Evan’s hair is officially long enough (on top) for her very first version of the world’s tiniest “pony tail.” (Is it called that if it’s on top of her head and in no way wags?)

Check her out:

My boy Brady turns four today! He’s quite excited about the cupcakes and ice cream portion, but not so excited that he still has to wait a year to play T-ball. Rough life.

Being the middle of three boys (so far), Brady has nicely carved his own niche in our family. He’s the dare-devil, the Evil Canevil, the march to the beat of his own (off-beat) drummer. He’s spunky, crazy and so much fun. We love you, Brady Boy!

Here’s Brady playing in the backyard over the summer.
He’s so proud of the dirt on his hands!

(And yes, he picked out his own clothes here.)

Last week, the author of one of the blogs I read(see Jan 22, 2008) interviewed her three-year-old triplets and they had very amusing answers. I often ask the boys similar questions on their birthdays, so I stole borrowed her questions and cornered Brady . . . then just for fun, I asked Andy, too. Hope you enjoy their wit!

BRADY’S QUIZ 
What are you good at doing? Games.
If you had ten dollars, how would you spend it? A car (probably from the Disney movie Cars).
What are you afraid of? Monsters.
Who are your friends? I don’t have any friends (he does, though).
What is important to you? Different stuff.
What is your favorite book? About helicopters
What is your favorite food? Pineapple
What is your favorite thing about church? Running (in the gym after the service)
What is your favorite thing to do? Watch Daddy fly the blue helicopter
How do you show your family you love them? Happy.
What do you want to be when you grow up? Cowboy police guy
Why? Because I want to.
What are you thankful for? Presents
Tell me something about God. Umm….

ANDY’s QUIZ
What are you good at doing? Picking up toys.
If you had ten dollars, how would you spend it? The mall… Clothes.
What are you afraid of? Monsters.
Who are your friends? Dale and Ty
What is important to you? Eating.
What is your favorite book? Goldilocks and the Three Bears
What is your favorite food? Corn and Noodles and Fried Chicken and Ice Cream
What is your favorite thing about church? Playing in the Gym
What is your favorite thing to do? Cleaning up the toys very fast (oh really?!)
How do you show your family you love them? I don’t know.
What do you want to be when you grow up? A pilot and a police officer
Why? Because it’s cool.
What are you thankful for? Praying to God.
Tell me something about God. The bad guys nailed him on a cross and he died.

Precious little guys, aren’t they?

Happy 4th birthday, Brayden Matthew! We love you!

Every once in awhile, if my kids behave exceptionally well while grocery shopping, I like to reward them with a special, unexpected treat. It happens so infrequently that they don’t really expect it, which makes it all the more fun.

I’m sure every mom out there has been tempted to reward their kids with the tempting and easy-to-reach impulse candy buys in the check-out lane. Something about having four kids five and under and out of reach in the van has curbed any desire I had to reward with chocolate candy, which also makes our dentist very happy.

I went through a brief phase of allowing the boys to pick out Match-box or Hot Wheel cars. They’re less than a dollar and they play with them endlessly…. It was a good deal until I realized how long it takes them to choose one. Ugh!

Alas! I’ve finally figured it out.

When my kids are uber-good, I take them into the pharmacy section and stand in front of all the colorful kids bandages! Then I tell them, “You guys have to work together and pick just one box!”

It’s a win-win situation. We can always use Band-Aids at our house (especially with Brady around) and they think they’re getting something really special, like Spiderman or Dora the Explorer in a box.

Try it… you’ll see! The kids will love it and so will you. Works for me!

While I have your attention, can I ask for some help on another matter? I’ve had three home-births and one super-early emergency hospital birth. I’m due with baby #5 in about 7 weeks and am starting to pack my bags. What things should I pack? What do I really need? What must I have? Please help!

For more great Works for Me Wednesday tips, head on over to Shannon’s blog and check it out.

After writing about my baby’s lack of a real identity, I had a dream today that I was hauling Connor and a smaller baby boy into an office. Hmm… Maybe Baby F will be a boy? I’m right about these things 50% of the time!

