy, you going pee pee?

M: Yes, baby, I am going pee pee...I'm a big girl and I use the potty

Pey: You get M&M's mommy?

M: Yep, I'm going to get some M&M's

Par: Mommy you have a p*n*s? (what, where did THAT come from)

M: No baby, only boys have a p*n*s.

Pey: Daddy have a p*n*s?

M: Yep, your daddy sure does b/c he is a BOY

Par: Mommy what you have?

M: Uhhhh...go ask your daddy? (I mean really...and we agreed long ago to use proper names with our kids...oh well, no turning back now)

the boys go running off to find daddy

Par: Daddy, you have a p*n*s?

D: Yes, yes I do

Pey: what does mommy have?

D: long pause....mommy has a v*g*na (me hiding around the corner laughing...he actually told them!)

Pey & Par: long pause.......and confused look on faces

Par: no, mommy has a hiney!

M: that's right boys and it sure was a lot cuter before you 3 monkeys came along! Now, lets get your bags ready for school.

***words not fully spelled out here to head off any creeps from googling thses words and our blog popping up***

***we agreed long ago to teach our kids the propper body parts when they asked. They would learn them one day anyway and also this would take a part of the mystery out of it all. God did give us different parts and they do have different names, simple as that. Someone once told us this would also help in case, heaven forbid, they were ever touched or violated in anyway. When asked to name the areas they were touched there would NEVER be ANY doubt the bodypart they named. There would have to be no clarifing what a "pee pee" or other made up name really was. It may not be for everyone, but it is what works for us.***

We were NOT those parents who took their kids out for a treat at 8pm on a Saturday night...who does that at bedtime? Fill them up with ice cream and such. I used to look at parents who did this and think...what are they thinking, those kids need to be home in bed! I've now learned that you don't always know the whole story and parents are not always entirely irresponsible...just partly:) and we now fit into that class! Chris had been out of town and we were making the most of our family time for the weekend. Ice cream at 8pm it was...besides, we had a coupon:)

On the way to get our special treat on Saturday at bedtime, my hubby did NOT have a parenting moment go bad. The boys were whining that they could not see the moon after we had rounded the corner (no, they were NOT whining b/c they were tired and it being there bedtime). Chris stated something to the affect: the moon does not come out for whining boys. When you stop whining you will see the moon again...whining stopped and we rounded another corner and low and behold there was the moon! Clearly we should have stated that if the whining did not stop we were turning the car around and going home without our treat.....BUT, WE wanted the ice cream and a family moment so off we went...bad parenting and all.

To continue our parenting gone wrong outing....we were leaving to come home (well after 9pm at this point)and Parker had to go potty....where there was NO potty around. This past week he has reverted to wetting his pants (grrrr) so I was very pleased he told me. What's a good mother to do? Drop his pants then and there in the parking lot (yes, a very public parking lot of a high end outdoor shopping center) and let him have at it? NO, NOT ME!...clearly I have more class than that! Not too worry.....he aimed at the wheel of the tire and it backfired all over me and him, getting both of us soaked! He was more wet than if he had wet his pants...BUT, we SAVED the car seat! Do I mention a cop drove by as this was taking place?

We did NOT play hookie from church the very next morning and sleep until well after 9am! Oh, it was DELIGHTFUL!

I did not keep my daughter up past her bedtime this week because it was easier to feed her when I was feeding the boys...a very late dinner. I can't even remember at this point why we were so late eating. She did NOT fall asleep in her chair while I tended to the monkeys and cleaned up the kitchen.

Miss Priss has her very own girlie PJs to wear. She does NOT wear her brothers old PJs b/c it is cheaper and well, they were own the kitchen counter from where a friend had recently returned them from borrowing them for her son.

