Sam

I decorated Sam's name to hang above his bed. Eventually it will say "Sam I Am," but for now it just says Sam. I love it. Apparently so does Sam :D

Why I like Mike #15

He sure knows how to treat a lady.

Click on my title for further details.

Layla's a graduate

This is Layla, her teacher Ms. Stephanie, and her friend Erin on graduation day. Everyone is getting so big. Layla is anxious to start kindergarten, but I am a little nervous to be her teacher for fear of holding her back. She is turning out to be way smarter than I am, and I don't want to screw her up. Elijah is looking forward to be the oldest kid in class. Next month we have to take Isabelle shopping for uniforms for school this fall. That is going to be weird, but we are looking forward to this new season in life. I will still have three students (and one mister messy Sam) but with Addison as a preschooler, I doubt there will be a day without serious humor. I figure, by the time I am done homeschooling my children, I will have greyed years before I was supposed to, but my laugh lines will be my most prominent wrinkles.

I think I am getting old

Theatrical Trailer Tonight, my sister-by-law-friend-by-choice and I went on a date. I like to date people regularly to keep things lively. Anyhoo, we started at Applebee's and finished with a movie. We watched Mr. Brooks with the past his prime favorite, Kevin Costner. It was a pretty decent movie. Lots of comic relief (although I must say, whether the movie was intentionally comedic or not makes no difference for me; I find humor in the most unhumorous situations. i.e., like when my other sister-by-law-friend-by-choice called me for the fourth time in a morning. Only this time she was calling to say that her earlier remarks of "where the heck is my housekeeper! That lady better be dead or in an accident!" were no longer appropriate considering her housekeeper died in a car accident on the way to her house. I know..not really funny, but kinda funny.)

Again, I digress. The movie is worth the watch. Only, I jumped so many times I nearly peed..twice. After each incident, I hollared CLEAR. That is what people yell when they want to get their heart beating again. I was completely my mother. I had it all-the gasping, the heaving chest, the OH MYs in a way too loud voice. I either need to get out more, or I need to limit my time in public. I am not sure yet. Lucky for us there were only 6 people in the theatre.

Just in case I didn't have enough lives to ruin...

I thought I would plant a garden. We have a great backyard. We have a brick planter box that spans the entire perimeter of our backyard. While my mother-n-law was in town, she instructed us in the art of planting, weeding, seeding, and soiling. She has the greatest garden and taught us a bunch. Even how to plant our cucumbers in a hill. We planted cucumbers, jalepenos, green bell peppers, watermelons, daisies, eggplant, crookneck squash, cherry tomatoes, pumpkins, any herb you can think of, and an insane amount of wild flowers. It feels great to take care of our plants. The kids have had a great time checking to see if they have sprouted any yummy treats. When we first got started, Mike's mom asked if we would have to worry about squirrels. I said no, of course in this populated area. Little did I know one little such varmin would come right from the Brewer household....our own resident Squirrel, Addison has been picking the tomatoes! She knows she is wrong to do it, but that doesn't stop her from snatching a little green one and taking off hellishly across the yard. I think she may be a rabid squirrel. Every time she does it, I think of that creepy racoon Will Ferrell tried to hug on Elf. lol.

MOBY

Fathers Day seems to be a time of big changes around our house. Last year I had Sam I Am on the 13, just a few days before Fathers Day. This year, we had a new kind of baby.

This little guy is the newest family member at the Brewer gang. I arranged for Mike to stop by at Lou and Joni's to pick up his fathers day present after work a few weeks ago. He knew what he was getting, but we told the kids he was bringing home a friend. We cleaned the house all the while I fielded a zillion questions about our mystery guest. They were certain it was Pappa Shaun (McConnell) but I told them Daddy's friend was only about two-years-old. WHAT!? They were completely stumped. Mike called when he was around the corner and I made the kids come in the house so there was no early peeking. It was perfect. The kids all went running outside to meet their new friend. Moby was so excited he peed on EVERYthing to leave his mark. He has definitely realized he is not the leader of the pack with so many others competing for attention, but he has found his place at the Brewer's.

He is a great snuggler. Sam regularly uses him as a pillow and Moby loves to sleep at the base of Isabelle's bed every night. Addison calls him "Movie Dog" because that is how "Moby Dog comes out in squirrel language. We have also dubbed him Molblerone, MoMo, MoMan, Moby Richard, and Mo-mer.

