The Haircut: Part II

Minus 4 inches of hair...introducing our big boy!

Merry Christmas 2009

Merry Christmas to all & may you have a blessed New Year.

With Love,

Brandon & Brooke

& 2 Santa's Helpers, a Reindeer, & a Crazy Elf

Durham's 1st Haircut (Before & After)

So after much deliberation...to cut or not to cut...my baby boy got his first haircut today. I knew it was time when I was spending more time on his hair, than my own. Then when I had to buy a bottle of hair detangler, I knew it was time. (Never mind the fact that when we go out in public, we hear things like this...She's so cute! Look how much hair she has!

Here's Durham pre-haircut!
And this here is the rat's nest! Real rats lived here...no joke!

The kid didn't mind one bit getting his hair cut.

This picture doesn't do his new do justice. I'll post more pictures soon.

Christmas Card Reject

Getting a family picture is challenging. It is something I put off until I can no longer avoid it. I dread everything about it: getting the children's outfits semi-coordinated, ridding them of their fake smiles, making sure everyone is looking at the camera, trying to get one 3 year old to stay put...

This year, there are many Christmas card rejects. This, however, is my favorite. This picture pretty much sums up our life right now. As hard as it has been for me this school year adjusting to our new normal with Durham, going back to work, running kids to and from sports, etc., I am slowly adopting the motto "It is what it is, I am doing the best that I can...and that it ok." And somewhere along the way, we find time to let loose and have fun.

Just for Fun

Looks like Durham Jukes and Micah Brooke are going to be best little buddies.

Top Ten (Websites)

I'm tapping into my inner dorkness and thought I'd start a little series here on The Chocoholic & a Duke Fan...Top 10s. From time to time, I thought I'd post my top 10 favorites for a given topic.
So here it goes...my 10 ten websites, in no particular order, I visit (nearly) daily. Click on the name and you will be linked out to that website.

1. Twitter

2. My Frugal Adventures

3. Money Saving Madness

4. Easily Distracted

5. Facebook

6. Tasty Kitchen

7. The Pioneer Woman

8. Photo Camel

9. Shop at Home

10. The Weather Channel

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas

Life in the Fenton household has been a whirlwind recently. In all of the craziness, I am constantly reminding myself to stop and cherish the little things. Like meeting Santa for the first time...
Camden didn't want to sit on Santa's lap, but thought it was okay if Durham did.

Camden just wanted to give Santa a high five and the rock (aka knuckles, bumping fists, etc.). He told Santa that he has been a good boy and that he wanted a football shirt and a choo choo train.

This past week, we put up our Christmas tree. The ornaments don't really follow a particular theme. My favorites are the ones the kids made at school and my snowmen ornaments.

Drum roll, please....the Fenton tree. We have decorated with colored lights in the past and had always placed the tree smack dab in front of the big picture window. This year, we decided to go with white lights and place it in our foyer by the staircase. It's a change...but I like it. The tree has character...it's a little bit classy, a little bit laid back, a little bit busy, and a little bit quirky...just like our family.

Pioneer Woman Book Tour (Final Edition)

So what was it like meeting the Pioneer Woman? Surreal...yep, just like that. We each had a different experience when we met her.
Becky...cool, calm, collected. I'm sure she carried on a nice conversation with PW but during her signing, I was fighting Cheryl for the Marlboro Man! Becky is a natural...she looks like she meets famous people every day. Doesn't she? I bet she wasn't sweating profusely because of the nerves! (I was!!!)

Cheryl...well, she is just classy. She had the nicest laid back conversation with PW while she signed her books. I bet she wasn't sweating profusely because of the nerves! (I was!!!)

Dawn...well, Dawnie...I'll try to do you justice here. Dawn spent about 3 minutes with PW but somehow managed to tell her whole life story. You would have thought they were best buds &, long, lost friends. Dawn, you continue to amaze me! And I'm pretty sure Dawn wasn't sweating profusely because of the nerves.

