A sleepless Night

Last night was not very restful. It started okay...everyone went to bed at a decent hour and slept well. We were all still tired from the 4th and needed our rest. Unfortunately, it didn't happen for anyone except Bradley. What a change, though, that HE was the one who got some rest. I fell asleep at 11 and then was awakened at 1am by Rachel's cries. She was scared and crying and begging me to "sit with her for a little while". Nick and I try not to do this at all, because we don't want it to become a habit. However, I could tell she was really scared by her desperation, so I did get in bed with her. She loved it and wanted to put her arm or leg or foot on me while we "slept". Her little body is always very warm, so it felt like a fireball was touching me wherever her body touched mine. I tried to hang in there for a while, slept off and on and finally decided to go back to my bed at 2am. Rachel immediately woke up and asked me where I was going. I said, "I'm going to sleep in my bed, night night." She said, "okay, mommy, see you in the morning." So, I dozed back off and then 30 minutes later, she woke up again crying. I raced back in there and told her everything was okay and to get some sleep. This time, she was okay and went to sleep without me. By the time I got back in bed this time, I was having a hard time falling asleep. I may have finally started dozing, and then Dixie started barking right outside our window. She hasn't done that in a long time but she was non-stop barking at something...probably a deer. Nick woke up with all the barking and was mad. He decided to turn on the outside lights and Yell at Dixie. This only made it harder for me to fall asleep with all this agitation and motion. Anyway, Nick finally put Dixie in the garage and came to bed. Of course, Bradley was stirring at this time, 3:50ish, but thankfully, he worked it out. So, it was definitely not a restful night's sleep. Here's to hoping tonight is MUCH better!! ;)

Also, we didn't make it to church or anywhere today. We ended up steam cleaning our den carpet. So, no one needs to be afraid of what they might be sitting on/in...it's nice and clean now. I just hope we can keep it that way!

Bowl-a-rama

We took the kids bowling today for the first time. We went with Brian, Angie, Jen, Micah, Michelle, Hope, Jared, Mr. Green, Amy, Eric, Evan, Avery and Mr. and Mrs. Wood. Angie had free passes and was kind enough to share them with us. The bowling alley is new and very clean and since we went this morning, there wasn't a rowdy crowd there. Rachel LOVED it!! They had gutter guards so she wouldn't get a gutter ball each time. She did great and really enjoyed it. Bradley wasn't into it at all, so he and I found other things to look at and do. I bowled a little bit, but mostly it was Rachel and Nick doing the bowling. Nick threw his ball so hard that I'm surprised there's not a hole in the back of the alley from it. Angie Moon was the best bowler...not throwing it the hardest, but the most controlled and precise. Anyway, we had a great time and I can't wait to go back again. Rachel wants her cousin JuJu to go with her when her baby Alex's tummy isn't hurting so much. It was a fun morning, and we came home to rest and recover from the past couple of busy days.

*** I will add pictures when I get them from Jen...I forgot my camera! ***

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!!!

Lauren kissing on Bradley

I'm #1!

Papa and Rachel giving the donkeys some corn husks

Rachel helping Papa shuck corn

Nick & Micah hard at work cooking ribs and stew

Papa, Rachel & Bradley calling the donkeys over

Me and Bradley

Bradley hamming it up

Me and my sweet babies

Silly girl!

Bradley's hair blowing in the fan!

Bradley wanted me to dip him into the water

having fun!

Sweet Rachel with her boogey board

Sweet Bradley

Matt & Lauren

Everyone's having a great time!

Carter is swimming

Micah and Jen

Daddy and Rachel

Heather and Randy

Sophia and Rachel decide to take a "ride"

Lauren joins them

Poor Bradley is exhausted!

Elle's the horse rider now...with a few additions

Giddy'up !

Elle, Sophie and Rach

Rachel & Elle
We love ICE CREAM!!!

Yummy!

Gorgeous Sophie!

Precious Lauren

Adorable Rachel...making a good ole mess!

Daddy and Bradley

The whole Kid Gang...

Elle, Carter, Lauren, Sophie, Bradley & Rachel

Lauren & Bradley

Going for a ride!!

