in which madison learns about alcohol

The kids have been swimming a ton lately.  It never fails that we get cases of swimmers ear over at the Rich house.  I looked up a natural solution and made my own ear drops.  1/2 tsp of vinegar and 1/2 tsp of rubbing alcohol and put it in a little dropper.  Naturally, the kids would be obsessed with this bottle and trying to steal it from what ever shelf I might put it on.  Something different from the norm I guess.  I caught Coulson playing with it and had to confiscate it.  Then there was Nolan.  He grabbed the bottle and was threatening Madison that he was going to dump it on her head.  In effort to dump it on her head, he ended up squirting some into her mouth.  The first thing I noticed was Madison crying.  She's over the cry every time something happens stage of her life.  I wish that was the case with the rest of them.  Anyway, Maddi is crying and she tells me what happens. "Nolan was playing with that bottle and squirted some in my mouth and it burns!"  It was a very traumatic moment for her. My response "Oh my gosh!!  Hurry and rinse your mouth out!!! That had alcohol in it!!!!"  She was so upset.  Later, after the the commotion had settled she came to me all sad.  She says "I can't believe that was the first time I drank alcohol and I'm only 9 years old!"  Now, inside  I'm thinking this conversation could go two ways...I could say "oh, sweetie, don't worry, it was just rubbing alcohol and that's different from the kind that people drink."  but I went for the latter...
Me "It was pretty gross wasn't it?"
Maddi "yes, it was so disgusting, I don't know how people would want to drink that"
Me "exactly.  I'm so glad you're smarter than all of those people"
A few minutes later I hear her telling Nolan in his room  "Nolan, I drank alcohol for the first time and it was so disgusting.  You should never try it."

Mission accomplished my friends.  Mission Accomplished.

Its time

I've been really missing something in my life lately and I've had a hard time putting my finger on what it might be.  The answer came to me today, and its weird how I already feel a little lighter!  I'm going to start writing in my blog again.  I was reading through old posts and just laughing and crying and realizing how much I miss it!  And maybe more crying was going on because I realized how many wonderful and fun moments that have happened that I don't even have record of! Like this one that happened this morning...  I'm going to be really real here for a moment and share a funny story.  I've been struggling a lot with my self image lately.  Things (2 things in particular) have gone south since nursing 4 babies.  My husband and I had the talk and he is totally against me getting them fixed.  So I went the cheap, temporary route.  I got these little gel inserts that I put in my bathing suit and sometimes my sports bra (shh).  So, yes I'm stuffing my bra like I'm 12.  Don't judge.  Anyway, this morning I look into the kitchen and Coulson is holding my inserts up to his chest and he's dancing around moving his hips and singing.  He sees me laughing at him so he brings them to me and says "Here you go mom.  Here are your things that go over your big nipples."  For the record, my nipples are not big.  And I have no idea how he know's what those things are for!!  That kid is the source of all of my entertainment and all of my stress at the same time.  I love him.  I'm happy to be back.

buff betty

hi friendly friends :) so, I'm really bad at updating this blog, but I have started another! this one isnt really about family though. its been a while since i've visited with you all, but over the last few months I've been super busy! I was studying super hard and finally achieved a goal of mine that i've had for a while. I'm now a certified crossfit instructor (YAY) and I've been training people at my gym for a couple of months. its suuuuper awesome, but anyhoo. My new blog www.buffbetty.wordpress.com. I'm sharing some tips and fun stuff that I've learned in my training. i can kinda be your virtual trainer and give you some challenges. and since there is a hair dresser somewhere inside of me, i will throw some beauty tricks up in there too. but i plan on posting often because i'm seriously being serious! so follow me and comment for me so i know you're there. thank you!

battle of the wills...

Have I ever mentioned that Coulson has been my toughest child? I'm sure I have many times. I am trying to find in myself that inner-loving, patient mom and I'm just not having success. I'm going the love and logic route because that parenting style just seems to make more sense to me. Even if its stinking hard!! Here's my experience this morning, trying to be a patient "love and logic" parent....