Then there's me...I'm not even sure where to start. I was soooo nervous. I mean I was meeting a celebrity and all. I sat down and PW started to sign my books. She was soooo sweet. The first thing she said to me was, "Love your hair." What did I do? I felt like Ralphie in the Christmas Story when he meets Santa. (Click HERE to refresh your memory.) I froze. I kept saying "thank you" with this silly grin on my face. What I should have said was, "Thanks...I printed a picture off of YOUR website and took it to my hair dresser! I wanted my haircut to look just like your friend's!" Oh, and the sweat...as soon as she started to talk to me, my face got hot and I felt sweat dripping off of my forehead and start running down my back. And then it was over...so my chance to impress PW was overshadowed by a silly grin and drippy sweat.

Our night was topped off by meeting the Marlboro Man. He was nice as could be. I won't tell you who shoved me out of the way just so she could touch him (hint: red argyle sweater!). He was everything and more than we expected...except maybe Becky. I think we made her blush when we were talking about him. And since this is a family friendly site, I can't tell you what we said about him.

The night was perfect. Standing in line for several hours wasn't ideal but we entertained ourselves, got to know one another better than we thought we already did, and made some great memories. Plus we got to meet PW and the Marlboro Man.

Pioneer Woman (Part 2)

We wanted to do something special for PW...so we put our heads together and gave her this card...jazzed up a bit.
The front says, "The more I see of man, the more I like dogs...(unless you are the Marlboro Man)!"

Inside, we wrote, "To PW...Our favorite butter lovin', calf nut cookin', picture takin', home schoolin', punk raisin', cow chasin', Charlie lovin', book tourin', cookbook writin' blogger! We love you more than the Wal Marts! With all our love, admiration, and devotion."

The wait to see the Pioneer Woman was long...very long. Hours long. So the gals and I entertained ourselves. We were smashed in a little aisle between a railing and a bookshelf. It was hot. I was dripping sweat. The last thing I wanted was to have a shiny face and stinky armpits when I met PW...but I'm afraid that is how it was.

So this is were we hung out. Nice and cozy...hot and sweaty!

So to entertain ourselves, we tried to see who could pick out the weirdest, oddest or most annoying books. Dawn, here, picked out Wind Power for Dummies. Interesting...nice one, Dawn!

Cheryl picked out "Dirt Cheap: Green Thumb." I'm always one for a bargain, so I give your pick a thumbs up!

There's still more PW adventures to discuss. What did we do when we met her? What did we say to her? Oh my...

Pioneer Woman's Book Tour (Part 1)

Tonight was a blast. My life is forever changed. Some gals from work and I got to meet the Pioneer Woman tonight. I have so much more to write about...because standing in Barnes & Noble for 5 hours creates lots of memories...plus we got to meet our favorite blogger!!

As if it wasn't enough to meet the Pioneer Woman...we got to meet the Marlboro Man, too! It topped off the evening.

Good night, and I will post more tomorrow.

Look Ma...2 Teeth

After A Long Day's Work...

So what does a 3 year old do after a long day's work?
Nothing like stripping down to jeans and hanging out on the couch, watching shows.

Still watching his show...Charlie Brown's Halloween Special...23rd showing in 2 weeks! God love TiVo!

Here's the conversation that took place here:

Me: Camden, where do we live?

Camden: In a hotel!

Me: What?

Camden: Yeah, it's stinky!

Oh, Lord...the sugar rush has kicked in!

When did my sweet little 2 year old boy turn into a 3 year old monster?

Family & Random Thoughts

This past Saturday, we headed to Gridley to celebrate Dad's 65th birthday (a few days early). It was the first time that all 7 grandkids were together. Between Kye's baseball this summer and a bout of pneumonia in September, we we just couldn't coordinate getting them all together.
What does a mellow 11 & 12 year old, two, chatty 3 year olds, 1 happy & 1 fussy baby & a 6 year old who didn't dig picture taking equal? A fun and memorable grandkids picture! It just wouldn't be right if everyone was looking pretty and smiling! That is certainly not reality.

Our first (of probably many) attempts to get a Christmas card picture. I wasn't really feeling it the other day and Durham was screaming about now. At this point, I am kind of holding out for snow so we can get a more festive card. Is that wishful thinking? Actually, I am really hoping & praying for a snow day. I have some TV shows to catch up on and I really would like to lay in bed all day, eating Fun Sized Snickers and doing nothing but watch Grey's Anatomy, Private Practice, and Oprah... That reminds me of last year when some of us were hoping for a snow day...we got out of school for an ice storm and an extreme bout of below zero, ridiculously low wind chills...so much so that our kitchen pipes froze up!

