in our merry little home.
We are constantly singing this song in our house. We don't really know the words, other than the chorus... and something about electric boots and a mohair suit. (We just fill in the words we don't know with made up ones, or a catchy little tune.) Ben knows it's his theme song and he will do a little dance when we sing it. 
Amber and I have been friends since we were 7 years old. I remember exchanging cheap, gold best friends necklaces at church, and swearing we would be BFF. It seems like yesterday that we were playing Mall Madness until midnight, talking on the phone for hours, having her mom drop us off at the Bashford Courts for a little shopping, curling (and burning) her kid sisters hair with an old curling iron, and picking on my sister together. (Sorry Amanda!) We have seen each other through childhoods, teenage years, marriages, and baby births. I hope we are good friends for years to come.
It was so much fun to spend our Memorial Day with Amber, David, Mack, and Ellie. They brought a little bit of Arizona with them.
I remember taking pictures like these with my parents friends kids. Everyone gathers on the couch and pretends to be best buds. I always wondered why they made us do that?! Now I have kids and make them pile up for a group photo. Smile!
But, Ben's favorite part of the Harmon family's visit was when Ellie showed him how to put on her pink shoes! 
Ben is a toothbrush chewer.
Wouldn't the cowboy dentist be so proud? Josh and Ben love, love, love to brush their teeth. In fact, I catch Josh brushing his teeth almost after every time he uses the potty. So he's a little excessive, at least he has good oral hygene. 
Otherwise, this is what happens if you eat too many Curious George fruit snacks. All of that sugar goes straight to your head. 
Jeff is trying to teach Josh and Ben a little Texas pride. He has been working on getting the kids to say ...
BTW... Speaking of Texas, this is Ben's best impersonation of George W. (doubleyuh)
That old looking Eiffel was $4, at Hobby Lobby. 
Recipe card holder... 
I am in love with my red toaster, spoon holder, and oil flask($5, garden ridge). Black Iron scroolwork, $3 apiece, Jo Ann's. 
Ceramic fleur de lis ,$5 at HL. 
Here they are folks, a (sample) list of my Do's and Don'ts:
Don't eat frozen pizza, do make your own.
Don't wear pants with large words written across the butt, need I say more.
Don't pay someone to mow your lawn, do get outside and do the yard work. A little sweat and fresh air is good for the soul.
Don't eat the same meals week after week, do try new things. My faves Rachel Ray and Kraft Food and Family Magazine. (try em.)
Don't yell at your kids in public, do develop the "mommy look" that will get them to behave without words.
Don't buy loads of expensive toys for your kids, do let them play with empty oatmeal containers with rice inside, or uncooked macaroni noodle and yarn necklaces.
Don't use your cell phone in a small public place (bus, elevator, restaurant) Do let them leave a message.
Don't throw away children's drawings (scribbles), do store them in old shoeboxes.
Just plain don'ts:
- be late
- say bad words
- watch too much TV
- wear white pumps
-be a litterbug
a quick run in the courtyard...
a quick splash at one of the fountains... 
a quick sit with the weird statue... 
a quick minute with the busy block...
Spiderman starts at the insane hour of 6:30 am... and we often make it to the show. I have raised two diehard early risers! Spiderman is my way of delaying the inevitable, I lay on the couch comatose, while the kids watch spiderman save the planet. (I am no good until at least 7:00) Spiderman, my hero!
and smell the flowers!
Josh and Ben sniffing the fragrant blooms at the nursery. We love pointing out the colors of spring. 
Josh and Ben are total bookworms. They love to read, and their books are well loved. Some of our favorites include:
The Great Big Air Book
The little Fire Engine 
Goodnight Moon 
Mr.Brown Can Moo, Can You? 
I love color. I love the mood it brings, the senses it perks, but most of all, it's design element. I love to experiment with color in my home, in scrapbooking, cooking, in my everyday life. Andy Warhol prints are interesting to me because of the way just one color effects the whole feeling of a picture. I had to try some of my own.
Because Josh snuck into Ben's room and drank the dregs of what was left in the bottom of his medicine cup on Friday, he is now suffering the fever and lethargy. So again, we pull out the blanket, and give the kids some popsicles as a pleasant way for Josh to get his fluids. We are hoping for this to quickly pass, as Ben's did...fingers crossed!
Because of his new big boy bed, Josh loves to snuggle before he goes to sleep. (The trick is trying to crawl away and not wake him up!) It's hard to squeeze in his bed with him and all of his "buddies".
Because of our new church time, we have 2 extra hours in the morning. To kill the time, Jeff got crafty with some of his old ties and fashioned two smaller ties for the boys. Josh was especially pleased, and made a point to point his new tie out to his sunbeam teacher. Ben used his as a napkin. The tie guys.You know how it goes, things always happen just as you put the shampoo in your hair. Life never waits for you to be rinsed off. That's what happened today. I took a total of 2.5 minutes to myself in the shower, and just as the shampoo starts bubbling, someone starts pounding at the door. "MOM!! HURRY!! QUICK! MooooooooooooooooM! HURRY!"
... and so I did, hurry, nearly slipping on the cold floor with my soapy wet foot. Envisioning Ben with a gash in his head from falling against the hearth (again), or Josh being caught consuming a whole tube of toothpaste (again), or something worse... *gasp!*
I dashed out of the shower, threw on a towel, and ran into the living room dripping soapy wet hair and all. And this is what I found...
"Look Mom, I made a car train!"
Ben slept with me last night so I could monitor his temperature. I just now realized that he talks ALL NIGHT LONG in his sleep... most of it having to do with the playground, food, or Josh. Needless to say, this afternoon I may also be taking a nap. Luckily, his temperature is a lot better today, it spiked again about midnight (between the mumblings about slides and waffles) but things seem somewhat back to normal this morning. Everyone got a refreshing bath after breakfast to start out our new day.
Ben woke up from his nap with a burning temperature of 102.5. After a call to the doctor, and a dose of children's Tylenol, I spread out a blanket and turned on the TV for a popsicle and a little quiet time. Luckily, when bedtime rolled around, his fever had reduced. Hopefully he is back to his good ol' self tomorrow.
There are many things that I love, and alot of them can be found at this gem of a store. I had never heard of Hobby Lobby growing up. I was introduced to this store by my friends the Stephensons when we first visited Texas, and I have had a love affair ever since. 
My shopping buddies know the protocol, Ben in the front, Josh in the basket.