The kids wake up every morning and let him out, feed him, and fill his water bowl. We are working on his listening skills so we can let him play out front more, but he gets a little excited at the sight of new face to lick.

So thank you, Friends, for giving us the greatest fathers day present ever for our family.

Oh Thank you Lord!

Math is all done. I got an A. YAY for A's!! That is all for now. Oh, but hey Jessica, remember when you tried to crochet and it was scary? Just wondering.

Conversations in Bed

This was inspired by meesta Ben's post about deep thoughts and his mattress.

Me- You know what is a terrible name for a sandwich?
The Man-what?
Me- loose meat sandwich. It is gross.
The Man- I had a pulled pork sandwich today.::giggle::
Me- ew! That is equally as gross.
The Man- There is Pulled Pork, Loose Meat, Chicken Jerk...
Me- ew. And tube steak. That is gross. I am hungry.
The Man- I think I want to shower before bed.
Me- Kay....

Brew-ha-ha at the Brewer's Pad

Just thought I would give a run down of life and the goings on around here.

Today, Layla Grace graduated from preschool. We are very proud. She got to recite one of their verses over the microphone, which just proved that she really could be a rockstar someday.
She will be homeschooled for kindergarten next year.

Isabelle is almost totally signed up to attend her new school- www.coralacademy.org
She is looking forward to mingling with outsiders. I also think she is a bit apprehensive about stepping out into the school scene again. It has been 4 years since she has been enrolled in a school. :/ It will be great though, because it is totally God calling her to school.

We are ecstatic over her choices of teacher-they are the Mo and Jo of Reno. SERIOUSLY so weird. SHE is totally organized like Joelle, and other than her odd habit of talking over you when she knows what you are talking about, she has Jo's super skills as a teacher. HE has the fro to match his southern counterpart. He also recognized Eli's sweet Napoleon boots for what they are, which gives him an 'A' in our book. He is a math wiz, which will help to cover the areas Isabelle isn't as strong in. We are happy with either teacher.

Addison gave Sam-o-sauraus a haircut. So special. He is shaved completely now to hide the hideous bald spots she gave him. So special. The greatest part for me is when Sam waves, he does this Hitler salute. We look like we are proudly sponsoring the great white race around here. I keep threatening to give him a little Hitler 'stache to go with his new do.

Tonight I take my final exam in math class. This class has been crazy painful for me.

Mike passed the physical portion of his Fire Fighter's test earlier this week. We are waiting to hear where he ranks to see if he gets scheduled for an interview. Many prayers needed!

We have a new addition to the family. His name, depending on whom you talk to, is Moby, Movie Dog, Mo, MOMO, Moby-licious, or Moby-kins. These last two are just weird so we are trying to steer the kids back to Moby. Elijah wanted to give him a middle name. I suggested Richard. To me, it is really the only name that fits. In real life he is a large golden lab retriever. He is super. Even Addison loves him now.

Addison has taken to putting her self in time out. It is helpful because it saves me time, but it is strange.

We have been painting and downsizing. Getting ready for spring has never been so stressful or pretty. We have all new furniture in the living room, and the kids have new room set ups. Things are moving a whole lot slower than I was expecting, but it looks like a brand new house.

We are still awaiting the Wheel check. Soon...very soon. :D

That's about it!

HIstory

Let me just say that I love history, but sometimes I feel better before I learn about things. The Man and I are watching some special on the history channel about the craziness of the 70s. Hilarious generation for the most part....except for Mr. Jim Jones. ::shudder:: For those of you not as familiar, he was the "pastor" that began a church turned commune and then encouraged over 900 of the people to drink their lives away to cherry Flavor-Aid cocktail. I have heard this story in an off the cuff sort of way. Tonight, though, they showed video taken during the mass suicide. They gave it to the babies first. Then they encouraged the families to lay down together, face down, kind of in a pile. There were clusters and rows and rows of people. Those little babies. I don't like sadness. There was one little chubby baby boy, right around Sam -0-Saurus' age. He was laying down next to his mommy. ::sniff:: Stupid emotions. Stupid people. Stupid Jim Jones. Stupid history.