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Other news:

**Kye made the seventh grade basketball team. He was pretty excited about it. Needless to say, our fall/winter will be quite busy as Jordyn's basketball wraps up and Kye's begins.

**I really, really need to lose a lot more of my baby weight. I have done Weight Watchers in the past with much success. I just need to get some motivation to do it. I keep saying..."when life slows down..." But I don't see that happening anytime soon. I've tried to do it here...by myself. That doesn't work for me, so I think meetings will be in my near future.

**Durham's first 2 teeth popped through this weekend. He's starting to roll everywhere. I'm not quite ready for him to be on the move.

**Until next time...

Halloween 2009

Introducing our scary dinosaur and little monkey...

Lord, Help Us...We Have A 3 Year Old In The House!

As I type this, the clock strikes midnight and Camden is officially 3 years & 1 day old. Happy Birthday, my sweet (most of the time) big boy! He's been talking about his birthday for a month now. This year he gets it...the whole birthday thing...cake, candles, presents. Somewhere up in his little head, he decided he wanted a "baseball birfday." A baseball birthday is what he got!

So what's he up to these days? He is obsessed with sports...baseball, basketball, football. He knows all the Duke players (courtesy of my husband!). He doesn't know a stranger...just like his daddy! He has 1 shirt he wants to wear everyday! Needless to say, getting him dressed in the morning is a challenge when his favorite shirt is dirty! He's, for the most part, potty trained (thank goodness!). He rarely eats a good dinner, but chows at breakfast and lunch.

I just got done reading this sweet gal's birth story of her little guy who is turning 1 tomorrow. It made me think back to Camden's birthday. It was a Monday morning and we arrived to the hospital at 6 am to be induced. Things didn't really rock and roll until about 9 am, when the nurse started the Pitocin. Needless to say, the next 45 minutes were interesting. Contractions started hard right off the bat. Dr. Weaver came in to check on me and told the nurse to get the epidural guy in there right away...she knows me well. I went from 3 cm to 6 cm dilated within a matter of minutes. By this point, I was screaming...literally. The epidural guy did come, cleaned my back with that yellow soap and all of a sudden I felt the urge to push. He basically said, "screw the epidural...I'll be right back with a spinal." He never made it back. From there, things went into fast forward. I was still sitting up on the bed waiting for the epidural guy to get back and had a death grip on my nurse so she began yelling for help. She told Brandon to go get help. Dr. Weaver said she had just walked in the door to her office when she got the call. She ran back to the hospital in a matter of minutes. When she got back, I begged and pleaded for pain medication. She said, "Girl, it's too late." So, instead of pushing, I screamed...and screamed...and screamed. Dr. Weaver got in my face and said, "Give me 1 minute...the baby will be out in 1 minute...push!" So that's what I did and she was right...1 minute and he was here. At 9:44 am Camden was born. It wasn't the birth that I had envisioned and I didn't think I would ever be able to laugh about it...but now that I look back, it cracks me up.

Long Overdue Update

I've not been a very good blogger lately, so there is lots to update you on.
Jordyn tried out for 7th grade girls basketball and made the team. I think she likes it, but she doesn't appreciate all of the running they do in practice. They only have had one game so far and they won that. She got in the game and played fine. We are looking forward to watching her skills grow during this basketball season.

Kye and Camden have become partners in crime. Kye sometimes forgets he is 11 now and not 2 and Camden forgets that he is 2 and not 11. Kye has been a good big brother and lets Camden pal around with him when he goes outside to play. That is actually what they are doing now, as I type this post.

Durham will be 5 months old this month. He is such a good baby. He has been waking up in the middle of the night lately, so I'm not sure what is up with that since he had been sleeping all night long consistently for quite awhile now. Last week, we had a little scare with him. He was laying on the floor taking a cat nap and it appeared to me that he would stop breathing, startle himself, and then resume breathing. This went on for a few minutes. We had him checked out by the doctor and the doctor is confident that he was experiencing something called periodic breathing. It sounds like it is quite normal for babies to experience this, but it still hasn't eased my mind very much. I haven't seen him do it again, so hopefully the scare is behind us.

