Random Photos

This is what happens when you lay down on the couch to rest.

Dominic and his Mem.

 I do not remember what is so funny to Dominic. But I love this picture.

 Dominic and one of his favorite teachers.

Funnies

The discussion right now -

Did God or Satan make farts?

Heaven help me! 

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Dominic - "It hurts a man to brush his hair. It's like pulling it out. Men have crazy hair. That's why we keep our hair short. It just isn't a good experience to brush it."

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Caitlin was being difficult this morning. Dominic and I were in the kitchen and I muttered under my breath "that girl is going to be the death of me". Dominic then starts singing "The worst is yet to come."
(Taken from a popular song on the radio)

The funniest part was that he was so incredibly proud of coming up with the perfect thing to say that he's mentioned it several times since. It's been weeks now, and he will still comment on how awesome it was that he said the perfect thing at the perfect moment that had me laughing.

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Dominic and I were talking about how some kids went through "awkward or ugly" stages. He asked if I thought he'd gone through that stage. When I told him no, he said "I really think this generation is better than the last. We are stronger, healthier, and better looking."
WELL. . .

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The things they say!

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Every day when I drop the kids off at school they lean up into the front seat to give me a hug before they get out of the car. When Dominic leaned up I felt something on his face. 

"Dominic, you have something on your face."

"WHAT! I sure hope puberty isn't getting on me!"

"Uh, no. Pretty sure it's peanut butter from breakfast."

"Oh. Okay. I'll wash it off when I get inside."

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Conversation overheard while the kids were playing in the other room.

Dominic - "Caitlin, it's just a fact you are going to have to accept and live with."

Caitlin - "Why?"

Dominic - "Because sometime we have to live with the fact that our family has very long eyelashes. We can't do anything about it."

Caitlin - "Okay, but it's annoying."

Oh to have such problems.

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Dominic wasn't wanting to change out of his clothes from the day before that he'd also slept in.

"Can't I just wear this. It would be easier for everyone."

"Why?"

"Because I wouldn't have to change and you wouldn't have to do laundry." 

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Apparently my children are very limber.

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Motorcycle riding with Daddy.

 

 

Spring

We've been busy this spring and I just haven't taken as many pictures as I normally do.

So here is some of the things we've been doing this spring.

I went up to run the trail run at Fall Creek Falls again this year. We had intended to camp that weekend, but a combo of Jon being out of town all week and constant rain until Sunday morning prompted us to just drive down the day of the race. I've written about my racing experience on my personal blog, but thought I'd throw in some pictures here of the rest of the family.

It was rather soggy still so the kids got muddy. Leila (my niece) was there and it was fun to play on the playground and cheer for the runners.

 

 The kids ran a little ways with each of us (my cousin, dad, brother, and I) as we came close to the finish line. The pic below is of my brother.

I absolutely LOVE daffodils. So each spring I find a place that no one will notice if I steal some blooms and fill up a vase or two to keep in the house. I thought if I planted a ton it would work, but then I loved the view out my windows and so couldn't pick my own flowers. So Jon found a field, while out biking, that is not in view of anyone's home.

The kids had the entire program at church a couple of weeks ago. It was precious. They sang songs, had a skit for the children's story, and acted out the sermon. 

Caitlin was the princess in the story of Moses.
Dominic was an Israelite in the story of the plagues of Egypt.

 

We went to Blue Coast the other night and Caitlin had her face painted. She asked the lady for a blue lady bug. This was a couple of weeks ago and we are still finding glitter around the house.

They make me laugh

Recently I made a Mexican dish and used salsa. I didn't have time to blend the salsa like I normally do. Caitlin was eating and in a very astonished voice

"MOMMY! There's onions in here. You know the Murrell family doesn't eat onions.
How could you?!"

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Caitlin just came into the room with her dress on backwards.
"I accidentally took off my clothes. So I had to put them back on. And I put my dress on backwards."

Jon and I are trying to figure out how one accidentally takes their clothes off.
This could be a very, very bad thing.

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Dominic called Jon into his room to help him get to sleep.
"Daddy, can you please help me. I have too much mental energy and I can't go to sleep."

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It was St. Patrick's Day and Dominic was dismayed to find that he'd outgrown his only green uniform shirt. Fearful that he would get pinched all day he taped a green crayon to his shirt.

We were all thankful when Jon pointed out that he had a pair of running shoes with lots of green on them he could wear.

 

Fun!

We've been having a great fall. Just been a bit too busy to write about it. So here are some random shots of the fun we've been having lately.

Dominic's wonky teeth keep falling out.