Parker did NOT have to brush his teeth with the soap he had placed on his brothers toothbrush and then preceded to "paint" the bathroom with. This was after he had been told to stop playing in the soap...we are trying to get creative with discipline/learning around here. The consequences of disobeying mom and playing in soap....well, you put soap on your brothers toothbrush and now it is time to brush your teeth. It's too bad it has soap taste to it. Soap is not for playing, it is for washing our hands. This is going to taste bad and it did! We have had no more playing in the soap. I did let him rinse his mouth out and then brush his teeth with toothpaste like we should. Natural consequences seem to be working around here. We shall see. May not be for everyone but it is currently working for us.

The boys are NOT watching TV while I type this post....we hardly ever have the TV on and it has now been on for 4 hours!!!!! What am I thinking? They have not watching this much TV ever! It is Disney though....that makes it ALL OK right??? just like the organic oatmeal:)

A father/son moment on a late Saturday afternoon. Parker's favortie thing to do afternap time...checking the mail. Sometims he times it just right and gets to wait on the mail truck.

*UPDATE FROM LAST MONDAY*

Peyton did very well eating his corn and green beans for breakfast! Score 1 for mom! I'm not really keeping score...but just in case I ever.....:)

This proved to me that it was a discipline/obedience issue and that he really likes these items. I NEVER force me kids to eat something I know they truly do not like. They must try everything given to them and we go from there. Gladly we have not had to do it again. HOWEVER, the next night he did think it funny to spit a mouth full of grits onto the floor....off to bed he went that night ahead of his brother. We are getting there....slowly but surly my kids WILL have table manners!

Nope, NOT ME!

Good gosh, these people are fast! Its just after midnight here on the East coast and already there are over 50 links! MckMama has got it going on:) Check out her "Not me! Monday" post here. Can't wait to read them. And why might I be up at midnight doing this you ask. You see, there are still some domesticating things to be done Monday morning and I wanted to get this done. So now it is. Plus, Peyton is going to be having an interesting breakfast this am and who knows how long that is going to take:)

Here goes:

I absolutely did NOT tell a tee tiny white lie to my boys last week. I mean seriously, who does that...lies to your kids. As if! It was time for new tennis shoes and off to Stride Rite we went. A monopoly on wide and extra wide kids shoes I tell you. Peyton wanted the ALL white leather shoes with the light up firetruck AND two velcro tabs across the top. Um...NO! If I am paying this much for shoes, they are going to look like I payed this much for shoes! "sorry honey, these don't come in your size". Yes, lightning struck just next door. I don't do velcro across the top and I certainly don't do light up either. Sure if this was a play pair and we were getting them cheaply. NOT for the amount they wanted. We picked out the "barfaroma" pair and all were happy. What boy doesn't want a pair of shoes called barfaroma anyway? Still velcro (I can't tie 2 pair of shoes 5 times a day) but in a stylish sort of way and dark blue so as to not appear demolished the first time they are worn on the playground. There....everyone happy.

My kids were NOT in thier PJ's when a friend came over recently at 8pm...what is wrong with this? They were the SAME PJ's from the night before....that they had not taken off from the night before. Saving on laundry I tell you! Yeah, there was no bath either:)

I did not threaten my child that what he did not eat for supper he would in fact eat for breakfast the next morning. Wait...you are right, I DID in fact say that. But you see, it was not a threat at all. I learned early on that you mean what you say when it comes to discipline! Mr. Peyton will be eating his green beans and corn from his Sunday night supper for breakfast this morning. We shall see how this goes. I am just stubborn enough to do it too. You just wait and see. The boys have gotten down from the table plenty a times saying they were not hungry...and given nothing else to eat. They have learned to eat what is given, I am NOT a short order cook. They must TRY everything on their plate, but do not have to eat it all if they truly don't like it. Sure, their tummys have been growling when we tuck them in at night...but, they have learned to eat their food and be thankful for what they have...until recently when they have found it funny to play in their food. Dismissing them from the table, timeout, warnings, teaching...none of it has worked. Last night I had had enough and knew there must be a tougher consequence. They were given one warning and the consequence stated. Parker choose to finish his dinner....Peyton did not and continued to play thinking it was funny. So dismissed from the table it was and guess what is for breakfast:) Green beans and corn! It all came to a head last week when they pulled the playing with your food stunt at a neighbors house....we are going to nip this one in the bud!

