Crazy Face

It's a make a crazy face kind of night...

The Small Things

If we find something that makes the kids giggle - we will do it over and over and over and over again.  Who can resist seeing these sweet smiles?

Happy 4th Birthday

Happy Birthday to You.

Happy Birthday to You.

Happy Birthday, Dear Evan.

Happy Birthday to You.

And Many, Many More...

We love you - so, so, so much!

Today was an eventful one, as all birthdays should be.  We shared a massive amount of cupcakes and treats with Evan's preschool class then ventured off to the movie theater to take in The Adventures of Spider Man in 3D.  Evan LOVED it.  I was slightly uncomfortable with the gunfire, but Evan's humongous grin every time Spider Man swung across the City from his web made me relax a little.  There was also a part in the movie when Peter Parker and Gwen were making out hot and heavy - Evan looked at me smiling, then puckered up and started continuously kissing me on the cheek.   I'll be sure to keep him away from "R" rated films for a looong time.

We had a family party - just the four of us, Mimi and Grandma Bopp via Skype.  Evan got presents related to his two loves in life, cars and angry birds.  The new Hot Wheels track wins out I think.

This time next year, my little boy will be heading off to Kindergarten!  Ahhh!  I must savor every minute of this next year.

Kid Quote: Private Parts

I should've started recording all of the funny one liners Evan comes up with a long time ago - but his thoughtful statement today is a great one to start off with.

I bathed both kids this morning in preparation for our outing to the Festival of Hope.  Mattie is going through that very curious toddler stage where she wants to grab or pick up anything she sees - in this particular case, Evan's "wee wee" caught her eye under water so she attempted to grab it.  Evan told her not to grab his wee wee.  He said it wasn't very nice.  I further explained that those areas are private and that no one should be touching him there.

After we were out of the tub and dried off, Evan made a bee line to the bedroom to report the incident to Robert.  Evan clearly feels that wee wee incidents are of utmost importance because he makes a point to report them to both parents - always.  I overheard him telling Robert that Mattie tried to touch his wee wee in the bathtub.  Robert responded with advice similar to mine, but it was Evan's thoughtful, yet somewhat logical statement that he delivered afterwards that had us laughing all day.

Evan says, "Mattie doesn't have a wee wee like me.  Mattie has two butts."

And just how do you respond to that with out laughing?

Job Application

I was shocked when I found out my brother, Tim, was looking for a new job.  He sent me his application to review...

Dear Timothy Evans:

Please accept our sincere thanks for submitting your information for the following EPA non-faculty position at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill:

    Recruitment ID:    2502142
    Position Title:    Head Football Coach
    Department:    Ath Football Office

We are very pleased of your interest and welcome the opportunity to carefully consider your qualifications and credentials.  As a next step, your materials will be forwarded to the Committee that is conducting this search for their consideration. These materials remain confidential and are shared only with members of the Search Committee and administrative staff who assist the Committee in performing its duties.  The search Committee or the hiring department will contact you directly if your credentials are determined to be of further interest.

Please note that for some positions, we receive a large volume of applications and the length of the hiring process varies from position to position.  So while you may not receive a direct response from the hiring department regarding your application, please be assured it has been referred and will receive careful consideration.

If you experience any problems accessing the system or have questions about the application process, please contact the University's Equal Employment Opportunity Office at (919) 966-3576 or send an email to equalopportunity@unc.edu.

Should you have any questions regarding this search or about the hiring department, please feel free to contact the following representative in the appointing department:

Bubba Cunningham, Athletic Director, bubbac@uncaa.unc.edu.

If you need to update your application or contact information, please click on the following link: https://itsapps.unc.edu/RAMS4/updateLogin.do?type=N&reqId=2502142.

Again, we thank you for your interest in the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.  Please be assured that your application will receive careful consideration.

Sincerely,

Equal Opportunity/ADA Office
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

When I opened this email I laughed out loud and tears came to my eyes - sorry to say, bro, but the job has been filled.  Don't take the rejection too hard.  Looks like they genuinely gave some consideration to your qualifications.  We'll see if Larry Fedora matches up.