After a tough morning of battle of the wills, C hitting his baby sister. C not listening to a word I say. I'm pretty sure he thinks I'm an idiot. Could this kid be smarter than me?

We get into the car to go to the store

Coulson grabbed my ice water and poured it all over the place because he has to do everything himself.

Me...gritting my teeth "oh bummer. I hate when I spill my water" ahhhhhh!!! I just want to scream "what the heck are you doing?!?!?!!!!" but its love and logic day remember. I have a careless smile painted on.

When we get to the store he's trying to run through the parking lot.

Me "Coulson, would you like to hold my left hand or my right hand?" griiittt!!!

C "none! leave me alone!"

Me "how sad.....(umm this is when I don't know what to do next. ideally they would have you take action) ok, it looks like the right hand."

C...runs off onto the edge of the curb, daring to go into the street, all the while looking over his shoulder at me smiling.

Me....grit grit grit. ahhhh (on the inside) What the heck! This child challenges me on every single thing!!!

(I won't even go into our experience in the store, that would take all day)

Me, putting Myla in her carseat, all the while cursing to high heavens under my breath.

I go to put Coulson in his car seat. He decided he wanted to climb into the back of the van. GRIT!!!!!

Me "C, do you want to come up here like a big boy or do I need to come back there and get you?"

C "go away mom, i don't like you"

Me, trying to conceal the smoke coming out of my ears. "alright it looks like I will have to come and get you."

C. grabbing on to the seats in the back, me trying to pull him up (while staying calm) Finally get him in hit seat, now trying to buckle while arms and legs are flailing wildly. Get the buckles buckled and close the door and say a few choice words. Poor people in the parking lot. Walking around my car and getting into the drivers seat (still cursing under my breath, only one must have been louder than I meant for it)

C "mom, who's being a butthead?"

Me...with a smile "just some kid outside" whew.

Now, I must have really been on crack because I drove us to the library next. I forgot my stroller. %(&*$#@! ( i will leave that one up to your imagination)

Now I'm carrying Myla on my hip and trying to corral C around the library. Fail. He runs off the second we walk through the door. I turn the corner and he's rounded up about 6 DVD's. I didn't go to the library for DVD's. What do I do next damn love and logic!!!??? Well, I really had some stuff I needed to pick up so I say "would you like to hold my list while we look for your books?"

For some reason C starts ripping books off of the shelves. I take movies and set them up on a shelf. C starts having a mini seizure. Time to go. So with baby on my hip, trying to keep calm, C is screaming his little head off at the quiet library (and why the heck is the library so busy RIGHT now?!?!) I am keeping my cool, feeling pretty proud of myself. Normally I would have given him what he wanted so he would shut up. But not today... Noooo. Its love and logic day %(*^&#@$&#($^&.!!!! C is in all out hysterics by the time we reach the car. I calmly buckle him in, still holding a baby on hip (mom's are so multi- talented) I look back and a lady is running after me. She has C's shoe. (or Madison's shoe to be exact. Yes, He wore Madison's flip flops with the pretty ribbons tied all over them for our errands. He also wore Nolan's shorts. don't judge) "Hey" she yells. "He dropped his shoe way back there when he first started screaming." craptastic. "Thanks", I say. Well, I'm sure you're all wondering what I did next... I left his butt in the car and went back in to get my crap! (call the cops if you want to but I was gone for 1 minute and we were in a shady spot) So, screaming fit all the way home. Screaming so much he's starting to freak Myla out. I get home and lock him in his room. (all the while he is looking for some type of "tool" to unlock it. Kept my cool, feeling good! C has now passed out and is having a nap. To all the moms out there that say how naughty their kids are...this one's for you. All of this took place in the space of an hour. And it has been an everyday thing. Yesterday we were at the store and he pooed his pants. He has been potty trained for a year! Not only am I not feeling very logical, I'm not feeling very loving either. Advice, applause or comments welcome :)

scariest thing ever!