Why I like Mike #14

HE IS HOME!! The Man had a fun filled weekend where he allowed the fish of the east to control his brain. But now, he is right where he should be...asleep soundly on my living room sofa while I tap tap away on my puter. I never thought I would like him as much as I do now. I always thought we would just be existing after 11 years of marriage. God has done a great job of keeping my Hot Lips irresistible. I know that 11 years of marriage and 30 years of bdays isn't really old, but when I was younger, I thought life was over near 25. I remember when Mike and I were still dating. He told me he would be willing to wear cowboy boots when he is 26. I don't know why he picked THAT age, other than we both must have thought 26 was really old! i still haven't been able to get him into those boots, but we have a better grasp on what elderly really means. Here, let's do word association-

black-white

old-new

elderly-Louie (not Louise)

see..we have a better grasp. ::snicker::

traveling

You just have never flown until you get on a (delayed) flight with a drunk guy, a 97 year old birthday boy on his first flight, and a girl and her baby, the girl who is apparently stretching out her earlobes so her daughter can spit spit wads through them when they all get bigger. Oh and don't forget about the guy who has to holler when he speaks. Watch for me on Punk'd. I really think I was being filmed as all of that could not have been a coincidence!

It is good to be home. See you all on Sunday.

Thanks Friend.

My friend No(dot dot) el inspired this post with her blog topic. We are in full spring cleaning mode over here. We have a ridiculous amount of things we are giving away and hopefully selling in a couple of weekends at a neighborhood garage sale.

We have decided to stay put rather than finagle a new house for the Brewer Clan. There were too many what ifs and too many things to wrangle to make it work. Sometimes it is necessary to step out and follow God even if nothing seems to be adding up. Other times God asks you to step out and then allows you to step back once you have made a wise decision and followed him. We are experiencing the latter. It is interesting to be in this space, but I like it much better than pressing my own way, only to have it all fall apart once I am done throwing my tantrum and God has let me have my way.

I don't want to do anything because I have won an arm wrestling match with God. I want to focus on being in God's will and being grateful for the blessing he is giving me.

Anyway, off topic!!

For any of you interested in amphibian life, we have a really great turtle that needs a new home. In our attempt to downsize our belongings, our stress, and our responsibilities, we must say good-bye to Miss Daisy. She really is a great pet. She even has a sweet tank, a gold fish friend, and a pacostimus that works wonders with the algae. Let me know.

I am Seriously NOT making this stuff UP!!!

I know you have all heard that there are two kinds of people in this world- those who love Neil Diamond and those who don't. But those are not the two types of people I am going to talk about right now lol. I am going to discuss the "book smarts" and the "street smarts." For those of you who feel you are a fine balance of both, I am here to burst your bubble and say there is just no such thing. My sweet Layla Grace is turning out to be incredibly book smart. I think you know then that she is a bit lacking in the common sense. She is not at all dumb, just incredibly gullible. BUT without her we wouldn't get to hear super stories created in the depths of her churning wheels like this one:

Scene- Yesterday- Mike stays home from work; he is still in bed; kids and I are getting our morning going.

Addison(stumbles across some of Layla's nursing souvenirs: a large rubber glove and a doctor's mask.

Addison(mask on, glove on, with hand up in a "let me check your prostate" position:

Mommy, FUNNY!

Me: Yes, Addie, you are very funny. Go get Daddy. Tell him to "bend over, Daddy!"

Addison: Funny mommy!!

Addison runs quickly to the bedroom where the innocent man is dozing.

Addison(in a loud voice): BEND OVER, DADDY!! HA HA HA FUNNY!!

Meanwhile, we are all giggling in the other room. Addison runs back out to the living room.

Eli: HA HA HA HA Did you say it, Squirrel?

Layla (confused look) :Did he bend over? : /

Me: ROFL!!!!!!

And the dirty talk just keeps on coming!!

So, I have to backtrack before I tell the story I came here to share. Sorry, Gina. You know I love you, but this was just too funny to keep to myself.

Some time back, Addison was doing what two year olds do when they are naked: getting familiar with their "region." She kept shouting "my butt, my butt!!" then she would giggle and run. When I finally tackled her, I, in a very mommy way, explained that that isn't her butt; that is her vagina. (sorry boys. No one really likes to say that word lol) She said "oh, sorry (giggle giggle) Gina." Gina-as in my friend's name. I didn't bother to correct her.

