the ridiculously, insanely, overwhelmingly LONG post

I haven't posted since Wednesday...busy days, busier evenings, long nights! Buckle your seatbelts and hold on tight, this is gonna be a doozy of a post...


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Allow me to preface the paragraph that follows, by saying, that Daddy Buck and I had the day off (well, I was on-call) together on Thursday...


I was raised in the deep south in the great state of Louisiana in a family that worshiped the outdoors. From sports, to fishing, to hunting, and everything in between. My grandfather, father, brother, and husband are avid hunters. From deer, to turkey, to ducks, to doves, to elk, and everything in between. With this upbringing, it's hard to believe that I had never fired a gun. Not a rifle, not a shotgun, not a pistol, or anything in between. That is until this past Thursday! My dad has tried for years to teach me, take me, coerce me...if not for the sport of it, at least for self defense and personal safety. Daddy Buck finally won the battle and I agreed to go to the indoor pistol range and finally "bite the bullet", if you will.








Here's what I have to say about it...I did it (after tearing up and almost backing out), I was decent at it (fired 6 shots from 20 feet and hit the target ALL 6 times), I was NOT a huge fan of it.





Daddy Buck, on the other hand...recreational hunter with a military hunter background, need I say more?




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After the pistol range, lunch, and grocery shopping, we got the boys so that we could enjoy the outdoors and our spring-like temperatures before Daddy Buck and I left for "date night".


Frank-o has finally become proficient at riding his bicycle that Santa Claus brought as evidenced in this video clip (pause the music player at the bottom of the page):






And, just for kicks...enjoy a laugh on me at this video clip of my two sweet, lovely, innocent boys attempting to run me over (take note that Frank-o has the hiccups from laughing so hard):






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Daddy Buck and I had "date night" on Thursday...dinner at a nice, quaint, local Italian restaurant and then we met another couple to enjoy the music of an 80s cover band.






Our neighbor snapped this unscripted series of pictures as we were leaving using the continuous picture-taking mode on my camera.






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You didn't think I would overlook my two weekly Friday blog carnivals, now did you?? Better late than never...



Flashback Friday







These pictures are of Frank-o in February 2008 the day of his surgery to have tubes placed in his ears.





Why choose these pictures for Flashback Friday?


Speaking of surgery??



Remember that my boys were scheduled to have surgery (again) this past December and it was cancelled when Frank-o got sick the day of the surgery.....it has been rescheduled for February 12 and has become a wee, tee, nintsy little bit more extensive!! It will be tonsils, adenoids, and tube in ears for BOTH boys. senile, loony, exhausted, teary-eyed, whiny, short-tempered, sick, cranky, hungry, drugged, cramped...are all words that come to mind. Pray people, pray like wildfire!






Favorite Things Friday








1. Our ENT....because, hopefully within the next three to four weeks, she is going to drastically improve the quality of life that exists within our family. Less runny noses, fewer ear infections, better nights' sleep....who could ask for more?



2. My Parents....who came in town this weekend to visit the boys and I while Daddy Buck made a short weekend trip to Mobile, AL to visit his uncle. They are always a blast when they visit. I love them and my boys adore them!!



3. Birthday Cake....today was my nephew's birthday party (more on that to come), so it's fresh in my mind. Bakery fresh in my mind with lots and lots of frosting!




Head on over to The Boren Life for more Favorite Things Friday entries (even though it's Saturday night now)...


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Since I just mentioned my blogging pal, Tiff (The Boren Life), I should also mention that she has bestowed upon me my very first blogging award/honor, Hug Me Hug You!

Though, this "ecru IT" with his "HUGS banner" whigs me out a little....I greatly appreciate the recognition and I will follow through with paying it forward:

This award is given only to those who have said or done things that make an impact as well as provide comfort to others. It is given to those who induce positive emotions in others, while leaving them with the warmth of knowing that they too are special.