When we moved into this house I was aware that there could be a potential scorpion problem. I was determined that we could prevail over those nasty little buggers. We have "hunting parties" every night where we go out and kill them. We spray inside and outside every 4 weeks with the professional stuff. I have had the occasional run in with them outside (see King kong scorpion from a previous post) But we've been sooooo lucky to keep them from coming in. I have put glass jars under the crib legs and a mosquito net surrounds the little lady while she sleeps. But other than that, I think I've really taken for granted the fact that there have been none in the house....until the other day. I was giving the two little ones a bath and they were splashing and playing and having a fun time in the water. I was shampooing Myla's little head and grabbed the cup to pour water on her to rinse her off. (I have a bathtub cup that I always leave in there for rinsing) I dipped the cup into the water and poured it on her head. The next thing I saw was a scorpion. sliding down my baby's head and down her back. I about had a heart attack! I immediately smacked it off of her (which freaked her out. here she was having fun in the water and then she's getting smacked. poor thing) and pulled the kids out of the tub. I was shaking. I sat and stared at her back for like 30 minutes making sure that she wasn't stung. Thank goodness she wasn't. I immediately started saying my "thankful" prayers. I haven't used that bathtub in about a week. The water gets too hot on that side of the house. So no telling how long that thing was in the cup or how the heck it even got in there! But lesson learned! ALWAYS check cups and pretty much everything for bugs!

swim shoes

My mom bought Coulson some spider-man swim shoes. They are really hard to get on his feet. It feels like my finger is going to fall off afterwards. Well, one day, (I guess I wasn't home) Judd was watching the kids and Coulson brought him those dang shoes to put on. Now, if its hard for a mom to put on, i imagine it was dang near impossible for dad. I believe there were a few choice words said during the process because the next time Coulson brought me those shoes he said "Mom, put these gay shoes on me!" I couldn't hide the laughter. If you could just imagine that coming from a three year old mouth! I was bustin' up.

Yes, we say gay in our house a lot. We are not homophobic nor are we politically correct. If you don't like it, i don't care.

Fun Times!! (like always)

First off...isn't my baby BEAUTIFUL?!?!!?

We have church at 12. 12 is a horrible time to have church for people with young kids. They miss their nap and end up looking like this afterward...






We took a family trip to Prescott this past weekend. I am always so excited to go on family trips. I don't know why because the whole time we are gone I am miserable. Traveling with kids is not fun. Its so much work and you can't ever do any grown up stuff. But we did actually have fun and for the most part, the kids behaved. We took a drive up to Watson Lake had a picnic and went hiking. By the time we got up to Prescott Judd was starting to look a little green.









A stomach bug had run its course the week before and just decided to show up in him the day we left. So we checked into our hotel and he basically slept the whole time we were there. I took the kids out and did fun things. We came back to the hotel and Judd was still looking like death, so we met our extended family out for a yummy dinner. Poor Judd. Then we came back and I was really wanting to go out dancing that whole weekend. It was like the only thing I wanted to do! So I put all the kids to bed and got ready and went out on a night for the town with my parents and aunts and uncles. Now, I don't know if any of you have ever been to Prescott, but there is a weird breed of people who live in that town. Not to mention that the rodeo was there that weekend, so you could imagine how crazy it was. There are bikers, cowboys, drunks, sightseers, old people, college kids and crack heads all hanging out with each other. Very interesting! It was soooo funny. I was asked to dance by this drunk cowboy who kept slapping his butt with his cowboy hat. But after only a few short hours Judd called and said that none of the kids were sleeping and he was sick in the bathroom, so my night ended way too early. Needless to say, I didn't sleep that night. Then to make things even better, in the morning, (Judd still sick in the bathroom) Nolan wakes up out of a dead sleep, runs to the bathroom, and barfs at Judd's feet. All I could think of were the poor housekeeping ladies. Somehow we managed to get everything packed up and went out to breakfast. No one puked during or after breakfast. hoooray! We decided to take our behinds to the swap meet. another interesting sight to see in Prescott. They did have some cool stuff, but Judd started looking all funny and was starting to hunch over so we left. We went back to the lake to hang with the cousins and went swimming and had sooo much fun. we then made the fun trip home. Can you believe that all of this happened in less that 24 hours?!!? but, A prescott trip is not complete without stopping at the rock springs cafe and having some pie!!! The best part. Thank you old ladies for your Jack Daniels Pecan Pie! Everyone needs to stop there!

