Colorful eggs, Colorful creatures, and Colorful excuses

Today was fun. It was a surreal day. A definate day for miracles.

Matt woke up first, he woke up around 8. He came in here and saw the baskets sitting on the table. He immediatly wanted to know if the Easter Bunny had been here. I told him that I reckon so. If the baskets were on the table and the eggs were gone. I hadnt seen him. And thats true. I hadnt. I was just Thankful that the eggs were gone when I got up!

Matt spotted the first egg right off. It was directly out the front window on BR's truck. He wanted to go and just get 'that one little ole egg'. I told him no, he had to wait. He had some cereal and then came in here and played with Bow.

Brett got up right at 9. He got up and Matt told him that the Easter Bunny had came. Brett came in and asked me where I had hid the eggs. I told him I had NOT touched the eggs since last night. I swear. Then he and Matt started fighting over Bow.

Neither boy wanted to wake up Rayley, BUT they also didnt want her to sleep. Finaly Matt was able to drop something that woke her up. She came out all happy. I told her if she would eat we could get dressed and hunt the eggs. It was 9:45. Before 10:10 all 3 kids were dressed and ready to go. Brett even put on boots and a belt, and I didnt ask. All I did was ask them to wear a certain shirt. Rayley was trilled with my choice for her (this NEVER happens). And Matt found both boots with little effort.

All three of them were in nice clothes, and it dawned on me. Bow really didnt have anything like that. I went to look and decided that I would put an outfit on him that I just love, but is a 6 to 9 months and looked real big. I would just safety pin it and get them to hold him just right. it was just for pictures. It FIT!

I told the kids to get their baskets and lets go. We opened the door and this is what we saw.

We really tried last night to make beautiful eggs, but nothing we made compared to Gods Artistic Talents.

I just wish I could have gotten it to open up.


Once they were pulled away from the moth the kids went WILD. Brett more than the others. I am glad, I was afraid he would be stand offish. I know this is probebly his last year. But I think he enjoyed it.

We found 34 of the 35 eggs. We looked forever for that LAST egg. Couldnt find it.

So I loaded them up and we went to my Aunt Jeans and took some pictures. You can NOT get 4 kids to all
1. Look at the camera
2. Smile, a real smile, not a fake one
and
3. be still
all at the same time to get a good picture. Or at least I cant.

But here is one of the better ones.



And Bow, with his first taste of Easter morning.




Little Miss Rayley was even sorta angelic. ( I said SORTA!)



I also wanted to try and get a picture at Aunt Etta's of the kids in front of the old Home Place. Its a log cabin built in 1865, by my 2 times great grandfather.
Her grands and great grands were all in and just fixing to hunt eggs. I went in and said Hello. They asked if Rayley could stay and visit. 3 of the great grands are about her age.
I loaded up the boys and we came home to wait on BR to wake up for work. I was in here getting the house clean. Or trying. and a cousin from my other side drove up. She had some clothes that might fit Bow.
Her and I were sitting here BSin and I see Brett walking up from the pasture. He has about a foot and a half stick in each hand and Matt is followin. Now I dont see real well. To be flat out honest, I am blind as a bat. But I dont wear my glasses in the house cause I cant see the computer screen if I do. But I swore I saw one of them sticks move. Kinda constrict up and get curved and then fall back into a strait stick.
I asked Aunt Sonya "what does that child have? it looks like a snake! LOL" Since I knew it was just the blurriness and his walking towards me, I just rubbed my eyes. Then the whole thing kinda whipped cause Brett shook his hand.

OH! he had some sort of rope. The kids are ALWAYS ropin stuff, and then tieing it up. I came in to the kitchen one morning and they had ran a 30 foot long peice of haystring around every knob in the kitchen and cinched them up tight. I couldnt open a single cabinet. I am constantly reaching down and picking up a stuffed animal and its tied to a chair leg.

