A Little This and That

I got an email from my mom today telling me that she kept checking my blog for new pictures and she hadn't seen any yet. Yeah, yeah... It's been one of those weeks. I've been busy at the office and just haven't found the time to blog this week.

Remember this?
This is the bed that didn't get ordered when I got my bedroom furniture in September. Mark finally ordered it for me (he said it was my Valentine's gift) and it came in this week. Although it is MASSIVE, I love it! The kids love it too and I have joked that the extra height will make it harder for them to crawl into bed with me at night. I actually nearly fell the first morning I got up because of the height difference.

We've had a lot going on with the family the last week and I think it's been a good reminder to all of us to trust that God is in control... and for me personally, I've been reminded to count my blessings and not take them for granted!

Yesterday, Mom picked up Braxton and Campbell and came by our house while waiting on Brian to get home. When they pulled up Kam said, "I'll help Mimi get the kids out of the car." Like she really could! I still have to unbuckle her car seat every day.

We wanted to keep the kids in the car since Brian was almost there so Cooper and Kam climbed into Mimi's car. Cooper and Kam love Campbell. Kam crawled in to peek at her and I heard her say, "hi, baby girl." So cute! I think Cooper was playing "I'm gonna get you" with her here....
Cooper and Braxton began yanking Campbell's blanket back and forth over her seat and I was afraid they were going to smother her. When I opened the door to stop them, Campbell was smiling and her little eyes were darting back and forth at them. She is starting to smile and it is precious.

Speaking of Braxton and Cooper, I missed a prime photo op earlier this week. The boys found the bicycle helmets that Mom got Kam and Coop and put them on and would NOT take them off. Cooper had Lightning McQueen on and Brax wore a pink Hello Kitty helmet proud. He cried every time we tried to take it off of him. I will not even repeat what Mark and Brian were saying about them because you all would think we were terrible (but you would laugh, I promise!).

Today was "Crazy Cap" day for Cooper's class. What do you think?
It was "Silly Sock" day for Kamdyn but I have no picks of her feet.

Before I forget.... I registered Cooper for tee ball yesterday. He cried when we left because he didn't get to play ball. I tried to tell him on the way there that we were just signing up but apparently I didn't do a good enough job. He was upset.

We tried to talk Kam into playing this year but she says she just wants "to cheer." I think Mark was a little disappointed. She's a leftie and I think he had high hopes for her this year. Maybe softball will interest her in a few years. Right now, she wants to play soccer and cheer. We'll see...

Wasn't this the most random post ever???? TGIF!!!!

Drama Queen Defined

I thought for sure that if I looked up "drama queen" in the dictionary that Kam's picture would be there. It's not, but it should be!

drama queen: noun - any person who overreacts to a minor problem or situation

I bought this sign for Kam a few months ago because it was so fitting and it has been hanging on her door. This morning, Cooper woke her up (out of a very sound sleep, I might add) by barging in and taking the sign down and running out with it.

I got in on this when I heard her screaming. So when I told Cooper to bring Kam's drama queen sign back, he ran to the door and said, "uh uh, mommy, it says bwat (brat!)."

Now I'm thinking that if I look up brat in the dictionary that I will see Cooper's picture.

brat: noun - a child, especially a spoiled, impolite, or ill-mannered one.

What do you think?

Today is Friday, which is always show and tell day at school. Kam's letter was G and she insisted on taking the Guitar Hero. She said she was going to get "boomed" off the stage when she played it at school today.

Cooper's letter was R so he settled on a remote control....
Notice the boo boo above his lip. One of the teachers accidently scratched him when he was getting up and she was bending down. It's not pretty!

Hope everyone has a good weekend. We have absolutely NOTHING planned! We'll see how long that lasts!

Cooper Quotes

Yesterday when I was driving home, Cooper threw a candy bar at me from the back seat. No, I didn't ask him to throw it to me. It was more like a fly by.... scared me and it wasn't the first time it happened. So I got on to him and of course he said, "but I didn't hit you, Mommy."
To which I reply that no, he didn't hit me but it scared me and I could have swerved off of the road and we could have wrecked. Then I ask him what he thought would happen if we had a wreck, thinking that he would get the fact that we could have had a serious accident. He responds instead, "we could get a new car."

Well, yeah, if we survived I guess we could get a new car!! I don't think the point was taken!
Another day this week, we were listening to the Chipmunks CD (what was I ever thinking to buy this CD? A little chipmunk goes a long way!), when a song came on that had a line about attitude in it.