We went camping at Rock Island with friends and had SO much fun.

 Dominic with a friend at the lake.

A field trip that we went on earlier this month to Autumn Acres.

At my cousin's wedding. Caitlin LOVES weddings.

It was a bit chilly at the outdoor wedding. 

So Kim (another cousin) and Caitlin were trying to keep warm.

Random Stuff

I was running with Dominic this morning. He was slightly in front when he turned to me and said -

"Watch Mom! I can run more aerodynamic. It helps me run faster."

 He bent his head forward and with arms straight by his side, he took off running. I was laughing too hard to run very fast, but the little guy was seriously booking it.

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Caitlin just came running in and asked for a thumb sack. Turns out she meant a thumb tack.

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Caitlin talking about gymnastics -
"Ms Kelly is going to bring her bricks to class next time so she can smaller us up. She said we are getting too big."

I'm with Ms. Kelly on that one.

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These past two weeks have been crazy and stressful. Today Jon is camping w/ the Pathfinders and I'm parenting alone. For some reason the kids have been wild and rambunctious. I was about ready to lose my mind. At lunch Dominic made a comment about playing a contest game. So I made up the rules. The person who goes the longest without making any noise at all wins. Call me evil, but I'm loving my children's competitive nature right now. The sound of silence is wonderful. =)

Should I tell them the prize is getting to go outside to play? No, probably not yet!

Just saying. . .

Dominic was trying to describe a new student to me. He wasn't being descriptive enough and so I was trying to help.

"Is it the girl ahead of us in drop off today."

"No mom! That girl is a big huge teenager or something. I'm talking about a normal kid like me."

This "huge" teenager looked all of 10 or 12 and wasn't even a foot taller than Dominic.

What must he think of me?!

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Every night Jon or I go into the kids bedrooms and tuck them in. We say a little prayer and then it's lights out. I've been praying for their future spouses. I'll often make it relevant to what they are experiencing. So tonight I prayed that Dominic's future wife was having a great school year.

Dominic's response - "What if she isn't in school yet?"

"Do you mean if she might be starting later in the month?"

"No. What if I marry a much younger woman?"

He was dead serious.

Heaven help me! This child is going to be the death of me!

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Caitlin is so sweet and cuddly at this age. Well actually she's always been a cuddle bug. So when we are cuddling I'll tell her that I like her so much that I've decided to keep her forever.

Usually she'll giggle and say ok.

Not this last time.

"Well you are going to have to share me with Ms. Julie."

"What?!"

"Well I really like her and I want you and Daddy to share me with her. Okay?"

There are two people that Caitlin thinks hung the moon.

Ms. Julie and Ms. Beth-Anne.

Notice it isn't Jon or I?

But since I like them too, I'll share my cuddle bug with them.

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Dominic's teacher told me a story about him. In case you haven't noticed, he has a very high self-esteem. Just ask him - he's awesome!

So today the teacher pulled each student up to the front and had the other students say nice things about them. She wrote those things on the board and then took a picture of the student with their board.

She showed me Dominic's picture. On the board were some nice and cute things. And then there was this - "He's as awesome as he thinks he is."

I died laughing. I expected it was one of the older students. But no, it was a new student. 

His reputation has spread fast. Today was only the third day of school.

Crazy Wild & Mixed Up Day

The post is crazy long and probably boring. But I wanted to put it here so I wouldn't forget about the crazy details later. You certainly don't have to bore yourself. =)

Yesterday was a bit crazy. It started the night before when Caitlin woke us up so many times we lost count. Still not sure why. So Jon and I were exhausted when we got up that morning.

Dominic and I woke up at 5:15am to go running since the kids had camp all morning and we wouldn't be able to run later.

It was a wonderful run. The moon was setting on one side, the sun was rising on the other and my favorite little boy was running beside me. We ran a two mile loop and then Dominic headed to the house for a shower while I ran the loop again.

I returned to find Jon cleaning out the freezer. When he had opened the door to the refrigerator everything was warm. So he hoped/figured that maybe there was something in the freezer blocking the airflow, since the freezer was working fine. Sure enough! I had to defrost a non-defrost freezer all day with my food in coolers. So after an emergency trip to the store for ice we soon had everything in coolers and the appliance empty. 

Only to realize that it was going to take a major effort and mess to get back into the coolers to get the stuff out to make Dominic a lunch for camp. He was one happy boy when I told him that we were stopping at Burger King for egg & cheese croissants.

 Dropped Caitlin off at camp at 9am. She was a bit nervous, but even more excited. My girly girl was getting to go to princess ballet camp. And she got to wear dance clothes. She was in heaven.