Anyway, I went back to talkin to her and then I looked again. "I swear that kid has a snake.
no, its not a snake, he has TWO snakes"

I jumped up and ran to the door. SHe said "your kidding"
Belive me, when you have 4 kids there are alot of things you kid about. "yeah, come on over my house is clean," and "Sure I dont mind, I mean whats 2 more kids?" ( actually I never say this. I dont like kids. I dont want anyone elses. My nephew is the only one I bring around. Cause I can treat him like my own. ). But I never ever kid about my kids bring a potentially deadly creature up to the house.

Anyway, I walked outside and asked him what the hell he thought he was doing.

Matt says "well, we was wonderin what kinda snake this is?" Now this kid is country as cornbread. And DEAD serious.

"a real one you idiot! why would you catch not ONE but TWO live snakes?"

"cause they were there I reckon, Brett caught 'em, I didnt, holler at him."

Now I wasnt hollerin. I really wasnt. I was trying to stress why he shouldnt have not ONE but TWO possibly dangerous snakes in his hands, ALIVE, without him getting scared and dropping one and it biting him, or Matt, or both.

"what have I told y'all about doing stupid crap?"
Brett says "not to do it?"
I said "why?" thinking one would be smart enough to say 'its dangerous' instead I get "cause we aint got no insurance and you are not dressed for the ER" from Matt.

I'll be damned they do listen.

Brett tells me, "but this one is dead" and he shakes it- its the one he is holding by the tail, its starting to curl up a little like a snake will do when they are dead. Or NOT dead.
I asked him if he was sure. He said, "well it should be, I done killed it twice."

I dont trust that its dead dead. But asked what he was gona do with the other one.
"I dont know, I didnt think that far after I caught it"
YEP! That I will belive.

he is holding this one by the mouth. Holding its mouth shut between his fingers.

Matt asked if they were poisenous. I said "I dont know, I'd have to look at the head.
Well BRett starts to move his hands around to show me the head. I made him stop. and told him to wait there.
I came in, to get the .22, something to put it in to shoot it and my camera.

Then I thought about it, and went back outside. Then I came back in to get the gun, the container and the camera again. Then I went and talked to BR. I had to wake him up. I told him he needed to get up and see if they were poisenous. He just looked at me. I walked back out, and looked at them again. I even brought one back in to show BR. (the dead one. I had no desire to get bit).

BR is a big ole boy, and can handle most anything. But he doesnt like snakes. at all. He didnt start freaking out, but he wasnt taking it from me either. matter of fact he was still in bed. Since its head was pretty much destroyed we couldnt tell much about it.

I went back out and looked at the nose of the one Brett was holding. Aunt Sonya asked if it might be a hog nose. I told her I thought it was. And I told went back in to BR and told him I thought it was a hognose. I asked what I should have him do with it.
"let it go I reckon, FAR, FAR away from the house"

I went back out and told Brett to take them back and let the living one go. It probebly wasnt venemous.
"can we"
"NO!, you are NOT keeping a snake. Forget it."

"what about the dead one?" Matt asked
"take it too, let the living one eat it"
"but it was attacking Darla"
"So?"
"you just want me to let it go?"
"unless you want to hold it while I shoot it in the head."

Matt wanted to keep the dead one, make a hat band or something. I told him no. Off they went. With their prize.

Now I am used to them bringing home lizards, salamanders, scorpions, spiders, crawfish. But I KNOW I have told them to NOT pick up a snake. EVER.

They went back down in the woods. and an hour later I had to call them back up with the Truck alarm.

They said that Darla had found the first snake and had it in her mouth, it was trying to bite her and so they saved her. This is the one they killed. Then while they were looking at it, Matt saw the other one and Brett caught it. He wasnt going to till it puffed up at him like a cobra. ( we were right, it was a hognose, they do that) I dont doubt this. I have seen this kid catch a lizard in midair when it jumped from a tree to the ground or another tree. He cant catch a fly ball but can catch a lizard flying through the air in the blink of an eye.