Adventures in Summertime

I remember as a kid looking forward to summer vacation. I remember it being fun. I could do anything, go anywhere, sleep as long as I wanted. I lived in a bathing suit and flip flops and always had a great tan. I remember going to the lake or the river, spending nights running around with my friends. Summer was awesome. Which is why I am in such a predicament... What the heck happened!?! Oh right, I have a gaggle of goobers at home who make it almost impossible to do anything. Now as a mom, I hate summer. It's horrible. All of you mom's who love it, love it for one of two reasons. Either you have kids who are a fun age to haul around and able to participate in fun activities, or you are friggin' nuts. There is no in-between here people. I was trying to think of the pro's of summer. #1 I don't have to have everyone ready to go to school by 7:30 a.m. #2. ...I'm still working on that one. My list of cons is pretty outrageous, but here's a few, just to humor you....#1 kids still wake up at 6 a.m. no matter what time you put them to bed, the word "vacation" does not register to these people. #2 we all can't stand each other because there are 5 of us stuck together for 14 hours a day. anyone who doesn't have sympathy for this is not my friend anymore. #3 its too stinking hot to go anywhere unless you want to spend a load of money to do something indoors. #4 Have you ever tried to take 4 kids swimming? Swimming is no longer a fun thing to do. #5 I have a child at my house named Coulson. Now take a second to understand this child. Close your eyes and picture the movie "chucky" yes, that horror movie with the doll. Now, this may seem harsh, but I have a blond Chucky living under my roof. A crazy little kid with something scary in his eyes. Never get too close to this child. He may look cute, but he will spit in your face or stab you with a pencil. How does this happen, by the way? How do I raise two absolutely normal, obedient children just to end up with a psycho child? Am I being punished for some unknown deed? We like to say that he has turrets. (no offense to anyone who actually has it) but he will be totally normal one second and its almost like he catches himself "wait a second, I'm actually being calm. this can't be right" and then he will be off to find someone to torment. This child could by the cause of my de-railment. Does anyone else have (or had) one of these kids? Do they end up functioning normal in society? Is there any hope for me?

Anyway, it wouldn't be summer without the garden going crazy. It was doing awesome until my dog got lazy and let the rabbits get to it. Now most of my tomatoes are half eaten.
One of the HUGE watermelons!

Sorry, this one's sideways and I don't know how to flip it.

Oh and we got a goat. I might just recommend a goat to anyone. All it does it eat all the weeds and our table scraps. And even though he has some gas issues, he's really not that messy. The kids love him. Coulson tries to put him in a headlock and I once found him chasing the goat with a mop. Poor Goat

We have been keeping our thumb on this scorpion issue for the most part. So far Judd has killed 87 scorpions but they've all been outside in the wash. (with the exception of King Kong scorpion that I had to stab on the back porch)

So there you have it, life keeps on ticking, even if its at a much slower pace in the summer months. And I know someday I will miss these times (i still can't consieve how that might be possible) Don't get me wrong. I have a great life and I love my kids and my sexy husband. wink wink ( I know he will be reading this later) but geeez, Blogging is a good source of venting!

The much awaited reveal

so here they are, pics of the new casa...I finally got my camera.

The entryway. Madison is our hostess for this little tour.


So, this is the hallway taking you to the kids side of the house...


This is the playroom/den which will look cool one day. not on the top of the priority list just yet.


Boys room. yes, that's coulson taking a nap.


Girl room. Myla's napping too. happy day. I have really super cute bed skirts that I made for the girl's. They look like huge tutus. I'm afraid to put them on their beds because the thought of a scorpion crawling up there creeeeeps me out!!


I couldn't resist taking a picture of her. I LLOOOVVE babies!!



And...this is how she wakes up! Why can't I wake up like this?

The kids share a bathroom. Its hidden in between their bedrooms so I never go back there, which is a really scary thing when you have boys. Boys are nasty.


