Eerily Similar

Yes. This is Hitler. Scary. This is the Hitler wannabe that I found using markers inappropriately in the kitchen. I would've punished him if I hadn't cracked up laughing right off the bat. If it wouldn't be offensive this might be a halloween costume idea.
Apparently Little Buddy has not matured in the area of Proper Usage of Writing Materials in the last year. For a refresher, take a look at him on August 11 2007. Not much has changed. I'm just thankful he didn't eat the tips off the markers this year. It's small steps, my friends. Small ones.

Why......

This is why I don't really "play" with the boys. This is really why I need some estrogen in this house. Be sure to note the amount of weaponry and just imagine the sound level.
This is why I generally end up becoming injured while attempting to play with the boys. You should be afraid, very afraid......of the spiderman kid. He has no fear nor does he respect your personal space or personal bodily areas for that matter. His stance and facial expression alone give me chills when looking at this picture.
And this is why they usually ask for the daddy and not me. I am unable to lift either one of these kids because they weigh close to the same amount as a garbage can filled with concrete. Not a small bathroom garbage can. The kind that you put outside on trash day.
And this is why I will make the boys shower individually from here on out. I already had my camera slung over my shoulder and was taking it downstairs when I heard, in unison and to some unknown tune, "thisarma booooo bays. my booooobays (repeat)". I pulled the shower curtain back and wahla:

Yeah. Nobody can be trusted to behave. I guess boys will definately be boys. Pray for me.

Because People Tend to Ask...

I thought I'd give a little update on what is going on in the Morgan Adoption World. The short version would be

NOTHING.

However, I'll expound. Currently we are waiting on approval from ES government to be able to persue a referral (a child chosen for us). This part of the process was suppose to take 5-7 months. We are at 11 months, 2 weeks, and 5 days........ but who's counting?

There is a committee in El Salv*ador that is suppose to meet monthly to do these approvals but, unfortunately, they have only met three times this year and have given out NO approvals at any meeting. Bummer. We have 2 people ahead of us that are actually AT the committee and most likely our file will not be seen by them until those other families have moved on.

I call our adoption coordinator monthly to find out if any progress is made and so far she's had nothing for me. Very depressing. Very frustrating. Very disappointing. I really try not to dwell on it though because there is not one single, solitary thing that I can do to make it move more quickly. I assure you, however, that if I were in charge of things they would be moving much quicker than this snails pace they are currently on. On second thought, it may be a slight hinderance to the process that I'm not fluent in Spanish, nor do I live in ES or know anything about completing adoptions there. Whatever. I did spend the night at a Holiday Inn Express last night.............

So, there you have it. The official No Update Update. We're praying for approval, hoping for a quick referral, and then seeking training so we can become members of the Hairbow Mafia. Can you wear bows while playing sports?? If not, I'll have to back out on my membership in which case I'll probably be killed since that's how Mafia's work.

Stay tuned. Hopefully '09 will be full of adoption surprises! And, in case you were wondering, that flower actually grew in MY flowerbed. It's amazing the power that water has!

Just Another Day at the Bus Stop

One of these days I'm going to video GW at the bus stop. Every day he runs out with some type of "something cool" and holds it up for his buddy to see. In this pic it's some sort of lego something that he's built. Yesterday it was a lego star wars shirt. His little bud on this bus is always mouthing "WOAH" no matter what type of nonsense Grant runs out there with. It cracks me up every morning. Since the mornings have been cool I was surprised he ran out there wearing his scivies. Of course, according to him these are NOT underwear but actually an entire outfit. He wore them for two days straight. Yes, I allowed it. I banned them from the gym but let him wear them in car rider line for a couple days. Funny enough one of the kids I pick up got in the car and said, "EWW! Your, like, naked!" Grant vehemently denied such and claimed he was wearing shorts and a tank top.

I have yet to be able to convince him that when he picked them out at Target they were in the underwear section. They're Batman and that's all that matters when you are a boy.
And, on a side note, this guy scared the pants off of me when we were waiting for the bus. I never saw him coming and then suddenly he ran past me pacing at least a 6.5 minute mile! I heard the breathing first and then the backpack caught my eye. The thought crossed my mind for a minute that he had robbed someone. He was going so fast it looked more like fleeing than running.

