boys boys boys

I do have three fine, handsome, strapping young boys at my house:

And I love them dearly!

Yeah, it's the end of October and we're eating ice cream....

Kinda makes you want some too, doesn't it?

An Ironing Revelation

Here are my three little turkeys that I get to hang out with all day:
Henry's face cracks me up!

See this sweet little dress?

It actually caused me to have an ironing revelation the other day. It's just a little aline corduroy jumper with a pink flower applique on it. I saw it in Carters on sale a few weeks ago and I just thought it was the cutest thing. It actually looks adorable with hot pink leggins but I put brown on first and was too lazy to change them into the pink ones after I decided they were the better choice. But that's really beside the point. Anyway, when I washed them they were in a bad shape. Let me just fill you in on a little secret: I DON'T IRON. I mean I really don't iron very much at all. I really am not good at it. My mom has always told me that I iron more wrinkles in than I iron out. I really avoid buying clothing that has to be ironed. I mean if it washes up good then it gets an A+ in my book! I've never bought any soft corduroy like this before so I didn't know it really wouldn't wash up good, like not at all. So I attempted to iron the jumper so the girls could wear them.....and quite frankly I did iron more wrinkles in than out, or so it seemed to me. And then I saw some buttons on my iron. I have two buttons side by side. One of them looks like little dotted lines for a stream of water I guess. I've used this before when I didn't want to use spray starch on one of my shirts. But then I saw another button right beside it that had a picture of a cloud on it. Y'all, it is for steaming! And let me tell you, when I pushed that little cloud it made all the wrinkles in that corduroy just disappear! It was like magic! I don't know how it works on other fabrics b/c that's the first time I've used it but it sure did work wonders on this little jumper!

On a totally unrelated note I have made three batches of these in the last week:

YUMMMMMM!!!!!

15-month checkup

The girls had their 15-month checkup yesterday morning. Here are their stats:

Margaret Ann:
weight -- 16lbs, 10.5oz (0%)
height -- 29 1/4 in (15%)
head -- 17 5/8 in (18%)

Mary Collins:
weight -- 16 lbs, 4oz (0%)
height -- 29 in (10%)
head -- 17 1/2 in (12%)

They are both still tiny for their age. They may look just like their daddy but they're going to be built like their mama I think. They are walking/running all over the place, can say a few words (night night, mama, dada, nana, bubba, and play ball), are starting to eat primarily table food instead of baby food (that's coming slowly but surely), are still bald as can be, still taking two good naps a day (though I'm sure we'll be dropping down to one a day soon), and are just about the cutest little boogers I've ever seen.

I have no pictures from the doctor visit b/c quite frankly we were doing good to get there. I came back from dropping the boys at school and Clayton met me at the door and exclaimed, my wallet is missing and I have to fly this afternoon! Will you help me find it? So instead of dressing/feeding the girls I turned my house upside down looking for said wallet with no luck. Clayton finally gave up and headed to work. Before he could get out of the neighborhood I opened the buffet cabinet and there it sat. And when I glanced at the clock it read 9:34. Our appointment was at 9:30. So the girls, Henry and I loaded up and headed to the doctor in their nightgowns and I had the oatmeal (breakfast) in tow. But they got good reports and shots and all that good stuff. Glad it's over with! Hopefully we won't get sick and we'll have a nice 3-month break until the next checkup!

Red Ribbon Week

This week is Red Ribbon week at Charlie's school. It's red ribbons for being drug free or something like that. Anyway, they have theme days all this week. Today was red day: wear all red. My child took this literally:

Nevermind that that's three different shades of red, ha! Now, I really did try to reason with Charlie this morning and told him that all the other kids would have on jeans and red shirts (which all the ones I saw in the carpool line this morning did) but if you know Charlie then you really know that there is not much reasoning with him, especially when you're running late and you have to get five kids dressed, fed and loaded. Sometimes it's just easier to give in and let him have his way. No doubt, I bet he'll be the most red child in that whole school! Gotta love him!

