and the Winner is...

And the moment you've all been waiting for.......





JACKSON










LEXINGTON











CLAYTON












SAVANNAH










AUSTIN











BROOKLYN









Don't feel bad if you got it wrong. Joe got three of them wrong. My sister asked me who the strange kid was in the second picture because she didn't think it was one of mine. I have a hard time telling all of their baby pictures apart unless I look at the background and scrutinize the color of the walls and the clothes the kids are wearing.

A few of you got them all right, but the first one was Denise! Congrats! I'll get the gift card off to you this week! Thank you to everyone for playing!

It was like 60 degrees outside today! Woo Hoo! Yay spring! While Joe was taking a walk with Clay and Brooklyn, Clay picked up some strange looking rocks and said, "Look at these weird rocks, Daddy!" Joe looked at the "rocks" and told Clay, "Umm that's rabbit poop. Let's go wash your hands."
A little later while I was outside with Clay, he looked up in the sky and said, "Look! There's a hammer!"
"A what?"
"A hammer! See it? A hammer!"
"I don't see any hammers, hon. What are you looking at?"
"Right there! See the red hammer. He hammers on trees!"
The light finally dawned as I saw a red bird fly from the tree. "Ohhhh, do you mean a woodpecker?"
"YES! A hammerbird!"
"LOL! That's a cardinal, sweetie and you, my dear, crack me up."
Kids are goofballs, aren't they?

Who's Who in BabyWorld

I'm finishing up my book and am busy doing a little editing this week, so instead of wowing you with my awesome stories (HA!) I decided to do a little contest instead. I'm posting some baby pictures (Awwww, how cute!). They're all pictures of my kids. Guess who is who. (Hint: there aren't necessarily 6 babies pictured here because I'm just tricky like that.) So, go ahead and guess who's who. The first person with the most accurate number of guesses will win a $20 gift card for Babies R Us good at any stores or online. If you don't have little babies, you can use it for your grandchildren, nieces, nephews, neighbors, co-worker's kids, or buy a bunch of diapers and formula with it and donate them to your local food pantry.

My kids are:
Austin - 13
Savannah - 11
Jackson - 9
Lexington - 6
Clayton - 4
Brooklyn - 2

So here they are...

#1


#2


#3


#4


#5


#6

Presenting the Photographic Stylings of Me

I paid my sister, brother-in-law, and new baby nephew a visit this evening. While there, I took a couple pictures of my nephew with my awesome new camera. This camera is fully automated, yet it has features that enable one to manually adjust the aperture, ISO, and flash. It can take movies, play back photos on your television or computer, make delicious waffles, and separate your laundry. It has a digital zoom, red eye reduction, and fifteen hundred buttons. Basically, it's the kind of camera that you can only use after reading a two thousand page manual. I hate reading directions. Perhaps that's why the pictures of my nephew turned out like this.



My dad feeds me beer.



Hey! What happened to the flash?


Yes, that's a giant close-up of my thumb.


C'mon. Mom, is this lady for real?


Yikes! What's with the creepy red light?


Nah, nah, nah-nah-nah, you'll never get a good picture of me, you dork!


This would be a picture of the wall. Oops.



Finally!



Even after half blinding him, and annoying him with my endless attempts at taking his picture, Dominick gave me the A-OK sign. Either that, or he was trying to give me another sign but just couldn't maneuver his fingers into position.

What's for Dinner?

I have good news! I no longer have a nephew without a name. His name is Dominick. Well, it's not exactly Dominick. It's actually Samuel Dominick, but he won't be called Samuel. Or Sam. Or Sammy. See, my brother-in-law is Sam. He's actually Samuel the 48th or something like that. He wanted a Samuel the 49th. My sister did not. They compromised. He's Samuel on paper, but Dominick in real life. Does any of this make sense? Despite the fact that my sister didn't take any of my kids' name suggestions (Monkey, Lightning McQueen, or Jellybean), she and Sam picked out a good name for their little cutie-pie!

