I did it!!!!!

Well, I did it again. I tend to get myself over involved in quite a few things. Example... I offer to help the boy's preschool teacher with the Christmas program.... a few minutes later I'm in charge, I have dead lines, and can I provide the costumes? Yes, I completely do this to myself. I have a habit of saying yes to anything. So when I stopped in to see if the music teacher at the girls school needed any last minute help (which means they usually have everything covered and I still get the credit for offering) I said yes to perhaps the most idiotic thing I've ever volunteered for. She asked me to sew (no I don't really sew) 20 pairs (that's 40 gloves people-- 40!!!)of fingerless gloves with red stripes. I said yes-- the words actually came out of my mouth as I'm calling myself an idiot in my head!!! I tried to take the easy way out by calling manufacturers and searching on line. Who knew that no one actually makes whore gloves with red stripes! All I can say is whatever they are doing with them had better be good because this has taken me much much time to muster together. So I ended up going to Target and buying knit mittens and cutting the tops off of them, sewing on red ribbon, and then gluing down the middles (because I couldn't figure out a way to sew the middles). AHHHHHHH! I think I know who Rugby gets his "learn the lesson the hard way" from.... it's me...

Here they are and I even sewed an extra pair just in case. She needed a few girl ones with lace so I sewed that too.
Every time I tried these on to make sure they were working I was thinking, "what the heck is she going to do with these?" It better be amazing...

decorating for the big day...

We had a great weekend filled with lots of decorating and lots of excited kids. They all wanted to get a chance to help out so Tim and I put on the lights while they were napping and when they woke up we let them go nuts with the tree.

They had to take turns with the stool to reach the top section.
Tim has been diligently working on his decorating too. This took him an afternoon and several trips to Lowe's and I have a feeling he isn't done yet.
Here's the finished product. (although the arrangement changes daily because the kids just can't leave it alone)
Here are the family stockings. Yesterday I was out and found a tiny one to match ours for Scuttles. The kids were very concerned that Santa might forget him and he needed one too. They have made Scuttles the official look-out for Santa since he is up all night. The only flaw is trying to get Scuttles to tell us what he saw.... hmmmm.... yeah, we are still working the bugs out of that plan.

Christmas trees...

Today is our annual "freeze your tushy off to cut down your own Christmas tree" day. This year we had the Barlows along and it made for a fun family adventure. We walked around for quite a while in 25 degree weather to find the perfect tree.

Here is all the gang ready for our adventure...
Dad and Jodi (yes, that circa 1970s orange snowsuit goes all the way down... watch out ladies)
Chloe and Barlow (I'm pretty sure her eyes are frozen like that-- they'll thaw out later)
I love when their hats squish their faces like that.
Em was not feeling the Christmas spirit today. He kept asking everyone to carry him and begging someone to take him home. We're making memories kid-- and you're gonna like it!!!Here are the boys off loading the trees...
Mom looking quite angelic in her new all white winter gear. For a woman who hates winter, she sure makes it look good.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Gobble gobble gobble! We had quite the day filled with family and food. We had a small gathering at the Taylor house this year. We were down to the Barlows, my parents and us. (don't think that it was any less noise though) Here we are celebrating and stuffing our faces full...

Breckyn wanted us to be in the "true" Thanksgiving garb... Em was glad to be an Indian.Breckyn is a Pilgrim...
Pretty pretty Chloe...
Max gettin' into his egg nog...
Em lovin' Aunt Jodi for bringing Root beer for the kids... thanks Jo!
Dad enjoying having sons to watch some football with... GO PACKERS!
The kids out in their pjs early this morning to play in the new snow. (Em is still not too sure about it)
Em getting a closer look to check for safety...
Pretty sure Rugs was not checking for safety (tip #1-never eat yellow snow). Actually a little while after this picture was taken he came in spitting out dirt and mulch because he tried to lick snow off of the mulch pile. I think he actually prefers to learn things the hard way.
The crowning moment of the day was when Tim came downstairs to greet our guests looking like this. I can tell you that I was not pleased. After several hours of dirty looks from me he is now back to being clean shaven-- that was a close one! He gets a truck and all the sudden he thinks he's Hulk Hogan-- geesh! It could have been worse-- at least he didn't try to rip off his shirt and wrestle someone.

