Sleep!

Sleep is totally over rated...except when you get all comfy cozy while doing it...

Malia:



Carly:

Sharing...

I love this picture. This is Carly being the awesome "mommy" that she is. She just adores her little cousin Anthony!

This picture also leads me to a "funny"...

Rachael to Carly: "you don't have to share."

Kelli sarcastically (sis-in law): "ya, no...you don't"

Rachael to Kelli: "I always had to share when I was a kid and I hated it, I want it to be better for my kids, so they don't have to share...hahaha"

I crack myself up!

Bathtub Swimming!

Trying out the new swimsuit and goggles. Too bad it's storming outdoors but the bathtub will do just fine!

Sleep Over!

These two girls are so cute together! Carly just loves her cousin Ry Ry and they got to have a sleepover last night. Super fun!

Random Conversations...

Doing homework is always a blast in the Durling home...NOT!! Sometimes we do have a good laugh though. Like today...Ethan was being silly when he was doing his homework, so I called him a dork. (I know, don't judge). Raya went on to tell me that it wasn't very nice because her math teacher told her what a dork was. The conversation proceeded:

Me: "What is a dork?"

Raya: "An elephants penis." *chuckle, chuckle*

Ethan" "What? What is a dork?"

Me: "An elephant's penis."

Ethan: "oh, I must destroy all elephants."

Me: "Why would you destroy all elephants?

Ethan: "Because if there weren't any elephants, then there would be no such thing as that word."

I almost died laughing...

On another note...

Carly was helping me prepare for a church activity up at the church and of course, at the most inconvenient time, she had to use the restroom. We headed into the bathroom and chose a stall. She got herself ready and then we looked down and noticed that the stall wasn't really clean and so we decided to go to the next stall. Carly didn't want to get her pants up so she just walked over with her toosh hanging out, so I said:

Me: "Oh Carly, your toosh is hanging out:

Carly: "Hanging out with all its friends."

I love these kids...they keep me laughing all the time!

Carly Quote

Carly: "Oh my gosh mom, feel my heart. It's beeping. That means I have a life."

What A Mess...

There is this viral video going around the internet of a young child who found a bag of flour and while his mother was not paying attention, he decorated the living room with it. I was able to stop what very well could have been the same fate:



Phew! Disaster adverted!

Four Year Olds...

It's not always easy being four, but it isn't that hard either. Let's face it, the baby of the family is usually spoiled. I'm not talking spoiled with the most items or spoiled with the most love. I'm talking spoiled with the most mommy time. I've come to realize that as my baby gets older, it becomes a lot easier to tote her around with me. Because of this, I do a lot more and go more places than I did when I had a bunch of little kids running around. It also helps to have an older child who can babysit too. My new found freedom has been great. I frequent many places and do my part to keep the economy going.

One thing that little miss Carly gets to do on occasion is have lunch with mommy. She likes Wendy's, I like Carls Jr. It's usually her choice. Eating out is such a treat for all my kids so I do my best to take care of all the evidence of a lunch out with just Carly and I including but not limited to airing the car out because heaven forbid the other children find out that Carly got special treatment. It doesn't matter if I get the last french fry out of the carseat, 90% of the time, Carly tells the kids that we had lunch out. Ethan in particular gets so upset that tears are even shed!

The other day I was working in my bedroom and listening in on a conversation between Carly and Ethan. All of a sudden I hear Carly say, "Ethan, we had Wendy's today." Ethan of course got upset but thank goodness no tears were shed. This would not be out of the ordinary except for the fact that we did NOT eat out that day! I could not believe my ears! My little baby girl has figured out what makes Ethan tick and pushed his buttons all on her own during a conversation that was as normal as a 7 and 4 year old getting along would have. I am not sure where she learned this "ha, ha, ha, ha, ha" behavior! She's four people....four! Heaven help me!

Carly Quote

Carly had a very small sticker in her toe that she couldn't get out. I was able to get it out using my fingernails. About a half hour later, Carly says:

"Mom, thank you."

Me: "For what?"

Carly: "For getting my owee out...NOTHING CAN STOP ME NOW!"

Love that kid!

Day Date

Another fun day spent with my little girl. Nothing like getting pedicures together...truth is, I couldn't find a babysitter...but it was still fun :)

Say What?