This room is the bane of my existence. It is a laundry/office/mudroom. It will continue to be crappy until I get some huge built in's done, which won't be for a while so I best get used to it.

Here is the great room. The kids are enjoying some veggie tales.


And another view of the great room from the kitchen


And now onto the "east wing" as Judd calls it.

My mini library. I am a book freak! Time for more shelves though because I still have boxes of books that won't fit.



I keep telling myself that one day I will have time to enjoy this...

And this is really fun, except there is so much room in there its really cold.


I've got my own closet, which helped me to realize that I was NOT the messy one in our last house. I'll save Judd the embarrassment and wait until he gets his things in order before I take pictures of his closet. If I ever have another baby I will probably just put the crib in my closet. Behind the door their is a ton more room where I sit and put my shoes on and stuff.


And here it is....ta dahhhh. My salon. I think we're calling it ROOTS for sure. Love that name! Shampoo bowl and everything. oh yeah. It has a bathroom and a separate entrance. I'm officially official. See those curtains!!!! I am obsessed with that fabric. It was like 50 bucks a yard so I could only by like 3/4 of a yard of it and there wasn't one piece of scrap. Eventually I want to get a really cool, huge mirror.


So, there you have it. One day I will take outside pictures and put them on here. The garden is goin' crazy!!

Best day ever....

So I'm so excited to post that my salon is officially finished!!!! YAY!! After 7 years of working out of my family room and washing hair in my kitchen sink I have a place to call my own!! I'm so sad that I don't have a working camera to post pictures. But i will be sneaking to costco to get one tomorrow and I will put some up first thing! Shhh, don't tell my husband though. I put camera in the "need" department and I like I always say...."its better to repent than to get consent." Now the hardest part ever...I need to name it! This is almost as hard as naming a kid. But I think I'm really leaning towards calling it Roots. I think its funny and kinda cool. I'm not a trendy cutesy girl. You will NEVER catch me wearing heels while doing hair. I like me my jeans and t shirts and most of the time when I am working my hair is looking pretty frightening. So naming it "Beauty" anything isn't going to work. But...I am taking suggestions. So please!!!! let me know what you think of roots or if you have any names that pop into your head.

Bean Spilling

Confession: I love food. I love it too much. I'm not prejudiced either. I can eat anything. Now on to my point...After baby number 4 I feel like I haven't been able to bounce back as fast. I want to wear my cute clothes without having to stretch them out. I want to go bathing suit shopping without having to come home all depressed. My life has been so busy that I've been off of my workout routine and I am starting to really notice. Something needs to be done. So here's my plan. I started up my workout routine this week. I'm feeling sore, but so good. (BTW any of you who are reading this thinking that I am being really stupid and I don't have a weight problem, you're right. I don't think I'm overweight or even in bad shape at all. I'm not doing this for my weight. More like to get over my food addiction and get some control of my diet. Maybe I will lose weight, maybe not, but I just want to lean up and lose these rolls! I want to not feel like I have to eat things just because they look good. I want to feel good about the things I eat instead of hiding it from everyone. I want to get rid of my sugar cravings!!!!) I am a "challenge" fanatic. I started this challenge called the Whole30. I've been doing it for almost a week. I feel AMAZING!! I will not lie, that it is sooooo hard, but overcoming trials and addictions was never meant to be easy. My goal: To eat raw foods. No packaged food, no preservatives, no sugar, no bread, no dairy for 30 whole days. You are probably thinking, "what the heck am I going to eat" well here it is. eggs, (not considered dairy on this diet) lots of veggies, some fruit, nuts, lean meats. anything that I can grow in my garden. Supposedly once I get into habit of eating these foods, it will cleanse my body and I won't have sugar cravings anymore. I have been having tons of cravings since I've started, but I just tell myself that putting that food in my mouth is a decision. I have a choice. I can eat it and continue sabotaging myself, or fight through this craving and accomplish my goal! So, I figure I will report here once in a while over my remaining 25 days and let you know just how it goes. I am also welcoming anyone who wants to join me on this crazy journey. Here is the website to the WHOLE30!!
If you want to join me, just leave a comment and we can work on this together! Its always fun if its with a group!! So there you have it. My name is Kristina and I am a recovering sugar addict!!