I never did get a picture. I wish I had, but then again, I dont want them to think they did something good enough to document.

They ate lunch with us and then they left out again to play after giving me the 'reason' behind the snake catch. And this time they had Rayley in tow. They did come home empty handed. THats always nice.

My mother in law came over to visit for a few minutes and we were talking about the crosses on pine tree's this time of year. Its a really neat thing. and I told her that although I loved that, the dogwood and the sanddollar were my favorites. This hill I live on was nothing but dogwoods before I got it. But logging knocked most of them down, and those that lived were destroyed in the huricanne that never was.
She had never heard about a sand dollar, So we looked on the 'net for it. The kids got real interested, I need to find them one. They were enthralled. I remember having one when I was a kid. Well I had two. One for the flowers on the outside and the other was broken open so you could see he doves. I hope I dont have to drive to the beach to find one. But I need to get one for the kids.

Of course the whole time we were visiting Rayley kept wanting me to 'draw her a bath' cause she had 'fallen down in the mud'. Draw her a bath.. Great, I am raising Scarlett O'Hara.

I only have one more day to survive this spring break. I hope I make it. I think next year I am gona get me a bikini and go to Galveston beach or Padre Island. Pretend like I am a college kid.

Eyebrowns, Silly Putty and Eggs

I could tell it was Friday. Noone wanted to get up. The boys did. and even got dressed on their own. although I did have to send Matt back to change into pants. He had on overalls that were too short.

Usually he can get away with wearing highwaters, cause he wears those fancy cowboy boots and doesnt pull his pants down over the top. They just kinda sit on the top.

But today was a PE day and he had to wear his chukkas. His pants have to come down to a normal length. He was VERY upset about having to change. He loves his railroad overalls. To him that is dressing up! And I have to admit, he looks pretty nice in them! :)

Rayley has been sleeping in her room pretty well. But there is one drawback, she wakes up more easily in there than she does when she is asleep here on the couch in the middle of morning mayhem! I dont undestand it. She has not slept past 6:15 since she started sleeping in there. :(

Well she wanted cereal. So I got up and made it. I started just buying plain corn flakes. The kind with the rooster on the box. And I dont put sugar on them. I got tired of the constant cereal buying. And they bounce off the walls when they eat the crap. My walls are NOT that good. Anyway, she eats it likes its frosted flakes. Doesnt need sugar. I reckon it might be better for her too.
Of course this morning she ate half and wasnt hungry anymore.

About 30 minutes later I decided I wanted some oatmeal. I got up and made some. Well she heard me in the kitchen and right about the time I set down to eat she wanted me to fix her some. I told her no, she had cereal to finish. She screwed up her adorable little face and started to pout. I just looked at her, she started to whine. I told her to leave the room. Then it was full out crying. Like I had taken away her pink stuffed pig. oh and the accusations... I hated her, I didnt love her. Noone in this whole world loved her. She was going to starve to death. I told her that I did love her. and she wouldnt be hungry if she would eat that cereal. And to please just be quiet. Well she got mad then, and told me that I hated her and when I tried to argue she just got worse. So I agreed with her. Steam started coming out of her ears and she looked at me, (the tears can stop as quickly as they start), and said "well FINE, if you dont like me I will just go to my ROOM!" and off she went.
Heck, if I'da known that was all it took I would have agree'd with her 10 minutes before!

I finished my oatmeal in blessed silence and came back in the living room. Bow was awake and I had to feed him. I had no more than got comfy, unpaused the TV and got him happy that in she came. She had finished her cereal and wanted oatmeal.

