Burkes Make Drama

Drama, drama, drama.

When your last name is Burke and you lose a tooth, crap hits the fan.

And it's not fun for those of us who bear witness to the losing of the teeth. But hey, I guess it can be traumatic. Jade and Izzy took it to a new level but they are both the oldest children, so it kind of makes sense. When I found out that Izzy lost a tooth, I was in shock.  And then I pulled out the super glue and tried to undo the madness. It is kind of cute that they both lost the same tooth within in a matter of weeks.

Back to my always impending midlife crisis. I now have a toothless grin running around the house.

I know I am a little vain but I was super relieved that we had pictures done the day before the tooth fell out. I mean toothless is only cute for so long.

Now whenever I see Izzy toothless, I experience a very real flashback of me hyperventilating on my office floor when I found out I was pregnant.

And now I have a child that is old enough to lose teeth.

Somebody pinch me.

Oh wait, I am half at fault for producing this dorky, full of teeth, love bunny.

I'm good. No pinching required.

Kids Say Things To Make Their Parents Look Bad

Seriously, I don't know what to do.

I can't win at this game even when I'm trying. I have no idea who I am up against in this hypothetical game scenario. Yet I still am losing. Wow, that's the sign of a pathetic person.

I know how smart all of you are out there in bloggy world. And you know that kids repeat things. That's what they do.

I swear that my four year old has it out for me. And I am still debating on whether it's on purpose or not.

She half repeats what I say. The bad half.

For example, I said "I check on you every night after you go to sleep but then I sneak out to I don't wake you,"

Isabelle told her friend McKinley, "My mom sneaks out when we are sleeping."

I had to drop off a check to a business for Izzy's school and it was raining. I didn't want to schlep my kids inside, so I parked right outside the door and said, "I'm going to cheat and park up front."

Isabelle told her teacher the next day, "My mom cheats."

The dog annoys me. I said "I swear I can't take it one more day."

I'm sure you see where that one went.

The best one was when I said, "Wow, I wish I had a lock on my door to keep the demon children out."

Guess what? She got that one verbatim in front of her entire preschool class. "My mom wants a lock on her door to keep the demons out."

Hey, I'm not perfect. I'm ok with that.

I'm So Glad I Paid 18.00 For This.

Oh M Ba Gee Gee. I can't believe my four-year-old.

Dance pictures this year didn't go well.

In all fairness, she told me she didn't want to go. She said "didn't feel like it." And I pushed. Never again.

Even the photographer commented on how she usually is able to crack the toughest of cases but she couldn't get through to Izzy. Not even for one half smile. And that lady has four kids.

And I paid $18 for this wonderful experience. I wrote the check while standing in the middle of 12 other excited girls. And there was my princess, grouchy as hell.

And now for the grand finale.

Here is Izzy's celebrity mug shot. TMZ, you owe me one for this if she ever breaks into the big leagues.

P.S. I was extremely annoyed at the end of this experience. I'm sure you can't tell why. Izzy went straight to time out when we got home. I'm doubtful any kind of contructive lesson came from it, but hey, I felt better.

364 Unbirthdays

I think all of you know one of the most spunkiest girls out there.

We think she's pretty special.

And guess what? 364 days a year, it's her unbirthday. So please don't forget it when you see her. Or else she will remind you.

"Don't you have something to say to me?" she asked Paula.

"Uhhh, hi?" said Paula.

"UUhhh no. It's my unbirthday and your didn't say anything." said Isabelle.

Naturally Paula fell to her knees in shame and remorse.

But she quickly recovered.

The reason that Izzy picked day to have the above mentioned conversation was because it was her OFFICIAL unbirthday at school.

So we made this poster.

And she presented it to her class. 

And she walked around the sun five times. Symbolic for the five years she has reigned Queen Supreme in this household.

But we love it that way.

And she sat behind the special desk while all the kids sang to her. It was very sweet to see how cool Izzy felt and we were grateful that her school allowed us to come witness it.

I had a mini-hamburger to celebrate.

Random I know.