The last straw...

Tim has been driving a '96 accord for a really long time. It's been a super good reliable car for all 159,000 miles it's been alive until recently. It has three mechanical problems, a lot of rust and lets face it-- it's purple. I've been giving Tim rides for the last two weeks or so because he was debating fixing it or getting a new car. Well, Monday morning that decision was made for him. He decided that it wasn't that bad and he could drive it to an appointment. He got in and started it up and a really lot of mice came running out from under it. After investigating it further we discovered that they had a few nice mouse condos set up in his engine-- NASTY!

..the last straw!!!
After (too much) thought he finally settled on a new truck. He says if he had the last one for that long, the new one is going to last him even longer so it needed to be perfect.
I think he's in love. The is his new lady, a Honda Ridgeline RTX. It has 4 doors (my requirement for kid hauling) and a nice trunk under the bed. It also has many other features that suit his 50/50 personality. (business guy Tim and worker guy Tim) He calls it his Mullet Mobile-- business in the front and party in the back. Congratulations Timmy you deserved it!

blog safety...

I'm thinking for safety sake I might close my blog to invited guests only. I did a Google search and our blog was easily accessed. I'm not cool with weirdos being able to oogle my kid's pictures. So I'm giving all wanted viewers one week to email me at taylors@genevaonline.com with your email address so I can add you to my visitor list. At the end of the week I will be closing down my blog to invited guests only. If we are a link on your blog-- don't worry, you can keep it on you'll just need to sign in before you can access ours. It's not that bad I already have access to a few like this and I usually am signed in to leave a comment anyway. Thanks for the cooperation!

Tagged again...

So my college pal Nancy decided to "tag" me with one of those "keep it going" kinda things. She is a booger! She probably knows that I promptly delete any sort of "keep it going" things from email and I hate telemarketers-- all in the same weird annoying category... and yet here I am still typing. Nancy, pay back will be rough...

I need to list 7 interesting things about me....

1. I hate anything cluttery and annoying. As listed above all telemarketers, spam emails telling stories of "real" people, junk mail, the random mysterious newspaper that keeps getting delivered from out of no where. I even delete all shows that I might not watch from our TIVO just to keep it cleaned up. I like things clean and clutter free. I clean out any unwanted things (i.e. anything that hasn't been used in the last year) once a year from my house. OK, so I said it, I'm a freak. (but a very clean freak)
2. I like to buy music and listen to it over and over again until I can't stand the sound of it.
3. I listen to my kids talk sometimes and all I can think about is how stinkin' cute they are.
4. I'm still completely madly in love with my husband. Certain songs or smells take me back to when we were dating and I end up just staring at him like he is the most amazing thing I've ever seen. (OK, he is)
5. I like being in the hospital. I've had several surgeries and babies and every time I have to go I get a little excited to have someone wait on me, clean up after me, bring me drugs, cook my food, and the drinks with ice and a bendy straw-- does it get any better?!? Some people might think, "why not just go to a spa?" Do people send you flowers and cards at a spa? Do they feel bad for you and offer to cook you meals when you get home? I THINK NOT!! I'm totally on board with the hospital thing...
6. Sometimes when I'm alone in the car (which is very rare), I roll down the windows, crank up the music and pretend I'm young and cool again. Like if I pulled up to a stop sign, I'm not in a mini-van and the guy in the car next to me is checking me out because I'm hot and not because I've got a weird "what the heck did Rugby leave under the seat last week" smell wafting from my vehicle.
7. I really truly love my life. I've got a great family, a caring husband, fun kids, a cute hamster (that one we'll keep to ourselves), an awesome house, and a really cool mini-van (yes, mini-vans can be cool). Life is good.

