So The Report Cards Are In....

Last night was parent-teacher conference (already, can you believe it?) and we went to Tegen's classroom first. He has Mrs. Anderson and she told us that Tegen is a great student. He always listens and does what he's supposed to do without being asked (wish I could say the same for his chores). He has taken the most Accelerated Math tests in his class and is reading at a 6.1 grade level. He got all A's and we are extremely proud. She said she likes to keep him in the center of the class because he is kind of like the "glue that holds them together" (her words, not mine)... so that's sounds good I guess.

Tray on the other hand.... He also got all A's and his teacher (Mrs. Hirtle) said that he's very smart, but rushes as fast as he can to do everything. And he LOVES, loves, loves to talk! Gee... big surprise! They have to write in a daily journal and draw a picture and almost every day his said "I luv to toc." She had to BAN him from writing that anymore! She said that she will give them a warning when they are being noisy and then a Thinking Time Ticket and they have to sit at a special desk (like a time-out) and write about what they did wrong and what they can do to correct their behavior. Tray had about 30 Thinking Time Tickets (seriously!) and they all said "I toct. I should not toc. (toc = talk). Yea- so we had to come home and have a serious discussion about when it's okay to talk and when it's time to be quiet. We'll see how long it lasts. On the bright side- he is a social butterfly and gets along with everyone.

Hmmm... makes me wonder how Talen will turn out!

The Things Kids Say...

My kids say the funniest things every day and I always think I will remember them, but I never do. So here are a few of the most recent funny sayings:

Tray was playing a game on the computer the other day and Ed and I were watching him. When he won we said "Good Job Tray!" and he looked over at us all calmly and said "Yea, that's just how I roll." It was SO funny!

Talen: He has had allergies lately and keeps telling me that his eyes are "drooling"

He wants to hug and kiss me all the time! I actually want to count one day because it's probably like 40 times a day or something. He calls hugs- huggies (yea, like the diaper) and he tells me "Mom, you're my best buddy." He is so sweet. He is definitely my most cuddly child.

He told me yesterday that he can't wait to grow up and be a daddy. He said that he will be a daddy when whiskers grow out of his face and his nose just like his daddy. Then he said he will be a daddy when he grows a big body with a big bum bum and nuts. Okay- please don't judge me. I have no idea where he got that. I certainly don't walk around saying that word, but with two older brothers I'm sure I have some idea where he heard it. You gotta love the things boys say!

I just love to laugh at all the funny things my kids say everyday. I'm sure as parents we could put together a pretty hilarious book chock full of funny kid sayings!

Sleepover at Nanny and Papa's

For Ed's birthday last weekend my parents took our boys overnight. My kids were so excited they asked if it was Saturday every day of the week. On Saturday morning we gave Ed his presents (tools and an i-pod) and then went to breakfast with my parents. After breakfast we went to the boys' last football game :( After the game was over my parents took the boys home with them. They had a full day planned out for them. They got to make these cute aprons and they made and decorated sugar cookies for what sounded like hours. As you can tell by the pictures I think there was more sugar on their faces than was actually in the cookies! I know my parents cleaning girl very well and when I told her about the sugar cookie fest she said her first thought was "Great- I wonder how the kitchen looks!" Surprisingly not bad, but my parents are neat freaks like me too so I'm sure the mess didn't last for long.

After their fun afternoon they settled in for movie night. Nanny bought them a new movie and it looks like they were lovin' it.

How precious is this picture? I think this is an adorable picture of Talen and his papa!

Looks like movie night didn't last that long- it turned out to be a wrestling fest! That's what boys do best!

