Life with Boys

I cannot tell you how many times a day I hear:

"Three boys!  Are you going to keep trying until you get a girl?"

or

"Wow!  You sure have your hands full!"

I think that's the polite way of saying that we are making a huge scene wherever we are.

Yes, I do have my hands full...but I try (apparently unsuccessfully) not to make it so obvious. 

I never know how to answer that first questions.

I usually just laugh.

We will have as many kids as we feel good about.

If they're all boys, so be it.

If the next time around is a girl, it doesn't mean we'll stop because we finally did it.

So, I don't know...

But for now, I'm enjoying having all boys.

Being super-girly myself, I'm always surprised (and horrified) about the things that they say and do. 

Here's some recent ones:

 

 -Bridger: "MOM!!!  (giggles) We all sat on the toilet and put our feet in!"

 -Me:  "That is so gross!  What were you thinking?!?"

 -Bridger:  "Why is it gross?  There was no poops and no pees in the toilet."

And few minutes later Saxon picked up Nate's beard trimmer and started combing his hair with it.  Then he asks "What would happen if I turned it on?"  Then he turned it on.  Now he is missing a chunk of hair.

-Saxon: "Mom, my friend at the park today, she said BUTT!"

-Me: "We don't say butt, we say bum."

-Saxon: "I didn't say BUTT, she said BUTT, so I'm just telling you that she said BUTT because I know we can't say BUTT.  She did Mom.  She really said BUTT.  But I didn't say BUTT."

(This is his new sneaky way of saying "potty words"...by quoting them to me.)

Yesterday, I happened to be walking by the bathroom when I saw Saxon barely make it to the toilet in time, and in his haste, overshot and hit the shower curtain.

-Me: "SAXON!  You just peed on the shower curtain!"

-Saxon: "Sorry Mom.  That happens a lot."

I've also learned that boys are born warriors.

They fight.

They defend each other.

And they learn to be boys so fast! 

At the Scottish Festival on Friday, we let Saxon and Bridger "fight the giant."

We were the last ones there as it was getting dark, so the guy in charge handed Dalton a sword and asked "You too?"

The baby boy didn't waste any time running out there to battle the giant.

Sword swinging and kilt blowing in the wind.

He is fearless (except for puppies, he's terrified of those), and can't stand to be left out.

If the big boys were going to fight the giant, then so was he!

Having all boys definitely makes life interesting :)

WIWW - unsure

I have this new outfit that I'm not 100% sure about.

Brittany and I were at Forever 21 and she held up this

tight, short, spandex, purple skirt and said

"You have to get this!  I have one in black and I love it!"

I wasn't so sure.

I tried to get away with "I can't afford it."

So Brittany picked up the tag and said "It's $5."

Oh.

Well, truth be told, I think it would make me look like a hooker.

Short.  Tight.  I was nervous just looking at it.

Brittany was of the opinion that for $5, you can't go wrong.

She assured me that if I paired it with a loose top, I wouldn't look like a hooker. 

(Sorry to keep describing it that way...it became a joke because after I said it the first time, Brittany named it "the hooker skirt" and that has since been how we describe it.)

So, I bought it, a few months ago, and have procrastinated wearing it.

 Brittany does look super-cute in hers, but every time I try it on, I take it off again.

So, here I am being brave and trying something that I would never have picked on my own:

I wore leggings with it and a flowy top and it kind of started to grow on me.

By the end of the day, I kind of liked it.

Then I had my husband snap a few pictures.

Umm...

Did I put the wrong top with it because this picture is not very flattering?

 

So I tried taking some of my own pictures in the mirror when I got home.

Not much better.

On the bright side, it makes me look like I have a nice round bum.

I haven't had much of a bum since I had babies but this skirt makes it look like I do :)

 

What do you think?

BBQ Chicken Salad

I LOVE salads in the summer!  They are so refreshing and you don't have to turn on your oven.  Part of the reason that I like them so much too, is that I try to hold out on turning on my air conditioning until July.  Crazy?  I know.  No one can stand my house because it gets to be 85 degrees inside.  Now imagine what it's like if I turn on my oven...LOL.

This one was inspired by a pinterest recipe again.

I changed it a little to suit my family.

(Original recipe from Mel's Kitchen Cafe)

Start by coating 1-2 chicken breasts in BBQ sauce and grilling.

While that's cooking, you'll need:

Romaine lettuce

1 can black beans rinsed and drained

1 can corn drained

1 red bell pepper chopped

1 avocado chopped

1/2 red onion chopped

mexican blend cheese

Once the chicken is cooked, chop it up and add it to the salad.

Dressing:

1 cup mayonnaise, light or regular
1/3 cup milk
1/3 cup buttermilk
2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, finely chopped
1 tablespoon lime juice
1 teaspoon white vinegar
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
1 garlic clove, finely minced
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin

When you're ready to eat, pour some BBQ sauce on your salad, and then a little bit of dressing.  This is one of my new favorite salad dressing recipes.  It turned out really good and was really easy!  Plus, I had all of the ingredients at home already.

Enjoy!!

Week in Review

Wow, we have had the busiest week ever over here!

I was so excited for summer that I think I got a little carried away when I signed the boys up for every activity imaginable!  It was fun, but also exhausting!

Every morning we woke up and had to make it to swimming lessons by 10:00 a.m.

Then I would change the boys clothes in the car and run any quick errands that needed to be done (groceries, gas, etc.)

