HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD!

I know Dad doesn't usually check the blog but I just thought I'd give a shout out to the man who is half the reason most of us are here. Let's hear it for the Papa Bear. I think most of what I know about being hard working and tenacious I learned from him. What a great example for all of us. Dad is honorable, upstanding and honest. He's super super smart and has a knack for teaching people and for infusing a love of learning in other people. And besides that, I can't think of much I like better than when Dad cracks himself up. He finds himself so entertaining and you've got to respect that. Or laugh at it. Whatevs.

You're the greatest Dad! We love you.

Sassy Pig

Ashley likes to take toys in her bed, and we have a rule. At naptime, she can take any toy she wants, but at bedtime it has to be a quiet toy (one that doesn't make noise). You would be surprised what toys are quiet and what toys aren't. I was putting Ash in bed just now and she was in the process of picking a quiet toy. I suggested a favorite pig puppet and she said, "No, cuz he's sassy." Kind of took me back to the days when the door to the upstairs bedroom slammed shut during Jake's nap and we went up to find the Penguin violently thrown down the stairs...

Sometimes shutting down the freeway isn't so bad

This weekend, a major accident caused the freeway to be shut down so I decided to not battle the insane traffic this morning and play hookey. Hence, I got to be a "real mom" and take Aurora to Lombardi Ranch this afternoon. And here's the kicker, I'm posting this a mere 90 minutes after coming home. For me, that's a major feat. So even thought this isn't quite so exciting as birthing a baby like in the previous post, I'm just an einsey wiensey bit proud of myself. Happy Fall you guys!

Can I get an 8-clap...

for the NEW ONE Lisonbeaker!

Nathan James Lisonbee (Nate Dawg)

Born October 12th, 4:07pm. Weighing in at 7 lbs 10 oz, and 19 inches long. He gets the short and fat from my side of the family.

Labor was not too bad, at least pain free which I am a big fan of. I'm feeling very happy, in fact I'll even throw in a :) just so you know how good I really feel. Nate is a very good baby so far, I'm loving it.

Approved by all the most important critics, we think we'll keep him. Bash calls him, "baby bwother," and is possibly the most excited of all. This morning I called the house for Justin and talked to the girls while he was getting ready for church. Ash wanted to know if baby bwother could talk on the phone. Yesterday when they came to visit at the hospital she didn't want to go home because she said, "I will miss the baby bwother!"

How can you not love a kid with chubby cheeks and frog legs?

The Human Cannonball

So, on my way into the office Tuesday morning, I heard something exciting on the radio. You see, Texas is having it's annual State Fair right now and the DJ mentioned that there is a human cannonball event every day at the fairgrounds. I listened intently to the description and the next thing I knew, I was in the middle of a daydream watching my body being launched out of a cannon and my mind had wandered to through following thought processes:

1. That could be fun.
2. I bet I could do that.
3. Surely it takes little to no skill.
4. I'm not even afraid of heights.
5. I bet the hazard pay is pretty good!

When I realized what was happening in my mind, I quickly shook myself from the daydream and came to the stark realization that if it feels like a positive career move to me to crunch myself into the barrel of an instrument once used as a weapon of war only to become the projectile being hurled from such instrument, perhaps that says something about my current job. Just at thought. But take a look at those photos...I really COULD be good at that, don't you think?

POOP!!!!

That's right. Poop. I received a call from my wife today as I was driving home from work. That is not all that uncommon. So, she asked when I would be home. Again, nothing out of the ordinary, except that I was actually leaving at a reasonable hour, thinking it might be a reasonably relaxing night for once. That's when she broke the news.

Earlier in the week, the girls had gotten into the closet in their room. Up til then, they hadn't been able to open the closet, so this was our first experience with TOTAL MAYHEM, TWIN-STYLE. They took some books that mean a lot to me and they literally ripped the pages out one by one. I know, those of the rest of you with kids are thinking "Big deal, kids do that all the time." Not like this they don't. I promise. It was an absolute war zone. I was so mad I could have spit nails.

So, last night, we put on those child-proof doorknobs. Let's just say they didn't work. The girls managed to break through it. And, they got into my bills, my tax returns, destroyed my filing cabinet, spread all of that all over the floor in a now near-unrecoverable manner. If that weren't enough, they went for the wedding album. They successfully removed several pictures. Fortunately, they didn't rip them. They just bent them and "decorated" them, as detailed below.

Yep, I'm going there. Brittany decided she wanted to go au-naturale. She took off her diaper. And yes, she decided to spread the poop throughout the room. That would include on the new area rug, the ottoman, the wedding pictures, the floor, the wall, etc.

So, let me tell you, that was a REALLY NICE SURPRISE. So, in case your day is really nice today, mine was accentuated with some poop.

Spring Chickens

For Halloween this year, I thought I would try and be domestic and actually make the kids a costume. I really hope I'm not getting in over my head and there's no going back now because I already ordered all the supplies I need. Anyway, here's a picture of what the girls are going to be - my little Spring Chickens! I got the idea from Martha Stewart. Wish me luck!!! I will surely need it.