Yesterday, I made homemade tortilla chips. I made mine out of corn tortillas, but you could certainly use flour if you wanted. So, so easy to make and the kids love them for snacks. I cut the corn tortillas into 1/8th's, lay them on a cookie sheet, spray them with Canola oil spray (or any Pam spray), lightly sprinkle them with salt or any seasoning you prefer. I used sugar and cinnamon, and Camdyn thought she was eating a pop tart. Bake them at 350 for 5 minutes, flip them over and bake for an additional 5 minutes.

While the tortillas were baking, Camdyn played with her Dora dollhouse...it's always easier to play when you're sitting on the roof in your Dora underpants.

My most recent Etsy purchase, cute, right?! I think Riley will wear it for her birthday. The design looks fairly simple, I think I may try to make my own.

In other unrelated news, Lumpy has been singing Happy Birthday to each and everyone of Cooper's multitudinous amount of Matchbox cars. It should keep her busy until dinner.

After a particularly bad morning with a certain 2-year-old, I officially dubbed Friday, September 26th as, 'Take Your Lumpy to Work Day'. When Clyde stopped home for lunch, I notified him of the newly named holiday. After she decked herself out in a glitzy pair of pink cowboy boots, they were off.

And rather than kiss her mommy goodbye, she thought a "STINK!" would be more fitting.

It's Bumbo time!

I love it when they curl those little baby piggies!

Rowyn takes Sigmund Freud's Oral Stage in his theory of child development very seriously, she always has her hand crammed in her mouth.

Lumpy wanted to be included...and she wanted her own Bumbo in pink, of course.

Since her hand wasn't available, note the concentration on shoving the rattle in her mouth instead.

I love my mom; she's artistic, crafty, sensitive, loving, beautiful, caring, creative, she's a fantastic cook. She is nurturing, gentle, patient, intelligent, and she would do anything for any one of her children or grandchildren.

Her creative ability never ceases to amaze me, really, she makes the cutest things. We've been blessed to receive homemade cards from my mom for years, I wish I could share them all with you, because each one is more amazing than the next. She's makes us cards for birthdays, anniversaries, all the holidays, even a first day of school card. Here are just a few of my favorites.




Cooper's bedroom...I hung some of his cards up on a make shift clothesline. The second in from the left was made by my aunt, Gigi (my mom's sister), who is obviously a card queen herself!


Valentine's Day card for Lumpy, love it!


Riley thought this was the sweetest card...and with her own picture on it, she thought she was pretty cool!


A birthday card and envelope she made for my birthday, look at all the stitching!



When Rowyn was born...just adorable. And how did she know that's what Rowyn's hair would look like? ;)



For Rowyn's baptism, she even attached a small pink cross. I framed it and it is currently sitting in her crib, I love it so much!

I've really been trying to get her to sell some of her cards, I think they'd do really well...but then again, I feel a little selfish about them and I'm not sure I want to share them with anyone. They truly are exquisite, and they come from her heart, and that, you can't put a price tag on.

Rin Din got herself a new pair of specs. I finally had my eye sight rechecked, and with prescription in hand, I only waited a year or so to fill it. I found a pair shipped to my house for under $20. Yes, that includes the frames, lenses, and glasses case. I found them at http://www.eyebuydirect.com/nicole-p-1309.html.

God, that sounds like a commercial gone wrong.

Pepé Le Pew ain't got nothin' on Lumpy.






This is what I've been getting all afternoon...she takes her skunkness very seriously and likes to whip that tail around and yell, "STINK!" We didn't just stop there folks, oh no, we migrated into "POOP!" and "PEE!" What fun, I can hardly wait until Halloween night. The neighbors won't know what hit them.

While on the subject of hair...

Busted! ~

Move over Paul Mitchell, John Frieda, and the likes...here comes my faux-hawk sportin', tractor driving, 4-wheeler lovin', skateboard thrashin', 5-year-old hair stylist. Caught in the act of doing Mommy's hair. These are the pictures we'll be sure to save and, of course, share with his prom date...thinking ahead already, aren't we?!

Family Movies ~

The kids love watching family movies of when they were a baby, Riley especially! We recently watched Camdyn's video and I had forgotten how much she loved a song on Noggin...we had it DVR'd and she would watch that thing over and over again, she was a dancing fool!

"I'm so glad I've got skin, I've got skin, I've got skin, I'm so glad I've got skin, that's what keeps my insides in! Insides in, insides in, that's what keeps my insides in!"

Feel free to view it in its entirety...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BQ1UfcDgoBc

Faux Hawk ~

Rowyn's hair is really starting to come in...in the form of a baby faux hawk. That hair has a mind of its own, most days she wakes up with it sticking straight up in the air. Oh, the hair products we'll need just to keep that crazy stuff down. ;)

Guess who's back, back again.
Spice is back, tell a friend.
Guess who's back. Guess who's back. Guess who's back.

Now this looks like a latte for me.
So everybody just follow me.
'Cause we need a little controversy,
'Cause it looks so empty thanks to me!

Sorry Eminem, I just massacred your little ditty, but Pumpkin Spice Latte's are back! Right on!