Whew- after a long day of playing hard they were exhausted! The boys were spoiled as usual when they spend time with Nanny and Papa. Tegen and Tray have been begging- I mean seriously begging- for a few weeks to join some Club Penguin membership (an interactive computer game just for kids). We kept telling them NO! Well- either my kids are great con artists or Nanny and Papa are suckers because they came home with a six month membership each. They have been playing this game non-stop since last weekend. Seriously though, I am so grateful to have such wonderful parents. I love them so much and I'm so thankful for the awesome kid-free day that they gave us. They are great grandparents. We love you- and thanks again! Anytime you're up for another day like that just let me know :)

I saw this on my friend SueAnn's blog. I thought this was fun. There are less than 1,527 Amberlee's in the U.S. and there are less than 27,487 Murdock's. Give this a try and see how many there are of you....

HowManyOfMe.com

There are 1 or fewer people with my name in the U.S.A. How many have your name?

The big 3-0

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ED!!!


I will try not to be too mushy here, but I might so beware... you've been warned! Ed will be 30 that's right 3o. I remember being a teenager and thinking that 30 was ancient and now that we're here it doesn't seem quite as old somehow. I know that I don't let him know how much I appreciate him enough- for who he is as a person and how much he means to me. I tell him I love him every day, but I don't know if he truly knows just how much! These are just a few of things that I love so much about him:

He usually has a really positive outlook on life and is a really happy person. If I'm grumpy he can usually make me smile and laugh. He is the ray of sunshine in our home!

He has a huge heart. He is always helping other people. I mean always... sometimes to the point where I get angry at him for being away from us so much because he is helping someone else. I feel guilty when I get mad at him because it is one of the things that I love about him. Everyone who knows Ed knows they can call him at any time-day or night- and he will be there to help!

He is not a very emotional person. He never cries or shows a whole lot of empathy, but with our family he is so sweet and nurturing. He has taken care of me when I've been sick or had my babies more times than I count. He lets me crawl into bed and takes care of everything!

He treats me like a queen. He never yells or gets mad at me. I wish I could say the same for myself, but he has never said a purposefully mean thing to me. I on the other hand am not quite as nice to him. Sorry!

And... here's the one that I take the most for granted- he is the one who gets up with our boys during the night. I am such a heavy sleeper so he always gets up with them if they are sick or have a bad dream or need to go potty. I know, I know, I should be SO grateful- and I truly am!

I love you Ed! I hope you have a great day and that you will always know that you are my true love and I am so grateful to have found you. Happy birthday babe!

What do you do with 17 kids when school is out???

School just started at the end of August and they already had two days off for teacher in-service. So... what do you do with 17 kids (8 and under), 5 moms and 2 dads?... you go bowling of course! Bowling with that many small children sounds like it would be utter chaos, but it went surprisingly smooth. The kids all had a great time. Talen could barely get the ball to roll down the alley, but with a little help from mom he had fun too. We split the kids between the oldest kids, the middle kids and the youngest kids and each group got an lane. We should take our kids bowling more because they loved it!

Getting all of these kids to hold still and smile was no small feat!

Ahhh.... Football!

For each season there is a different sport that Tegen and Tray play. In the past during the fall they have played soccer, but this year we decided to try football. It has been a blast! They are having such a good time. They are on a team together (which is SO nice- no 2 different practices, 2 different games). It is only flag football, but it's a great way for them to learn the fundamentals of the game. They are on a team with a bunch of their friends. They lost their first game because the team as a whole was still not really sure what to do, but since that first game they have won every game. I know that it shouldn't be about competition right now while they are so young, but it is definitely a morale booster for the team when they walk away with a win. We have had such great weather which is so unusual for fall sports. I know that this weekend is supposed to be really rainy and cold, but there is only a couple of weeks left, so we managed to scrape by with excellent weather this year! Also Ed is helping to coach the team. There are four dads that help coach so I think it's been just as much fun for him as it has been for the boys.

The whole team

Tegen plays safety most of the time and loves it

I think the sun was in his eyes- look at that face

Tray mostly plays defense and has been up against some pretty big kids, but he blocks them like he's not scared at all and has actually made some of the kids bigger than him scared. It's so cute!

They have had a great time this season!