I explained that I was busy right now, Once I got Bow back to sleep I would get it. This started another whine fest. I swear this jealousy is gona drive me up a wall.
Back in her room she went. Slamming her door. This scared the baby, who bit me, and then started to wail. If I JUST had one of those remote training devices... Just ONCE.
I got Bow all settled, then went in and made Princess gimenow some oatmeal. I called her out and told her it was there. Oh, she loved and hugged and thanked me so much! Down she sat to eat and I went back into the living room to do some work. 3 minutes later she was too tired to eat. I told her she had asked for it, to eat it. AGAIN with the water works. This time I just went and got her, took her little hand, put her in her bedroom and told her to sit there.
LORD the noises she made. Its a good thing we live in the country. She didnt shut up for 10 minutes.

Then she came out with her barbie and car and started playing.

When BR got up I made him some sausage and eggs. The whole time Rayley wanted to eat it. She was hungry. I told her 5 differnt times that she didnt like eggs. OH YES she did, she would inform me. I eat them. I LOVE eggs. She couldnt wait to eat. I was cleaning the kitchen as I cooked and she just kept on wanting the food. Like I was purposely cooking it slowly. I told her to eat her oatmeal. She refused, it was 'rocky'. So once it got done I put some on a tortilla and told her to sit down and eat. She took one bite, spit it out and informed me that she hated eggs and I was a mean and awful mommy for making her eat them.

I took a deep breath, counted to 10 and smiled. I smiled so sweetly, she ran from the kitchen like her tail was on fire. Right smack into her daddy. He asked what was wrong. She told him that I was trying to make her eat eggs and that I know she hates them. Luckily he had heard the BUT I LOVE THEM exchange and told her so. Well she got mad and went to her room again. But this time she was wailing about him hateing her, and how noone loves her. And how she was just gona stay in her room and starve. She could never eat again because we only ever had eggs. I wouldnt fix her anything else. She got over it quickly and out she came.

Oh Goody.

Once the boys showed up she was in high spirits again, and glad to see them. Matt was all excited and telling me he had won the 'catch a compliment' prize for the week at school. He had even won some silly putty in his prize pack.

I decided to look through their backpacks and found that Brett had made Bulldog of the week at his school.
WOW! This is great. maybe they are starting to settle down and listen. Not being 'boys' and minding like they should. I told them both how proud I was. They just were so happy. They preened like roosters for a while. Then they wanted to play monopoly. I will be honest, I just wasnt up to it. I promised them we would play on Monday since they didnt have school.
They thought I was the best mom ever!
Then one of them remembered that there WAS school on Monday. I told them, NOT for them. It was Presidents day.

Since it was raining I told them that we had a busy weekend coming up and they wouldnt have time later, so they should go and clean their room now. That way incase they were invited anywhere for the night (fingers crossed) they would be allowed to go.
This was met with LOTS of bickering, whining, and blaming.
Damn that 'not me' character.. I wish he would stop messing up my childrens neat rooms.

They did get started, but needed music first. So they went out to my truck and got my CD case. I let them have an old CD player for their room and they are really enjoying it. Next thing I know Hells Bells is blaring through the speakers.

I swear, I am going to cancel VH1 and MTV from my TV. Now BR has them listening to AC/DC!

A few hours later my Sister in Law called. She wanted the kids. I had to tell her no. They had managed to play and fight, but hadnt cleaned. such a shame.. I am not sure why I torture myself like this. I tell myself I am making them learn you have to earn privlidges.. I think I just have a self destructive personality.

One time when they came out, Matt was playing with his silly putty. They were poking holes in it, and leaving the shapes of toys in there. I told them to hand it to me, and give me the newspaper. They just looked at me like I was going to wrap it up in the newspaper and throw it away.
I wonder what would give them that impression?
I convinced them I knew what I was doing. Well they then proceeded to tell me all about it. How it would stretch and you could roll it and it wouldn't get hard if you kept it in the egg. I told them I knew. I had seen it before.

