Why I haven't been blogging

I forget that not all of y'all do the facebook thing, so incase you have been wondering this is why I haven't been blogging lately:

Well, that and a bunch of other stuff I didn't take pictures of.

In the forest.....

Caibo: Mom I looked and looked all through the forest, but I couldn't find Jade.
Me: Did you find the bear? (He thinks there is a bear in our 100 ft strip of forest)
Caibo: No
Me: Did you find bigfoot?
Caibo: No Mom!!! Bigfoot likes the water. We don't have water in the forest, not even in the ditch.

So, just in case you were wondering, if you are looking for bigfoot, check near the water.

The return of the best question ever

When Caibo was about 2 years old, Jade got to thinking (she's a thinker that one) and asked me, "You know how you went to the hospital and got Caibo out of your tummy....Can I see the hole?" At the time she was only 4 and I was able to avoid the question. Thank goodness!!

Well this morning we were getting an ultrasound done (yes, again). Caibo kept asking me when they were going to cut my tummy open. I guess when I told him that we were going to see the baby today he assumed that they would pull the baby out , look at it, and then put it back in. I explained that they weren't ever going to cut my tummy open. Then they both asked, "So how are you going to get it out?"

Yep, the best question ever is back.

P.S. The baby still doesn't believe in stretching out. Here's another picture to illustrate that for you and because why not.

Tales from the laundry room: the bleaching bandit

Laundry is not my strong point. Never was. Never will be. Mount Landry in the corner of my living room will confirm this fact. Although lately, I have been pretty good at keeping things clean and dried (just not folded or put away). I have been so good at this that the other day I went to fill the washer with my dirty clothes and did not have enough to make a full Load. I'm not sure why, but I cannot justify running the washing machine if it is not full. So, I left the clothes there and completely forgot about them. A couple days later I remembered and finished the load. No big deal........
Or atleast that is what I thought until I started pulling things out of the dryer. My purple shirt is now spotted (as in sploches of bleached out completely) and so is my black one and my red one and Jade's pink one (not distraught about the pink one it also had a mustard stain). That right there is pretty much half of my wardrobe, and it is now unwearable.
So I asked the kids if the had put anything into the washing machine. Of course, nobody did it. Finally today out of no where Caibo confessed to putting the bleach in the washing machine. I can't really be mad about it because he was just trying to help, but if it ever happens again.....
he has been warned.

Tales from Sacrament meeting....

I could have easily skipped out on sacrament today. It was 20 min before it started, my hair was not done, my bag was not packed, yeah....I wasn't exactly ready. Anyways, I put my shoulder to the wheel and got us ready and out the door. We made it to sacrament meeting half way through the opening hymn. (not too shabby if I di say so myself) I am not sure why, but the overflow was not open. The only place left to sit was on the very front row. You know, the middle one right in front of the Bishopric.
Surprisingly, the kids were very good through the meeting. Jade filled two pieces of paper with doodles, and Caibo rested while evil Beaver kicked the back of his head.
The closing Hymn was America the Beautiful. Everyone stood to sing it. Caibo was not amused. I tried and tried to get him to stand, but he refused. Finally I gave up and let him sit down. I glanced down at him a couple of times, and he was just glaring. It seriously looked like he wanted to hurt someone (Sorry Bishopric. He wasn't mad at you just the song choice).
So, if you saw me laughing during the closing hymn in sacrament meeting today, that is why. You would have laughed if you had seen the look on his face, too.

R&R Story #1--The surprise

If you remember from back in the day, Mr. B was pretty determined that he was going to surprise us for his R&R. The bank account revealing his whereabouts kindof ruined that up for him, but he still tried. Just in case, I went on a massive house cleaning rampage so everything would sparkle and shine when he got here. I talked to him Sunday morning before church. He was in the US but still not sure that I would need to pick him up from the airport.
Finally, I decided that I was done playing the "I don't know" game. I put on my new dress, got all fancy, got the kids ready, and went to church. He called me I assume from the runway in Atlanta and told me that he did need me to come pick him up in Nashville while I was hanging out with the nursery kids. My awesome friend (Thanks Sam!!!) volunteered to watch the kids while I went to get him. I told the kids I had to go "pick something up for daddy" in Nashville. Then I started my drive to Nashville. I was not even out of Clarksville, when Mr. B called and said that he had just landed. Ummmm....Really?? Not much I could do at that point, so he had to wait. I went and retreived him, dropped him off at home, and then went to pick up the kids. Jade was super curious about what a had gone to get from Nashville. When she walked into the house, she saw a pillow on the couch. She picked it up, "Mom, really?!? you drove to Nashville for a pillow??? Couldn't you have gotten that from Walmart??" This was the point where she turned around and saw her daddy sitting on the stairs. To describe her as excited would be an understatement. Had I been on task I would have made a video of this event, but I wasn't so there isn't one.
Where was Caibo during this whole adventure? He was getting a hotdog out of the fridge completely oblivious to it all.