Fast forward to a couple days later at the dentist's office where my friend, Gina, is our Dental Hygienist. Addison, who we all know as uncooperative, was more than willing to do whatever Ms. Gina told her...only she couldn't seem to remember her name was Gina (Geena) and not G-eye-nah! Sigh. I was cracking right up, but poor Gina. I explained what was happening, but every time Addison had to talk to her, she insisted on using her "name."

Gina: did she just say it again?

me: cracking up!! YES!!

Again, fast forward to two days ago. I was changing Sam's diaper and Addison suddenly became nosey. She said "oh, Sam's Gina." I told her Sam doesn't have a Gina, lol. stop saying that. "she said, "oh-sorry. His genius." I lost it. She didn't get what I meant when I said "I am sure he would like to think that is his *genius!!" LOL

Math

So I am in the math for dummies class, and it is going about how I expected: very sadly. I am relieved that I don't have my usual six papers due in the next five weeks, but my teacher (if you want to call him that) has successfully taken any happy notes right out of this class. I am a words/people person. HE is a numbers/nerd person. We aren't exactly compatible.

When I listen to him explain things, I am reminded of those people visiting a foreign country but speak none of the native language. They are reduced (by their own choice) to moving their mouth largely and slowly while shouting their words in hopes to be understood. Why people think this works is beyond me.

When I worked at a school in Vegas, I had the great experience of working with pre K/K deaf and hearing impaired kids. I found myself trying this strange tactic. The look I received regularly was one of laughter and sadness. They both thought I was hilariously idiotic and sad for themselves that I was their teacher. Sigh.

This is precisely the look I find myself giving to this poor man in charge of teaching my class. Despite his slow speech (not at all for my benefit, but more likely the after effects of his happy hour celebrations) and his obscenely large hand movements, I am just not getting what he is trying to communicate. If I had to tell you everything I have learned based on his communication skills, I would have to say birds with former full beards often get pulled over in the airport for mistaken identity. Yes, I realize this has nothing to do with Algebra. It does seem to have a large deal to do with why I am not learning math from this man.

Thankfully, I remembered my ear plugs last night. I was able to tune out every nonsensical thing he had to say and work with my team. I got almost all of the answers right. Maybe I should ask the University for a raise in pay.

Baby steps

Who knew buying a car could be so chatty. My poor husband. HA! He found us this very pretty vehicle, but the guy selling it has serious chatting skills. I realize this can be a great skill, but it is nothing compared to nun-chuck skills or drawing skills.
The greatest part? On a whim, or prompt from the Holy Spirit, my husband decided to check the Las Vegas RJ classifieds after lots of slow luck in the car hunt. He called these people and they were vacationing in Reno..with the van! He ran out to see it, and they fell in love with Layla Grace. I recommend taking her to any deal.
We are in negotiation with the good ole chatty doctor.
Will keep you updated. Meanwhile, pray for my incredibly
UNchatty husband to be merciful lol.

oh my

Isabelle and I had the second stage conversation of "THE TALK." ACK!! I will spare her the possible embarrassment and just share my favorite line.

From the mouth of my baby ::sniff:: amid fits of giggles- "WHAT! Like the DOGS when they want to have babies??? ::gasp:: YOU AND DADDY h-u-m-p??!!"

and yes, she spelled it out. I nearly ran the car off the road to keep from laughing hysterically.

And the Movies came rolling in...

OOH GOODNESS. Today the UPS man delivered 12 movies to my door. All greats ranging from Fiddler on the Roof, Princess Bride, and The Apple Dumpling Gang, to the kids picks of Princess Diaries, Ice Princess, and Open Season. Tomorrow should hold more greatness...and my Algebra book, but that isn't nearly as exciting.

All of these classic movies are compliments of Wheel of Fortune and my DVDEmpire.com winnings. Check them out, they actually have some good deals!

Farewell to all!!

NO NO!! I am not going to stop blogging. :) I was saying goodbye to our debt! WAHOOOO! The Man and I just paid off a good chunk of our debt! We threw the kids' b-day parties and spent the rest of our tax return on Mike's tires and bills. My Wheel money should be coming soon, so we will be purchasing that long awaited family vehicle. God has really blessed us! We are also in the market for a 4-5 bedroom house. Just in case any of you are selling or know someone who is, send us the info! We are looking to move in July or August.

I realize this picture is also on my homeschool blog, but I didnt want anyone to be left out. Nice and goopy! Gotta love it. lol