They were appalled. I had never bought it for them! By now I had the newspaper and putty and I flattened it out and laid it on the paper. Matt just knew I had ruined his putty. I pulled it off and showed them the newsprint. Then I stretched it and they were amazed! Where did I learn that?
I told them I had silly putty when I was a kid.
total silence and looks of awe
( I really hate this part!)
Then they recovered their voices.
"REALLY?" they all said in unison.
YES I said, Silly putty has been around since before your grandparents were born!
"Really?" they said.
yes.
"did you have play doh too?"
"what about Barbies" Rayely asked
I assured them, I had seen and played with both.
THen they wanted to know what else it could do.
I ALMOST told them it would float, and that it would bounce higher than that bouncy ball that Brett had hidden in his pocket and kept bouncin every time he went into the kitchen or bathroom.
BUT I regained my senses. and instead showed them that it would break, and stretch. :)

I also told them to ALWAYS put it back in the egg. It DOES NOT come out of carpet easy. Well they had lost the egg. I told Matt to just set it on the coffee table and we would find the egg later. He sat it RIGHT on the remote.
for future refrence, it doesnt come off remote buttons either.

Another time I had gotten Bow to sleep. And then all of a sudden Rayley screams from the living room "MOM! somethings wrong with BOW!!" I came running, he started screaming, she is just bouncing and frantic.. I jerked him up, started looking, asking her "whats wrong?" "what was he doing?" I got him calmed down, and made her stop hollering that he 'wasnt normal'.
I asked again, what was he doing? SLeeping, she said.
I told her I KNEW that. He had been sleeping when I went to clean up the kitchen.
"What was wrong with him."
"his eyebrowns" she said, exasperated.
"His WHAT?"
"EYEBROwNS!"
I asked again, this time with a calm I didnt feel. "what exactly is WRONG with his EYEBROWS.?"
"He doesnt have any" she said, showing some attitude.
She woke up a sleeping baby, took 5 years off my life, and made me run the water in the sink over, cause he doesnt have EYE BROWS? I explained that he did, they were just light colored and not quite as visible as hers. and they were called EYE BROWS NOT eye browns!
"OH" she said, "maybe he is normal" and flounced off.

Well if he is, He is NOT kin to her!

To refrence an earlier post. PECKED TO DEATH!

Once bedtime came they went pretty well. Matt had already fallen asleep and I went in to get him up so he could go pee. He got up, and I herded him towards the bathroom. I was on the phone with their dad and he just stood in front of me starting at me. I waved my hand towards the toilet a few times and he just stared. Then he sat on the floor. I asked him what he was doing. He said "I dont know what I am doing in here" I told him to pee. He asked "where?"
AHA! I have it fiqured out! when they go to sleep they loose all sense and some of it never comes back when they wake back up! This explains why I have to repeat everything EVERY day!!
I told him to go in the toilet. Although I really considered telling him to go outside. Just to see if he would relize it was dark and he is scared of the dark. But it was raining and the puddles and wet clothes would just be more work for me.

When I went and told Rayley to go before she fell asleep, she told me "she went that other day and didnt need to." When I started to count Brett whispered to her she better go quick, mom has that look and she's starting to count.

Now they are all asleep. Including dear little Bow, who is smiling and cooing all the time now. And wants to SIT up. he doesnt like to lay down. AT ALL. and he is getting so big! we are filling out 3-6 month clothes really well. We will be in 6-9 months before I know it! I swear, the other kids were just barely into the 3-6 month at 4 months! I know for a fact Rayley wasnt. She wore cabbage patch kid clothes for over a month!

I have a big day tomorrow, and its supposed to rain and storm and get cold. Which will be nice. Wearing shorts in the middle of Feb is just NOT right. LOL The rain and storm wont be nice. but the cold will. I have about 100 miles worth of driving tomorrow and dont want to do it in the rain.

Tomorrow is baseball sign ups. 70 bucks a kid. and the company that sponsers them buys the shirt, socks, and hat. 3 dozen baseballs retail is 100.00. Inmates maintain the grounds. I dont know where it goes. But its pitiful. And this year my kids will be on differnt teams. :( thats twice the running, twice the games, and twice the money!