Flashback Friday

Ben, Jack & Drew

July 2002

These pictures make me laugh...

....especially this one. :)

Jen and the babies are having so much fun on their walk...all the way down to the end of the driveway. LOL!! And, I love the way my kids are just watching...I don't think it ever occurred to them that those "leashes" used to be theirs. :)

Cops ROCK...politicians...not so much

This picture is from the "Beer Summit".

Even after having to deal the hateful and arrogant professor, being called stupid by the president, and having the liberal media and civil rights groups desperately trying to find something to destroy him, this cop still has class....something most politicians lack.

Another blog that I follow had a sad post the other day about crime problems in her neighborhood. Here is the link to it if you are interested. It's just shows that it is so easy for the politicians to continually criticize the police and think of ways to make it harder for them to do their job....kind of like hiring the best nanny in the world for a bunch of brats and then telling the nanny that she can't put the brats in timeout, or tell them "no", or discipline them at all. Good luck with that!! It is so easy for those of us that are fortunate enough to live in "safe" neighborhoods to go along with the politicians because in 2009, being politically correct and liberal is cooler than making hard decisions and solving real problems. I'm thinking that the political correctness goes out the window when they start shooting on *your* block.

Cops ROCK and clueless politicians, as well as the rest of society, should show them the respect that we owe them!!

Me and my dad...one of Chicago's Finest.

And, thanks to another one of Chicago's Finest, my cousin Johnny, for the photo. If I had a picture of you in somthing other than an ugly White Sox shirt, I would have posted it in my blog. :)

Stealing pictures is ok...

...if I am in the picture...right?

Happy Birthday Jen!!

(left to right...Me, Charlie, Ben (in front), Jack, my dad, Connor, Liam, Aidan, Jen and "Cool Drew"

To give proper credit, I stole this picture off of my sister's blog. Jen, her boys and my mom and dad came to our pool the other day to celebrate her birthday. We had so much fun! Summer birthday celebrations ROCK!!

I want to be a "yes" person...

...but, my kids are making that very difficult. I've been thinking lately that I still have to say "no" a lot. I guess it comes with the territory of being a mom to 4 boys that are determined to get as much out of life as possible, but it is still stinks for me sometimes. I want to be a fun mom, but I'm sure that I say "no" more than any other word on a daily basis.

Yesterday, I took the boys to Great America (Six Flags). Spencer was in Atlanta for work and we loaned Charlie out to my mom. I was pretty darn excited about spending the day with my big boys at Great America. Before hand, I was thinking that, for the day, I was going to be the coolest mom ever. We would ride the rides, shop in the shops, have treats and just overall have a fun time....whatever anyone wanted to do, we would do it....me (the cool mom) and my fun, big boys. For at least one day, I was going to be a "Yes!! Mom"!!!

So, on the way to Great America, we stopped and had lunch at McDonald's right before we got into the park. No problem...we ALL love McDonalds. See, I am a cool mom, so far...

Then, I was friggin' ambushed. :(

Kid: "Mom, can we have a Happy Meal?"

Me: "no."

Kid: "Mom, can we get chocolate chip cookies?"

Me: "No."

Kid: "Mom, can we play in the play area?"

Me: "NO!!!"

Kids (using the whiniest tone you have ever heard): "Awwwww......how come we NEVER get to play in the McDonald's play area any more???"

Me: (using the biggest OMG!! voice you have ever heard): "SERIOUSLY??? no, No, NO!!! ARE YOU KIDDING ME???? MAYBE BECAUSE WE ARE GOING TO GREAT AMERICA AS SOON AS YOU FINISH YOUR CHEESEBURGER!!! REMEMBER?!?!?!"

So, not only was I not a "Yes! Mom", I was also the only one of the 4 of us to throw a temper tantrum yesterday. :( We really did have an awesome day and it was a ton of fun, but my dream of being a "Yes! Mom" will have to be on hold for at least another year. Bummer!

Sorry for the "dweeby"look guys, but at least nobody got lost.

And, for future reference and entertainment (for the boys), we rode the Whizzer (twice), the Condor, the Triple Play, the Log Flume, the Roaring Rapids, the big boat swing thingie, some other spinny thing. And we also rode in the trolley as part of the parade (I'm sure that when you are older, boys, you will think that is very cool...that you rode in the parade in your bright orange shirts. LOL!!!). Ben and Jack like the Whizzer the best and Drew likes the Roaring Rapids. I think we'll get all of them on an upside down roller coaster next year (Ben and Jack wanted to this year) and definitely the American Eagle next year...we just need Jack and Drew to grow a couple of inches.

I wonder if Kate has this problem...

At least once a day, Jack comes up to me and says "I'm lonely", or "I don't have anyone to play with..."

I wonder if Kate Gosselin hears that on a daily basis. I mean, maybe if we would have had six babies at one time instead of *just* three, Jack would have been satisfied.

Poor Jack had to spend the afternoon playing baseball with a net because he "didn't have anyone to play with"....other than his 3 brothers. Poor Jack. :(

It all evens out...

I woke up at 9:00 this morning. It was fabulous....it was rainy out and I was so comfy.

Shortly after I got up, I found out that Spencer had been up since 6:00. Ouch!! So, I all morning I felt like a big lazy-bum.

Its now 12:30pm.....

nap time

I feel better. :)