Cooper says in his most country drawl, "Kam-dyn gets an 'altitude' sometimes, Mommy!"
Yes, she does! My boy doesn't miss much!
Mom loves it when Cooper gets this look on his face... he does it when he's really thinking about something. It's my favorite face that he makes!
I'm quite used to Kamdyn's one liners but Cooper's beginning to be quite the comedian himself.
We didn't get a good report at school yesterday. His teacher told me today she thought he was trying to show off for his friend who got moved up to his class.
We'll see how today went. I think he's just being stubborn like his daddy and sister. When he makes up his mind he doesn't want to do something, he's not going to do it! Such a Chastain trait!!

Birthdays and Valentine's Continued...

Mark took the kids out before we left for school on Friday so they could play in what little snow we got on Thursday night. It began snowing hard when we left to go to Kindergarten registration and, of course, they were shutting it down when we got there. Kam was so disappointed because she wanted to see all the class rooms.

Back to the snow... Mark threw a snow ball at Kamdyn and she did not like it one bit.
Her exact words were, "that's not fair; I'm not playing anymore!" See the ice on her chest (above her heart). No wonder she didn't want to play.
Thursday night my dad got pizza and threw together an impromptu birthday celebration for me since Brian & JJ were going out of town for the weekend. It was so sweet of him! Love you, dad! As you can see, I had help blowing out the candles on my cinnamon sticks.
The weekend wouldn't be complete without us going to someone's birthday party. We went to Carter's (Mark's cousin's little boy) party in Benton. On a side note, we left and went back for the end of Kenzie's party too.

Here is sweet little Kennedy, whom Kamdyn shares her princess crown with on Mark's side of the family. She and Kamdyn are Nannie's girls...I don't know why I think this picture is funny... I'm pretty sure that Cooper was trying to tell me through the glass that he wanted cake "right now." The boy can't get enough of it!
My two kiddos right up in the middle of all these kids that they don't even know...
I tried to take a few pics of the kids together after church on Sunday...
It began snowing after we got home and the flakes were so huge. It was awesome for the little while it lasted!
Mark loves snow more than anyone I know so he was thrilled... except that it went away as quickly as it came.
I think we must be raising pansies though... the kids only lasted about 10-15 minutes outside before they wanted to go in to get warm and dry. Mark and I, on the other hand, probably stayed outside an hour. We stood out in it for a while and then moved to the porch to just watch it. I told Mark we must be getting old!Kamdyn trying to catch some snow in her mouth...
Wonder where she learned that silliness?

Valentine's Day Parties

The kids had Valentine parties at school on Friday. Cooper was pretty hyped up during the snack part, although he didn't eat any of his treats. I think he was more interested in cutting up with all the girls around him. He was pretty silly!
Since Christmas, Cooper has been the only boy in his class. I commented that I don't think he realized how good he had it being among all the pretty girls. They were actually moving one of his boy friends from the younger class up today, so I know he will be excited to have another boy with him now.... although we've not heard any complaints!
Cooper and "Wiwwy" (Lillee)....
Opening his Valentine's... he totally got into this!
Not another picture, Mommy! I've had enough!
Cooper and Mrs. Mae, the owner of Fun Time Preschool. Mark commented the other day what a God-send Mrs. Mae had been to us.
Cooper and his teacher, Miss Audra.... She told me that last week he told her, "You driving me crazy, Miss Audra!" which I think is funny because he told me that I was "making him nuts!" Not sure where he heard that because I know that I would never say something like that!
Kamdyn and Maddie before their party began...
Mark and I met Maddie's parents in childbirth class. Little did we know that our children would end up at the same sitter (Mrs. Jane--the other God-send in my kid's lives). We joke that the girls have been together since birth. Their birthdays are just 3 days apart.
Mrs. Kelly and her class...
I was only able to stay for half of the party because I had a meeting that I couldn't miss, so I have no pictures of the snack portion. Mom came and stayed for the rest of the party, which I think she enjoyed.
Kamdyn has a fabulous class. These kids have been together for the last 3 years at preschool and I am really going to miss all of them when they all go to Kindergarten. Can they not just all stay together?