So there you have it...my not so good and still waiting to see parenting takes for the week. I'll keep you posted on breakfast. Makes you want to come eat at our house eh?

One cute pic we snapped of the boys Saturday night. We found them like this again Sunday night. Soooo sweet when they want to sleep near each other. Peyton does not like it when Parker gets in the bed with him...I guess this was his compromise. They did this all on their own.

Domesticated

It would seem that way at least...domesticated that is. I think we have been cleaning house for one whole week now. Really. That is what happens when you do NOTHING to your house for a solid week. Clothes didn't get washed, barely any dishes washed, no bathrooms cleaned, no dusting...NOTHING. Well, we did at least make our beds...that way I didn't feel too guilty:)

To finish our weekend off we tucked the childrens in the bed and gathered in the den...to do more domesticating of course. Now that all the laundry was done...someone had to do the ironing. Yeah...I don't iron. Just ask my dad! He did the ironing in our house when I was growing up (and I'm pretty sure he still does). So, naturally now that I am married and have a home of my own...I still DON'T do the ironing. My vote for Chris' shirts...$1 per shirt at the dry cleaners. CLEARLY that is one heck of a deal. Nope, apparently not. So not only does he iron his shirts...but mine and the boys as well. Yep, wife of the year award right here.

So what might I have been doing while my dearest was hard at work ironing? Attempting to sew buttons on several items. Apparently my mom's sewing skills are NOT in fact hereditary. Seeing that she can sew anything you throw at her...one would think I could sew a button on decently. Nope, makes me want to say bad things every time. I did however learn why one might want to wear a thimble tonight...cussing I tell you. 5 buttons later and I would not indeed earn an A in my home economics class. Maybe a check for effort but that is about it. Thankfully the front of the button looks good...the backside however, a nice tangled mess. O well...I tried.

What else might we be doing while we are domesticating? (yes that is a verb). Watching Chirs' addiction:) Not my most favorite show to watch. It just flat out stresses me out. Too much drama, too many decisions and way too much hormones involved. I think this very well could be a sacrifice for me to watch this show! It frays my nerves raw and makes me too anxious. Maybe it's because I fear it will bring another round of applications to mind. Chris and his brother have tried out for this show more times than I care to remember. (2 for Chris and 4 for his brother) They even traveled to Ohio for an open casting call. We were in California at the time...that is how ridiculous it got. No, I'm not trying to squash his dreams...but really....be gone for 6 weeks. Hello, we now have THREE small children to care for. Oh yeah...it all started when we had TWO INFANT SONS. It is a bit of a sore subject at the Darley household. I really want to be the wife that can stand up and say: "Yes baby, follow your dreams. I know this is a once in a lifetime opportunity, go do it. Have fun and call when you get back". Realistically that is not how I feel and he knows. We have talked about it several times and there is WAY TOO MUCH going own in our lives now. Maybe one day....yes, I keep hoping he will loose interest. I'm just being honest here. I am supportive of so many dreams, I really am. I just have a REALLY hard time getting on board with this one. His solution. We should try out together. HA HA HA!!!! Those of you that know me, know how utterly disastrous this would be. Me with no sleep and no planning time....DIS-AS-TER! Somehow my not so good side would be there for all to see on national TV. I know myself well enough to know this is NOT for me. Oh the tears that would be shed. I mean come on, he has seen me with little sleep and he still would want to do this and on TV at that. That is love my friends. However, my answer is still NO!

So do tell, who are you pulling for. The girls from SC of course...but I'm leaning toward the brother/sister team.

Eat your heart out ladies...this is a common occurrence at our home:) Yes, I am one lucky women and VERY thankful I have a man who is not afraid of his domesticated side!

It is the end of the month and that means we are at or near our grocery limit for the month:) So, it is look in the pantry and freezer to see what ya got. Usually it is pancakes and PB&J! This time we got lucky. Papa sent some ribs with Mimi the last time she came for a visit. Ribs are my all time favorite food and I think I've done a good job passing the love on to the boys. Parker can eat him some ribs! His eyes lit up tonight when I told him that was for supper. He ate 1/2 a rack himself.

