t-bone's top 10

the top ten signs that is was time for t-bone to go back to work.

1. thomas dug out his old high school football jersey and started wearing it to the breakfast table.

2. thomas watched the entire "one tree hill" 2 hour season premiere and spent most of the time wishing that "nathan" would roll his wheelchair into the pool.

3. thomas began meeting the mailcarrier at the mailbox everyday. 4pm sharp. they were practically on a first name basis.

4. thomas perfected his version of gourmet egg mcmuffins.

5. thomas floated the idea of being an at-home, freelance author/philosopher. i sank the idea.

6. thomas wouldn't stop laughing for 2 days when the kansas city chiefs hired chan gailey(former georgia tech head coach) as their new offensive coordinator.

7. thomas stayed on the internet so long one day that he made a $50 contribution to mitt romney's presidential campaign.

8. thomas scrubbed every cookie sheet and baking pan back to shiny, flawless condition.

9. thomas learned the theme songs from mickey mouse clubhouse, the doodlebops and my friends tigger and pooh. by heart.

10. thomas had started giving me blog topic, content and title ideas.

thomas, i loved having you at home with us the after the big move. i'll miss the fun days with you. but i think you are enjoying the time at your new office where there aren't crumbs on everthing. and there are no screaming children. and there are conversations without the word poo poo in it. and no one wipes his nose on your sleeve. we hope.

the power of snow

reagan is the only member of our family showing signs of being a snow fan. the first time he saw the snow, he stood at the kitchen window for about 20 minutes. he was in awe of the fact that the night before we had grass in our yard and then in the morning we didn't. and before you southern readers gasp and wonder if we have supplies to last us a few days in case we are snowed it, don't worry your pretty little sunkissed faces. it usually only snows a few inches. the ice and freezing rain are much worse than the snow.

we were such dummies the day it snowed. we didn't check the weather report and we bundled the kids up for a trip to the gym. we noted on the car ride that there didn't seem to be many people oot and aboot that day. after returning home, we watched the news and their were multiple school closings due to freezing temperatures and slick roads. so glad we braved the elements for a few sweaty minutes at the gym.
reagan testing the snow. he wasn't sure if he was supposed to pick up his feet or if he was going to fall off the snow.
he was pretty pleased with the whole experience. i have found that i can use the threat of snow as a great diversion.

reagan: wanna watch mickey mouse!!! AHAHAHA!

mama: look reagan, i think it is snowing!

and he will stand transfixed at the window watching for any snowflakes, happily forgetting about his prior requests.

or better yet:

reagan: wanna piece of chocwick candy! reagan no wanna eat chicken!

mama: reagan, the snow won't come if you aren't a nice boy and finish your dinner.

i love a little manipulation in parenting.

i am the best parent ever. no contest. the end.

what do you have when you get 300 sugar laden children missing their naptimes(i know of one little boy in particular who ate a small tub full of chocolate chips), 100 stressed out parents, a gabillion jangling toy tambourines, one cd of repetitive children's music and three skittle-colored broadway musical wannabes?
the doodlebops live at independence center!!!

reagan is a pretty big doodlebops fan. most of his musical "training" comes from watching their show. he can strum a guitar, beat some skins, play the piano and shake a tambourine with the best of them. so when i heard that they would be at the mall(or "the center" as those in the know call it) i jumped up, shuffled around and got my groove on and headed to the mall with the kiddies in tow. plus, this event was free. there was no way i was paying $18-30 a pop for the live show. after waiting for more than an hour, we finally got to the front of the line. and reagan entered heaven as he knows it.

this cracked me up! this little kid on the bottom right excitedly stripped his shirt of for the doodlebops to sign.

poor reagan was ecstatic to see them. but he didn't want to sit by them for a picture. i don't blame him. check out that freaky makeup and those weird bulbous fingers.
i left reagan's eyes red on purpose. the picture is even funnier that way.

after we had our turn we just stood and watched them from an upper level at the mall. reagan hardly even blinked. all the way home and for the rest of the night reagan would repeat over and over, "reagan had fun with the doodlebops."

faith

“Faith in something greater than ourselves enables us to do what we have said we'll do, to press forward when we are tired or hurt or afraid, to keep going when the challenge seems overwhelming and the course is entirely uncertain.”-Gordon B. Hinckley

a little bit of heaven

since moving back to cow town, as kansas city is affectionately called, we have discovered a few things that we love.



heidi: the mcdonalds by my mom's house has SWIRL CONES!!! this is a huge deal. most mcdonalds don't do that anymore. plus, this mcdonalds workforce makes them colossally large! for pocket change i get a few moments of pure bliss.

thomas: quiktrip is the nearest thing to perfection(or being back in the South). 89 cent coke fountain drinks! what more could any guy ask for? besides georgia being ranked #2 in the final football standings, few things taste as sweet as a cold swaller of coke. and this particular quiktrip is across the street from the swirl cone mcdonalds. talk about a cheap date!

reagan: gramma has a piano! both gramma and reagan are in hog heaven. the quickest way to get to be grandma sandy's favorite grandchild is through piano playing.

scarlett: there is always someone wanting to cuddle and tell me how precious i am.

only 360 more payments and she is all ours!

after much searching we have found our tara. the fact that it does resemble a southern farmhouse is purely coincidental. i promise. i think it must be God's way of helping ease thomas into life in the heartland. we have moved in and we are digging through the mess in hopes of finding some sanity. it must be packed in here somewhere.

a few things i really like about the house:

built in shelves in the master closet. if thomas is real good, i'll let him use them too.

a southern front porch. the tacky screen door is just about to be ripped off its hinges. that wasn't a selling point for me.
it was really sunny in this picture. that smirk on my face means i like it.

dancing a jig in front of the house.

the fireplace
the sweetest little face in the world.

as soon as it was ours, the first thing i did was rip off the lace that was glue gunned to the cabinets. no gracias mi amigas!

the previous owners left us some celebration champagne. now we are really high rollers.

thomas just wasn't in a dancing mood like i was.