Hear Ye Hear Ye...

All in favor of eliminating Thursday from the week....say "I".

I

No more Thursdays for us in the Darley household. We are officially skipping from Wednesday to Friday as of now. I mean who wouldn't like to get to the weekend faster? See, it's a win/win for everyone.

Yesterday was Thursday and true to our past 3 weeks and running, the boys are sick....AGAIN. This time we only made it to the drop off line at school before Peyton tossed his cookies, thus sparing the chapel. Like the good mother that I am, I sent the bouncing and laughing Parker right in the door. What are the chances he is sick at the same time? Weeeel, obviously REALLY GOOD. Good thing I'm not a betting woman. We had not even made it home yet when I got THE PHONE CALL. Parker had graced the classroom floor. Wonderful, I am THAT mom....AGAIN this week. You see, it was last Thursday that Peyton lost "it" in chapel:) The week before that was nasty, nasty colds and Peyton's croup.

So you see my dilemma. We either take Thursdays out of the picture or we go into hibernation until the first sign of life in the spring. That is an awful lot of indoor time....lots of pent up energy...nope, I think we will just choose the NO Thursday option.

I wanted to title the post "You're Invited"....but Chris said I was not allowed to have pity parties anymore. I tried really, really hard yesterday....he even brought me flowers to decorate with, but declined to join me. What good is a party by yourself? He is trying to convince me his eternal optimism is going to rub off. This is where we butt heads...he is the optimist (visionary) and I am the pessimist (realist). This has lead to many a talkuments in our 7 years of marital bliss. A talkument...what's that? Glad you asked. Our good friends in California, the Turners introduced us to this concept, well term really. We were already having them on our own, just didn't have a name for them. You see a talkument is a close kissing cousin to an argument. There are no loud voices or hurtful words....disagreeing, yes plenty of that. Tears? You betcha. Maybe even an eye roll and grunt or two. You know the ones....don't tell me you've never had a talkument with your other (better) 1/2!

He finally convinced me to read The Energy Bus by Jon Gordon...which I did not do begrudgingly at all. Really, I didn't. So, I just put if off until you know...a better time. Like, standing in line for 1 1/2 hours to vote:) Alright...it was a pretty good book and I finished it in no time flat. You could probably read the whole thing in less than 3 hours if you had the time. If you're a leadership/knowledge junkie like my hubby than this is the book for you. If you are like me, then I promise you will find it a good read and may just turn your realism a little more toward the optimist side....yes, I might be switching camps. Well, you know except for the times when something realistic needs to be said:)

For example: It's Clemson homecoming this weekend. Before the second edition of puke fest we were planning on going. The kids are better but there is a 70% chance of rain and wind and cold temps. Yes, yes, that does mean there is a 30% chance of sun:) However...we have 3 small kids...who have been sick...who still have colds and coughs...sounds like the perfect storm for pneumonia:) There you have it...realism at it's best!

SOOO...since I am trying to switch camps. I decided to think of all the things these icky 3 weeks of sickness that am thankful for.

1.The car is clean....again
2.The car seat is clean...again
3.The floor mats of the car are now clean...again
4.The washing machine has had a good workout...again
5.We have a NEW bottle of Lysol
6.The bathrooms are disinfected (heck, the whole house is disinfected)...again

OK, OK I am trying...I really am.

I did think seriously about it though. If I am having to clean the car...it means I have a car to drive. If I was taking them to preschool then that means I had money to send them and money to pay for gas for the car. Cleaning bathrooms means I have a home to call my own. Washing clothes means we have clothes to wear and get dirty. Having a washing machine means we have multiple clothes to wear and get dirty...that I am not going to a laundry mat or washing by hand. Complaining that the kids have been sick for 3 weeks must mean that a majority of the other 49 weeks they have been healthy. So, Chris is right. Something good can be found in anything. All I have to do is look for it and then focus on it.

What fun is a post without pictures? Not very fun!

Miss Priss' all time favorite toy to play with?... a truck, go figure

This could be a picture of how the boys DESTROY our den all before 9am...but it is to capture their idea of what I thought was a learning moment.