Peyton

Parker

See what I mean...TO.THE.BONE people. He cleans them good! He was not thrilled I made him stop for a photo op.

Of course we can't get away with a post without Miss Priss. Supper for her: rice cereal(not a fan), butternut squash and avocado...which she loves! Chris and I cooked our first butternut squash this weekend to make baby food. It turned out really yummy. We were quiet proud of ourselves!

Nope, NOT ME!

Seeing that I seem to be making some headway into this posting thing again:) I thought I might take a moment and let you see what I have been up to lately....as if potty training, hubby working crazy hours, tagging clothes for consignment sales and keeping the 2 monkeys out of trouble weren't enough. I put blogging aside for several reasons this summer....but I did NOT stop reading them. I gave myself enough time during the day to multitask so that reading and keeping up with you guys could still happen. Every time I sat down to nurse Miss Priss, I was reading, reading, reading. This is what made leaving comments difficult too:)

Today presented itself with a great opportunity to share a blog with you that I am absolutely hooked on....may come close to stalking:) You see, I have never even left a comment here but I feel like this family is just around the corner, they are not. We pray for them quite often and I love, love, love reading her witty stories, her parenting techniques and how God is working in her life. AMAZING, I tell you. She has GOT IT GOING ON over there. Really, you are going to want to check her out. BUT....make sure you've got a couple of hours because you are going to get hooked! She is a riot I tell you. Kim, you are going to LOVE this one! Go on...add it to our list of daily must reads. She is right up there with 6YearMed, Steece's Pieces, Whittaker Women, Ragamuffin Soul, Miss CB (the best dressed toddler ever)..sorry guys, she is private and many more. You can thank me later:) It's been a year(can you believe it) since we've added another one. It's about time don't ya think.

All this to say she has started something fabulous and oh so fun....makes you realize you are NORMAL and there are plenty of other mommy's out there doing some crazy stuff too:) My blog readers, meet MckMama and her MSC (many small children as she likes to call them). Big Mac, MckNugget, Small Fry and soon to arrive MckMuffin. It must be something about California I tell you. She is refreshingly honest and REAL...at least her blog comes across that way. Her transparency is catching and her pictures incredible. Go take a look...I promise you'll love her for good. It's baby Stellan we have been praying for (aka MckMuffin). Their story of this current pregnancy, the struggles, fears, unknown outcome and faith will capture your heart. Can you tell I have become a Raving Fan?

Without further adu...her is her newest creation:

Check out her post here and links to many other mommas out there who do NOTHING wrong any given day of the week:) Currently writing this at 10:45pm here on the east coast there are already 191 participants! WOW.

I did NOT feed my monkeys oatmeal twice in one day last week. Hey, they had lunch in between which included a fruit. Plus, the oatmeal was organic and that solves ALL nutrition problems:)

Bath time was NOT skipped AGAIN b/c we just stayed inside and no one was visibly sweaty or dirty behind the ears...they make baby wipes for a reason you know!

Bribing the monkeys with food is NEVER done at our house. So when we were in Target getting some much needed things....the popcorn (which is a choking hazard and nutritionally absent) I fed the boys was NOT a bribe. I would NEVER do such a thing just to get my kids to behave, nope NOT me!

I absolutely DID NOT step outside to find the monkeys with shorts and underwear around their ankles peeing on the house being built two doors over. My children would NEVER do such a thing. Clearly they are raised better than that. Peeing in public of all things, NOT my kids. I did NOT wish I had my camera near by to snap a picture of said event.

The boys turned into smurfs yesterday because they were NOT left unsupervised with blue ink and stamps as I stepped out of the room for a moment. I did NOT leave baby sister in there with them either....Who in their right mind would ever leave 3 kids 3 and under unsupervised with blue ink (not crayola washable either)? I never said I was in my right mind:)

As I was reading MckMama's Not Me! Monday post I did NOT leave the monkeys unsupervised again....only to find them rearranging our closet. One day, I will learn my lesson...until then, it makes for some darn funny blog stories:) Isn't that what we hope for after all?!!!?