It's a good thing that I came to the realization that he must be training for something because how embarrassing would that have been if I would've ran after him and tackled him in the street just as the bus pulled up with all the elementary school kids on it?!?! Cade would've never lived that down....

Diaper Schmiper

Diaper Schmiper

Seriously? Does this look like a child that cares ANYTHING about having a nasty diaper?? Does it even resemble a child that MIGHT be interested in potty training?? Yeah. Didn't think so.

SCORE!

The boys had a good showing at their Saturday games. Grant helped his team out by scoring 2 goals which, in turn, made the score a whopping 4 to say......uh......28. Our team being the 4. I was so mad at myself for not having my camera readily available to see him jump in the air with both fists raised high above his head. This is him just shortly after his moment of a lifetime. By his reaction and his attitude walking to and from the field after the goals Bobby and I decided that we'd let him bask in the moment and then later this week work on the gift of humility.

"The Cades" had their first showing on the flag football field. I have always said that I would never let my child play football due to a tragedy I experienced as a new nurse in the PICU. It has been forever burned in my memory. However, let it be known that this is FLAG football, not full pads tackle and the only piece of protective gear required is this goofy mouthpiece.

Their coach did a great job. He even had a play book which cracked me up. I know Cade is standing here thinking......"Huh?? I can't even read!" He must have understood a little at least because he did throw for two touchdowns as the quarterback.........
catch the ball three times.........
and run for three touchdowns.And boy was he excited! He was pretty low key in celebration. He probably won't have to eat as much humble pie as his little bro.Rhett wasn't in to too much trouble this weekend. He spent most of his time playing with "black doggie" and making friends with him by feeding him his Subway sandwhich.
He also made hats out of the football field cones. Here's to many a sunburn and good times to be had at the sports field.

Thanks, Crayola!

Who knew that a fake English accent and a little paint could equal happy times for the whole family? Since I've been on the mend and we haven't been able to do our usual running around and staying busy, I decided to try out a little crafin' at the Morgan Casa. It met with rave reviews. I pulled out my best SuperNanny-ish accent and proceeded to welcome everyone to my painting session. Bobby was the only one that I couldn't convince to take part in the fun. I guess he could see right through my accent. He must've known it was fake.
Cade, who is definately NOT my artsy child, even enjoyed himself. He is a self- proclaimed "art hater" and even informed me last year that school should be cancelled on Thursdays. When I inquired as to why, he stated "because that is the day I have art class". No poutin' on Painting with Mommy day though! After about 15 minutes ( I can't believe it even lasted that long) he did ask me what was up with the funny voice. I decided to lose the accent for a bit after that. Apparently it frightened the children. Grant was painting a masterpiece for sure. He refused to smile for Bobby but did actually make eye contact with the camera once.

Little Buddy was lovin' him some painting. His sunday school teacher has told me as much but I have just now begun to listen to her words of wisdom. I was so impressed that he actually painted on the paper and not his face........or Grant's. He has been known to do squirrly things like that.
I was impressed with my little crafting endeavor and loved the hour of non-sword fighting or gun battling that it left me with. Bobby said we could tell everyone that elephants painted all of these prints and make a lot of money off of them. I guess the elephant story wouldn't fly. However, I COULD say that a bunch of monkeys did the painting..........that wouldn't exactly be an un-truth........

Soccer: Take Two

Grant is back in action on the soccer field this fall. We let him play spring soccer last year and it was not money well spent. He used most of his time then complaining or spinning in circles with his shirt pulled over his head. This year, however, we have a different story (or at least as of the first game we do).

Mo and Curly got on the same team as usual. It's always fun to have your best bud to kick around with.
This is a far cry from last years games. Grant actually showed a lot of hustle. I was really proud of how hard he tried in the game. Grant said after the game, "hey Mommy. Did you hear me? When that kid on the other team accidentally kicked the ball to me I looked at him and said, (insert sarcastic tone) 'UH. THANK YOOOUUU' " He thought that was hilarious. I'm just glad he chose to use his manners.