Routine

This is something I will hopefully laugh about in the future...
My kids wake up early. They always have. No matter what time they go to bed you will rarely find a day that they sleep in until 6:30. They have no regard for weekends or how crappy the night before is. They just jump out of bed all happy. I wish I were more like them in that way. It can't last forever though. They will be teenagers and break the barrier from "but I don't wanna go to bed" into sleeping slugs that don't care if they ever see the light of day again.
Here is a typical morning in the Rich household. Coulson gets up and comes into my room around 5:30 and half sleeps with me until Judd's alarm goes off at 6:15. Judd hits snooze button about 3 or 4 times. (By the way, I hate snooze buttons. How on earth is someone going to fall back asleep and wake up 4 minutes later and say, "whew I'm glad I got those extra 4 minutes of sleep." ???) Coulson climbs out of bed, and by this time Maddy and Nolan are already up. Maddy is mom in the morning because I'm more like a zombie until 7. She makes everyone breakfast and she's very good about it. Coulson screams bloody murder the whole time because he wants someone's chair or someone's toy or is just being a really horrible morning person. Judd leaves at 645. I peel myself out of bed about every 3 minutes and do the "you be quiet or I'll...." The baby is still hopefully sleeping through all of the screeching. Did I mention Nolan yet?? He is my saint in the morning! He will come into my room to wake me up at 7. He's already dressed for school has brushed his teeth and is wearing his backpack around the house. We don't have to leave for an hour. I think he's so cute.
I go in and check on the baby. She's awake, but thankfully she is very patient and will hang in her crib and play with her toes until I come and get her. Thank goodness for babies. They are pretty much the only thing that can put a smile on my face right after I wake up. I go to feed her and find Coulson has pooed all over the bathroom. He thinks he did a great job and wants a skittle. Madison is still playing around. She is my procrastinator. About 10 minutes before we are walking out the door she finally gets dressed and brushes her hair. But then she can't find her backpack, or her shoes, or her lunch box or her homework. This drives me crazy. I've resorted to yelling. I really try hard not to. Who wants to be crazy and yelling right before they drop their kids off for a long day at school? But how are you up so stinking early and you still aren't ready right before we have to go?!?! She finally finds her stuff and hopefully her brain and we load the crew up and drive to school. The two older ones get out after lots of "I love you's" even though Madison's is more like a mumbled "bite me" because we've been butting heads for the last 30 minutes. Then they are off and I tell you what..the Angels are singing! Wooohooo. Never judge the way a mom looks in the morning when dropping off her kids. Sure, she may not be wearing a bra or have mascara smeared all over but she has just basically been through war!

