The art of the burger

Anyone who knows Travis knows he has "the right way" to do EVERYTHING! This includeds how to build a burger. Saturday we relished in a rarity, a weekend at home with our immediate family. I made burgers for lunch and he then began building what he calls a "masterpiece". It looked beautiful, but that was before he tried eating it!! By the time the monster burger was built it was 3/4 the height of a pop (soda to some) can. I think the man emptied the fridge putting things on the burger. There are 2 pieces of cheesse, jalapenos, pickles, lettuce, tomoto, BBQ sauce, ketsup, mustard, and mayo. I have a stomach ache just listing all of that. He says it was a great burger, I'm going to take his word for it.

The DVR: the best friend or the worst enemy?

We have been DVRing Blue's Clues, The Magic School Bus, Go, Deigo Go!, Dora the Explorer, Clifford the Big Red Dog, The Littles (remember this show? I used to love it as a kid), and Curious George. Because of the rain today, the boys have been "catching up" on all of the important shows they missed playing outside earlier this week. I've quickly discovered Cooper and Nelson are a lot like most older males... You turn the TV on and they tune the world out. I was able to dust, sweep, and vacuume while they watched TV. The only thing they said, was, "turn it up, I can't hear".

Bad parents...

When you are first time parents, everything has to be just so. The bedding has to match, there's a changing table that you strap the child to to change the diaper. You have a million pacifiers so in case one falls on the floor there is a clean, sanatized one waiting. As you add to the brood, your expectations lower, or reality sets in. You are thankful when the bedding is clean, the baby gets changed on the bed, couch, or table, and as far as pacifiers go, as long as you can rinse it off, it goes back into the mouth. You know where this is going...
By the third, they are lucky they have a bed, they get changed where ever there is space, and you lick the pacifier that's fallen on the floor and pop it back in the mouth. Toys seem to be the same. When you are a new parent, you have new toys that are age appropriate. By the third, it's whatever will keep the child entertained long enough to pee. Maddox was "helping" travis today fix my curling iron. (it was a casualty of Tallie, we locked her in the bathroom before we had a crate and she ate the cord) Maddox decided the cord of the curling ion was a perfect toy. If this was Cooper, I would have jumped up, pulled it out of his hand and given him a toy that encourages brain and fine motor development. What did I do? I grabbed the camera and took a picture, it's the happiest he's been in days! I just told him not to chew on it, and if he did chew on it not to get dead.

Weekend Fun

Maddox "talking" to Eli.

The group at the museum.

Linds, here's the Chihuly! I loved it!!!! (I was also proud of myself for identifying it before I saw the sign that told me who it was.)

Travis and the older 4 boys at lunch on Sunday. (Andy, Heidi, and their 4 boys had already left to go home.

Things other moms can really appreciate...

I have a magnet haning on my fridge that says, "Thank God I have kids or I'd never know how well Australian Shiraz complements chicken nuggets" A truer statement was never sopoken (or written in this case).
Today I realized that if you are craving a fried chicken salad from the local take out place bagged salad and dinosaur shaped chicken nuggets will do in a pinch.
Today is also the first day of the boys' Summer vacation, by 7:30AM I realized I'm going to be forced to live thru the longest recorded summer vacation.
Cooper is 5.5 yrs old. His favorite phrase is ,"that's boring". I'm going to have to find an effective way to remove that phrase from his vocabulary. If I don't one of us isn't going to live to see the end of Summer vacation.
Nelson infomed us at lunch today he's going to be a hero when he grows up. He wants to be Superman or Wonder Woman. He followed that statement with, "I have to hurry up and finish eating so I can go find boobs. I need big boobs to be Wonder Woman." Again, this is going to be the longest summer of my life!

Pre-K graduation

I'm in love...

My brother and sister-in-law gave me a new niece this past week! She's beautiful, perfect, and just so darn fun to hold and look at. Layna Michelle Nelson is absolutely amazing. I would love to share pictures, but I haven't taken any yet. I've been too busy holding her or helping Cooper hold her. (He's so in love with her. He's always hugging, kissing, and caressing her head.)

Linds rocks my world!

Linds is my best friend from back home. She's married, but has no children. I think she's spent too much time with mine, and she's afraid of them. Anyway, she and I are always looking for ways to remind our husbands how great they have it! Not every man can be blessed with a wife who has natrual beauty that oozes from morning till night. Travis and Dan have got it made! She found these T-shirts a month or so ago. When I got to my parents' house this past weekend, it was waiting for me! I love it!!!!! I told Travis I now have the perfect shirt to wear to his soccer games.