So come on...get on board with this one....see how funny it is and freeing! Come on girls...Do Tell.

Smurf 1 (err, Peyton) pre shower

Smurf 2 (err, Parker) hiding from us in the bathroom

Parker hard at work creating MORE work for me this morning in our closet. But I sure did have fun reading MckMama's latest. And that my friends, is all that matters.

Miss Priss not too keen on being cleaned up after the monkeys got a hold of her!

CRUSH

The boys imaginations have been full tilt lately. I love it! I love hearing them talk to each other when they are in bed at night and I love hearing them talk to themselves at nap time. I need to do a better job of writing these things down.

Recently they have been into animals. We have many different types of animals living with us. Usually it is baby chicks. However, we have had many tiger, gorilla and and baby lion sightings. Usually they do OK with these creatures. Peyton recently was HYSTERICAL that there was a baby gorilla in the corner at nap time. Luckily this was on a weekend and Chris was able to rescue him from this horrific sighting. Their favorite cohabitant of ours is baby chicks. They carry them everywhere with us. Many times I will look to see them walking around with their fists clenched shut....carrying the baby chicks of course. They were in the backyard playing one morning and had me absolutely convinced there were baby chicks in the woods. They had sticks they were poking the ground with and I was worried they really were hurting these little birds they found.....nope, nothing there.

I have these preschool books for the boys that I am filling out to help us remember this time in their life. I was asking them several questions about school to help fill the book out. I asked Parker who was his best friend, fully expecting him to say Peyton......AvE. AvE? Who is that? He gets this silly grin on his face and repeats the name. Hmmm. I look at the class list and realize my baby has his first crush! Avery is a little girl in his class this year. I was not sure who she was and was looking forward to Wednesday when I walk them in instead of using the drop off line. Well, today I meet Avery. I must say he has VERY good taste. She is the cutest thing. Long, full blond hair and the most darling outfits. Little does Avery know but she has been napping with us, eating supper with us and coloring with us. Today he was walking in with his fists clenched.

Me: "Parker what is in your fists?"

P: Looks at me and then looks at his teacher who is standing beside his true love

Me: "Who are you holding on to there buddy?"

P: Looks at me and grins

Oh sooo cute. Miss Beth and I just laugh. I learn that he and Peyton were fighting over her yesterday at school. Te he he. Would have loved to be a fly on the wall for that one.

First day of school picture 9/2

Showing off their new shirts

Not sure about the weather at your house, but it has been delightful here these past two days. We leave a bit after 8 to go to school and it has been in the 60's! Ahhh, fall is in the air. I've been up to midnight the past few nights and needed a pick me up this morning after dropping the monkeys off. Two of my favorite things. I dug around in my money dish in the van and came up with some $1 bills. Found my gift card to 4bucks coffee...mmmm pumpkin spice latte.

Love all those $1 bills. They really add up:) We have a deal that Chris gives me all his change...ones and coins. My friends call them my stripper ones cause I save them up and usually have a nice pile floating around. Sara has seen quiet a few of these...I use them to fund our picture sessions. Shh, Chris might change his mind once he sees how quickly they add up:)

The only thing that would have topped off this mornings treats would have been a Jamba Juice! Yes the one refered to in the movie Baby Mama...it is a real place! This was my absolute favorite treat when we were living in So Cal. They have THE BEST smoothies. Orange Dream Machine is my favorite. We went to Colorado back in April (pic above) and found them there! I was in heaven. Sadly the closest one to us in the terminal in the Charlotte, NC airport. Two problems with this. 1) That is 2 states away 2) You have to be flying b/c it is IN the terminal. Killing me people. My dear husband has been known to travel for work to said area AND to fly all the way home bringing me the above treat! That one scored major deposits in my love tank:)

This is why I've been up to midnight lately and running around like a chicken with it's head cut off. Chris has been working long hours and kid duty is in my court. No this is not my laundry pile (that hasn't been touched this week) but all the clothes that I am selling in a consignment sale this weekend. I have not one but two to get ready for! It's the big thing to do around here and a lot of fun. Many of my girlfriends are in on this too. Great deals and Good times. I do have to get my clothes together and price tags on them ALL.

