My Life with Boys

This is my life with the boys now, and I love it!

Are You Ready For Some Football?

The Smiley Boys Are!

Silly Little Smiley

Safety First

Potty Training is Hard Work! Be prepared for Anything!

Marshall the Dancing Machine

Marshall isn't often the spotlight in our videos, or in many videos at all for that matter. We simply don't have the time to take video like we did when we just had one child; and when we do, Damon usually steals the show. However, this video is almost exclusively Marshall (Damon did sneak in a cameo). This is Marshall dancing to Metallica Guitar Hero. No that is not our 65 inch TV, I wish! Enjoy!

Not Me! Monday

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

I did not stick my hand in the peanut butter jar, almost get it stuck and then lick the peanut butter off my fingers, in order to get that last little bit off the bottom. I would never do something like that, especially when I had a brand new jar of peanut butter right next to me.

I did not get so frustrated with my "big boy" pooping in his underwear multiple times in one day, that I made him smell it and then help me clean it out in the toilet only to discover that it really didn't phase him. Seriously? How could that not motivate someone to not poop in their underwear?! Since I certainly wouldn't resort to that, does anyone have any better ideas?

I did not chuckle a little and smile inside after I told/asked/begged my husband (okay really it was his idea) to not make me change any diapers or dirty underwear on Mother's Day, only to watch the boys proceed to torture him by pooping 4 times total in one hour (3 dirty pairs of underwear and 1 dirty diaper). And I would definitely not volunteer to help only after all of that was done. Really, it was not planned, just bad timing.

And finally, I did not spend a good part of my Mother's Day afternoon absorbed in a teen novel about vampires that I'm sure no one has ever heard of while I should have been playing with my children in the back yard. I mean, we were all outside together. That totally counts, right? If I heard a cry or yell, I was right there. No harm done!

Have a great week!

My First "Not Me!" Monday Post

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

Here is what I most certainly have NOT been doing this week...

I did not attempt to take my two young boys to $0.31 scoop night at Baskin Robbins, by myself, knowing there would be a long line, just because I love Baskin Robbins ice cream. Who would do that? Certainly not this mom.

I also did not try to hold my ice cream cone, my wallet and both of my kids who were in turn carrying their own ice cream cones while attempting to pay in a crowded ice cream shop with about 30 other people waiting. Again, definitely not me!

I most certainly did not forget to bring cash and then use my debit card to pay my $1.01 ice cream tab while others, who were paying with cash and had exact change, waited for me to check out. I mean that is just poor etiquette. This woman would never do something like that.

I then did not proceed to accidentally knock my child's ice cream scoop off his cone, onto the ground outside, then pick it up and act like I was going to throw it out in front of the other parents who were watching. Furthermore, I did not actually scrape off the top that landed on the ground and let him eat it once I was out of eye sight because I was not willing to wait in line for another 30 minutes for a new $0.31 ice cream cone. That is something I would never do!

I also did not, not learn from the incident in the previous paragraph and do the exact same thing with my other child's ice cream cone. Only a crazy person would do that twice, and I am not crazy not that crazy.

I certainly did not end up eating a green and blue pop rocks ice cream cone because my son preferred my chocolate, caramel ice cream cone, and then pretend like I didn't actually, secretly like the overly-sweet, stain-your-tongue, crunchy, candy ice cream flavor. That could not have been me, because this mom does not have sweet tooth, or at least one that is that strong!

Finally, this mom did not forget to bring along her portable potty knowing that she has a little boy who has only been officially potty training for about 2 weeks and will not use a public restroom and he did not say, "Mommy, I have to go potty," as I was buckling him into his car seat to go home. Consequently, this quick-thinking mommy did not try to get her little boy to pee, standing outside the van, in a busy strip-mall parking lot, with his pants around his ankles, while aiming at a dried berry she found on the ground, because that would be no pressure on a little boy at all. I would never do such a thing and I would certainly not bribe him the entire 15 minute ride home with anything I could think of to get him not to pee in the car seat, since he would pee outside in the public parking lot.

I know most of you know me very well, or at least well enough to know that I would never do any of the things mentioned above.

Casting a Spell or Sheer Frustration?

This is probably my favorite video clip of all time of the boys. It's more than a year old, but I'm still amazed at how much they have changed in that time. I'm pretty sure this is the turning point in Marshall's personality when he stopped being just Marshall and started being "mini Damon." I'm not sure if Damon tried to cast a spell on him or what, but it seems to have worked by evidence of his personality today! Enjoy!

Last Year's Cake

I thought I should share Damon's 2-year cake, which was a treasure chest. It was also made by Daddy. I think maybe he missed his calling!

My Big Boy!

Damon turned 3 today! I can't believe it. I have such mixed feelings about it, from being so proud of the little boy he has become to being sad that he is growing up so fast! He starts preschool in the fall and I'm sure that will be even harder. We celebrated with a "train" themed birthday party, complete with a cake made by Daddy! Some of his favorite gifts were his Woody doll, which he calls "Buddy" and his Datamax game, which he refers to as his DS. Happy Birthday, Damon!