Dominic's camp didn't start until 9:45. So I rushed across town to put some more money on a gift card at the bike store. I've slowly, but surely been secretly putting money on a gift card to buy Jon this majorly expensive bike that he's been wanting. He had no idea we were so close to getting it. He thought we were only putting his mad money/allowance on it. But I was also putting my money on it, and every time I was paid for a review or survey I stuck that on there too. I was super excited. 

But back to the story - I arrived at the store to find they didn't open for another 30 minutes. So back across town we go. Arrive at the camp a few minutes early and spot a coffee shop that I have a gift card to. So I figured I'd try coffee again. I was definitely tired enough to need the caffeine boost. I got an iced chocolate/mint mocha. I couldn't taste the mint and the after taste was like eating an ashtray. It was terrible. And to make matters worse, my gift card had been erased. I knew how much was on it, so she just gave me a discount that was the equivalent. But still - for a terrible drink.

Dominic was beyond excited for class. It was art class and he was going to be painting Yoda. 

Life just doesn't get any better.

I leave there to go back to the bike shop. I can't find the gift cards. So I put the bike on layaway since we are getting close. I run some errands and return home to get the gift cards. Pick up Caitlin from dance camp and rush back to the store with the card. The card doesn't work. Same as the coffee shop. Thankfully the shop owner is able to retrieve everything and we are now within a few dollars of paying off the bike. I decide to leave the balance and show Jon at lunch.

Lunch was fun. Jon couldn't quit smiling when he realized he could bring his bike home that day. And I'll admit I wasn't far behind him. He's been dreaming about this bike FOR EVER! But with house issues, tuition, travel, etc. eating up our money we just hadn't made it a priority. But I decided Jon had sacrificed enough on the house for me, it was his turn. I mean, look at my library!!!

Caitlin and I go home to play princess and check on the fridge. It's still defrosting. We return at 2pm to pick up Dominic. I couldn't get over how amazing his picture was. Baby boy has some talent.

But I couldn't look at it long, because we were headed straight to the doctors office to check on his finger. On Saturday evening he was playing on his skateboard and pulled his finger back. It immediately swelled up and became painful to use. After his broken arm experience two years ago I decided to make an appointment. But he wasn't about to miss camp.

Ironically enough, I'd won a gift card to the clinic a year ago and saved it just in case something like this ever happened. They ask for my co-pay and I hand them the card. It's not working. And when it does, it says $11. Since I know I haven't used it, and there was $50 on there, I was a bit frustrated.

Long story short (and several hours later). Dominic does NOT have a broken finger and my gift card has been fixed. His finger was hyper extended and so it's been buddy wrapped to help it heal and we'll have to keep it wrapped for a week. But that is way better than a cast all summer.

When we all got home we sort of crashed. It has been a hairy day. But fingers are good, fridge is now defrosted and working again, Jon is in love with his new bike and the kids are anticipating the next day of camp.

 And this morning Caitlin summed up the night (and hopefully how today will go) when she said very sleepily as she woke up -

 

"I'm happy for me that didn't wake up you."

Baby girl suffers from the same verbal dyslexia as her mom does.

Kids Stuff

Found these waiting for me in the bathroom when I went to take my shower.
At least they're dead.

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I'm big on loving on my kids. So I'm always trying to kiss Dominic's nose (to his distress) and I've told Caitlin I love her neck. It might have just a little something to do with the fact that they either don't like being kissed (Dominic) or are incredibly ticklish there (Caitlin). 

Today I was eating something and Caitlin asked for a bite. I thought I'd tease her and told her if she'd give me a bite of her neck I'd give her my food. With a serious face she asked -

"Is it Mother's Day?"

"No."

"Well I said I would let you kiss my neck on Mother's Day. But since it's not, you can't. Can I still have a bite?"

After I quit laughing I gave her some of my chocolate.

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Today Dominic was lamenting his advance into Primary (we are at camp meeting).
"I sure miss Pastor Jim. He was awesome. Life is really hard. When you grow up you just can't go back to being the kid you use to be." This was accompanied by a very large sigh.

Yep! Six years old is pure ancient.

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Today is Father's Day and Dominic made the comment at lunch that "when I'm a father in a couple of years. . ." Jon and I just about choked. We are NOT ready for grandchildren quite yet.