Miss Priss is on the move...very soon she will be on all 4's on the move...right now it is a slow and steady, but get you where you need to go, army crawl. The boys prized possessions are now within her reach. They DO NOT appreciate her new found interest in ANYTHING theirs, especially their cars. We had what I thought was a teachable moment this morning. We were talking about not pulling all our toys out at once. Picking our books up when we are done with them, BEFORE pulling out something else. "If you don't want your sister to get into your things, you need to be mindful of where you keep them. Maybe you should take this time to clean up your books." Hoping this would spur them on and they would clean up the toys and books they were not playing with...teaching them to make wise decisions without mom asking them to clean up every time. Trying to teach them there are consequences to the choices we make...some are good and some are bad. If you choose to disobey then there are consequences of timeout...loosing a privilege...maybe even the dreaded spanking. When you make choices on your own...say not cleaning up your toys...and your sister gets them and something breaks....this is the consequence of you leaving you toys out. How did our little "chat" and lesson go? Something like this:

"The heck with consequences, those are no fun. Neither is cleaning up our toys. We'll just barricade her with the toy bins in a corner of the den so she can't reach our car parades or books."Oh boys....I am afraid that she is going to outsmart you here in just a few days. I am afraid our consequence talk is going to show up again soon. Sometimes things are best learned the hard way. I can only discipline you so much for not putting your toys away. Maybe it is time to learn a consequence to your own decisions. You can't pin her in a corner forever....I don't think?

Her favorite spot...maybe 'cause the boys can't get her here...maybe b/c she knows she will be taller than them one day and she wants to see what the view looks like from above:)

a sweet moment with the 3 monkeys

Miss Priss learning to snort...very lady like of course!

"Let's go treating"

Wow! What a busy, busy day we had. So much to do...so much to see...so little time. We've never taken the boys trick or treating before so this was a new experience for them. They didn't quite get it at first but it did not take long to catch on! Peyton told us "let's go treating"...he quickly learned he wanted only treats...no tricks.

Friday morning we went downtown to "the square" where many of the local businesses dress up and hand out candy to the kids. It was a ZOO, but so much fun to see all the kids toddling around in their costumes consuming way too much sugar. It's a neat thing our small town does for all the small kids. The boys were eating the candy as fast as they could get it. I was begining to think we would not make it home with any spoils at all. It went something like this...

get a lolipop...lick, lick, move on to the next piece. I think I found a dozen open and 1/2 licked suckers in their pumpkins when we got home:) Thankfully my sister was in town and helped out. I could not have done this with 3 kids on my own!

Monkey see, monkey do...more candy for me and you!

Miss Priss taking it all in. She is her daddy's girl for sure. Her personality is her daddy all the way. The more attention the better. Will take a nap if given the chance but is just fine without one. LOVES being IN the action. Happy ALL THE TIME!

Our attempt at getting a picture with four tots...yeah right!

Parker:"Peton, whatch got in your pumpkin?"

It was home for naps...which they actually took despite the sugar bolus from that moring. That evening we were off to a party and to meet up with daddy. Last year the boys were complete grouches and no fun to be around at the party. Thankfully they made up for it this year.

Surprisingly we got a pretty good shot as a family.

Looking through the loot in the treasure chest

Aunt Mel and Miss Priss

The cutest monkey I've ever seen! (well, besides his look alike brother)

They were DONE with my effort to try to get a cute picture of the 3 of them. Sooo, here it is!

Our last attempt to get us all "dressed up". We were out of creative juices and just went as ourselves. Daddy as a cow, my two monkeys, Miss Priss and me, Little Miss Scaterbrain!

I'm sooo over this people. Besides, it's FREEZING out here. The bow on the hat mom, really? I thought I already told you what I thought about it a few months back!!

Governor Palin made a detour off the campaign trail to stop by the party.

Michael Phelps was kind enough to stop by too!

I can't believe how much the boys have grown in a year. I was going to link back to last year for the grandparents....but I never posted the pictures from last year. They were so cute in the outfits my mom made for the occasion. Sadly, they were at the age where NOTHING was going on thier head. Parker was an Indian without his headpiece and Peyton was a Cowboy without his hat. It took everything I had to get Peyton to wear his boots! They made the cutest Cowboys and Indian ever!

Most of our pictures were true to the mood they were in....craby! I did find a few where they appeared to be having a good time. I just remember they were in this stage where no matter how good of a nap they took....they woke up CRABY! Thankfully that passed as they are much better now after naptime....it's only before nap that they get craby now:)

Parker liked the fairy wand more than his headpiece...hmmmm.

Chief Parke riding his pony....updide down!

Cowboy Peyton

Our best result at a family picture. And to think Miss Priss was just a small bean in mommy's tummy at the time!

The one picture I snuck with his hat on:(

See what I mean: WAS. NOT. WEARING. THE. HEADPIECE!

You can't stay mad at that face long!

Our favorite pumpkin sighting from last year.

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!