A "Messy" Face-Only a Mother Could Love

Eric started spaghetti nights with the boys when I was late getting home from work a few times. He would put a bowl of spaghetti in front of each boy, take off their shirts and let them go to town. Then he would immediately transfer them to the tub. Now it is our tradition to eat spaghetti with no shirts on. Let me put that another way-Mommy and Daddy are the shirts and the little boys are the skins. I don't want anyone to get the wrong idea. In fact, all we have to do is say the word spaghetti and the boys start taking off their shirts. Now I'm a little afraid to take them to an Italian restaurant, for multiple reasons. This picture is of a particularly messy spaghetti night. Marshall really got into it and he was so proud.

Long Time No Post!

Well, I have been very bad about updating my blog lately. I don't really have any excuses except that I work full time and now have 2 children in the terrible 2s! I am wondering if it's possible to have 2 kids in the terrible 2s and neither of them be 2? Damon will be 3 in 3 weeks and unless he does a complete turnaround during that time, he will not be out of the phase. And Marshall is 18 months old and is already there! Oh well. They are too cute to stay frustrated with them for very long. I have posts planned, so know that there will be videos and photos coming soon. Thanks for hanging in there with me.

Testing Signature

How does my new signature look?

Indoor Winter Fun!

This is what the Smileys do when we can't get outside in the winter. I think this is the proudest Damon has ever been of himself. I love how he jumps up and down. I don't know, but we may have a future_________ (insert professional baseball player name, I don't know any) on our hands!

Blast from the Past

Here is an old video of Damon. He was about 13 months old. Eric titled the video, "Look out Below." Just in case you were wondering, no one was harmed, I mean permanently harmed in the filming of this video!

You will surely be missed, Grandma Pat!

One week ago today, we received the sad news that Eric's Grandmother had passed away at age 87. While the news was difficult, we are reassured that her death ended the suffering she had endured as a result of at least 2 strokes over the past 3 years. I only knew Grandma Pat for about 8 years, and really only knew the Grandma Pat that everyone else knew for about 5 years. I now wish I had known her even better. What an amazing lady she was. I just found out last week that she was born in Canada and was part French Canadian. I wish I could go back in time and ask her more about her childhood. But I know from the stories that were told at her funeral that I will be able to learn more about her from her children and grandchildren.

The service was beautiful, just the way she would have wanted it, a beautiful Catholic mass with her favorite psalms and hymns. On the way to the cemetery, the ground was covered with a fresh blanket of snow and the sun was shining, even though the temperature was only in the single digits. During lunch her family members shared stories about her, many showing her sense of humor. I remember Grandma Pat always looking so beautiful and put together, which I think is rare for someone in her eighties.

I know her family will miss her dearly, especially her husband Roger and children.

Thank you, Grandma Pat, for making such a wonderful impression on me!

Happy Birthday Kiley!

I can't believe I forgot to post about our sweet daughter's birthday! Kiley turned the big 11 last Monday the 12th! We will actually celebrate her birthday next weekend when she is with us. But I just wanted to wish her very Happy 11th Birthday and say that I can't believe how fast time flies. When I "officially" met Eric in 2000, Kiley was about the age Damon is now! I feel like I blinked and 8 years have passed! I just want to say, "Slow down, girl, you're growing up too fast!" We all love you very much, Kiley!

The Best Christmas Ever!

I know it's a little past Christmas, but I still wanted to blog about what a wonderful Christmas we had. Our first family Christmas celebration was December 20th and we finished our last one on January 1st. That is 12 days of family get togethers and holiday fun.

The Smiley Christmas was so much fun this year with both of our boys really getting into (literally) the presents. Marshall wanted to open anything in sight that had wrapping paper on it. Damon opened his first present, a Little Einsten rocket, and then didn't want to open anything else. We finally convinced him that there was more fun and toys to be had. Kiley received a DS and she and her two cousins Alivia and Corban spent most of the day chatting back and forth and playing video games.

Christmas day was pretty quiet with just Eric, me and the boys. BTW, this was the first Christmas morning that we have ever woken up in our own home and the first Christmas morning that I have not woken up in my parent's house. But we decided this was the year to start making our own traditions. We went to church Christmas Eve and read "'Twas the Night Before Christmas" before going to bed. Christmas morning we took the first annual picture coming down our stairs. After presents, Eric's parents came over for breakfast and to see the boys gifts. Our new Christmas dinner tradition was making homemade pizzas. Damon had so much fun topping his pizza. And Papa John's has nothing on the Smileys' spicy barbecue chicken pizza!

The Fisher family celebration began on December 30th with my entire family arriving at our house, Mom and Dad, Todd, Sherry and Chaz from Nashville, TN, and Adam and Melody from Eugene, OR. This marked the first time that we had all been together with spouses, stepchildren and the newest little ones. We had a blast from staying up playing cards until 2:30am, to the big birthday bash at Red Robin and a visit by President Nixon (the only way I can explain this one is "Todd Family Tradition.")

I had 11 days off and Eric had about 9 days off, so it was great to just spend tons of time with the kids.

Anyway, I'll leave you with a few pictures to show how much fun we had!