Homemade Photobooth

Did I mention the homemade photobooth Amanda set up for her wedding reception?  With many props to choose from, we had quite a time posing for the camera.  These pictures are just a preview of the hundreds Amanda has on file - and by the looks of these I'd say they're gonna be pretty entertaining.

Table Talk

We ate lunch today at our favorite spot, the Prince Creek Diner.  We are always warmly welcomed by the friendly staff there and all of the waitresses know Evan by name.  There is one waitress in particular that always makes a point to swing by our table to say hi and to chat Evan up a bit.  I'm thinking today she got more than she bargained for...

Sabrina approached the table and said, "Well hello there, Evan.  How are you today?"  A visibally tired Evan gave a quiet nod and hid behind Robert's arm.  We explained to her that we found Evan in the living room at 4:30 this morning playing with his cars and that he had not been back to sleep since.  Sabrina looked at Evan and smiled and said, "Well you must be a very tired little boy, huh?"  Evan looked up at her and said very matter of factly, "I pooped on the floor!"  Robert and I looked at each other and just died laughing.  Sabrina acted like she didn't hear a thing and said, "Y'all sure do have cute kids" and then casually walked away.

We've rehashed this moment several times already today just to get another good laugh.
 

The Power of Underwear

Evan and I made a deal.

Pee pee in the potty = big boy underwear  (or as I remember them - underoos)
Pee pee in pants = baby underwear (aka diaper)

He totally went for it.  It's amazing the power character-themed anything has on children.  So to be able to wear "undawares just like dada" is even more spectacular with Lightening McQueen on them.  We'll see how far this little ploy can take us.  It's looking good so far.

 

Evan is so empowered by his underwear that he demanded music over cartoons this morning.  He wanted to shake what his mama daddy gave him instead.

Jegg-a-what?

Jeggings?  I'm sure you've heard of them by now.  They are one of the hottest trends of the season despite the ridiculous name.

The popular jean/leggings combo somehow found their way into my wardrobe a few weeks ago.  Yes, that's right, friends - Amanda Stinnett is sporting jeggings. Anybody who knows me well will laugh when they read that sentence simply because I am NOT a trendy girl.  I definitely buy new styles as seasons come and go, but I typically stick to the more classic pieces.

The name is actually what got my attention when I first learned of these pants.  The fact that they are stretchy, more durable than your average leggings and can fit nice and snug inside a pair of tall boots - that's what made me buy them.  And, honestly, I love them.

The average woman would've progressed from a bootcut jean to a skinny jean and then to jeggings.  But me?  I went balls out, straight for the jeggings.  Since this purchase, however, I have also acquired a pair of skinny jeans.  And I love them too. 

This is what Robert had to say about it via Conan...


Laura - here is a picture at your request.  I stole this picture from the Buzz's Roost FB page.  I'm breakin' it down at the holiday party in my jegs. ha!

Undeniable Truths

My friend, Kylie, sent me an email today that had me nodding and laughing beginning to end.  The truth of this email is undeniable, but it definitely takes being a parent to appreciate its honesty.  I wanted to make sure to post this, not only to share, but to have a great collection of lessons for my kids to look back on when they're older - which of course they won't truly appreciate until they too are parents.

Thinking of Having Kids? Do this 11 step program first!

Lesson 1

1. Go to the grocery store.

2. Arrange to have your salary paid directly to their head office.

3. Go home.

4. Pick up the paper.

5. Read it for the last time.

Lesson 2

Before you finally go ahead and have children, find a couple who already are parents and berate them about their...

1. Methods of discipline.

2. Lack of patience.

3. Appallingly low tolerance levels.

4. Allowing their children to run wild.

5. Suggest ways in which they might improve their child's breastfeeding, sleep habits, toilet training, table manners, and overall behavior.

Enjoy it because it will be the last time in your life you will have all the answers.

Lesson 3

A really good way to discover how the nights might feel...

