A Few Randoms

It seems like we have been so busy here lately.  Here are a few things we have been up to.  Mainly so I don't forget.

We got the kid's halloween costumes in the mail a few days ago.  I let Brooklyn pick her own this year and she went with a mermaid.  Cutter is Mike from Monsters Inc.  I tried them on just to make sure they fit and we had a battle to get them off.  I have a feeling we will get plenty of use out of these at home once Halloween is over. 

The other day Brooklyn was busy coloring in the floor while I was busy with Cutter.  I went to check on her after a while and this is what she had done with the crayons.  That is exactly something I would do.

Clay and I decided to replace our carpet and vinyl flooring in both living rooms and kitchen.  We figured we could just replace it ourselves.  We have been working for two days now and are a little over halfway done.  It is a lot of HARD work, but we are making it.  I am in love with how it is turning out. 

I am finishing up my first season with Kellys Kids this weekend.  It has been a learning experience for sure but it has been fun.  I am excited to see what the spring brings.  Visit my site at www.kellyskids.com/morganpreston if you are interested.  They have the cutest kids clothes.  

That cheer about Elliot

This past Friday was homecoming at Ira.  Brooklyn had been to mini cheer camp the Saturday before and was beyond ready for Friday to get here.  They learned a couple of cheers and a short dance.  The girls got to perform their routine in the pep rally and at halftime.  

She wasn't impressed with the pep rally performance because she thought they should have been able to be out on the floor longer.  Haha  

We went home and got ready for the game.  She asked if we could put her hair in rollers for the game so we did.  A girl has to look good right? While we were in the bathroom rolling her hair she kept asking me to tell her how the cheer about Elliot goes.  I could not figure out what she was talking about so I kept asking her more questions to try to get a clue where she was going with this.  Instead she just got more and more frustrated and just kept asking to hear the cheer about Elliot.  Right about the time she gave up it hit me what she was talking about.  I asked her if she meant the cheer that spells out L-E-T-S-G-O, and she said yes.  She was so excited and I just laughed.  

After we were ready, Brooklyn and I headed to the game early to see the team run out and get to see the Masked Rider.  We had the opportunity to have the Texas Tech Masked Rider be at our homecoming so it was fun for Brooklyn to get pet his horse.  She wouldn't even talk about having a picture made with him, so I have no evidence that she did actually enjoy them being there.

She waited patiently for halftime and then it was her turn again.  She loved being on the field except for the cute headbead we chose to wear.  It wouldn't stay on her head while she cheered so after the 5th or 6th time it fell off, she ran to the side to give it to my mom before the dance began.  It was too funny.  

Overall the night was a success and I am sure she will be ready for next year when it comes around.

See you in space

This past weekend Brooklyn decided she wanted to build a rocket out of a diaper box. My idea was to give her a couple of markers and some colored duct tape and let her start decorating. Lucky for her, she asked Clay to help and he took it to the extreme.

A couple of hours, two diaper boxes, lots of tape, and a pair of scissors later they had a rocket ready for space.  Clay was in charge of the design and construction.  Brooklyn was very specific on what color tape went where.

She was even sweet enough to let Cutter have some time in the box.  Almost four days later the box is still in pretty good shape.  I will be surprised if it lasts through next weekend, but we can say it was fun while it lasted.  

I always love seeing what Brooklyn's imagination will come up with next.  She is at such a fun age right now.  I am also so glad that she is so sweet to let Cutter get involved in all her projects.  He absolutely adores his big sister and wants to be doing anything and everything that Brooklyn is doing. 

~ Morgan

Just a Monday Afternoon

When we got home for the day Monday Brooklyn decided she wanted to fly her kite.  Her and Dad got it all ready while Cutter and I tagged along behind.  Brooklyn needed to call Corbin to come watch too.  He came down and we all had fun watching the kids (big and small) fly our kites.  Thankfully we had two Barbie kites put back in the closet because it didn't take Brooklyn long to get the first one caught in the highline wires.  She took it well though and got the next one in the air pretty quickly.

It was a lot of fun watching her because once Clay or Corbin got it in the air, she did really well holding the kite herself.  She was all over the yard with it.  I'm still not sure how we managed to keep two kites in the air without tangling them together.  Cutter didn't care much for his and it ended up tied to the tree.

Even though I would love for the weather to start cooling down, we had a fun afternoon playing outside in the last (hopefully) summer type days.  

~ Morgan

You can never be too prepared....