Brutal Honesty

Charlie came downstairs before I finished getting ready this morning. Here is how our conversation went:

Charlie: "Mom, can I have my breakfast now?"
Me: "In just a minute, Charlie. Let me finish ironing my shirt first."
Charlie: "Why are you ironing that shirt?"
Me: "Well, Mommy doesn't have a lot of time for herself during the week so on Saturdays I want to try and look nice for Daddy."
Charlie: "Why don't you have time for yourself?"
Me: "Because I'm usually doing things for all of y'all."
Charlie: "Mom, can I have my breakfast now?"
Me: "I'm almost done ironing this shirt. Just a few more minutes."
Charlie: "But that's going to take foooorrrrrreeeeevvvvveeeeerrrrr!"
Me: "Well, I'll just get my clothes on and I'll do my hair and makeup later. So just let me get on my clothes and we'll go make breakfast."
Charlie: "Oh, Mom, I want to do my hair and teeth later too."
Me: "Okay."
(I am now dressed and go to the mirror to take the towel out of my hair)
Charlie: "I thought you were going to do your hair later."
Me: "I am. I'm just going to put it in a ponytail so I can fix it later."
Charlie: "Oh, you're just going to brush through it now?"
Me: "Yes."
Charlie: "Mom, you look like a boy with long hair in that shirt."
Me: (stunned)"Well, maybe when I get my hair and makeup done I won't look like a boy anymore."
Charlie: "Well, that shirt makes you look like a boy with long hair. Can I have my breakfast now?"
Me: "Come on, Charlie. Let's go make breakfast."

OUCH! Talk about a wake-up call!

I admit. I don't take care of myself like I should. I haven't really shopped for myself in a long time. I think anyone who has had a baby recently can relate. I mean, who wants to shop for yourself when you're fat? Clearly, that is a total waste of money b/c you're not going to be that size forever; right? Well, since I've had five children in five years let's just say I haven't been my normal size for a LONG time. But I'm slowly but surely making back down to normal size. So it's time to start updating my wardrobe a little bit. For example, you know that you are not taking care of yourself like you should when you get a compliment on your shirt and it's one your mama bought for you when you were in high school. It's sad to admit but, yes, there are still several pieces of clothing in my closet that are from high school and quite a bit in there from college. Let's see, since my ten-year reunion I have celebrated 8 birthday parties for my three little boys (combined), gotten pregnant with twins and carried them 39 weeks and celebrated their first birthday and am fixing to celebrate their second Christmas. All that to say, my clothes are OLD.

Anyway, I'm working on my list for Santa. It's going something like this:

Dear Santa,
I've been good this year. For Christmas I'd like some clothes....preferably something that doesn't make me look like a boy with long hair.
Love,
April

(FYI: Today I'm wearing one of my favorite button down tuxedo shirts from Gap, jeans and cowboy boots. And I did ask Charlie after I did my hair and makeup if I still looked like a boy with long hair and he said, "no, after you put on some makeup and did your hair you look like a girl." Maybe I just need some youth serum, ha!)

Scarecrow Making 101

Tons--I mean one person asked me if I made my scarecrow so I thought I'd share b/c he is easy to make and fairly inexpensive. Here's what you need:

4 large terra cotta flower pots (I didn't measure mine so I'm not sure how big they are but I got them at Hobby Lobby)
a straw hat (I got one at Michael's this year for a little over a buck)
Raffia (probably about three bags of it) I got mine at Walmart b/c it's cheaper there than HL
paint -- green, black, white and a skin color or a terra cotta color (I used the cheap acrylic paint in Kelly green)
some plaid fabric (1 yard)
a needle and thread (or if you're super fancy bust out your sewing machine)
a hot glue gun

Let me first say that I did not invent this scarecrow. I totally copied Clayton's Aunt Susan about 3-4 years ago. And hers is much prettier than mine b/c her friend Lynn painted her face and she also makes porcelain dolls and is super gifted! Also, I can't remember if hers is exactly like mine b/c I just kinda scketched what her face looked like and winged the rest.

Now up until this year my scarecrow was a man. This year he had to be remade b/c he had spent too much time in the elements (sun, rain, wind). I really loved the fabric I had him in and I didn't have quite enough to make him again in that fabric so I just made him into a girl this year. Her arms are quite skinnier (b/c of lack of fabric) and I added her some eyelashes this year.

So to start off paint 3 of your 4 flower pots solid green. The bottom two will have nothing on them except green. Set your bottom one upside down and the next one on top of it right-side up. (Does that make sense?) On your 3rd green pot turn it upside down and paint three buttons on it. Also on this pot in the upper right-hand corner you need to cut out some fabric in the shape of a U for the pocket. It makes it super cute if you have pinking shears to cut your fabric with. I borrow my MIL's the first time I made it but this time I just used regular old scissors b/c have you priced pinking shears or any fabric scissors for that matter lately? Outrageous and totally not worth the $ if you don't sew, like me. Use your hot glue gun around the edges to attach your fabric pocket and then stuff it with some raffia.