I have some more good news! Baby pooped out five staples this morning (don't ask me how I know exactly how many she passed!) She's none the worse for wear either. When I took her back to the hospital for a repeat x-ray this afternoon, I got to take a look at her x-ray. I wish I had a copy to post on my blog for posterity as it was rather interesting to see yet more staples still in her intestines somewhere. Hopefully, those will make an appearance tomorrow.

And now, for a little dinnertime conversation before I go watch Bridge to Terabithia with the kiddos....

MOM: What did you guys do in school today?
AJ: I don’t like chicken.
MOM: We’re not having chicken.

BOO: Oh! I love chicken! I want a leg!
MOM: This isn’t chicken. We’re having pork chops.
AJ: I don’t like pork chops.
MOM: Since when?
NANA: Oh we’re having chicken?
BOO: I get the leg!
MOM: We’re not having chicken tonight.
BABY: dadadadada
PRINCESS: I just want milk.
BOO: You can’t have milk! We’re having chicken.
SPAZ: My butt itches!
AJ: What is that brown stuff in the rice? I don’t like that.
MOM: There’s no brown stuff. Eat it. So what did you guys do in school?
NANA: This doesn’t taste like chicken.
AJ: It’s not chicken, duh!!! Mom, what’s 483 divided by 14?
MOM: I don’t know, Aj. Put your homework away. It’s time to eat now.
SPAZ: WHEEEAAAAAAAAA!!!!
PRINCESS: Can I have a fruit snack for dinner?
MOM: No, you can’t have a fruit snack. Eat some meat. Spaz, settle down. Princess, tell me what you did in school. Why did you get that stamp on your hand?
PRINCESS: We were, um, in the room, ummm…..
BABY: dadaaaa baba
NANA: Stop kicking, Aj!!!
MOM: What room, Princess?
AJ: I’m not kicking you.
BOO: Can I have more chicken?
PRINCESS: We were at school. Mrs. Milton, ummm, gave us stamps, ummmm, because…..Is that corn?
NANA: Mooom, make Aj stop kicking. He’s kicking the table.
MOM: Nana, pass the corn to Princess, please. Aj stop kicking the table. Spaz stop drinking all your milk and eat. Why did Mrs. Milton give you guys stamps?
NANA: I already have corn.
MOM: I know you do. I asked you to pass the corn to Princess.
SPAZ: TWINKLE TWINKLE LITTLE CAR!
BABY: DA DA DA!!! (as she flings a piece of bread across the table)
AJ, BOO, PRINCESS, SPAZ and NANA: HAHAHAHAHAHAH!!! Baby threw her bread! HAHAHAH!!!
MOM: Stop laughing. Don’t encourage her.
BABY: HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! (as she throws another piece)
MOM: No baby (as I take her ammunition away)
MOM: So why did you get a stamp, Princess?
PRINCESS: ummm, because I, ummmm was a statue.
MOM: You were a statue? Did you play a statue game in gym?
NANA: I didn’t have gym today.
AJ: She’s talking to Princess, not you!
BOO: Can I be excused?
MOM: No. Finish eating.
PRINCESS: Ummmm no, not in gym. In, ummm Mrs. Milton’s class. We were statues.
MOM: OK you got a stamp on your hand because you were a statue in Mrs. Milton’s class?
PRINCESS: No.
MOM: (under breath) I give up.
AJ: Nana’s chewing with her mouth open and I need $5 for our field trip tomorrow.
NANA: Oh yeah, I need an empty coffee can for a project we’re doing tomorrow.
PRINCESS: Can I have a fruit snack now?
BABY: woof woof woof (as she throws a piece of corn on the floor.)

BOO: Can I have some more chicken?
MOM: Spaz eat, Baby stop throwing food, Nana chew with your mouth closed, Aj, quit kicking the table, Princess, you can’t have a fruit snack, and WE’RE NOT HAVING CHICKEN!