Cutter's pajamas this summer has been a diaper with underwear over it.  I tried to put actual pajamas on him, but more times than not he would take it off.  So, we tried just a diaper, but he was trying to take that off too.  Finally, I decided to let him put a pair of underwear over his diaper and that seemed to do the trick.  The past couple of weeks he has started picking out his own "anties" (how he says panties) every night.  I guess he was preparing for the worst on this night because he wasn't finished getting dressed until he had all three pair on. 


~ Morgan

Our Weekend

This past Saturday the kids and I braved a trip to Lubbock by ourselves while Clay had to work.  Our mission was new clothes and shoes for the fall.  So, I guess it didn't really matter that Clay had to work because I'm pretty sure he would not be up for a day of shopping.  Thankfully, Cutter still thinks shopping is okay. 

We started out the day great and only had minor tears in Kohls because I made Brooklyn try everything on before we decided to buy it.  I absolutely get why they put the toy aisles right next to the kids clothes, but it really makes my job hard when we are on a shopping mission.  I asked Brooklyn for a picture here in her new outfit that she picked out all by herself, but it wasn't happening.  So, we moved on to our FIRST trip to Target of the day.  The kids did okay there but were getting ready for lunch.  I let Brooklyn pick and of course she chose Rosas (her favorite).  After they both ate and ate and ate....we made our way to the SECOND Target trip.  In my defense, the first one was out of Cutter's size of diapers so the second trip was out of necessity.  Haha

It was there that we started the hunt for Brooklyn some new tennis shoes.  It took us several stops but we finally found a pair at Shoe Carnival.  Cutter loved this stop.

This is the pair of shoes we ended up with compared to my tennis shoe.  I can't imagine how tall Brooklyn is going to be if she grows into these feet.

Since dance starts back today we had to get new tap shoes.  That was quick and easy and Brooklyn decided now was the time to pose.

I had promised them all day long that if they were good we could go play at the park by the Lubbock house.  So, at the heat of the day, we stopped by the house to lather up with sunscreen and go play.

After 30 minutes of playing in the heat we were all hot, tired, and ready to head home.  So, after a quick stop by Chick-fil-a for a cookie and lemonade we headed home.

Overall, the kids did great and we had fun.  I got the kids several things for the fall/winter so now we just need the temperature to cool down to something below 95.

After all the fun we had Saturday, Sunday was very low key.  After church everyone but me napped while I caught up on laundry and a few chores around the house.


~Morgan

Rules

I'm glad that Brooklyn is understanding the need for rules and knows that we have them.  She isn't 100% sure about following them all the time, but at least she knows they are there.  Very often, she brings up random conversations with Clay and I.  A couple of days ago while I was cleaning up the dishes from supper she wanted to talk about the rules at lunchtime at Mrs. Rhonda's house.  I guess they had been discussing how they were "supposed" to fix their plates according to Mrs. Rhonda's "rule lady" (her term), Mrs. Fisher.  She said, "They were supposed to fix their own plates, but that is a crazy idea."  I have a feeling I know Rhonda's opinion about Mrs. Fisher's rules.  haha  She went on to say we don't have rules like that at our house, but that we do have some.  I was impressed that she is realizing our rules and was anxious to hear what she thinks they are.  So, I told her she was right and that no, I won't make her fix her plate from a hot pan.  I did ask her what our house rules are.  This was her list.....

1. Don't break things in the bathtub.
2. Don't break Daddy's things.
3. Don't break stuff that's not yours.

And that was it.  Apparently I need to remind her of some of the other rules of the house.  But, in the meantime we will just be content living with all of our unbroken things.  :)


~ Morgan

Hairstyles

Brooklyn was blessed with beautiful hair.  The perfect shade of red/brown and perfect curls.  I will take responsibility for the curls even though mine aren't near as pretty as hers.  We still aren't completely sure about where the color came from (twice). :)  Well, since she is beginning to be interested in all things GIRl, we have started experimenting with her hair.  Occasionally I will straighten it with my straightener, use a curling iron, or hot rollers.  She is loving this hair styling but I completely realize that I am creating a monster.

I really noticed it for the first time on July 4th.  My sister-in-law made the comment that she had only seen pictures of Brooklyn with straight hair so I told her we would straighten it for the parade on the 4th.  Once I mentioned that to Brooklyn she was so excited.  So, we woke up in time to work on her hair.  It really doesn't take too much effort, but a little longer than normal.  She was loving it when we were finished and had no trouble posing for a few photos.