1. Get home from work and immediately begin walking around the living room from 5PM to 10PM carrying a wet bag weighing approximately 8-12 pounds, with a radio turned to static (or some other obnoxious sound) playing loudly. (Eat cold food with one hand for dinner)

2. At 10PM, put the bag gently down, set the alarm for midnight, and go to sleep.

3. Get up at 12 and walk around the living room again, with the bag, until 1AM.

4. Set the alarm for 3AM.

5. As you can't get back to sleep, get up at 2AM and make a drink and watch an infomercial.

6. Go to bed at 2:45AM.

7. Get up at 3AM when the alarm goes off.

8. Sing songs quietly in the dark until 4AM.

9. Get up. Make breakfast. Get ready for work and go to work (work hard and be productive)

Repeat steps 1-9 each night. Keep this up for 3-5 years. Look cheerful and together.

Lesson 4

Can you stand the mess children make? T o find out...

1. Smear peanut butter onto the sofa and jam onto the curtains.

2. Hide a piece of raw chicken behind the stereo and leave it there all summer.

3. Stick your fingers in the flower bed.

4. Then rub them on the clean walls.

5. Take your favorite book, photo album, etc. Wreck it.

6. Spill milk on your new pillows. Cover the stains with crayons. How does that look?

Lesson 5

Dressing small children is not as easy as it seems.

1. Buy an octopus and a small bag made out of loose mesh.

2. Attempt to put the octopus into the bag so that none of the arms hang out.

Time allowed for this - all morning.

Lesson 6

Forget the BMW and buy a mini-van. And don't think that you can leave it out in the driveway spotless and shining. Family cars don't look like that.

1. Buy a chocolate ice cream cone and put it in the glove compartment.

Leave it there.

2. Get a dime. Stick it in the CD player.

3. Take a family size package of chocolate cookies. Mash them into the back seat. Sprinkle cheerios all over the floor, then smash them with your foot.

4. Run a garden rake along both sides of the car.

Lesson 7

Go to the local grocery store. Take with you the closest thing you can find to a pre-school child. (A full-grown goat is an excellent choice). If you intend to have more than one child, then definitely take more than one goat. Buy your week's groceries without letting the goats out of your sight. Pay for everything the goat eats or destroys. Until you can easily accomplish this, do not even contemplate having children.

Lesson 8

1. Hollow out a melon.

2. Make a small hole in the side.

3. Suspend it from the ceiling and swing it from side to side.

4. Now get a bowl of soggy Cheerios and attempt to spoon them into the swaying melon by pretending to be an airplane.

5. Continue until half the Cheerios are gone.

6. Tip half into your lap. The other half, just throw up in the air.

You are now ready to feed a nine- month-old baby.

Lesson 9

Learn the names of every character from Sesame Street , Barney, Disney, the Teletubbies, and Pokemon. Watch nothing else on TV but PBS, the Disney channel or Noggin for at least five years. (I know, you're thinking What's 'Noggin'?) Exactly the point.

Lesson 10

Make a recording of Fran Drescher saying 'mommy' repeatedly. (Important: no more than a four second delay between each 'mommy'; occasional crescendo to the level of a supersonic jet is required). Play this tape in your car everywhere you go for the next four years. You are now ready to take a long trip with a toddler.

Lesson 11

Start talking to an adult of your choice. Have someone else continually tug on your skirt hem, shirt- sleeve, or elbow while playing the 'mommy' tape made from Lesson 10 above. You are now ready to have a conversation with an adult while there is a child in the room.

This is all very tongue in cheek; anyone who is parent will say 'it's all worth it!'

(Author unknown)

Santa Claus is in the House

When I got a newsletter from Evan's teacher last week stating their class would be performing in the school's Christmas program I literally laughed out loud.  I have been anxiously awaiting today's event all week and let me tell you - it definitely did not disappoint.

The two year old class was third on the roster of performances.  So while we waited we listened to the three year old class sing holiday favorites such as This Little Light of Mine and Happy Birthday, Jesus and also watched the toddlers sway back and forth to another Christmas tune.  Finally the two year olds took the stage and I seriously about lost it!

