"And if you have to kill anyone,

make sure you eat their heart to gain their courage.  Their rich tasty courage."- Professor Hubert J. Farnsworth, Futurama.

Apparently Mae is a big subscriber to this philosophy.  With the Binky gone, she has not only started talking more but making other noises as well.  Blowing raspberries is fun for the whole family when Mae is around.  I thought that I'd surprise her with a whistle.  (I am an above average whistler.)  Her world was rocked to say the least.  She desperately tried to figure out the action.  Attempts were made to study me and hands were shoved in my mouth.  My lips were poked and prodded.  Finally she decided that the best course of action was to kiss me and steal my whistling power for herself.  Whenever I whistle now, she kisses me on the lips and then makes an imitation of whistling.  It is pretty darn cute.

Smile Time

Spike is a cheery guy.  He has got huge grins to spare.  I have never seen such a smiley baby.  The other two smiled occasionally, but not frequently and only when provoked with a tickle or amusement.  Spike's default setting is contented.  The kid just loves to grin.  With all the drama the other two have brought recently it is a really appreciated blessing to see these smiles all day long.  It is like living in Hawaii or passing a beautiful piece of artwork, it enriches the soul.

On the cheap and easy

So for Max's birthday this year we went a little cheap and easy cause I could get away with it.  We didn't make it to the pool much this summer because of the pregnancy, the excessive heat, and cause Mae kept trying to drown herself, so it was special for Max to go to the pool for his party.  We got a sitter for Mae and Spike to stay at home then took Max and his entourage to the pool for about two hours.  It is nice that we have a pool just one minuet from our house.  We invited Max's best friend Andrew and his girl Claudia to go swimming.  Pizza was ordered and we got spider man cupcakes from Sam's Club.  I was so cheap that I even used a mix of Spider man and Star Wars cups/plates from last year.  The one benefit of having such a small group is that I was able to buy a small toy for each kid and we had a 1 adult to 1 Kid ratio at the pool.  Max had a great time.

Absolution

I am posting this to absolve myself of the minor twinge of guilt I have felt about not posting recently.  It is not so much that I feel guilty depriving all my readers, (yeah all two of them,) of my greatness, but that I do use this as a journal and thought dumping ground and therefore I like to post frequently to record events and empty out my extra musings.  I am feeling a bit ca put and overwhelmed.  Life with the kids, mostly Mae, is draining enough that I have decided to absolve myself of any extra responsibilities.  So expect a dry spell here for awhile.  I will still throw up pictures of the kids at least once a week.  Any other musings will probably be shelved for a later date.  Hmmm while I am here I am also going to absolve myself of my unwritten Thank You cards.  As an adult I have been AWESOME at Thank You cards.  During my engagement I was working at a bookstore and the manager gave me a book on Thank You card etiquette.  I cranked those suckers out and am proud to say I excelled at getting them mailed for the first two kids.  Besides the kids and wedding I have also sent many out for kindness, service, and other various gifts.  Well this time I am gonna take a pass.  I am tired.  I got out a whole stack before the baby came to those who gave me shower presents, but then the gifts kinda trickled in.  I am embarrassed to say that I have actually forgotten a few.  There is one for my grandma cause hey, she's my grandma, and one or two others but if you don't get a card, please know that I do appreciate the lovely gifts and kind thought that have come my way recently.

A few random musings before I go....

We had another family move into our ward that doesn't immunize.  Are you kidding me?!?

Mae has started saying a few more words since we have taken away the Binky...Spider man and Star Wars.

We are going on week three of no nightly pull up for Max, so week three of washing the sheets EVERY NIGHT FOR THREE WEEKS!

It is that lovely time of year again when the water here smells and tastes like dirt.  But of course they say on the news that it is still safe to drink despite the odor. Comforting.

Runoff elections are a stupid waste of time and very un-American in my opinion.  If someone wins more votes then the other candidates then they should win the election.  It is insane that I have to go vote again for school board when less then 1500 people voted in the first place and the guy won by over a hundred votes.

I am assuming that my last blog contest was a bust due to an unexpected death in my family and the precarious health of Jeff's father.  Although neither of those absolve my friends.... but forget the Thank You cards that I owe you and we'll call it even.  I did get one post so Meg will be getting a pumpkin pie very soon.

Skinny Cow Ice Cream Sandwiches are exceptionally tasty

Five Guys Burgers and Fries is ridiculously overrated.

If you have Netflix streaming you need to watch the new Sherlock series done by Masterpiece Theater last year.  It is set in modern times and is the best program I have viewed in years.

Jeff has been crazy busy at work.  It is impressive how many times he is called in to some project cause they know that Jeff will save the day.

I really hate breakfast....there is probably a whole post about this that will come out eventually...also one on how I tried to go running this week and how after running three miles I thought my uterus was gonna fall out and I lost control of my car on the way home cause my legs were so heavy and numb.

Happy Day to Miss Mae

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MAE!

Max the Bear

A few years ago our computer died and I was saddened to think that I had lost this video.  Last week I found it in an old unmarked email.  For your viewing pleasure, the very first video on "Maxed Out."

Suzanne pointed out that Max starts giggling when I start talking.  Super Cute!

STOP IT!

We all have little pet peeves that our kids do. Mae will not stop stepping on my feet. It drives me crazy and during sandal season can hurt! I know that there isn't anything I can do about this I just wanted to complain today.

The Sound of Silence

Not really. Just like her older brother Max, Miss Mae is not inclined to learn or use new words. I am a bit surprised because I assumed that her being a girl and hearing Max talk to her and me would have encouraged her to talk more then Max at her age. Nope. She uses few words maybe 10 total. She does jibber jabber and sings Old MacDonald often, but she doesn't want to use words. When we wanted to get Max to use a new word, such as up, we would say to word to him and show him the action. Once we saw that he understood what the word meant we would make him use it if he wanted to get pulled up out of his crib. This method DOES NOT work for Mae. She is such a stubborn little girl that she refuses to talk. I know she understands me, I can see it in her eyes, but she just doesn't want to talk cause she knows we want her to talk. We have had quite a few confrontations over this. I have finally decided to give up this approach and just wait for her to talk when she wants to. Anyone have any stubborn talkers?