Flashback Friday...

My sweet Jack way too many years ago!

Wordless Wednesday...

Last Night on the Adventures of ...

Insomnia Mom and Insomnia Boy... yet again Insomnia Mom found herself wide awake despite the fact that she was extremely tired and really wanted to sleep. Never fear, she wasn't to lay there alone long because for yet another night Insomnia Boy (a.k.a. Will) woke up at 11:30 to join her. She tried to let him cry it out but to no avail. She rescued him from his crib jail and they kept each other company until about 3:00 listening to Snoring Man. Finally, Insomnia Mom awoke Snoring Man and asked him to take Insomnia Boy to his downstairs lair. This is when the Insomnia Duo both learned the meaning of the important saying, "Don't wake a sleeping bear!" Insomnia Mom finally got to sleep, but alas for poor Snoring Man...



At the risk of ruining their superhero status the Insomniac Duo are asking for you, the readers, advice. How can they have a restful night and kick the awful insomnia? All suggestions for Mom or Boy are welcome!



Please stay tuned until their next adventure where Insomnia Mom makes them their own costumes- hers will have a face with big wide awake eyes on it and Insomnia Boy's will have a flopping fish on it because that's what he acts like when you're trying to lay down and sleep at 1a.m.!

My Daughter the Fashion Designer...

Ashton mentioned to our family seamstress, Aunt Donnie, that she wanted a dress in gold that was off one shoulder and had a matching headband. Of course, Donnie had to make it for her. She searched down the perfect gold fabric and worked out the details of how to make the diva's design hold up strapless! She didn't tell Ashton she was making it and showed up to surprise her. I'm not sure if by looking at this picture you can tell which of these two was the most excited?

I couldn't either!

Still can't tell, but I think at this moment with this hug Ashton could have asked for 10 more dresses!

Every fashion designer must have a run way show. Of course, my diva does her own modeling.

Donnie did add her own touch with the fancy shawl. I guess they make quite the team.

My only problem now is to make sure future designs get run by me so they don't get too riske!

Tagged and Tard...y

Kyla tagged me days ago to show the 4th photo in the 4th folder. Here it is! My big boy playing outside back when you could be outside without freezing! Daddy was so proud at how he was slugging the bat and ball...

Hey Aunt J-Rae...

Thanks so much for the great fireman pajamas. Don't we make them look good? Mommy loves us in them so much she set up this photo shoot. So, you made her very happy with more pictures, and we like to look like firemen like Uncle David.
Maybe next year you could get Big Brother some pajamas so he won't ruin Mommy's pictures being half clothed?

I finally got rid of my brother so I could have the spotlight all to myself!

Poor Daddy. he didn't get cool fireman pajamas yet mommy still made him have his picture made.

I am telling her to stop taking my picture, "Now" which is my favorite word.

Why does she always tickle me when that black camera thing points my way?

Help Aunt J-Rae! Can we come spend the night? We can babyproof the house for Baby Sam!

For Inquiring Minds Who Want to Know...

Today began our homeschool journey. Actually, I guess it really began months ago as we first started praying over the decision to do it or not, but today was our first official day. I would say it was a lot easier than I had thought it would be though I have to really stay on top of myself to not overly stress! Anyway, for those who are interested in our homeschool journey I have started a seperate blog to cover it so please come check it out if you're interested!

What Happens When...

you send your family to bed and stay up late blogging? You get to your room and find there's no room in the inn,

not even on the couch in your bedroom...

but you're not too upset because you sneak into the best kept secret in the house, Jackson's bed. It sleeps better than any other and his room is so dark and cozy, a perfect "manger".

Unfortunately, there are animals in the manger like these guinea pigs I got suckered into keeping over the holidays. I couldn't sleep because they kept moving and making an amazing amount of noise for such little rodents. Then when it got dark I heard such a loud noise I imagined one had done a back flip. Then I started thinking of the Wonderpets and it really freaked me out thinking of them sneaking out of the cage and running around wearing little hats.

Needless to say, I went back to my bed and just pushed Jackson over. Then as I snuggled next to him I noticed how his feet were down next to mine and started thinking about what it felt like to snuggle him when he was little and then started getting sad realizing how fast he is growing.
I really didn't sleep well last night. Come to think of it, I better head to bed now before we have a repeat.

Dodd Resolutions...

Although I am not sure if I believe in resolutions since we never seem to keep them (I believe last year I resolved to not be hospitilized, and we all know how well that worked out :(, I still think it is good to at least put some goals down.

So, here are the Dodd family resolutions for 2009:

Me: 1. Be way more organized especially with homeschooling.
2. Live a healthier lifestyle including actually cooking and even (gasp) exercising??!! Gee, I wonder which resolution I'll break first?
3. Get caught up on getting my digital pictures at least developed, though I've accepted I won't scrapbook them until 2050.
4. Spend time actively playing with my kids instead of doing chores while they play around me.
5. Be a better wife to my awesome husband (He'd be happy if I will at least not be incapacitated for a month this year!).

Jon:
1. Eat healthier and lose weight.

2. Have more than a 10 foot open space in my garage.

3. Get a 10 pound bass, 10 inch turkey beard, and a 10 point deer.

4. 10 points off my cholesterol.

5. Get my hand gun permit.

Ashton:

1. Eat candy.

2. Eat candy.

3. Learn about art.

4. Make some pretty pictures.

5. Clean dishes.

Jackson:

1. Play laser tag.

2. Hunt huge animals.

3. Learn about animals.

4. Swim with dolphins.

5. Never go to school again.

Will and Wesley:
1. Give up the bottle (Mommy so picked this one for us. She even packed up all our bottles to give to our baby cousin Sam. We are not happy about this particular resolution!).
2. Try playing together. After not really interacting (at least not nicely) since birth, we have finally basically resolved our issues from kicking and mooning each other for 9 months in the womb and are going to try interacting. Mommy was so excited when we actually played together today. We got at one end of the room, and Wesley would yell "go!" and we would both race to the other end. That was a breakthrough moment for us.
3. To continue taking long naps so Mommy can teach Jackson and Ashton (again, we were not at liberty not knowing how to type to pick our own resolutions!).
4. To try our hardest and learn lots in "Tot School".
5. To be advanced in every area except hitting the "terrible twos".

There you have it. Goals we will try our hardest to not break, at least through January???