I've already started thinking, "this is Kam's last preschool (fill in the blank--party, etc.)" I'm not sure I'm ready for kindergarten yet. We went to preregister last week but they closed it down because of snow right as we were pulling in. Kam was so disappointed and, of course, she wanted to know if she started the next day. We're going to try preregistering again tomorrow.

Birthday Party Madness

We are right in the middle of birthday season madness and my kids are loving it! Here is a pic that I took from Braxton's party a few weeks ago. Notice the balloons tied to each kids booty. Brian likened this to the flag on the go-cart we used to have so that Mom and Dad always knew where we were in the yard. Holly joked that she was going to start tying these to all four of her kids everywhere they went! I suggested we color code them per family at our events!
I couldn't resist this booty shot of Boo-Boo.

Last Saturday, we went to Bo's birthday party at the "bolton" alley, as Kam calls it. My kids are slightly obsessed with bowling now thanks to the Wii.
Doesn't Kam look like a little diva? She found her scarf in the car and had to wear it inside to the party.
Cooper did a happy dance after his bowl. Trust me when I say I'm pretty sure it wasn't because he bowled a strike.
Any idea what this picture is of?
It would be Mark trying to get Cooper's ball out of the gutter. Remember I told you Cooper does everything slow? His ball is even slow when he bowls! We always grab a snack when it's his turn to bowl at home on the Wii. The kids love for all of us to play "level 4," which really means 4 players.

Kam and Mark skateboarding...
"Can I get an Amen or hallelujah?" Not sure what my kids are doing in this pic, but that's the phrase that first came to mind. They were enjoying themselves for sure!
After Bo's party, we went to Bricen's party, but I forgot to take my camera in for that one. We left there to take the kids to Mom's while Mark and I went to the Valentine Banquet at church. I must admit that I wasn't too pumped about going because of the busy day, but we had a great time. Even won two prizes!

We have two more parties this weekend (and it's my own birthday, as well!) and Mark has already told me that he did his party time last weekend. We'll see about that!!!

And, I'm afraid to even say it, but Cooper slept all night again last night without getting into our bed! Mark has promised him a trip to Wal-Mart to pick out something if he can make it 5 nights in a row. I don't look for that to happen... then again, I never thought he would go 3 nights in a row so I guess anything is possible!

We're On A Streak

Two nights in a row! Oh me of little faith!!!!

Rainy Days and Mondays

Mother Nature can be so cruel sometimes. That was my thought yesterday as it rained ALL DAY LONG in Arkadelphia while my friends and family as close as Hot Springs and Benton enjoyed enough snow to build snowmen! Just one snow (and I don't mean ice) day would be glorious! My kids have never had the joy of running and playing in the snow.... and Mark is the biggest kid of all. He gets so disappointed when he wakes up only to find that it hasn't done a darn thing! Oh well.... On the flip side, today is a gloriously beautiful day, with not a cloud in the sky. I love sunshine!

Kamdyn's been a little under the weather so she stayed with Pop yesterday, who got an unexpected snow day off--something that has never happened in the 20+ years he has worked at the Corps of Engineers. I'm not questioning it because he was a lifesaver yesterday and I think they had a good time together. When I checked on them at lunch they were watching movies and eating pizza. I think they just about wore the "Alvin and the Chipmunks" DVD out. However, Kam spiked a little temp when I was almost home and she refused to take her medicine for Pop. I had a message saying such and then "I hope you're almost here!" LOL!!

She is at home with Mark today who doesn't feel well either. I'm not sure who's taking care of who!!

Woo Hoo!

Somebody slept in their bed all night long last night!!
And since this only happens about 3 times a year, it's a really big deal!!! See the heart sticker Coop got this morning for such a great feat.... I'd like to think this might be a pattern, but I'm not that optimistic. I'll take what I can get though! And, for the record, he goes to sleep in his own bed and I am so thankful for that so I probably should not complain!!

Testing the Limits

Cooper, Cooper, Cooper.... oh, my sweet little Cooper is really testing the waters these days!!! It's been one of those weeks with him. He has been coughing so I don't think that he feels 100% so maybe that has something to do with it. I can only hope this is not a behavior pattern that sticks...