I am someone who gets bored with stuff, but often find that I have very little or no time at all to change things around. My blog is one of those things. After much contemplation, I have decided to "re-do" my blog and am unfortunetly going to be getting rid of "the kid quote of the week" section of it. This doesn't mean that I won't be posting the funny things that my kids say, I just won't be obligated to change them around every once in a while in a sidebar.

I have a running log of the funny things the kids say but at the rate that I actually change the quotes on my blog, they could be and some are outdated. So, I am going to add all the ones I've gathered here and will add others as they are freshly said out of the mouths of my babes. The ages of the kids when these were said were: Raya, 12 - Malia 9 - Ethan 6/7 - Carly 3/4. Get ready to laugh...

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Carly: "Mom, what color are hiccups?"

Me: "hiccups don't have a color. What color would you want them to be if they had a color?"

Carly: "Uh, lellow."

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While holding a piece of Halloween candy…

Ethan: "Mom, I am going to practice unwrapping stuff."

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Ethan: "Let me hear your heart with this doctor thing"

Me: "Can you hear it?"

Ethan: "You don't have a heart"

Patrick yelling from the other room: "I knew it!"

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Ethan: "How come I can't have a sleepover with Carly?"

Me: "Because it's a school night."

Ethan: "School is ruining my life!"

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Ethan: "Do we have church tomorrow?"

Me: "Yes."

Ethan: "But it's summer vacation, I thought we didn't have to go to church during summer vacation."

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Carly: "I was a baby in your tummy"

Me: "Yes, you were. Do you remember being in my tummy?"

Carly: "Uh hah"

Me: "You do? What did it feel like?"

Carly: "It was comfortable when I was sleeping."

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Ethan: "Did you know that chameleons change colors when the weather changes?"

Me: "they do?"

Ethan: "ya, they camouflage themselves...it would be really hard playing hide and go seek with a chameleon."

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Me: "Hey Ethan, come and give me some loves"

Ethan: "Are you lonely"

Me: "Not really, but I love Loves!"

Ethan: "I sure do you love you mom"

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Me: "Ethan, you had a hard day today. You weren't using your good ears."

Ethan: My good ears?, What's that mean?"

Me: "You weren't listening and doing today"

Ethan: " Oh, I didn't hear you, I guess my good ears weren't turned on"

Me: (chuckling because he was serious) "Well, tomorrow is a new day and you can do better tomorrow."

Ethan: "I guess I'll turn my good ears on tomorrow."

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Ethan: "I need to wash these up" as he heads to the bathroom

Me: "The batteries?"

Ethan: "Ya, it will make them feel better"

Me: "Maybe they are just dead"

Ethan: "They were dead but now they are alive"

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Raya: "What would you do if I accidently dropped this out of the car window? How would we get it?"

Ethan as serious as can be: "Using the Force."

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Wearing my hair in a ponytail for the first time in a long time

Ethan: "Mom, did you get a makeover?"

Me: "No, is it because my hair is in a ponytail?"

Ethan: "Ya, you look like a rockstar."

Me: "Awesome!"

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Ethan giving me a high five

Me:" Ouch! I think you broke my hand"

Ethan: "Hehe...Is that awesome?"

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Carly: "Shut the door so no one will take me. Because then you'll have to get another Carly."

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Ethan: "What happens when Aunts grow old? Oh, I know, they turn into grandmas"

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Me: "You can't go with me. You get to stay with daddy. Don't you want to stay with daddy? You hardly ever see him."

Carly: "But mommy, I came out of your tummy."

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Ethan: "Mommy, can you email the mailman and ask him to bring me the Star Wars 3 movie?"

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Raya: "Wow mom, this is like real dinner."

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Carly: I'm too busy to work mom, just like you.

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Carly: Pokee Nokee Oh (This is how she pronounces Pinocchio)

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Carly: "how did I get on earth as a baby?"

Me: "I gave birth to you."

Ethan: "How did she come out?"

Me: "I pushed her out"

Malia: "Kind of like going poop"

Ethan: "I'm so glad I'm a boy."
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Me: "When you turn four, you have to stop sucking your fingers."

Carly: "I don't want to grow up."

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Carly: "I don't suck my fingers anymore.

Me: "Why?

Carly: "Because I am a big girl. You are not a big girl, you are just big."
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Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday to my sweet baby girl Carly Fox! Four years has gone by WAY to fast!