Hugs everyone:

1. Trish @ The Blondin Five

2. LeAnna @ Our son....Patrick

3. Amy @ Savage Stories

4. Mandi @ Monistere Maddness


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ARE YOU KIDDING ME???




I am stoked, pumped, fired-up, honored, and downright bedazzled that my boys picture that I entered in this week's Kids' Faces contest at i Heart Faces was featured on their blog.


Check it out here....It seemed to me that the Top 10 winners that were chosen were all taken by professional photographers with the exception of maybe one or two, so I was stunned to even be amongst the "not-so-honorable, accessorized, honorable mention" picks!


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Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday dear Brock, Happy Birthday to you!!

Monday is my nephew's 2nd birthday and as I previously mentioned, we enjoyed his birthday party and CAKE today!!






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Tonight at bedtime....I read, "Goldilocks and the Three Bears" to my boys. The special detail to this tidbit of information is that, it was my book from when I was little that my mom read to my brother and I complete with three stuffed three bears hand-made by a family friend. My mother brought it to my boys and I this weekend.






Thank you "just plain ole" Maw-Maw!!!


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Out of the mouths--

Frank-o as we are passing Daddy Buck's work en route to church last Sunday morning..."Daddy, there's YOUR school!!"

Buck-a-roo as attempts to explain to me where milk comes from...

B-A-R: "Mommy, do you know that cows make milk from how we potty"
Me: "I didn't know that Buck-a-roo"
B-A-R: "Yep, the farmer pulls their potty-thingie and milk comes out!" "That's where chocolate milk comes from!"
Me: {alrighty then}


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And that, my friends, is the 4+ hour post

"GoodNight"

"abcd...GET BACK!!....efg"

Get a load of this video of Frank-o fussing at his brother singing his ABCs!!!

"Not Me!" Monday

I have been meaning to share this thought/picture with you all for several days now....I WAS NOT at all nervous when I got the idea to let Buck-a-roo and Frank-o have a hay-day last Saturday morning with paint, paintbrushes, and water. And, to be quite honest with you....they did an excellent job with minimal mess..











Now on to this past week...






On Monday, I DID NOT stop by, just to browse, at my favorite antique store/gift shop and found a table/chairs that I fell in love with. I then DID NOT call Daddy Buck and proceed to convince him that this table was just our style, priced to sell, and a must-have in our home. Yes, I got the 1800's farmhouse antique table and 5 chairs!!!! My husband is the best!!! This picture is before I cleaned all the furniture with Murphy's Oil Soap and rubbed it all with Tung Oil and polished with Pledge.








I DID NOT witness quite possibly the most hilarious quarrel at the polls on Tuesday morning by an eager constituent at my polling station. For some reason beyond my beliefs, this lady (unknown to me) believed she should be able to SKIP to the front of the line!! It was humorous...to say the least!! Wonder who she voted for???



After taking both of the boys to the ENT on Tuesday, I DID NOT passionately argue with the daycare that Frank-o was most certainly not contagious and that I had a note from the ENT saying that he could return to school on Wednesday and that there was no reason that he shouldn't return to school on Wednesday, only to find out that Frank-o was much more sick than I had initially thought. He ran fever and wheezed all night Tuesday and was far too sick to attend school on Wednesday.




On Wednesday while Frank-o and I were home together, I DID NOT almost fall out of my chair and onto the floor while filming this video clip. I asked Frank-o to count for me, believing that he could count to 5. Boy, was I wrong!!








It DID NOT take me over 1 1/2 hour to sort, stack, browse, compare, contrast, decide, change my mind, and re-decide between the 52 proofs that our photographer provided me from our recent portrait shooting.









Daddy Buck and I DID NOT tailgate, watch football, party, and have a blast all day on Saturday, like newlyweds, without even calling to check on the boys, not even once. We did, however, think about, talk about, and miss them a whole heck of a lot.