life in a nutshell

I love reading my old posts. I don't know why I don't blog more often. I just want to write down random things so i will always remember them.
We are moved in. We are loving it. Although cleaning a bigger house really sucks, the mess seems to spread out better so it doesn't look that bad. What once was heaps of laundry taking over my small bedroom in the old house, is just a small pile of clothes that needs to be hung up. Its the same amount of crap it just feels better for some reason. My kids can play hide and seek and actually "hide" somewhere. Where as before they would just freeze in a corner and hope no one noticed them as they walked by. They also have room to run. For anyone who doesn't know the details, we live on just over an acre now. My kids have never had more scrapes and bruises and have never been dirtier. This of course is Coulson's heaven. This child of mine always has dirt all over him and he never wears shoes. I probably look like the white trash mom that lets her kids run around naked. He literally does. He takes his underwear off and pees where ever he wants. The other day I found him in the front yard almost naked sitting on top of Judd's car. He walks right into our neighbor's house, plays with their toys and then comes home. If you are thinking to yourself, "why the heck don't I keep a better eye on my kids" its probably because you don't have four of the little boogers running around. Its just about impossible. I can't hardly answer the phone or go pee without someone escaping.
It has been an adventure out here. I've killed the king kong of scorpions. I stabbed it with a yard tool. I felt like some kind of ninja. We have to pull our garbage can about a quarter of a mile every week. If I want to go shopping I have to go "in town". But this is so much fun. I've got a garden and an awesome porch to sit on at night. We look at the city lights and watch the bats flap around. We had our ward rodeo last weekend. We are definitely city slickers compared to the people out here. Nolan got trampled by a couple of steers. He's ok but it was horrible looking. Just a normal occurrence for all of the cowboys out here. I've also learned that having 4 kids isn't a respectable number. If I say I have 4 they're like "oh really, well I have 8" 8 is a pretty normal number for families in this area. There is no way you will ever see me having 8 kids or driving a mini bus. I'm pretty perturbed because I ruined my camera in the move. Somehow it got bleach poured all over it. Hopefully I will get a new one for my anniversary that just passed. At least I think it just passed. Fun fact in case you didn't know. Judd and I eloped to Las Vegas to get married. Now neither of us have any recollection of what day it was on. We have a pretty good estimate, but I will have to try and find my marriage license just to be sure. It gets us both off of the hook for saying happy anniversary though. So hopefully this weekend I will get a camera and take some pictures for all to see.

Shame on me for being such a bad blogger. Here is my excuse....



We bought a new house!! YAY! We are getting ready to move in this weekend. So basically my life has been pure chaos for the last 3 1/2 months. Like right now for instance...We are getting our house ready for renters (cleaning, painting, fixing up everything) getting our new house ready for move in. Its being painted, cleaned this week and fixed up. Switching the kids' school. Coulson has the flu. I am still working out of the house. Please forgive me for being such a slacker, but once we get moved in and settled I will give you the whole low down!!!

33 things I love about you

Today is my husband's birthday so I wanted to dedicate an extra special post just for him. (because he's really cheap and never wants me to buy him a present because its a waste of money) So. These are the things that I never want to forget, and things that I can refer back to the next time I want to club you. This may help me change my mind.

My husband is my best friend. I know everyone says this, but its so true. We aren't perfect, but we are perfect for each other. We laugh together everyday, we snuggle together, we make fun of the kids behind their backs, we work hard to achieve our goals. He pushes me hard to do the things I should, and I push him hard to do the things I want him to do. We confide in each other. I even tell him when I made an "oops" and bought those shoes I really shouldn't have because I think I deserve them, and I do. He lets me make fun of him. I LOVE my husband!!!

Today he is 33 years old. So I wrote him a letter for his birthday and here you have it.

33 things I love about you:
1. you are a super hard worker
2. you are great at doing laundry
3. you put up with my crap
4. you look really hot in camo
5. even hotter with your rifle, especially when y0u freak dance with it. It makes me jealous. (this is an inside joke)
6. you love our family
7. you don't snore or play video games or do other dumb stuff that most husbands do.
8. you let me make fun of you, even though I do it out of love, and because its funny
9. You dance like a dork, but its charming
10. Did I already say you put up with my crap?
11. your rockin' bod
12. Your long toenails (wait, I take that one back)
12. You are a stud when you play basketball
13. You always help a damsel in distress, especially if she's cute
14. inappropriate for readers eyes
15. how you look in your Texas hat
16. you are smart
17. you laugh at your own jokes, even if they aren't funny, and usually they aren't
18. you bake a mean cake
19. how you try so hard, even though you grumble about it
20. how you fall on the ground when you stub your toe
21. your bald head
22. your cute ears
23. your rainbow knife
24. your man bag
25. your hot cowboy wranglers
26. inappropriate for readers eyes
27. inappropriate for readers eyes
28. you can ride a horse and that's super hot!
29. how you can smell your own breath
30. how you help color my hair
31. How I can talk to you about everything
32. you keep me in line
33. You are a GREAT husband and father.

I know he may not be the scottish warrior that I fantasize about, but he's my warrior and I could always dress him up in a kilt and put a wig on him if I were desperate. But I love him just the way he is. So happy birthday my love. May we enjoy many more crazy filled years of life together.