(one day old)

"BollyBall"

"Mommy...Are we going to Raya's Bolly Ball" ~Carly Fox

Like my previous post mentioned, Raya is on the volleyball team at her school. At her first game I came prepared with my camera to take some awesome pictures of her, but just before her game began, Carly saved herself from falling headfirst onto some concrete, but in doing so, she hit her nose on a metal pole and after we cleaned up the what seemed to be a never ending gush of blood, I could see that she bruised the heck out of it...so much so, I thought it could possibly be broken:

Fortunately for me, a friend of mine whose daughter was on the opposing team, was there and she just so happens to be a nurse. She took a look at it and told me that even if it were broken, they (the doctors) wouldn't do anything about it because they don't want to XRay the face. So, as Carly sat and pretty much cried the entire hour, I took the few pictures you saw in the previous post. Here's Carly the day after:

You can see that it is still swollen (was swollen for over a week) and a little bruised around the inside of the eyes. Ethan just so happended to have a doctor appointment the day after Carly hit her nose and so I asked the doctor if he could take a look. He said that her nose wasn't broken, just bruised and swollen. Phew!

Yesterday's game prove to be a much better experience for both Carly and I. Here are just a few more photos of miss Raya...She's really taking to this volleyball thing...I almost wanted to get out on the court and play with the girls...almost...

Top 5 Reasons Blogging Has Been Sparce!

I really love blogging. I do, but life happens and more important things get first dibs on my valuable time. I've compiled a Top 5 list of items that have really helped in the staleness of my blog. They are:

5. Fundraising...

It's that time again. Raya brought home an Incredible Edibles fundraiser and the day after those were due, she brought home a magazine subscription fundraiser. Malia and Ethan have gotten their annual Jog A Thon Fundraiser going on now and if this year is anything like the past 5 years, they will be bringing home another fundraiser for yummy desserts shortly after the Jog A Thon is over...seriously...I'm broke and I'm tired of hitting up people for $$$!

4. Homework...

Although this is a picture of the King of Homework Quickness...Homework really sucks around here. Some nights are better than others, but it's been quite a challenge making sure the girls have their homework completed before 10pm... The next few items on my list will give you reason as to why homework is getting done so late!

3. Extracuricular Activities...

With 3 kids in soccer, 3 times a week, one would think that would be crazy enough. Any normal person would think so, but not us...The Durlings can't get enough crazy so we twisted Raya's arm and forced her (ok, maybe it was the other way around) to join her school's volleyball team. Not only does she have practice twice a week, she also has 2 games a week all the while keeping up with her soccer team and school work. It wouldn't be too much of an issue except that the games are all the way out in Carmichael which causes for about a 30 minute drive both ways which is why this (along with many other reasons):

is my second home!

2. Yard work:

Yes, we are still not finished and I really don't want to talk about it so don't ask...

And the number one reason why blogging has been stalled...

LAUNDRY...it never ends!

Best Friend Date!

Since the 3 older kids are in school all day, I get to spend a lot of time with Carly by herself. Most days we have my nephew Anthony, but there are those occasional days where it's just her and I. We always do something together and Carly calls it her "Best Friend Date". I love it! Of course when Raya, Malia, and Ethan come home, I'm no longer her best friend...they are, but that's fine too! Today we went to Wendy's and the craft store. Nothing big, but we're making memories! Love this girl!

Art Class

The artist gene runs in my family. I am constantly amazed at the artwork my brothers do! Drawing, Paiting, Sketching...you name it, they do it.

Even though the gene is recessive in me, it kind of peeks out every once in awhile, but I have to be inspired by somebody else's work first.

My kids all draw, they enjoy it, but they don't necessarily have a "passion" for it per say. I signed them all up (sans Carly) for a free drawing class down at the Parks and Rec center. It was free and the kids loved it!

And then there's this guy. I guess you could wonder now if he's my favorite child since I've posted numerous things about him, but really...he LOVES to draw!!! I love watching him too.

Here are a few of his pictures.

He is totally into Star Wars so it's only fitting to draw characters from it. Batman and Spiderman are also at the top of his most liked character list too. Malia actually brought home a book from the library that shows you how to draw characters from Avatar the Last Airbender and he's been working on Momo, Appa, and some coy fish all afternoon. He is soooo going to love his art class in first grade! Can't wait for hi to meet Mr. Art Dude!

First Day of School!

First day of school already. The time is going by way too fast.

Raya in 7th Grade:

Malia in 4th Grade:

Ethan in 1st Grade:

And of course Carly, my little shadow...who kept insisting she was going into 1st grade:

Welcome 2011/2012 school year! We're ready for you!