She's coming!

Baby Girl Petro is on her way...............

BOO!

we've got spirit, yes we do

Here are some pictures of the kids during Spirit Week at Betton Hills.

MONDAY: PAJAMA DAY

TUESDAY: CRAZY HAIR DAY

(It was really crazy, I swear, and I used about a pound of gel, but this photo doesn't do it justice.)

WEDNESDAY: MISMATCH DAY

(a true hump-day -- we were late, they were cranky, and no one really wanted to be taking pictures at 6:30am)

THURSDAY: CHARACTER DRESS UP DAY

(of course he's Batman. Who else would he be? Nevermind the fact that I bought the costume used...two years ago...and it fits him like capri's)

FRIDAY: BLUE AND GOLD SPIRIT DAY

we must be doing something right

Yesterday afternoon, the kids received their annual Halloween candy and cards in the mail from Gram and Gramps. They excitedly opened the cards to see what was inside (after all, we all know that's the best part -- what's inside), and the following conversation ensued:

LOGAN: Ohhhhhh! MONEY!!!!!!!

GAVIN: Yay! Money!!!!

ME: Oh, that's nice. What should we do with it? Put it in your piggy bank?

LOGAN: No, mama. I want to give it to the sick children at the children's hospital.

ME: (I'm so proud of him!) That's so nice, Logan. You are such a thoughtful and generous boy!

GRAY: (gauging my reaction and not wanting to be left out) I want to give my money to the sick children too, mama! I don't want to put it in my piggy bank.

And so we put all the money (Keegan's too, since the consensus was that if he could talk he, too, would want to give his money to the sick kids) in an envelope to send to Logan's school for the St. Jude Trike-a-thon next week. And I went to bed that night satisfied that we are raising our children to appreciate what they have, to help others in need, and to "do unto others..."

~ For it is in giving that we receive ~

~ St. Francis Assisi ~

Deer Lake Blazers 2008

The best of the season

tickle bones

Overheard tonight while the boys were playing "Operation" with Doctor Daddy:

JAY: I'm trying to get the tickle bones out, but there's a lot of them (says Doctor Daddy who is performing surgery on Logan).

LOGAN: (deafening squeals and screams -- really, he sounds like a dying cat when he does this)

GAVIN: Oh, no. This isn't a good doctor, Logan!

Hopefully Gavin is a better doctor. He gave me a tummy tuck with a hair dryer.

can't push THESE down!

I'm not really sure where this came from, but when the boys want to show me how strong they are, they'll show me their muscles and say, "You can't push THESE down!!!!" It's awfully cute, just like them.

I can't cook green beans

So, the other night, I made my favorite green bean recipe (fresh green beans cooked in butter and garlic). Seriously, they are so delicious that I was snacking on them after dinner too! Logan, however, wasn't impressed. He sat at the table for over an hour after we had finished dinner and refused to eat the three green beans that I had served him. He yelled, cried, moped, whined, and even tried to throw up. In the end, he won (with a comment that melted my heart -- dialogue posted below) and was finally excused from the table. For the record, he was excused to bed...without dessert, not to play -- for all of my psychologist friends who are about to point out that I just reinforced the behavior.

LOGAN: (with tears in his eyes) Mama, you're not a good cooker of green beans.

ME: Oh, really?

LOGAN: Yeah, you shouldn't cook them anymore.

ME: Well, what should I cook then? (I mean vegetables, but this point is lost on him)

LOGAN: You know: pizza, hot dogs, soup. You're a good cooker of all those things.

follow the yellow brick road

You might have already noticed, but I've been posting a lot more regularly lately. That's because I've decided to take the school psychologist's licensing exam. So, my other alternative is to study. Can you say...PROCRASTINATE? Anyway, I saw this cool thing on my blogger tools and thought I'd add it. If you look to the right, you'll see something that says "follow this blog". If you click on it and give your info, it will email you when I update my blog so you can be sure to be up-to-date on all the Allison Adventures! Happy Reading....

hot off the press

Brayden James McCormick is finally here!!!!!

Born: Oct 1, 2008
Time: 9:38 PM
Weight: 7 lbs. 3 oz.
Height: 19.25 inches

Jenna had a 2.5 hour labor! She sure knows how to get 'em outta there! Mama and baby are doing well. Macie's not sure what she thinks of all of this.

a picture's worth 1,000 words

I don't wanna play today

He wasn't that into it.

the best of soccer practice

new booster seats

In an effort to accommodate our growing family and lower our monthly gas expenditures, we recently bought new booster seats for the Civic with the hopes of driving it more frequently while traveling as a family (30 mpg vs. 15 mpg in the Expedition!) This means we needed to find a way to fit 3 car seats in the back seat...not an easy task. So, we finally figured it out (kind of -- my recommendation to you would just be to stop having kids after you reach two and if you must have more than two children, just give in and buy a mini-van) and Jay finally found an extra minute to install them in the car. Of course, the boys immediately started exploring their new surroundings and the following conversation ensued (as retold by Jay):

LOGAN: Whoa! New car seats!
GRAY: Wow!
LOGAN: What's this, Daddy?!?!?
GRAY: Those are hold-cuppers, Logan!
LOGAN: Huh?
GRAY: You know...hold-cuppers! It's where you put your juice!
LOGAN: Oh!

How the heck do you work this thing?

Rather than read the manual (that would be too logical of a thing to do), I just keep playing around with the new camera to try to figure out how to work it. Can you tell the kids are getting a little sick of it?

You know it's time to have your baby when...

...you can successfully balance your other baby on your belly without holding her!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JENNA! I hope your birthday wish comes true -- in the form of a special visit to L & D! Come on, Finn -- what's the hold up?

Happy and Grumpy

We've got two of the seven dwarfs right here in our house. Happy was eager to have his picture taken with Mommy's new camera, but Grumpy in the background was having none of it!

(Really I just posted this to show how AWESOME this new camera is. The Allison's have decided to upgrade since we take 1,000 pictures every month. Of course, it would help if I knew how to use it, but check out how Logan is blurry in the background and Gavin is in focus! Love it.)

Baby Keegs

He just loves his "Baby Keegs" so much!

Go 'Noles