Yesterday was church day so that's a longer day for us. We had some time to kill before dinner at church so we went into Stage to look around. Kam likes to look for clothes now, although she was very against going in last night. Cooper ran all over the place. Every time I would move towards him to grab him, he would take off running. I told Mark that I refused to chase him around the store looking like an idiot! And, I probably couldn't have caught him in my heels anyway! So he got a "talking to" about running away from me and someone grabbing him when we got to the car.
Then on to church for dinner.... he cried when we got in before I could get his plate. We had another talk. Then he wouldn't sit or be quiet in class. I took him out twice for yet another "talk." I had told him we would leave if he misbehaved but Saundra and I were the only ones there with 7 preschoolers so that was not an option.

Maybe it was the combination of the whole evening, but I had had it! I called Mark on the way home and told him to be waiting for us. I was tired of talking! We took Cooper to another room because Kamdyn is so nosey these days and tries to get him into trouble. She was pushing for him to get a spanking. I had a flashback to childhood of me laughing when Brian got a spanking one time (or several times I'm sure Brian would say). He still brings that up.

So with the door shut Mark and I talk to Cooper about his behavior not being acceptable, etc. Then Mark asks him, "did you run away from Mommy in the store?" and we hear Kam shout from outside the door, "yes, he did, Daddy. Mommy said he was getting a spanking for that." Mark seriously lost his focus on Cooper and just ducked his head to laugh.... we couldn't help it, which was probably to Cooper's advantage. Kam shouted the answers to a few more of Mark's questions for Coop before she finally got the message to mind her own business or she would be next!!And on another note, isn't Cooper just like my Dad? We've always thought he looked like my Dad, but he acts like him too! Cooper does nothing fast (sound familiar, Mom?). It takes him F-O-R-E-V-E-R to eat! Usually, when we are all done at a restaurant and ready to go, he will start eating.

He talks slow, but he has the cutest country accent and he substitutes "W" for several of his letters. It really cracks me up! A while back he told me at bedtime that he needed to "pway for Wicky because he wad a weck!" Mark has been calling him"Old Man River" and "Big Country" lately. It's definitely been a challenging few days with him but I wouldn't change a thing about him! There really is something special about Mommies and their little boys. And we all know that Cooper is a "Momma's boy!"

Was He Serious???

Today when I was checking out at Wal-Mart this man comes up to me (I think he was a few people ahead of me) and says, "I enjoyed how pretty you looked today." Huh???? Enjoyed it??? Well, I was having a good hair day despite the rain and I was wearing a Jodie-approved outfit. Hum... I said thanks but I'm sure I stared as he just turned and walked out of the store. I must admit though that his random act of kindness made my day!!

Birthday and Cheerleading

Last weekend, Kylie and Kamryn had a cheer competition in Hot Springs so Mom and the kids and I decided to go watch for a while. It was Mark's birthday and I thought a nice day at home to himself was the best present I could give him. Not really... although he did enjoy it! I did him so wrong at Christmas, if you recall, so I was determined to make up for it on his birthday.
Jodie and Kam waiting on the girls to come out....
Kamryn is the 4th girl in the middle, if you can see her....
Kam and Kami....
The gang.... Cooper wasn't too into the competition at first. He didn't like the music and kept telling me, "it scares me, Mommy," but he eventually got into it and wanted to go to the arena floor to get a closer look at the girls. There was actually one little boy who competed too.

The funniest thing..... When we were walking into TJ Maxx later that day, Mom asked Cooper if he wanted to be a cheerleader. He looked at her and said in his slow country drawl, "I not a girl, Mimi!" Good answer, Coop!
So I had been asking the kids for weeks what they wanted to get Mark and all they could come up with was a t-shirt. Cooper said it had to be a razorback shirt. So we picked out a razorback t-shirt. Kam picked out some new pj bottoms (I talked her out of the SpongeBob ones!). Cooper picked out a purple Polo pullover. I wasn't sure Mark would like the color so I asked Kam, hoping that she would pick out a different one. No such luck! Purple Polo it was.... I could tell Mark was a little iffy about it but when I told him the kids picked it out and there was no talking them out of it, he said he would wear it and love it. And, surprisingly, the color looked great when he tried it on!
I decided to get him Guitar Hero.... He was surprised and liked it, but I don't think he thought he would love it. Wrong! Guess who's rocking the house now?
Here they are trying to figure it out at first. Now he stands and bends and gyrates like he's a real rocker!
Mark requests an angel food cake with icing every year. Never knew anyone who liked icing on their angel food cake until I met him, but it is very good! As you can tell, this is a store bought one but it was yummy! And he only blew out 3 candles because we didn't have enough for his real age!