More Etsy Cuteness ~

Man, I wish I could sew.

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=14876106

The Hat ~

While going through bins of baby clothes, I found this hat that was mine as a baby.

Camdyn is always pulling this Fisher Price caterpillar around the house, she calls it her 'worm'. Yesterday, she slammed Cooper's door and stomped out to the living room. When I asked her what that was about, she told me, with the most menacing face a little 2-year-old could muster, "I'm sick of that stupid worm, it woke up my baby!" I laughed and asked why she slammed the door and she replied, "I put it in a time out, I'm just so sick of it!"

Meghan's Hotel ~

My sister recently moved to Davenport and lives in an apartment complex with well over 300 units; there is a pool, an exercise room, and a bike trail. We went to visit them this weekend, and Alcoa was sponsoring Reading Adventures at the fairgrounds, every child received a free book, there were hay rides, a petting zoo, and inflatible rides. Afterwards, we went back to Meghan's to go swimming. The kids don't quite grasp the concept of the whole apartment complex thing...both Cooper and Camdyn think she lives in a hotel. The pool and exercise room are set up like a hotel, and with all the different apartment doors, I guess I can see how they could get confused. The kids keep asking when we can go back to Meghan's hotel. :P

My Pumpkin Sprout ~

Rowyn is sporting her first hair pretty...she looks like a little pumpkin! I'm such a mean mommy, aren't I? haha

Candyland Cake ~





I've been trying to come up with a cake idea for Riley's birthday, which is right around the corner. I found the cutest cake in a magazine at work today...I'm hoping she'll go for it, I'll run it past her tomorrow. It will probably be damn near impossible to find candy canes right now, so I may have to improvise.

I found it online too, at http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Candy-Land-Cake

Mother's Necklace ~

I'm loving some of the things from this Etsy seller...check them out, you know you want to! http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=76850

Betty C. I'm Not ~

This was my first attempt at cake balls from http://bakerella.blogspot.com/ ... love her blog! Anyway, they look like a damn mess compared to hers and note to self: do not attempt to bake when your 2-year-old is running rampant and your 3-month-old decides not to nap, makes for a wicked combination.

I did serve these babies for dessert tonight and I have to admit they were pretty yummy, even my dad had two and he hardly ever does dessert. My mom said they were cute, but I think as a mother you're expected to say that. ;)

I'm planning on doing the mini cupcake version for Riley's birthday snack at school...I'm thinkin' I need to practice a bit before I release these wads to the public for consumption!

Trick Or Treat ~

I was thinking of sending Camdyn as Curious George





...and Rowyn as a banana



I'd have to try to talk Cooper into being the man with the yellow hat, but I'm at a loss as to how to incorporate Riley in. Any ideas?

Fireworks ~

Clyde took the kids with him to the grocery store the other day. When they started loading the groceries into the car, several pop cans exploded all over the place...including all over Riley! Cooper thought it was hilarious, of course, but Riley not so much. When they got home, Clyde realized the rest of the pops in that case were bulging with pressure, so he opened a few so they wouldn't explode all over the garage. He left a couple in the case so he could bring them back to the store the next day to get a refund...but in the meantime, my son had other plans. The little shitpot apparently told the neighbors he had fireworks and proceeded to toss two cases worth of pops in the middle of the street to watch them explode! He was neat about it though, he picked up the empty cans when he was finished! Clyde and I were in getting dinner ready and didn't realize it until Riley came in to tell us (after the fact, of course.)

Needless to say, we could have choked him! So as punishment, he had a timeout and he had to buy us two new cases of pop out of his piggy bank. He best leave fireworks for the 4th of July! Never a dull moment around here, that's for sure!

Another Dumb Dream ~

I blogged before about the dumb dreams I have...well, last night was yet another. This time, however, I didn't wake up freaked out, I woke up mad. Even as I type, I'm still a little irritated with my husband. I dreamt that he went missing for almost 5 days, no phone call, nothing. When he finally shows up, I of course drill him for information as to where he was at. He proceeds to tell me that he was in jail...he had been arrested for drugs! (I have to laugh, because Clyde doesn't drink, smoke, and he's never used drugs...not even tried any.) Anyway, I told him to pack, we were through...my parents showed up and helped me pack up the kids and myself to move to their house. For one reason or another, I had to drive to the police station and on the way there, I realized Clyde had planted Meth in my purse in an attempt to set me up...oh, hell no! Anyway, I'm a little bummed I never did get to finish out the dream, I had to get up to get the kids off to school. Too bad you can't just pick up where you left off the next night!

90210 ~

So it's not the original, but we watched it tonight nonetheless. There were a few familiar faces, Nat, Kelly Shannen...and Rob Estes from another show we used to watch, Silk Stalkings. Love me some Rob Estes. I may have to give it some time, but it's just not the same without that bitch Val screwing with everyone...and this you know!

The Big-Little Sister ~

Camdyn loves to be a big helper with Rowyn, maybe too much so sometimes. It seems to be important to keep her involved, because otherwise she has a tendency to do naughty things to her instead...like head-butting.

Don't worry, no babies were injured in the taking of this picture! ;)