I had to share this picture. The other night, Brandon and I were sitting here watching TV and he was holding Durham. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Durham peeking over to see what I was doing. He'd give me a big smile each time.

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On a side note...

My friend, Becky, and I have been following a lot of money saving blogs recently. She started this experiment about a month ago and I had my first taste of it this morning. WalGreens has this thing called "register rewards." Basically, you buy certain items and when you check out, the register will spit out a coupon for $$ off of your next purchase. In turn, you can get LOTS of things for free once you initially get started. So....today was my initial purchase. I bought 2 packages of diapers, conditioner, Chapstick, a toothbrush, some lotion, and a razor. I used a couple of manufacture coupons. My total spent was $44 dollars. I got $22.50 in register rewards. That's $22.50 in FREE stuff. So now, the trick is to use those register rewards to purchase other items that will spit out a register reward. Follow me?? In turn, you can get stuff FREE or ALMOST FREE...after your initial purchase. What a rush!

Follow these 2 money saving blogs because these ladies do the homework...trying to figure out how to get stuff free! Money Saving Madness and My Frugal Adventures (Click on the blog name to take you to the site.)

Teacher "Garage" Sale

A few weeks ago, my sister-in-law's mother had a teacher retirement garage sale. I have never seen anything quite like it so I thought I should share! I am sure I'll get some of the specifics wrong...but I think Linda taught for 20+ years...teaching kindergarten, 2nd & 5th grades. She was selling ALL of her teacher things. Carrie gave me a sneak peek at Linda's garage sale the day before and I ended up browsing for almost 2 hours and got some really great things. Linda had SO much stuff that she had to rent the Gridley Community Building. Like I said, I had never seen anything quite like it...

So much stuff! The place was packed full of teacher things!
I came across these great deals...Dixie cups, White-Out...never used!, white lunch bags, and a block of Post-It notes! All for like $2.00!

I picked up the Chart Tablet. I had never seen anything quite like it, but Carrie convinced me I'd get good use out of it!

Teacher books...what can I say. I'm a sucker. These were only a few that I bought.

I think this was the steal of the night...50 cents for a BRAND new bottle of soap! Since my new classroom has a sink, it was perfect! Too bad I didn't make those kiddos wash their hands better. I'm blaming them for my sinus infection turned to pneumonia!

Foam letters...endless possibilities!

Haircut or No Haircut??

Seriously, isn't Durham one of the cutest babies you have ever seen? Can you tell I'm a bit biased?

So here's a conversation Brandon and I had the other day...

Brandon: Durham needs a haircut.

Me: No way! I'm never getting this kid's hair cut!

Brandon: He's starting to get a mullet.

So what do you think...get him a haircut or let it go for a while longer?

Been A Rough Week...On The Mend Now

I was looking so forward to Labor Day weekend. Spending time with family and relaxing were on the agenda. Little did I know, the little sinus bug I had for the week prior had other plans for me. I woke up Saturday morning and really didn't know what hit me. Needless to say, Saturday night was spent in the emergency room. After 5 hours there and several tests later, it was determined I had pneumonia. This week was spent mainly in bed...resting. I am thankful to have a husband that kept the show running around here and for a mother who came and filled in when we needed her the most.

I am feeling better. Not 100% yet...maybe 75%. On Friday, my doctor told me that the radiologist who looked at my x-ray said my heart was enlarged. Mom and I then got to take a little road trip to Bromenn for an ECHO. I haven't heard the results of that test yet, but am pretty sure if it was anything serious, I would have heard something by now. I am off of work for another week...a time I plan on resting and reading all of the tabloids my friend dropped off to me. I also plan on catching up with the big kids and snuggling the little boys.

Oldest...Youngest

Tonight I was going through pictures on my memory card and came across this picture. I took it the other day, put my camera in my case and didn't give it much thought...because life is kind of crazy right now. When I was pulling pictures up on my computer, this one made me smile...big. From the day we brought Durham home, Jordyn has loved, hugged, kissed, and doted on Durham. She just loves him so much. I could go on and on about how much she loves him, but look at the expression on her face...it speaks a thousand words...and since life's a bit nuts right now, I'll let the picture do the talking.