Don't leave your lap top around monkeys or it might look like this! Held together with packing tape.

We headed to God's country over the weekend (Clemson). Though it felt like a lot more like another place than I imagine Heaven feeling like. It was HOT!!! Chris' roomies from college were all in town. Two of the roomies have twins, one is married to a twin and another that was not there also has twins....what's in the water people?

Nothing like a prime potty spot for the monkeys. Gotta love potty training and being on the road. They were thrilled when we pulled into a truck stop for our break.

Can't have a post without pics of Miss Priss. Taken yesterday on our first cool morning. The Baby Legs were perfect for a quick fix to the cool temps as we were walking out the door. I had just enough time to change her diaper, pop in a bow and pull on the leg warmers....she had slept in the onsie:)

Look at those thighs! Grown on double A's my friends:) Guess I can stop feeling guilty that the boys also got breast milk yet remained peanuts. She ain't afraid to show those things off. I call her pork chop...affectionately of course. Loving all those rolls...guess they wont be so cute come spring break freshman year. I love them now though!

This one's for you

Breath...again...now take another one. Yes, you really are seeing an updated post from us. My bedtime has come and now gone, BUT...our blog is updated AND has new pictures. They are from the past month too! WOW!

Excuses, excuses is all we have. Some of them are pretty darn good too. It's too bad I can't share them all right now seeing that this is a public blog and all. Stick around and it will all come out....pictures too. March has come and gone...taking my sanity with it. Three kids under 3 will do that to ya you know.

Lots and lots of change going on around here. Yes, we are ahead of schedule in that department:) 2 years not quit here yet and here we are making changes. I'll get to that one too. I hope I'll be getting to all this stuff I keep promising. I keep telling Chris that I need library day worked into my job description:) You know...a day where I can catch up on phone calls, answer emails, update our blog, think in full sentences. Oh and I need some sick and vacation days added too. While your at it, add a clause for conferences....I'll take one on a sunny island with lots of sand and crashing waves. What might this conference be about you may ask? Leisure reading and tanning of course. Anyone interested? I'll be paying for the single room rate...not sharing my bed or room this go round:)

What prompted this return out of the blue? A dear old friend from So Cal:) It was so good hearing from you. You MADE my night:) I thought to myself answering the phone...this sounds like Tammy Brown...but it couldn't be. I just adore out of the blue surprises like this. God works in marvelous ways. I've had a rough go at "mommy" this week and was just telling Chris that I was letting it get me down in all areas of my life. I was feeling the need for a So Cal fix and would he mind me skirting out there for a few days.....Thanksgiving break....Christmas? So Cal is getting back to my roots of who I have become today...of who Chris and I have become as a couple and of who I am as a mom. I was needing a refresher and I got one in the least expected way. God is so very cool. It came straight from the source. We went to Southern California with Chick-fil-A...but God used that to bring us to a very cool church...Sandals Church to be exact. Without writing a novel....This church was instrumental in changing Chris and I in many ways. Our hearts are forever changed because of the vision of this Church. Teaching you, leading you and showing you how to be REAL. It wasn't just all talk either. All this to say...a dear friend called me tonight to say HI and it was sooo soo good to hear from her. It is so hard to stay connected to long distance friends. It is so nice to pick up where you left of though.

So this post is for you Tammy...thanks for the updates, the smiles and the encouragement. It is such a blessing to hear how well things are going and the growth that you are seeing in many areas. Thanks for sharing your heart and for reaching out. Chris and I miss you and Matt greatly. Send our love and our hellos. See you in February for sure:) Instead of emailing you some pics, I'm putting them here. I meant every word I said. We left California changed because of the work God was doing in your lives and in a church called Sandals. Thanks for all the sacrifice y'all have made as a family to see this vision through. We take a piece of Sandals everywhere we go. The 3 years there is a defining moment in our lives. God is so good. Miss you girl.