Catching up that photo thingy

I was taking pictures all along. I just never posted them, so I will now. Ok?

Week 3: Sharing the brownie batter beater (say that 3 times fast)

Week 4: When life gives you a snow day, make a blanket fort

Week 5: I found theese folded together. Someone owes me 10 cents

Week 6: Don't let them fool you. They are freezing.

Week 7: Elevator lottery-- Jade wins

Week 8: quick family pic before he got on his plane

And now: I am all caught up. Yay!!

and one more thing

Caibo said to me yesterday, "Mom guess who I have a crush on." After I finally guessed who it was (I would tell you who, but I can't spell it), I asked him if she was cute. He responded, "No, she doesn't get fancy." So, I asked if she was pretty. He blushed and replied shyly "Yeah."
So, according to Caibo, you have to get fancy to be cute, but you don't have to be cute to be pretty.

Ok, now I probably should go tackle my to do list.

the photo thingy week 2

We are 2 weeks into the year now right? Yeah and this coming week I would do week 3.

So, this is what a snow day look like in Clarksville. Actually the kids got 2 snow days for this. Ummmm, yeah not sure how that works exactly, but we made a snowman and he was cute and then the kids stomped on him until he was flat. The End.

the photo thingy I was going to do week 1

My friend Caralee is playing photo of the week on her blog. I have been wanting to play too. Disclaimer: I do not have photography skills. This is just meant to be a peek into the day to day stuff that gets labeled "nothing exciting here folks"

I actually took this the first week of the year. I just never posted it (see my previous post for explanation). That night Jade was at a friend's house for a sleepover. Caibo was heartbroken because he never gets to have a sleepover, so I took him to get an icecream. Well, that and one on one time with either of the kids is few and far between. It was nice to have a bit of time just the 2 of us.

Why again did I have children?

It was one of those days, the kind when my mother would sigh and ask, "who am I talking to, you or the wall?" Strangely, I haven't picked up that habbit yet. I sigh and say one of 3 things, "I think I need more children, one for every day of the week.", "I am going to trade you off and get a frog.", or "Why again did I have children?"
This time it was the last one, and I was met with 3 answers.
Smiley #1 "Because God sent us down to you."
Smiley #2 "Because you have to you are a mom."
Spare Army Guy "Because you are a woman."
I'm not sure which response was the most irritating.

red+ yellow+ blue= brown

The color wheel thing sounded like such a brilliant idea, I made a trip to the craft store. We got us some paint and poster board and mixed colors until the kids were bored of mixing (I know, I didn't know that was possible either). In case you missed the title, red+yellow+blue=brown.
THE END

My favorite primary lesson (part 2 Caibo )

And now, as promised, here are the many talents of Caibo

#1 He is not afraid to try new things.

#2 He is great at solving problems. (example: stacking things to get what he wants)

#3 He also loves to sing, and for you viewing pleasure I have included a video of him singing Stop in the Name of love

#4 He is an awesome bike rider. He is only 5 and has been riding without training wheels for more than a year. For a while we were afraid that he would beat Jade to the no training wheels status.

#5 He is great at reading people's feelings. When someone is sad or upset, he always tries to make them happy.

There you go. A few of the many talents of Caibo.

Back to school

Yeah, it is finally here. "Back to school, Back to school...." Ok, technically it started last Friday, but it was a 1/2 day and I was on vacation.
Monday morning round about the crack of 10, we went in and registered Caibo for Kindergarten (gasp!! my baby is in school). On a previous attempt to do this (don't ask. I'm still angry at the school district), I made the offer to my children that if they could sit in the chair and be quite the whole time I would give them each $5. I think they remembered they offer because both kids were saints. Ig uess I might owe them money now.
Last night we got out the back pack and school clothes. BTW I need a gold star or something because I did all of my back to school shopping before we left on our vacation. Not bad for the queen of procrastination. Ok, I do admit we went on got the kids new shoes over the tax free weekend. NEVER AGAIN. The stores are waaaaay too busy.
This morning I got up at the crack of dawn (no really Caibo woke me up at 6am), got the kids ready, and then left. My yearly check up was long over due, and that was the only appointment I could get. Blah!!
So that left Jerry fully responsible for getting both kids to school in the right classrooms on time and documenting the whole thing. I must say he did a really good job, even the documenting thing. He even got pictures at the school. Yeah, he's that good.
Finally, at 4 this afternoon the kids got off the bus. Jade had a great time. She likes her teacher. The way she describes it I think there is a kid with terrets (sp?) in her class. She learned that they aren't supposed to laugh at him. Caibo also had fun. He liked riding the bus. He says he learned numbers. The great thing about Caibo is he randomly tells you the important stuff when he thinks you are not paying attention. He said that his teacher got mad at him because he hit the girl in the purple shirt. I asked why he hit her. He replied, "she was touching me." He also learned that when someone is touching you it's best to ask them not to touch you.
And what did I do with all my free time? I worked on some flower bows, went to lunch at quizno's, and shopped at Hobby Lobby BY MYSELF. :)
It was kindof quite though.

