Ahww Nuts!

So despite the fact that Carter has had peanuts, peanut butter, peanut butter cookies etc. before, on Wednesday he had an allergic reaction. The pool little guy had hives on his face and chest. I took this picture to show the doctor. Luckily, Carter wasn't the least bit phased, and he had no swelling.



It was mass chaos at the time in my house (of course)...the maids were running the vacuum, Elmo was blaring, and the kids were barking like dogs half naked while I was trying to get medication info from the nurse.

We went to the doctor today to get an "action plan". They decided to do a blood test for the peanut and other food allergies. They actually had to draw blood from his arm!! I was prepared for a battle. But Carter was so brave and didn't even flinch. The nurses were amazed and I was completely shocked considering I have to hold him down just to brush his teeth!

Anyway, we will find out the results of the blood test soon...in the mean time I don't know what I am going to do with the 4 jars of peanut butter in the pantry. Hey, they were on sale awhile back, plus I had coupons...so I stocked up :)

The worst part is that I now have to be "that mom" at preschool who causes snack & lunch issues for the rest of his class.

Play Room Furniture (finally!)

So, last year for Christmas we got the boys some furniture for their playroom to neatly store all of their toys and books. You may remember at the very end of this post I promised to show pictures...this was way back in January.

By the way, I will miss these days when I can buy them what I WANT for holidays and still call it a gift :)

Anyway, the wall system came in about a thousand boxes (in late January).


Kyle and I painstakingly assembled it all in a few nights. Then we looked at each other and said "this is really pretty...they are going to destroy it." The thought of watching that happen made me sick. So this monstrosity has been hiding out in our master bedroom for the last 9 months.

But they have finally stopped the constant toy banging and are a little more sturdy themselves. So, we moved the furniture, strapped it to the wall and turned them loose!! Here's hoping we won't find someone on top of it!


We are very lucky that this house has very large secondary bedrooms...we can get all of this in and there is still plenty of floor space for them to play.


I think the boys were really too keyed up about OU game day to get into the new furniture.

No Mama's Boys Here

Yesterday was the first day of school for the Spankys. I dressed them in their muscle shirts so that they would look extra tough. However, that may backfire, because their little arms are all so skinny.




I put cute little name tags on their monkey-packs each with a different sesame street character sticker. They ripped off the stickers before we even got in the car. I swear they need to start a demolition company when they are older. Here they are working hard to get those stickers off...



We went last week to meet the teacher, and I guess that is all they needed to feel comfortable today. They couldn't have cared less that I was leaving. All of the other little ones were crying. Meanwhile, mine shot off the second their feet hit the floor and started playing with all of the toys. It was almost insulting! I guess because they have each other it is not so scary.

They were happy to see me when I got there and they all had their backpacks on. I don't think Evan wanted to leave :)

Random Recent Pictures

Just wanted to post some other cute pictures from the last couple of weeks.

More fun than a barrel of monkeys. No one can wait their turn. So, they all pile into the bin for a wild ride from Daddy.




The after bath aftermath. I think I need to get the boys some costumes to play dress up. They played around in these towels for a good 45 minutes. They would run into the play room to look at themselves in the mirror. Then run back into the TV room to show off for Gigi & Papa.

It all broke down, when Davis decided he wanted to be Ribbit and not Sheep. Carter would have none of it. He insists on being Ribbit and then insists that everyone else where their towels even if they don't want to.

It was a dark and stormy night...

It has been miserably hot this summer. I think we had record heat in June and July. But one day last week we got a surprise visit from a long lost friend we hadn't seen in ages...that's right, rain.

I moved the ottomans over to the window. The boys thought it was the coolest thing and actually sat still for a few minutes.



They liked to gasp and look over at me real fast whenever it would lightning :)


Now Evan and Carter use the ottomans to get up on the window sills to watch their TV shows.

Never say Never

You know how your mom always said "never say never". Well, I made quite a few of these "never" statements when my babies were still little lumps that didn't do much but eat and sleep.

Here is a classic example:

I will never have my house look like a daycare when you walk in the front door.
We did really well with this the first year of the Spankys' lives because they weren't allowed downstairs. Seriously. We had a fridge, high chairs, cribs, and toys upstairs...there was no need for them to be aware of life beyond the baby gate. Then we got a little lax and baby proofed the living room, kitchen and dining. Then we brought in a few toys so they could play downstairs while we cooked dinner.

Next, we got really crazy and sold our dining table to make way for the bistro grill, some ride on toys, then a picnic table. And now...shudder...we have a playscape in the dining room. And of course, this is the first room you see when you walk in. I think the mirror and liquor bottles really class the place up a bit.


So, we can now admit we have officially given up. The Spankys are in charge, and we are just happy to be along for the ride :)

A Safe Haven

So, Davis is my helper boy. Every time he comes down stairs he immediately gathers up the remotes and hands them to me. He insists on putting any shoes laying around in the closet and closes all doors to "baby-free" rooms.

He also brings me any little piece of paper, lint, or tiny object he finds throughout the day. I don't know how he knows what things they aren't supposed to have it, but for some reason he does.

It never really occurred to me what he does with these little things when I am not around. However, the other day I was frantically looking for the batteries that were no longer in the kid's laptop for some reason. All of the kids were still alive, but I thought I should find and inspect the batteries for slobber/bite marks.

I looked under every couch, chair, cabinet, door etc...nothin'.

I don't know why this caught my eye because we never use this table and the kids never really mess with it. You can see a finger hole at the bottom where the top of the table lifts off and can be flipped over.






When I opened it, I found what must be months worth of contraband (and the batteries).



It is really so sweet that he is looking after his brothers when I am not around.