The performance was kept a secret by Evan's teachers so we were not sure what to expect.  As the class climbed the stairs to the stage I finally spotted Evan after scanning the class over and over again - I was having so much difficulty because Evan was hidden underneath a Santa beard and hat.  He walked onto the stage and literally just stood back and blankly stared at the audience.

Once his teacher was able to get his attention she motioned for him to move to the front of the stage with the others.  The kids were doing a sign language interpretation of Donde Esta Santa?  They have been learning Spanish and sign language since the beginning of school.  Evan ROCKED!  He danced, or should I say bounced, through the entire performance.  He waved his hands around doing what was supposed to be sign language - not that I would really be able to understand any way.  I was laughing so hard that I had tears streaming down my face.  Most of the blurriness in these pictures is from me shaking while I was trying to take them.

The funniest part about this whole experience is that Robert and my mom were standing in the back of a packed house.  Because of the disguise they never could figure out which one was Evan.  But as the program went on they both agreed that the parents of the kid with the beard would be really proud.

Yes, we most certainly were proud!

The Murphy Mouth

Many of you have heard my mom or myself refer to our mouths as the "Murphy Mouth."  The Murphy Mouth is a physical characteristic that literally dominates the gene pool in our family.  It comes from my mom's side of the family - the Murphys - and is now strongly represented in the Evans' (me and my brothers), the Stinnetts (Evan and Mattie) and the newest Evans' (my brother's family - baby TJ).

I can only describe this mouth as plump.  The lips have a specific arch and are fuller than your average lips.  I've had others refer to them as Betty Boop lips.  But the appearance of the lips is not the only quality one must possess to be credited with the Murphy Mouth.  There is a certain lip trick, if you will, that the Murphy Mouth is best known for.  One must be able to arch one side of their top lip while the other side remains normal.  It doesn't matter which side as some of us are right-lipped while others are left-lipped.  For example, my mom is right-lipped and I am left-lipped.  We will be visiting the Murphy side of the family over Thanksgiving and I will be sure to document the various members who are a part of this elite group - but until then, here is an example of three generations of the Murphy Mouth.  And notice, as we age the arch becomes more pronounced.

This is the family's claim to fame.  May not be very attractive, but DAMN, that's talent!  And because Mattie is 4 weeks old today here are a few more photos.

K-I-S-S-I-N-G

Evan and Emme sitting in a tree...

And he's going in for the kiss

Muah!

Young love is so sweet.  Kylie and I will have to keep a close watch on these two in the future.

In Naked Thought

Now Let's Ride...

Technical Difficulties

We'll just call it a minor setback.

After folding laundry while Evan played with his cars in the living room, I returned with the intention of sitting down and getting some work done on my computer - if you can even call it a computer in this state.

First of all, please excuse all the nasty smudge marks.  But yes, this is how I found my computer.  Evan decided it would be constructive to take all the keys off the keyboard.  Luckily I didn't have a full load of laundry to fold because I may have come back to a completely bare surface.  I was speechless.  But very angry too.  I think I initially started crying because my first thought was that I wouldn't meet my deadline for the day.  But then I was just angry.  I took a deep breath and calmly sat down and told Evan he was a bad boy for doing that to Mama's computer.  I then spent the next hour reapplying my keys.  Of course now I just laugh.  It's easy to look back on and think Ha Ha - Evan is so funny.  But present tense - I wanted to strangle him!

Another lesson learned - don't leave computer unattended in the presence of a two year old.

So Typical

Nature or Nurture?

Swagger Wagon

A friend commented on my "Getting Closer" post by saying:

Laura said...
have you searched you tube for swagger wagon? is this gonna be you?
June 30, 2010 7:02 PM

Swagger what?  I had no clue what she was talking about so I did as she suggested and searched the keywords on You Tube.  If I didn't have over 2 years left to pay on my Nissan I would be buying a Toyota right now just because of this video.  I swore I'd never drive a minivan, but a swagger wagon?  It could be cool.  Check it out.

 

Laugh for the Day

I came across this video on another blog I read and I was literally laughing out loud.  Thinking about what my reaction would be made me laugh even harder...hope you find as much amusement as I did.