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Both of my children are afraid of the dark. So we have night lights and leave the doors open a crack so they can go to sleep. But occasionally even this doesn't seem to help. Still haven't figured out whether all of the times are real or some are ploys to stay up later. But after several nights of squeaks and protests of fear, I'd had it. I marched into Dominic's room and asked him -
Me - "Dominic, what is it that the dark does that has you so scared of it?"
Dominic - "I don't know, I'm just scared."
Me - "Can it snore?"
Dominic (a bit startled) - "No."
Me - "Can it sneeze, laugh, or growl?" (I demonstrated each one as I asked.)
Dominic (now laughing) - "No!"
Me - "Then what in the world can it do that scares you?"
He admitted that he wasn't sure, but that he was still kind of scared of it.
So I told him to picture the dark tooting and it would seem a lot less scary.
I left to quite a bit of laughter and haven't heard this complaint again.

Later I told Jon about it and made the comment that it was one conversation I never pictured  when I pictured sweet moments talking with my kids.

Tonight I had to have the same conversation with Caitlin. It got the same giggles and no more complaints about being scared. If only I'd thought about this several years ago, think of the electricity I could have saved by not having so many lights on all night.

My cute kids!

I have quite a few pictures that are really not enough to fit in a separate post so here they all are.

The kids were helping me make a new dessert. I'll eventually post about it on my other blog.

 Caitlin has this thing about keeping the "wet" off of her mouth. Almost every meal she needs a napkin so she can keep the wet off. So she's wiping her mouth with her apron in this picture.

 One of our many tiny snowfalls.

 Dominic begged and begged for me to have a kids pottery party.

 They both loved it, so we plan to do it again in the summer when the kids can jump in the sprinklers after they finish to wash off the paint.

 "Hey guys look! I'm a dog and my tongue is waggling all around in the wind."

 "My silly brother."

 But it sure looked fun!

 Caitlin and her friend on a nature hike.

The bags were for any treasures they might find.

Just in case you might have missed it - My kids are the cutest, funniest, and awesomest* kids in the whole world. Love them!

*Spell check tells me this isn't a word. Clearly it hasn't met my kids yet.

Random cuteness

Dominic is slightly obsessed with beyblades. Caitlin was trying to tell me the name of one of them.

"Mom, I'm family owned."

I started laughing and I think that's what clued her in that she'd said it wrong. Apparently she was trying to say she was Fang Leone.

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Dominic just told me he doesn't want to be around when Caitlin and I do our nails because the nail polish is ferocious.

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Caitlin is playing with Dominic's legos and quietly singing "My ears are too big for myself." Dominic and I are laughing our heads off and she hasn't even noticed.

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Caitlin came out of her room wearing a long sleeve shirt and shorts. I told her to go back into her room and put pants on because it was cold outside.
"But Mommy, I'm staying inside today."
"Caitlin, we are going out this evening."
"But it's this day, not this evening."
She's still wearing her shorts. I can't argue with that kind of logic.

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Jon was showing me some yoga poses I could do for my knees.
At least he was trying to.

 The kids decided to show us their version of the splits.

If I don't write something down it will soon slip from memory and a week later Jon and I will be trying to remember that funny thing one of the kids did and it's gone.

So here are some things I pulled from facebook or wrote down when it happened. 

Whenever Dominic uses correct table manners he calls it "eating fancy".

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 The kids are reading a book on the body with Jon.
Dominic - "What is that?"
Jon - "It's fat cells."
Dominic - "Then where are the skinny cells?"

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A couple of nights ago I watched Parent Trap with the kids for their first time. For the next several days Caitlin kept asking me to watch Trap the Grownups.

 

From Facebook -

Caitlin is learning the sounds of her ABCs. Today she chose to work on W and the first word she picked to go with the W sound was weapon. Me thinks Jon and I talked a bit too much about last night.
On another note - my cat ate half a bag of Cheetos. Do you think he's going to be sick?!

Caitlin just saw the ASPCA commercial and asked me to mute the tv so we could pray for the poor animals. Melted my heart!

The noises coming from Dominic's room are unearthly (and I don't mean angelic).

Caitlin - "Dominic, what is wrong with your problem?!"

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More proof that the box is as enjoyable as a toy.

 Surprise!

 She couldn't let Dominic have fun without her.

 

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Jon was trying to convince someone to eat the last spoonful of green beans after lunch so he wouldn't have to throw them away (not enough to save). When he asked me Caitlin said "No, it might make her fat." Yikes! Nothing like a little honesty. =)

* * *
We were learning new signs (ASL) at the supper table the other night and Caitlin shows us the universal sign for talking on and on.
"This is the sign for blah, blah, blah, blah."
Jon and I died laughing. I don't remember if we ever told her why we were laughing so hard.