To make your arms just cut your fabric out at desired width and stitch it together. If you have a sewing machine and know how to use it you can make quick work of this step. Or if you're like me you can just use a needle and thread and do it by hand. Even if you have never sewn a button on before you can do this. The first time I made him I didn't even know you had to turn your fabric inside out after you sewed it so you couldn't see the thread and it was still cute. The key here is it is a scarecrow. Farmers use them to keep crows from eating their corn. And when I was making mine this year William exclaimed when I told him I was making a scarecrow, "but mama, we don't have any corn!" What I mean is it doesn't have to be perfect! After you sew a little stitch down your arm take an old magazine and wad up some pages and stuff them in your sleeve. This will make it look like it's stuffed with hay but old magazine paper is much cheaper! Leave some room up top and a little at the bottom. The top will lay at the top of your 3rd green pot and you will hot glue it on each side. Take a handful of raffia and stuff it in the bottom of the sleeve so it appears the whole sleeve is stuffed of hay and tie a piece of raffia around the bottom to hold it in place.

You'll need about 7 pieces of fabric for your belt loops. Make your belt by just taking a bunch of raffia and tying it in a knot around where the 2nd and 3rd pots meet. This is your scarecrow's waistline. After you get your belt in place take your hot glue gun and attach your belt loops all around your scarecrow's waistline. Don't worry if your belt's not perfect. If your raffia isn't long enough just add pieces all around to make you a belt and attach your belt loops to hold it in place.

On your 4th pot paint your face on. This doesn't have to be perfect either. Just wing it. It will turn out cuter than you think. Sit your pot on top of the 3rd green pot and get ready to make some hair. You can either hot glue your hair directly on your pot which is what I did the first time I made it. But this time I made several bunches of hair (I don't know if you can tell that from the pics) and wrapped them with a single piece of raffia and then loosely sewed them into my straw hat so that next time I need to remake it I won't have to fight with the hot glue. It looks cute either way.

Now, I only put hair on the sides of my scarecrow b/c nobody can see the back from the street. But if you have a lot of time on your hands and some extra cash (b/c that raffia can get pricey depending on where you buy it) then you go right ahead and give your scarecrow a full head of hair all the way around it. For me the sides work just fine.

I attached my hat with some hot glue on the front and back where there was no hair. Here's a back view of the scarecrow.

And here's the front view finished product.

I just add a few mums and pumpkins around the bottom of mine and leave him there until I put up my Christmas decor. I usually get a lot of compliments on it. Now, Clayton's Aunt Susan said you can make a Santa like this as well but I haven't tried it out yet. I also haven't seen one done either and since I copied this idea I don't know that I could do Santa without seeing one. I'm thinking paint a black belt with buckle on his waistline and maybe some spackling for the beard? Maybe I'll try it out one year, but not this year. Happy scarecrow making everyone!

Happy Fall Y'all!

Game Day

Today soccer was canceled b/c the fields were so wet from all the rain we've had this week, woohoo! Don't get me wrong...I love soccer and all but it tends to interfere with some football watching. But not today. Wishing we were in Oxford (even though we would probably not be sitting together) we opted to watch the game instead. And I've just got two words to say: ROLL TIDE!!!!! This is the only game of the season we cheer apart. While Ole Miss had a mighty fine display of defense holding Alabama to 5 field goals, in the end the Crimson Tide came home with the big win! And Clayton and I were able to watch the whole game in the same room. There was only once instance where I almost left to go upstairs to finish the game when Clayton told me, "Don't get mad b/c I'm an Ole Miss fan and you're a traitor!" Now my alma mater will always have a special place in my heart and I will cheer on the Rebs every game of the season except this one. And that is where I have to say that I will always bleed Crimson!

So I dressed the boys in their game day attire compliments of Meme (thanks Meme!) and the girls in school colors to show team spirit even though I knew the Tide would pull through for me and win! Here's our home team:

And here's a typical take of all five:
Do you see William's face? I mean how am I going to get a good Christmas card shot? Lord, help me! Clayton and I are eager to get the kids in the bed and watch the FL/LSU game on primetime! It's sure to be a game full of action! I'm pulling for FL just so it will give AL a better chance of making it to Atlanta in December! ROLL TIDE ROLL!!!! Happy Saturday everyone!

What Have We Been Up To Lately?

In talking to my mom several times this week she's casually mentioned that I haven't updated my blog lately. So what have we been doing lately? Hmmmmm......what have we been doing lately? Well I can tell you what I HAVEN'T been doing lately and that is cleaning my house. In fact that's what I'm supposed to be doing today but instead I'm typing this post. I tell ya, if procrastination is really an art then just call me Picasso, seriously.