Can you believe how big they are! Just think of the tiny p-nuts you held many a times. I still think of the day you and Heather showed up at our door step to surprise me with a night out with my hubby. I left you with a mess of a house and two screaming babies. I came home to a spotless home and 2 sleeping boys. Not to mention the time you cleaned my home after we were attacked by the Rota virus...love my friend...pure love.

This is what we here in the South call "smocking". Yeah, and we dress our children alike on purpose:) You would just laugh...not too worry, the boys have plenty of Quicksilver:)

Daddy is all the kids want these days...fine by me:) Working long hours and he comes home to this:) A good man...cleaning the kitchen AND entertaining the kids:) I really can't complain!

Can you believe what a chunk she is...I like to call her pork chop...just b/c I can:) The boys never made it to this status. 6 months old and 17 lbs!!! I kid you not....she has fat rolls like you can't imagine. She is not even eating food yet! Did you ever think a Darley baby would be so plump:)

She made it to her first Clemson game...it was awful, don't ask. Just thought you would enjoy all our orange. That is an orange Tiger paw on her cheek.

Thanks for the call tonight. It was WONDERFUL hearing your voice. Sure do miss you. Send me pics of the kiddos...I can't imagine how big they are getting.

March Madness

Oh my oh my...where has time gone? Am I really only at March pictures. Say it ain't so. Now that I have FINALLY gotten them off our camera AND uploaded to blogger....they are all out of order and not in the right place. They are supposed to be in the middle, not on the left side. Ah, well...I guess that just sums up our days now...all out of order, nothing in the right place:) Who knew 3 kids could be this complex? OK...someone out there did and they just forgot to let me in the loop! Slowly, VERY SLOWLY we are getting back in the swing of things...I think:) So please excuse our absence and the chaos of the picture order...I am just beyond trying to organize it at this point. It's been long enough. For those of you still out there, here we go.

Easter was nice. Didn't make the first service...late to the 2nd but there non the less. Trying to get a family photo is a riot these days. Guess we will have to commission Sara again:) My mom and Chris' mom joined us for the weekend. Actually my mom was still here helping out, thank goodness. Who knows what kind of shape Chris would have found us in if she wasn't here. A month was not nearly long enough! I even tried to convince her to buy the house next door:) To think we headed out to California 4 1/2 years ago to give it a go on our own...which we loved every minute of... and now I am pleading with my mom to at least buy a house on OUR STREET! My, my...how things change. I think Chris breathed a sigh of relief when she didn't take me seriously:)



Don't be fooled by this sweet angelic SLEEPING baby... we did not get many like this during the first month. By 6 weeks I was done convincing myself it was just a bad day, bad feeding, bad hour. Off to the Dr. we went. Just like her brothers, Miss Priss has reflux. Our faithful old friend has returned:( Was living with us for 20 months not enough with the boys? Alas...some meds latter and we have a totally different baby:) She now lives up to this picture:) She really is a good baby, we just had a few rough nights (um days) OK a really rough go at it at first. I do now recall that I do NOT function well on little sleep. Not such a nice person...nope, not at all. 6 months of round the clock every 3 hour feeding with the boys sent me to a very not so fun place. You see that ment only 30-45 minute stretches of sleep at a time. 10 months of weekly marriage counseling later (thanks Bobbi) and I/we were good to go:) Thankfully, I am adjusting much better this time around and PPD does not seem to be a part of it! Praise the Lord:)





All geared up to watch the ACC tournament. Yep, starting her out at a young age:) This picture makes me laugh b/c Peyton (left) looks like the biggest redneck! Oh, if you could only here him talk! You guys in Cali would die. Lets just say he fits right in with where we are living. I think I've been spending a little too much time at Walmart! Hey...the groceries are MUCH cheaper there!








Our Tiger Cubs!