We would come home, eat lunch, put the baby down for a quick nap, clean up lunch, get Saxon dressed, wake up the baby and then run out the door again to be to BYU soccer camp by 2:00 p.m.  We would have to leave pretty early to get there too because the freeways are a mess.

After soccer camp, we would rush home, change clothes again, pack a new bag, and head off to t-ball.  This is Bridger's first year playing.  Saxon probably could have played in a division up (he's a little bored with t-ball) but I wanted him and Bridger on the same team.  Bridger is shy and he was really nervous to play.  Saxon is fearless so it helped Bridger get excited about it.

Then, on Friday night, when our crazy week is finally wrapping up...

(don't forget to throw in a neighborhood friend's swimming birthday party and a quick trip to Seven Peaks Water Park into the mix)

We decided to go to the Utah Scottish Festival.

I have been wanting to go for years. 

Really.

But every year something comes up...it rains, or we have something else going on that night, or Nate had to work and I didn't want to go alone, or I couldn't afford it, etc.

Finally this year, I was determined to go.

It was amazing!!!

The boys got root beer on tap.

(Here's Dalton showing off his)

And they got kilts.

We couldn't resist.

My cousin bought them for them because we have been joking forever that Bridger needs a kilt.  Bridger is really picky about what he wears.  It has to be soft, "comfy", and he has to feel free.  He hates underwear, jeans, or stiff cotton, or anything else that he decides isn't "comfy."  We started joking a while ago that he needs a kilt.  That's as free as it gets.

Finally he got one and he loved it!

We had a blast last week, but I'm mostly just relieved that we survived it :)

This week soccer is over, but summer reading time at the library starts.

Oh well, better to be busy than bored, right?

Through the Eyes of the Mrs. Giveaway

Hi Everyone!

I'm part of a giveaway over at Through the Eyes of the Mrs.

I'm giving away a $15 shop credit and there are TONS of other cool prizes!

Go check it out and enter...

http://www.throughtheeyesofthemrs.com/2012/06/30th-birthday-giveaways-lets-party.html

WIWW - pink capris

I tried to take my own picture this week.

Some people can do amazing self-photos.

Not me.

Blurry, off-center, and this was about the 10th try... 

Is there a trick to this?

Since we were rushing out the door to T-ball, I had Nate snap one of me in front.

Not a whole lot better, but at least it's in focus :)

I spent all winter looking for colored skinnies.  All winter!  The problem is, that I didn't want to spend a lot.  When you are buying cheap pants, you can't expect a perfect fit...I guess.  By Spring, I wished that I had just bought a Nordstrom pair in the fall.  I would have gotten my moneys worth by wearing them all winter.

Now that it's summer, I finally broke down and bought a pair of colored capris. 

They're not the perfect fit, but they were cheap :)

They were $12.99 at H&M.

My shirt doesn't match, but I think that's the way to go with colored pants.

If it did match, it would be way too much pink!

The shirt is blue and white and yellow.

On sale from Old Navy.

Shoes - Target Sale - $10.

I'd been wanting them since last year, so I was sooo excited to find them on sale.

I wear them everyday.

They are originally only $14 which isn't too bad, but $10 is awesome!

My new wardrobe wish:

A striped maxi skirt.

At first I couldn't find one in stock.

Everyone was selling out of them as fast as they could get them.

I finally found one at Down East but it was $35 and I couldn't bring myself to spend the money.  At the end of the season I'm probably going to be thinking the same thing I did with the colored skinnies "I should have done it."  

But I just can't...maybe next year :)

Southwestern Eggrolls

Today I'm posting a recipe for Baked Southwestern Eggrolls over at LOVE STITCHED.

Come over and say hi!

10 Easy Father's Day Ideas

I've been trying to get ahead this year and have Father's Day all planned out with time to spare.  I've been searching for fun, easy, inexpensive, and DIY ideas for Father's Day because I have a lot of people to buy for:

My husband, my dad, my step-dad, my Father-in-law, and often my cousin who doesn't have kids but is so great with my kids that we feel like he deserves a gift :)

Here are some fun ideas that I found:

"Best POP ever!" soda.  My kids call my dad "Pops" so I thought this one was appropriate :)

(via)

Better than Sex Cake

Why is is that all guys seem to love this cake?

Is it the candy on top, or is it the name?

Either way, it's one I don't make very often, but might consider it for Father's Day.

(via)

"You're an A&Wesome Dad!"

Cute idea.  

I might do this and have root beer floats for dessert that night.

(via)

"Dad, We love you to PIECES."

This would be a fun idea that Dad can take to work with him.

Plus, everyone loves a homemade gift.

(via)

I thought this one was adorable!

You could make these cute chalkboard bubbles by cutting out the shape in cardboard and spraypainting it with chalkboard paint.

(via)

Everyone in my family loves peanut m&ms so is one that we are doing for sure!

"To my slightly nutty but sweet DAD."

(via)

This was was so cute I couldn't resist, although I'm not sure my kids would cooperate and hold still while I tried to get this shot.  Regardless, I might try it out...

(via)

Precious!

You can buy big letters like this at the craft store (usually) and then just paint them yourself.  It takes a little pre-planning, but would be sooo worth it!

(via)

Who doesn't love a candy poster?

I haven't made one since high school, but it might be time to introduce my kids to the world of candy posters.  I think they would have so much fun making it!

(via)

This treat looks yummy, but probably not one that I would make often.

Father's Day might be an occasion worthy of a cookie-dough-reeses-peanut-butter-cup-brownie concoction.

Nate would love it!

(via)

Do you have any other great Father's Day ideas?

I'd love to hear them!