We had a great time today swimming and eating delicious food! We went to Gege and Papa's where daddy and papa had cooked their famous ribs, boston butt, and stew. IT WAS DELICIOUS!!! We all gorged ourselves and then swam/floated around! The kids had a great time together playing and getting messy!

Little Princess

fresh oreo cookie face
little princess

how sweet!

Rachel recently found her unopened princess crown, earrings and necklace from her birthday. I think this was from nana and pop. She has been carrying it around, in it's clear case since May, but finally opened it today. She looked so lovely, I had to share some pictures. She coordinated her new crown and jewelry with some purple make-up and a purple princess dress. Bradley was quite impressed with her necklace. What a lovely princess!!!

My daughter, my helper!

The other day, Rachel did something she shouldn't have done. I got onto her and reminded her why we don't do it (whatever it was) and she said she was "sorry". I told her it was okay, but not to do it again. I think I even gave her a little lecture. Then, she looked at me and said, "mommy, I made a "stake"and everyone makes "stakes" sometimes. I thought that was hilarious, because she obviously meant "mistake" and she also wasn't impressed with or impacted by my lecture. Note to self: keep reprimands short and sweet!

I know I've said it a million times, but Rachel is a HUGE HELP to me!!! She really does a great job of looking after her brother. And, I don't want y'all thinking that I place this huge responsibility on her...I really don't! She just assumes that's her role, and I appreciate all the help I can get! Today, we went to 3 different stores and that's always a tiring ordeal. At Sears, I had to take something back and then got something else. So, we had already been in there for awhile and the kids had been so patient. I had just let Bradley get down and I told him to stand with me and sissy. He looked right in my eyes, and YES, he did understand me. He even stayed there...for a couple of minutes. The clerk even said, "wow, he's young to listen so well." As she was saying this, Bradley took off through the clothing aisles. Then, Rachel took off after him to keep up with him. I tried to grab my receipts and item and took off running in the direction that they had run. I couldn't see them, so I said, "Rachel, where are y'all?" She answered me and said, "we're looking at the princess bed." This was a very LONG ways away from where I had checked out. Thank GOD they didn't get kidnapped or anything. Well, I was mad and I popped Bradley on the butt for running away from me. Of course, this made him start wailing very loudly. I also stopped and thanked Rachel for staying with Bradley and making sure he was okay. I mean, if she hadn't followed him, he wouldn't have been able to answer when I called and I would have been even more frantic trying to find him. So, obviously this was my fault. I shouldn't have Bradley down and not been holding his hand. And, I'm VERY thankful for my precious daughter who so willingly helps her mommy and so lovingly looks after her brother.

dumb ole internet

I haven't been blogging much because my convenience factor has been compromised. I usually blog in the evening, from the couch after the kids are in bed. But, for some unknown reason, my wireless router has stopped working and I can only be on the internet if I'm in the playroom and hooked directly to the router. What a pain!!! I've become very spoiled by the wireless computer access!! Anyway, I've tried re-installing my wireless router but haven't had any luck. I'm hoping Nick will come up here one of these days and fix it for me. I'm tired of dealing with it! :) Just wanted to let you know in case you were wondering!

Lil' Greaser

Excuse our dirty bathroom!!
Vaseline all over his shirt too!

Today, Bradley was pleasantly eating his pancakes while I was toasting a bagel. A few minutes later, I noticed that he had disappeared from his pancakes. I found Bradley in our bathroom. He had opened our bathroom drawers and found a large jar of vaseline. This was pure petroleum jelly...very greasy stuff in SMALL quantities, but even worse if it is used the way Bradley used it. He had only been alone with the vaseline for about 3 minutes, but he had had enough time to rub it ALL over his head, his arms, his legs and his hands were just goops of vaseline. He had even rubbed a HUGE amount of vaseline into our dark brown bathroom rug. And, he was quite proud of himself. He thought he had done a good job. He knows we use vaseline on chapped lips and chapped cheeks and he thought he was helping. It was a huge mess, but I had to smile at how proud of himself he was. The biggest problem was that it's not easy to get vaseline off. I wiped off as much as I could and then I put him in the tub. I bathed him and got most of it off, but his hair looked a little bit greasy today and wasn't sticking up every which way like it usually does when it's clean. Silly boy!!!