Of course, I had a second dream that I was driving through town and someone had put a brand-new dishwasher on the side of the road with a “FREE” sign on it. Some dreams will likely never come true. *Sigh.*

I have this great roasted pork loin recipe that uses Lipton Onion Soup Mix to season the meat. It’s so yummy and so easy, it’s one of our favorites.

I don’t make it super often, though, mainly because I buy the pork loins when they’re on sale and throw them into my freezer. They’re so huge that it’s more than we can eat in one meal. When they’re frozen, I can’t just cut them in half to make dinner. So, we generally have them when we’re having company or for special occasions (like Nate’s birthday.)

Last time I made this, I jokingly referred to the mix as my “secret family recipe.” Andy thought it was so neat that he was let in on a real secret. I haven’t made the dish in quite some time, but last week he told Nana on the phone “Mommy makes this yummy pork and there’s a secret way of doing it.”

Today, Brady was digging through one of our cupboards and came across a box of the Lipton mix. He asked what it was and when I reminded them of the pork, Andy grabbed the box away from Brady and shoved it back into the cabinet, quickly shutting the lid. “Shhh, Brades… It’s a secret!”

You know you’re in for a good day when . . .

. . . your two-year-old decides to finger paint on the walls and floor with his beloved strawberry yogurt (or ogre, as he calls it.)

Good times.

I’m doing the dance of joy here (really… you should see what a whale looks like doing it. Funny.) I am officially more than 32 weeks into my pregnancy now. Which means I am more than 4/5ths of the way through! Woo-hoo!

Baby F should be here in eight weeks or less. We can’t wait to meet him or her.

I don’t like to find out the gender of my babies before they’re born. My husband says it’s like sneaking and opening your Christmas presents early. I understand his point, but the reason I don’t like to know is completely different.

See, I have never used any pain medication (of any sort) with my labors / deliveries. All natural. Anyone who has done that is likely to agree with me that somewhere in the process, you reach a point where you feel like you’re going to die. I’ve done that every time, anyway. What motivates me to not give up is simple. I want to know if the baby was a boy or girl before I kick the bucket. Then, once he or she is born, life is grand again and I continue on with my plan to live. Pathetic, I know.

With each one of my boys, I had dreams a few weeks before they were born that they were, in fact, boys. I’m not trying to get all mystical and new-agey on you, but I do think that’s fun.

Evan, arriving two months early, came before I had any dreams about her gender. (Besides, after three boys, I’m not sure I would have believed a ‘girl dream.’)

Last night, I had a dream that I delivered Baby F at my parents’ house, in their dining room, while visiting. The strange part? There were two Baby Fs. Two. Twins!

We know from the routine ultrasound that there is just one baby. So, the fact that my dream revealed a baby boy followed by a baby girl is pretty much a moot point, huh? It was fun, though.

This time of year, Chicagoland is a very cold, very dry place. (We make up for it in summer with very humid, hot weather.) The air gets so dry here in winter that, even with a furnace with a built-in humidifier, we often wake up with sore throats.

Last winter, we were buying some things at our local home improvement store and the cashier gave me this tip: A slow cooker (Crock Pot) filled with water makes a great humidifier!

This winter, rather than buying lots of replacement filters for our small humidifier, I tried the Crock Pot idea in our room. (It’s not an idea I’d try in the kids room!) I filled one with water, put it on a dresser in our room and turned it on high. I have to fill it twice a day, but I do not have to buy expensive filters and I do not wake up with a dry, sore throat or stuffy nose! Works for me!

 For other ideas, check out Works for Me Wednesday at Rocks in My Dryer.

I was beached sitting on the couch the other night and Connor caught a glimpse of my very pregnant belly. He rubbed his hand on it and then noticed ALL the stretch marks.

“Mommy, that yuckies?” he asked.

“Yes, honey… those are mommies stretch marks.”

His reply? “That’s GUSHING! [disgusting!]”

Um, thanks for your compassion, son. I know you’re two, but I already feel like I’m 41 months pregnant and about to give birth to a small rhino…. Now, wouldn’t that be disgusting?