I would like to offer this fun (ok, sometimes the tag thing can be fun) tag to a few of you. Come on you can do it. Cheri, Cassie, Melissa, Kassy, Elisha, all of you on that list of mine... (refer to the links) come on and join the party. 7 interesting things about you... careful because I'm sure I could list a few about each of you if you can't...

big boys and big toys...

I looked out my back window this afternoon to find a semi in my back yard...
..it delivered this...
The kids thought it was awesome. The big boys (Dad and Tim) decided to clear out some trees and move the swing set to create a mega play area for the kids. They might have over shot the bark measurements... a little...
Top of the pile!
The kids worked and worked to pile up a tiny ball of leaves to jump in-- they sure had fun doing it.
It was getting dark by the time they were finishing but you can barely make out the new area. We moved the rock wall and added a climbing rope for more fun. (and note a little bark left over) We are all ready for some more fun in the sun... now we just need to wait for summer. UGH!

more family fun...

Today I was taking the groceries out of the car while the boys played outside. Rugs came running in yelling, "something is wrong with Emerson's face!!" I was thinking the worst-- blood, bruises but instead I got this...

He came in saying, "sorry Mommy sorry Mommy..." I'm pretty sure he played in the dirt. Can you believe how much dirt is on that little face?
Here is my pretty pretty Chloe...
...handsome Cam Cam
Em and Dad on the big rig...
I'm not sure who looks happier...

I think Cam was all partied out and ready for some rest. We'll miss you little buddy.

Taylor Time...

Here's a little taste of this week at a glance...

Tim and I (alright, I'll admit, this dress is not the best print-- but I got a great deal on it)
My little frozen muffin... (he is loving his new hat and mittens)
...perhaps a little too much. At least he took off the mittens-- that could have been messy...
T and his B.F.F. dolphin boy...
Yet another successful domination of Breckyn's bed... nice work buddy...
Cassie and Cam have been here all week joining in on all the family fun.

back in business...

Last night we were feeling so bad for Emerson-- today, not so much. His swelling has gone down and he is on three different medications for the next ten days. One of his meds makes him extremely hyper...

So, he is back to squirreling around with his big brother. It's going to be a long long long day...

E.R. visit...

My little baby had to take a trip to the E.R. this afternoon. It all started with a tiny little nut. Cassie and I were chatting in my kitchen when Em came in after his nap. He asked Cassie if he could have some of the candy macadamia nuts we were having and Cassie told him no because he is allergic to peanuts. I told her that he was only allergic to peanuts and macadamia nuts were fine for him to eat. ...fast forward 30 minutes and Cassie and I are sitting in the E.R. with Em sandwiched between us waiting for some more medication. He had a severe reaction to macadamia nuts (who knew?) and almost instantly his face started blowing up and he couldn't stop coughing. My poor tiny guy was a good little trooper and he never even cried. He will be on several medications for 10 days to make sure everything is out of his system. In the mean time this will defiantly be on my list of "worst parenting" moments for years to come....

He told Cassie, "Take me to the doctor before I cough and cough and die." (I may have over dramatised the whole peanut allergy to him... a little.)
When you ask him what happens when he eats a peanut he says, "I die!" (really he only gets a rash around his mouth-- but he likes to take things to the extreme) You can see that his little face especially around his eye puffed right up.

bedtime bliss...

At night when everyone is sleeping and the boys are still talking sometimes I take some drastic measures. I send one of them to sleep in Breckyn's bed so that I can get a little peace. Well, last night when I went to move Em from Brecky's room I found this...

Em had weaseled his way all the way over to Brecky's side and poor Brecky is almost falling off the bed...
He is all sprawled out and taking all the space he needs.... nice Em!
I just love seeing my kids sleeping-- especially this kid because you will never catch him sitting still when his eyes are open.
Zo has my unique gift of squirrely sleeping...