Dear So and So: The Joys of motherhood

Yay!! It's Friday. I have missed dear so and so, in my blog slacking.

Dear Smiley #1,

I know that you are more than 1/2 way to the age of infinite knowledge and wisdom (that would be 13, incase you were wondering). However, questioning my motive every time I ask you do something is not the way to gain that knowledge. Now, Go clean your room.

Sincerely,

Because I said so

Dear Smiley #2,

Putting all your clean clothes in the top drawer and leaving it open does not count as putting your clothes away. However, I do recognize progress. Thankyou for not putting them on the floor and telling me they are dirty 2 days later.

Sincerely,

I'm not washing that again

Dear Wii Fit creators,

You are evil tricksy people. You used my embarassment about being beaten by my four year old at your "balance games" to trick me into doing excerises I would never otherwise do. I would threaten to kick your butts, but we both know I can't lift my leg that high right now. Hopefully by this time next week I will be thanking you.

Sincerely,

Ouch!!!

Dear Readers,

Head on over to Kat's place for more Dear so and so fun.

Out and about

I always forget that blogger puts the last picture first. I'm not going to fix it though.

This is our monkey friend. He lives at the Mc Donald's play place. This is the fanciest play place I have ever been to.

They also had video games and TVs (one had Finding Nemo, the other Nickelodeon) I'm not the biggest fan of this. In my opinion the best part of playplaces is that the kids run around and wear themselves out. What do you think?

My kids love any restraunt with chopsticks.

They liked this one even more because of the fire (it was a hibachi) Sorry, no fire pictures. I was too distracted by the fire.

Dear So and So: I think I may have lost my mind

Yep, It's friday again.

Dear Caibo,
Believe when I say that I totally understand your liking of all things sweet and sugary. It's just the way you are, and we like that about you. However, 3inches of frosting on top of your cookie is taking it a little to the extreme.
Lots of love,
The mean mommy that made you share the frosting with 3 other cookies

Dear Kat,
Thanks for inventing Dear So and So. It's my favorite friday blogging activity.
Sincerly,
Brandi
P.S. I love your blog.

Dear readers,
If you too would like to play dear so and so (or just read some more letters), head on over to Kat's blog. You know you want to.

Baking with Brandi

I have the absolute best sugar cookie recipe ever, and I like to pull it out for special occasions (usually Valentines day, Christmas, and Halloween if you get really lucky). You see, I enjoy sugar cookies, but I am not especially fond of the mess it takes to make them. Still, I decided it was time to make some heart shaped cookies. This was a really good idea until........
Brandi's baking lesson of the day:
Always make sure you have a cookie cutter before you make the cookie dough
It would seem that I forgot a few things when I moved here from Utah (my heart cookie cutter, my lamps, my wedding pictures?, and I'm sure there's more) So, my sous chef and I made some not so run of the mill Valentine's cookies.

As you can see we made "St. Patrick's stars," cats, candy canes, and "apples"

Conversation between me and the sous chef who was way too excited to be using a cookie cutter
Him: "Can I push it down yet?"
Me: "Hold your horses."
Him: "What??"
Me: "Hold your horses."
Him: "No mom, it's a cat."

Shhhh! It's a secret.

Ok, I was going to brag about the super cool thing I got for my husband for our anniversary, but I can't show you the picture. I guess I will have to do that when it gets here. Unfortunately, that means my title is VERY misleading.
So, you may be wondering where I have been. My sister told me the other day that I am lost. I tried to tell her that I know exactly where I am, but I couldn't tell her which way north is. Yeah, she wasn't buying it.
There is really nothing super exciting to tell you. Jade loves school and has some little friends. She is mostly happy except I told her that she can't have any of those friends over until she cleans her room. Caibo is finally in a preschool. We found one just a couple of blocks from our house, and so far I am very impressed. He is also mostly happy except that he can't have a cookie until his room is clean. I am the meanest mom ever.
We have found spaces for most of our stuff. The pile on the patio is slowly getting smaller and smaller. You know, the best part of a small house is that it is really easy to clean. Speaking of which.....

The rest of the days with the little Bunzes

Ok, first of all I totally forgot the most exciting part of day one. I hadn't quite adjusted mentally to having 8 kids around. All the kids were playing together, and things were good. Until I realized that Caibo had gone outside to play and I didn't remember him coming back in. I started looking in the house and yard, but couldn't find him. So, I loaded up all the kids to go look for him. I found him as happy as can be in the church parking lot with 2 police officers. I apologized, and they took all my information. (I'm guessing incase they ever find him wandering again). The best part was when I told them my last name, they gave me a funny look and said, "Oh! That really is your last name. We thought he was making it up."
Anyways, so the rest of the weekend was much less exciting. We didn't end up painting, and it did snow, but not enough to do anything with. We took them all to church this morning. That will probably be the only time we will take up a whole row in sacrament meeting. We got some of funny looks as we walked in. I think some people in our ward might be wondering where we keep getting more kids from.