Notice the tongue action in this picture. As I went through all my shots of the game I realized that this was a common theme whenever he had the ball. I think he comes by it naturally as I have heard many a story of his father doing the same thing. At the end of the game C. screamed out across the field, "AWWW! WE LOSED!" And "losed" was putting it nicely. We got slaughtered. The score had to be at least 85 to 1. I'd like to say that Grant scored the one goal they got but, lucky for us, the other team's good player got confused and scored a goal for his opposition. Oops. And, in the usual Rhett fashion, I scanned the field to find him during the game and duh, this should have been the first place I looked. All snagged in the net yelling for help. Not sure how he ended up that way. Not even sure I want nor need to know. Someone did rescue him though and I don't think he had too many rope burns on his legs. One day this kid will learn some basic safety rules. One day.
Stay tuned for season highlights. I'm sure there will be some to report. Surely........

Can You Hear the Angels Singing??

I can! Today marks the onset of Tuesday/Thursday freedom, stag grocery shopping, entering Target without repeating the phrase "NO TOYS" a thousand times, and listening to MY radio station for at least a few hours a week. Praise Jesus. Seriously. Praise Him because He gave me three wonderfully active boys and then knew that I would need a break and gave me church based preschool. Gotta love it.

Bobby did drop off duties today which I was a little sad about but he needed the first day experience to check off the list, too, I guess. I was still able to snap some first day pictures of course.
We didn't get new backpacks because last year I bought some from Lands End and supposedly they last a lifetime. Be prepared to see Grant lugging his gecko backpack in his first day of college pictures. Do you get to take first day of college pics?
Little Buddy was so excited to go that he was in the car right after Cade got on the bus. That was at 8:02 this morning. School starts at 9. Needless to say, he finally came in and caught up with the Backyardigans for a bit. He took his "All About Me" poster with him today. It was his homework over the weekend. He really loved using a glue stick and telling me what kind of pictures he needed for his project. Right now the most important things in his life are: his family (I'm glad we made the cut), pizza, horses, fire engines and his "boppy" and Chicky Bear. I'm so impressed that Chicky Bear has stayed at the top of his love list this long. I guess it's a good thing I didn't talk him into the elephant. It would have been like an arranged marriage or something. Good for practical purposes but not filled with the love.

Here's to some good free time. Maybe I'll actually remember to use my coupons at the grocery store now. Who am I kidding? Preschool is great but it's no miracle worker.

Real Life Washing

Today, as I am recovering from having a hernia repair on Friday, I was able to just sit and be a silent observer as Bobby and the boys washed my car in the driveway. It's funny how simple things such as this can mimic actual real life behavior and trends. Let me elaborate. In this task you have the "worker bee". This is Cade. Little Daddy, give me a task and I'll complete it, Cade. He worked diligently the whole time, following directions by washing THEN rinsing. I even heard this come out of his mouth, no lie. "GRANT!! Don't you know that everytime you spray that hose we are having to pay for that water?? Do you want to waste all of our extra money or do you want to buy Legos with it?" Wisdom beyond his years. Or too much time actually paying attention to things his mother tells him when aggravated. You decide. Then you've got the Foreman. The guy who really doesn't want actually DO any of the work. He just wants to oversee and do the fun part. Which, in this case, happens to be the water hose. This is a constant in GW's life. He likes to take part in the fun but doesn't want the mess of actually participating in the work part. He'd rather walk around and randomly spray areas of the car that have not yet been washed and then neglect the soaped areas that could use a little sprayage. He also sprayed people's bottoms and tops of heads, the sky, the side of the house, the driveway, and Little Buddy mulitple times.
Last, but not least, is the Bandit. This guy doesn't understand the concept of work or washing. He is merely there to steal items and wash areas that don't need to be washed again and again and again. I heard the phrase, "RHETT. NO, RHETT! RHETT!!!" more times than I am willing to post about. At one point I looked over from my chair and realized he was in the garage "washing" Bobby's car with a soapy brush. Bobby's car was already washed.......yesterday. This is just how Little Buddy rolls. He runs around without a care acting like a crazy person and not paying attention to even ONE rule.

Sometimes it's fun to just take it all in. I, however, hope to be taking part in the festivities next time. My rear can only take so much sitting around. And, given the amount of times my car has been handwashed this year (2?) surely I'll be up to par by the next go around!