Buck-a-roo DID NOT tell Daddy Buck and myself this evening, that under no circumstances would he be sitting on the lap of, telling his wish list to, or taking a picture with Santa Claus this Christmas season.






I DO NOT have the fever of the upcoming holiday season so bad, that I am eagerly wishing away the days until Thanksgiving is over and I can begin to decorate for Christmas. I DO NOT have the itch so bad that I dressed my children in the red and green colors of the season and took pictures this evening.











I AM NOT still on this computer at 11:23PM.....goodnight!!

Let's play 'Name That Tune'

{be sure to mute the music player at the bottom of the page}

What's that? You have no flippin' idea!?! Listen again to a more refined version of the same tune...




And, one more time just for the heck of it...



What's Buck-a-roo doing with the chair, you ask?? Well, "DANCING", of course!!

Also, listen in the background for Frank-o to correct Buck-a-roo's lyrics from "...red and yellow, black and white". Frank-o adds in "GREEN"!!

Toddler speak

***First, pause the music player at the bottom of the screen***

Put your best listening ears on.....

And, one more time.....

(note the hand gesture for extra help)

And, the survey says.....

"Peace, I love you Baby!"

Sinking and Dancing

Check out the sinkhole today!! I swear Osama Bin Laden could be calling this his new hide-away--it is sooo freakin' B-I-G. The cone, sawhorses, and caution tape were placed around the area by myself and my neighbors in an effort to keep the children safe. Note the paint present on the grass now as Louisiana One Call was called-in to locate all utilities in preparation for DIGGING. I spoke to the parish councilman today and he proceeded to inform warn me that his crews would be here Monday and begin the excavation to "locate" the problem and that it could require digging up a large portion, if not most all of my front yard and he would do his best to salvage the sod to be replaced after the work is complete. "It's been a real pleasure speaking to you today, Mr. Councilman. Have a great weekend and I so look forward to seeing you on Monday. Bye now!!"


















Though many of you may not enjoy the music selections that are in our music player attached to this blog...rest assured that Buck-a-roo and Frank-o do!! Buck-a-roo calls it the "Pu-puter Moosic" and loves for me to BLAST it when we get home from school and they are supposed to be eating their dinner which is exactly the scene for the videos below. I will be the first to admit that there are most probably many more age-appropriate songs they could be "getting down to" but, oh well. Also note in the video that it is a rap song in the background, but that Buck-a-roo is playing the rock-n-roll "air guitar". Momentarily, scroll to the bottom of the screen and pause the music player so you can here the video clips.

Now I Said My ABCs.....

**pause the music player at the bottom of the page to hear the video clips**

Enjoy this video clip of Cody reciting his ABCs
(Note the Bob the Builder goggles):



And, here's the translation per Harley
(note the "bisor", a.k.a. visor):

Caught ya

I captured this video of the boys on my bed. After a few seconds, Cody realized I was videoing so he began to say, "Cheese"!! Not certain what they are doing or what they are pretending to shoot!?!

It is tough for me, but take note that they are really into NOT wearing clothes here lately ;o)

Ready, Aim, Shoot

The Farmer in the Dell

Cody has recently learned the nursery rhyme, The Farmer in the Dell, at school and loves to sing it; though, sometimes it gets combined with, Old McDonald had a Farm...then it goes, "The Farmer in the Dell, The Farmer in the Dell, E-I, E-I, Ooo"!!

Here's a video clip of Cody singing:




TRANSLATION (by Harley):

Today is the Day...All Nu-Nu's get thrown Away

It has been 1 hour 9 minutes of blood-curdling, back-arching, stiff-legged, lip-biting, lip-bleeding, dry-heaving, gagging, stuffed animal throwing, red-faced screaming "My Nu-Nu" at least 1,000 times. The Nu-Nu's have been throw away, so PRAY, PRAY, PRAY!!! At least, Cody is getting a little hoarse.

My head hurts.............