What I found when I tried to leave this morning...

Mother's Day Tea

Cooper and his proud mommy.

Cooper singing songs.

Cooper in front of the portrait he drew of me.

Hodge-podge boys

Mother's Day, all the cousins hanging out.

Hanging out on the bunk beds reading books.

My cool dudes.

Cooper's wish...

Cooper has been asking for a "Cooper and Mom" day for a few weeks. About 10 days ago, I talked to Travis and we decided to give him his wish. This past Sat, Cooper and I got up early, went out to breakfast (Krispy Kreme, I know, the PERFECT way to start any day), and then drove 3 hrs to Paducah, KY to spend the day and night with Erin (the coolest roommate and best friend a girl could ask for). We had so much fun!!!!!! Below are just a few shots of the weekend. We went to the park, to the riverfront, and played in Erin's yard. It was so much fun!

I love the imagination...

Cooper and Nelson love making "houses" for their stuffed animals. Daily, I will find random blankets all over the house with the animals on them. Thankfully, today they chose to leave the "houses" in their room.

Pancake goodness

Bath time is fun time!

I really hate Mondays, but I may have found a reason to love them!

Mondays are never good in the Ferris house, ask anyone who knows us. I start dreading Monday around 8PM Sunday night. Last night was slightly different, it took til 11:30PM to hate today.
Maddox started waking up at 11:30PM, he stayed awake until around 2AM, slept briefly, and began his Monday at 5AM. That's the time Cooper began his day to, thanks to his youngest brothers big lungs. Nelson was up before 6:30AM. He was crying before he ever stepped foot out of his room (never a good sign). Travis left for work, I got clothes out for the older 2 and decided to sit down with Maddox, give him a bottle and give him a morning nap so I could shower and get my day underway. Nope, no nap for the little man! He began screaming the second the 6oz were drained, screamed thru his applesauce (usually a highlight of his morning), and screamed louder if I put him down. With one hand I put on jeans and a t-shirt (I know, I am so talented! You all want to be like me). I decided there was no way I was staying home until 8:50AM (the time I leave to bring Cooper and Nelson to school), we were leaving sooner rather than later. Maybe the time in the car would make Maddox tired, and he would fall asleep. We ran to the ATM to deposit a check and to the gas station for some necessary, but expensive, gas. Maddox is still awake, finally playing with a toy and no longer screaming. (Travis claims country music is the worst sound in the world, I think he's wrong. Maddox screaming is the worst sound in the world.) There is still a little bit of time before I have to have the older 2 at school so I decide to venture into a scary place for stay-at-home-moms... McDonald's.
I pull into the parking lot and am behind 7 cars... I'm praying it won't take long to get to the order board. I pull up, the overly-chipper boy asked how he can my my Monday better... I contemplate offering him a 6 month old, but realize my mom would shoot me if she found out I gave him away to a stranger... I instead order a small coffee. You see, Mondays in St. Louis are known as Free Coffee Mondays in the McDonald's community. There are no strings attatched, you can go into any McDonald's or McDonald's drive-thu ALL DAY and get a free small coffee. Within minutes my Monday was perking up! ( pun intended) I had my coffee in hand, could see the boys' school from the parking lot, and Maddox wasn't just quiet in the backseat, HE WAS SLEEPING!!!
As I sit here telling you all about the wonder of free coffee, I'm not at all bothered by Maddox's screaming upstairs, you see, the coffee has soothed me. I may have to "play the system" today and visit another drive-thru on the way to picking the boys up from school. I may have to go as far as to have Travis visit one on his way home this afternoon to give me another jolt.
I hope your Monday is filled with yummy coffee, and quiet, I know mine will be filled with yummy coffee, the quiet part is looking rather doubtful.

The hunt for the baskets...

The Easter Bunny made maps for the older 2 boys to follow. They were very excited! Mommy and Daddy would have been more excited had we not had to help hunt with frost on the ground. (yes, the boys are in flip flops and ski jackets... The flip flops were an Easter gift and they had to wear them!)

Happy Easter!

The old man needs a hobby...

This guy put up a memorial to a squirrel that was killed earlier this week. I thought it was so funny I had to turn around to go home and get my camera.