Fast forward to lunch after the parade.  My mother-in-law had filled up her little pool for the kids to play in the backyard while we fixed lunch (always a hit).  However, Brooklyn knew if her hair got wet, the curls would be back.  So, she was doing everything she could to not get her hair wet.  Obviously, boys don't understand this huge dilemma (nor would they care), so Cutter and the cousins just ran and jumped in the pool to have fun.  Well, Noah accidentally got her hair wet and her hair was ruined.  She cried and carried on for a few minutes until I promised her we could redo it before we headed back out for the fireworks that afternoon.  I couldn't be too upset with her meltdown, because I knew exactly how she felt.  haha

We've had several other discussions since then about her hair and how it should or shouldn't be fixed.  I had kind of forgotten about the 4th of July trauma until this week when she educated me on the "side ponytail." That particular day, she really wanted a side ponytail with a braid and didn't mind sitting still (for most of it).  When we were finished she really liked how it looked but had one comment, "Its cute, but side ponytails really look better with blonde hair."  And so our hair troubles begin at the age of 4.  While I blame myself, I thought surely I had until junior high to prepare for this.  This is a picture of her side ponytail after an 8 hour day of playing. 

~Morgan

Emma and Jackson

I can't keep track of the funny things the kids are doing without talking about Emma and Jackson.  I can't wait for Brooklyn to be bigger and read about all the things she did with Emma and Jackson.  Emma and Jackson are her imaginary friends.  They have been all sorts of people to our family.  Depending on the story they are in, they can be everything from our friends, cousins, grandparents, brother, sister, you name it.  Emma and Jackson also tend to be in whatever story that most closely relates to a story Brooklyn has already heard.

The other day the kids were at my parents house and my Papa stopped by to visit.  He and Brooklyn started visiting and he was telling her stories about when I was younger.  Wouldn't you know that Emma and/or Jackson had done the same things when they were younger.  I'm not sure that Papa knew who Emma and Jackson were and was so confused as to who on earth Brooklyn was talking about.  Haha

She goes through stages with her friends.  Sometimes they are real people and we have to go as far as to buckle them in the car.  Other times, they are just friends that live anywhere from Snyder to Lubbock.  I'm not sure where they actually came from.  She started talking about them a little over two years ago.  Emma came first and then Jackson followed along a little later.

So, I'm sure you will hear a lot more about these two crazy kids (or old people...depending on the day).  I love hearing the stories Brooklyn tells and trying to guess where her crazy imagination comes from.

~Morgan

Day One...

With two incredibly busy kids running around our house, it is beginning to get BUSY.  I feel like I have a new story to tell everyday.  After the week we had last week, my mom and sister suggested that I start blogging everything that goes on in our little family.  So, here goes nothing.

I will start with the inspiration for this blog. Last Monday I was busy folding clothes in the living room when Clay noticed that Cutter had been too quiet for too long.  We found him in Brooklyn's room looking like this...

Cutter had been in Brooklyn's makeup and spread lip gloss all over his face.  When we first saw him, we thought it was blood.  Clay wiped some off and smelled it to realize it was only lipgloss.  Cutter definitely thought it was more fun to put on than it was to take off.

Tuesday didn't disappoint with action either.  While I was unloading the dishwasher after supper I hear the kids laughing and playing in Cutter's room.  Most parents might assume all was well and be happy their children were playing so nicely together.  I will admit that was my thought until I walked in and saw this...

I'm still not 100% sure how he got up there or what he was even looking for.  I asked Brooklyn how he did that and she matter of factly told me, "He just climbed."  She is a wealth of knowledge.  Being the great mom that I am, I immediately took him down after I snapped a photo to post on my instagram.  

After two days of craziness, I was beginning to question the importance of housework and moved into Wednesday.  I don't even remember what was going on when Cutter yelled for us to "look."

Ignore the pile of tractors missing their tires.  That has become the norm around here.  He was so excited he got his diaper basket down and filled his room with powder.  Thankfully that was a fairly easy cleanup and his room smelled good for the rest of the evening (that's my silver lining). Haha

Well three days in, and Thursday HAS to be better...right??  Brooklyn woke up Thursday morning with a stiff neck.  She complained about it off and on through the day. So, when we got home that afternoon I sat down to rub it for her.  Cutter ran off to play in the other living room.  I didn't follow him (first mistake on my part).  Then he got quiet (have I learned nothing from the rest of the week).  I walked in to find that he had again climbed to the top shelf of the shelves and got the BLUE sidewalk chalk.  He had drawn a beautiful (silver lining remember) picture on our beige carpet.  Thankfully again this cleaned up fairly easy.

So, that was the week that inspired this little blog.  I'm sure with these two cute little people, I will never be looking for things to share.  They may keep us incredibly busy, but I can't imagine life without them.  

~Morgan

I prayed for this child, and the Lord has granted me what I asked of him. 1 Samuel 1:27