Miss Priss on Easter morning. Mimi made her dress:)

Anna Claire's first Easter egg hunt
3 weeks old...such a rough life!
Mmmhm...there is some in this one too. (Parker)
I wonder how many more sweets I can sneak in.... (Peyton)

Remember I was saying earlier Peyton was sounding a bit "southern"...this outfit doesn't help matters. WOW! thankfully they are just PLAY clothes:)...very soon I am sure I will loose that battle too! Until then, I get to pick out our "going out" clothes. :)

Parker so proud of his book! He picked it out all by himself for going poop in the potty. That's right folks...the Darley boys are....NOT potty trained:( He got his book and that was it...nothing more since then! Great! Bless her heart...my mom followed them around with the potty the ENTIRE month she was here. They were making great progress....with the watch and EVEY 15 minute bribes. Not so much once she left. A 4 week old and just me home with all 3... you can see where this didn't go so well.



Sadly, we had to say goodbye to our video camera. The thing didn't even make it 2 years! AND...it broke before she got here:(...with a tape of the boys in it! They wanted more money to extract the tape then the camera was worth...let alone fixing the thing. I just wanted the tape of the boys out! Chris did a nice job:) and it was FREE! Uh,no...the camera did not go back together again... much like "Hunkie Dunkie" as Parker calls him.



2 1/2 year old play is exhausting! We frequently find them like this at night:) So, so sweet. Peyton must have been really tired b/c when Parker crawls in bed with him and brings all his stuff...Peyton usually gets up and crawls in Parker's bed...or stands at the door and calls for us. Reminds me of when they were babies and shared a crib.


This my friends is the lovely sight I woke up to that first day after my mom left. Once I stated cleaning it...it only made it worse. Peyton walks into our room to wake me up and is COVERED in soap suds. I follow him into the hallway, the den, the boys hallway and their bathroom....COVERED in soap suds. I wanted to cry but could only laugh...Until I started to mop. Then...I cried. It only made the mess bigger. This was all before 9am. I called Chris asking about boarding school:) If only I knew what the rest of the week was going to hold. By Friday Chris had assured me that military school would in fact enroll 3 year olds. We only had to make it to the end of June!

Monday-soap fest...Peyton trying to clean up the M&M mess they first made...then decided that soap suds were indeed a fun early am activity.

Tuesday-diaper wipe decor...brand new pack of wipes ALL over my den and couch VERY wet.

Wednesday-exploded diaper...ever try to clean the stuffing up after a VERY WET diaper pops...nearly impossible.

By Wednesday at 9am my floors had been moped EVEY morning!


OK, OK...so I don't really want to send my kids to boarding school or military school. I would miss them terribly and it would make me sad not to see them everyday. I certainly don't want someone else raising, shaping and molding my kids. This after all, is why I CHOOSE to stay home:) A break, however, would be great! Enter summer camp here. Yes, that is right folks...the boys are headed to summer camp. No not overnight (sigh)...starting in July they will attend a summer "camp" put on by the church preschool they will be attending this fall. Two days a week for 4 hours a day they will be at camp. 6 whole weeks of this:) A much needed outing for them and a wonderful break for me!

Hooray for Summer Camp!



Boys will be boys....the vacuums they received for Easter are now officially car transporters. Who knew? They even occasionally (when mom is busy with baby sister) become scooters! Oh boys...you are aging me much too fast. I love to see your creativity and imagination come out...I just need to remember that you are boys and have LOTS of pent up energy. We must harvest this in good ways!

**Chris got a taste of my day not too long ago. It was one evening after supper when he was taking a few minutes to clean up the kitchen. I was feeding baby sister and the boys...well, they were up to their usual mischief when they are unsupervised for less than 30 seconds. We hear Parker screaming "Daddy" in a very panic stricken voice from their bathroom. That's right folks...the ever famous Parker in lightening quick fashion has managed to flood the entire bathroom and hallway in under a minute! His Frisbee was "dirty" and needed to be "washed"...so he plugged up the sink and went about his cleaning...until the water ran over...the rest is history. Chris, welcome to my days:)**