So both the boys went to the pumpkin patch this week at school. It was nasty and rainy both days for them, the only difference being on Wednesday when William went the high was in the low 60's and Thursday when Charlie went it was close to 90. Can you say sick? We're not though. We are all well as of now, though the swine flu has been going around at Charlie's school. But we'll just not think about that right now and pray the good Lord protects us from coming down with anything like that.

Now I know it's almost the middle of October but I have still not put out my fall decorations. I know, I'm a total slacker. The good thing is that I have "fall" decorations and not "Halloween" decorations so they can totally adorn my front porch until it's time to switch them out for Christmas decorations. So one reason I haven't done it yet is b/c I was waiting on the boys to go pumpkin patching so I could have their pumpkins for my decorations. I told them, "Boys make sure you get the biggest pumpkin you can find," trying to make it sound real cool. Honestly, I was just thinking it would be two less things I'd have to buy for my decor. Well, obviously they thought I was kidding. Look at what they brought home with them:
The one on the left is Charlie's and the one on the right is William's. Now, William's school payed for them to go pumpkin patching but I had to send $6 for Charlie to go. Does that look like a $6 pumpkin to you? I don't think so. Oh well, Good thing I've been scoping pumpkins out and have found some pretty cheap ones at Walmart. I'll go pick those up later tonight. And when I'm finished decorating I'll post about that too.

The girls have been riding their Daddy's bucking bronco (aka his leg) a lot lately. I had to gently remind him that they are girls and girls are like delicate flowers, they break easily. I had this talk after this:

That's Margaret's carpet-burned nose where she fell off the bronco. Actually they were trying to ride at the same time and they both fell off and Clayton couldn't catch them fast enough. Hence I had the delicate flower talk with him and they both decided they had had enough of the bronco for a while. Eventually they have decided to resaddle the bronco but he has chilled out A LOT since he was gently reminded that they weigh closer to 15lbs than 20, ha!

Our teeth have been growing a lot lately. Check out Mary Collins' two front teeth. Can you say braces anyone? Maybe when her permanent teeth come in they'll close up the gap. I'm not hanging my hat on it though b/c this is supposedly a McCoy trademark. Poor girls.....

Henry is just being Henry. He still refuses to tell me when he needs to go "potty." I'm seriously starting to look into some potty training "boot camp" material. I mean seriously, it's time!!! The book fair is next week at William's school and I'm going in search of a potty book for him. I'm running out of things to try here. If they don't have one I'm sure Walmart does. He still is the cutest thing I've ever seen though:

We've been wearing tights lately! My girls, they love them a dress. And we've bought tights in every color they come in I think to get ready for winter. These dresses haven't been washed yet so they're still a little big but we got them at Walmart for $3 to just wear around. Mary Collins has stolen Henry's Spiderman.....watch out girl!

Margaret is thinking it's time for a snack maybe?

These three love hanging out together during the school day:During said school day we have been getting out quite a bit lately. Now, I'm not great at much but if shopping were an Olympic sport I would have a gold medal! Can I tell you how much I LOVE having girls? They are so much fun to shop for and they really like to shop too! They LOVE trying on clothes in the stores and modeling! This week we have found lots of good stuff including our winter Sunday shoes:

This picture doesn't do them justice. But they're a little black pattened leather Mary Jane. The best part is they run a little small and they are narrow so I was able to go with the 4 instead of the 3 and they actually have some growing room so they should last all season for sure. They had to wear them today even though we're just hanging out at home in comfy clothes so mama can clean house. I tried to tell them they didn't really go with pink comfy cotton pants and ballerina t-shirts but they wouldn't listen to me. And honestly, from the looks of the wardrobe hanging in my closet right now, what do I know anyway? One day I'll shop for me but right now I'm having too much fun buying for the kids!

We've also been doing a lot of playing and laughing and enjoying each other lately. See Margaret's smile?

And Mary Collins sweet little self:

In case you haven't been little girl shopping lately ballerinas are really "in" this year, which I LOVE b/c I was a dancer for years, even in college! We have ballerina night gowns, pj's and just recently we scored these cute ballerina t-shirts from Carters:

Now if I only had these two to put in a Christmas card picture I'd for sure be able to get a "winner"! But since we have to add those three rambunctious boys into the mix of things I have my work cut out for me for sure. I better get to practicing SOON!

And that's pretty much what we've been up to lately. Now it's time for me to go clean my filthy house while I have some nappers! TTFN, Ta Ta For Now! (We've been watching some Winnie the Pooh lately. Can you tell?)