Calorie Burning.....I think not!

The other night Jon, my mom (who was visiting), and I were up chatting and somehow the topic of studying came up. Can you see where I am going with this?

Jon made the statement that he thinks studying burns a lot of calories. I looked at him with THAT look...you know.... the one that says PULEEEEZZZ! He said that he gets so tired and physically drained that it must burn a lot of calories. He said that "all that thinking" burns calories because his head gets hot.

I said, "Maybe from your eyes moving back and forth." And then my mom and I laughed.

Jon is a smart guy so he could be onto something. Maybe I am too much of a skeptic.

What do you think? Does studying burn extra calories?

Aren't These Amazing?

My friend, Jamie, has an eye for photography. We were at their house last night for dinner and she took some pictures of Graham. I had to post them because they are WAY better than any picture I have taken of my sweet baby!

Graham 7 Months

Here is Graham's 7 month picture. He is doing great these days. He is pushing up on his hands and knees for about a second. He rolls anywhere he wants to. He likes to play "baby scream" back and forth with any willing participant. He screams a cute little growly yell and then smiles and waits for you to do it back. He also loves any game involving tickling, kissing, and zerberts/bloochers. He loves to listen to his brothers play while he is being rocked before his nap. He can be all cuddly and relaxed while he is being rocked before a nap and as soon as he heard his brothers his head pops up and he looks and looks for them. He likes to say "dadadadadadada" and explore small objects that end up on the rug. He is napping well and doing sleeping for longer stretches at night. He sometimes only wakes up one time at night to eat! I can't believe that he is closer to being 1 now than he is to being a newborn. And no matter what I do to his hair it looks poofy by the end of the day! That kid just has some CRAZY hair!





I had to add this picture because Jamie and Eric Teague sent this shirt for Graham and he is about to outgrow it. It is such a cute shirt and I wanted them to see him in it! In another month that shirt will look like he is trying to be "Gus-Gus" the mouse from Cinderella. Thanks Teagues for such a cute shirt. He may have been born in Pennsylvania but he is still a Texan!

Hobby Meme

Dawn tagged me for this meme:

What three skills or hobbies would you learn if you had all the time, tools, and money you needed?

1) Pottery and Ceramics- I have always wanted to learn how to do a pottery wheel. One day I'm going to take a class when I get some more free time.

2) Gardener Czarina- I would have a HUGE wonderful garden of flowers and foods all year long to tend to.

3) Knitting- Right now I want some super skills to make those diaper covers! If I make the covers I will have obtained skills to make all kinds of stuff--like sweaters, hats, and mittens which will all be useful up here!

I tag Marie, The Herd, and Grace. Keep it going ladies!

Hallelujah! I Made It!

SPRING IS HERE! SPRING IS HERE! SPRING IS HERE!





I have never before been so happy to see spring in all my life! I made it through the LONG, GRAY winter and I am so happy that spring is here! I am not exaggerating when I say that March had 7 or less days of full sun. This Texas girl was starvin' for some sunlight and heat. March was BRUTAL for me emotionally and I am so happy it is April and signs of Spring are finally here, can't you tell!?! I have heard that the only city that has more overcast days than Pittsburgh is Seattle. I believe it now that I have lived through it!

Flip Flops!
Short Sleeves!
Playing Outside!
Flowers!
Daffodils!
Open Windows!
Sunny Days!
Green!
Bunnies in the Backyard!
Walks!
Bike Riding!
Playing Outside with the Neighbors!
Going to the Park!


NO MORE:
Bulky Winter Coats Cluttering the Entry Way!
Mittens, Boots, Scarves!
20 Pairs of Shoes at the Front Door!
10 Days of Gray in a Row!
Snow!
Ice on the Car!
Pricey Gas Heater Bills!
Dreary Weather Day After Day After Day After Day!

SPRING IS HERE! SPRING IS HERE! SPRING IS HERE! SPRING IS HERE!

Please Check This Out!

Hey everyone!

One of my friends, Amanda, had a vision to start a website for moms that would be encouraging and a place to help each other out with mommy issues. Basically it is a place for moms to come and share their experiences and their questions. She launched the site back in September and asked me to be a contributing writer. There are 4 of us who write for the site and we cover all kind of stuff: tips and tricks, what works for us, product reviews, current events, how-to's etc.

It has been really fun to be part of an online community of moms and to learn more about being a better mom. I hope you come and check it out! Tell your friends about it too!


THE MOM CROWD

Couldn't Resist These Pictures

The other little boy (Quinn) in the second picture belongs to a girlfriend of mine. I was watching him while she was in class. Sometimes we think the Graham will look a lot like him when he gets older. Graham has discovered banging on things. He likes to bang the nesting blocks in picture three together. He also has discovered the keyboard and already likes pushing the buttons. I think he learned from Quinn!

Here's What We've Been Doing

Aren't they cute?!

We got Graham baptized last week. We asked Jon's aunt Jody and uncle David to be the Godparents so they came down from Canada to the service. Because Graham has so much hair the water made his hair stick straight up. When Bill (the priest) lifted him up his bangs were literally straight up and everyone laughed. It was pretty funny! Unfortunately Graham's head was turned the other way while his hair was sticking up. I fixed it after we got him back so we never got a good picture of it. We had a wonderful time with David and Jody and enjoyed their visit. David and Jody have 2 kids who are 6 and 8 and they get along well with Ewan and Isaac. We are hoping they come for another visit this summer.

Pictures in order:
1) Jody with Graham
2) Standing together during the service
3) David with Graham
4) Graham and us right after the baptism

I made cinnamon rolls from scratch for their visit. They turned out pretty delicious but they aren't something I will be making very often. Cinnamon rolls are labor intensive. Who knew! You all probably knew that and that is why you are thinking to yourselves....."that is why I buy pillsbury cinnamon rolls at the grocery store!"


Anyway, a few weeks ago on Good Friday we took the family and two of the boys' friends (Jack and Spencer) to the dinosaur museum. I was a little nervous about having two more in tow but Jon was feeling confident about it. We had a marvelous time together. The natural history museum has a special exhibit called THE SCOOP ON POOP which is about what we can learn about animals from their poop. After we got home the boys all played outside with some other neighbor kids from the seminary. It was a nice day outside and we all enjoyed it.

Pictures in order:
1) Ewan making corn meal
2) Isaac, Jack, and Spencer doing a dino dig
3) All the boys pointing at the dinosaurs with a giant apatosaurus behind them
4) Ewan listening to the ocean in sea shells
5) All the boys riding in a boat

Actually while they were outside with Jon I was inside getting a knitting lesson from another friend. I am learning how to knit so I can knit wool diaper soakers for Graham. They cost 25-40 bucks online but if I can learn how to make them it costs 5 bucks for the yarn and my time. Wish me luck with that because the patterns for knitting the soakers require some advanced skills and I am still a beginner. Basically I want to be great at it right away. Sigh.

Pictures in order:
1) All the kids playing bubbles
2) More bubbles
3) Isaac riding on a scooty thing
4) More bubbles
5) Ewan thinking deeply while blowing his bubble pipe