Xanax & a Limo

Oh M Ba Gee Gee Peeps! We're back!

And alive.

But just barely.

Driving to Las Vegas with two kids takes awhile. Who would have thunk?

First off, we roll ghetto. You probably know that. We shipped our one-year-old down to Vegas in snow boots.

The awesomesauce part is that there were no back up shoes. No tennis shoes, no sandals, not even a pair of socks were included. Only snow boots. And I guess I have to mention they were at least two sizes too big. Cambri dressed herself that morning and both the Daddy Man and I thought someone else took care of it. Like the little smurfs that live under the sofa I guess. Let's just call this strike one.

Strike two. Our kid slept in the bathtub.



It was a nice bathtub. Does that make it sound better?

We didn't intend for her to sleep there but sharing a bed with her sister turned problematic. Like biting random body parts and pulling out arm hairs instead of at least pretending to be compliant with her parent's orders of going to bed.

Kids these days really need more fear. A healthy dose of being scared of their parents. Remind me to work on this sometime. Like maybe with hold Spongebob for a day. That will teach them.

Strike three. Chasey held our kids way too close to the edge of the Hoover Dam.

Immediately after taking this picture, I threw myself on the ground in the fetal position. Begging my husband to move away from the ledge. The shakes consumed my body and it really became more than I could take.

Move away from the ledge.

For the love, move away from the ledge.

Isabelle took this picture while Chase was holding her over the handrail by her ankles.

Just kidding.

It only felt that way to the fanatical parent not pictured because I was hyperventilating in the background. For realsies.

I guess I should bring up the most important part of the trip.

Being reunited with our long lost cousin. B-RAY!



And the wedding of course. It was beauiful and elegant. All wrapped up into one divine experience of love.

And I got a new sister-in-law out out of the whole thing. Yay for me. I always knew I was a winner.

I am kind of unhealthily obsessed with my current sister-in-law, Nicole, because she is so awesome. I hope Tanya is prepared.

Guess who is also unheathily obsessed? Chasey...

It's kind of hard to tell but here he is with his legs wrapped around Nic in a weird way. With her husband staring on in the background.

I do have a photo that shows the above mentioned situation a little better. I was going to post but then I asked myself, "Does the Internet really need a photo that shows things 'better'?"

I don't think so.

The highlight of the trip was the limo ride the kids took with their grandparents.

Why you ask? Because Ryan ordered the limo.

Loaded the kids.

Loaded the grandparents.

And then Nicole acted as if she was getting in. But instead said, "I feel like this would be better if you had taken Xanax earlier today."

An then she shut the door. Slapped the top of the limo. And off it went.

Leaving four happy adults. Who enjoyed a meal with NO KIDS. Sweet!

And two probably stressed out grandparents. But they must have been in good spirits because they had the limo driver take them to McDonalds. And that made for SUPER happy kids.

I feel like I have lot's more to say. But I won't bore you.

Thanks for reading. Viva Las Vegas.

All Dressed Up For One Place To Go

We are headed to Las Vegas! Twice in one year, lucky us :)

My brother-in-law is getting married. And we are so excited to witness the big event. Weddings are such a fun time to reflect on your own life and just be happy.

But right now we are in prepare mode.

We had our hair done.

And our nails did.



Don't you think that Izzy and Cambri picked out festive colors? In case you can't tell, Cambri picked out electric green and Izzy neon yellow.

But we are also preparing for other things. I'm a little nervous to take my girls to Sin City. They are so innocent and it's my job to keep them that way. Las Vegas is fun for adults but might give young minds the wrong impression :(

So we are practicing.

What do you do when Mommy tells you to hurry and close your eyes?

What do you do when Mommy tells you to plug your ears?

And most importantly, who is going to do everything Mommy says very quickly? To keep us and our minds safe.

Wish us luck!

And yes I had to bribe my kids with McDonalds. They were starting to get bored with my neurotic ways.

The Mess is Too Much for Me

I like Easter. But I hate the mess of dying Easter eggs. It makes me want to crawl out of my skin.

So my kids had never dyed eggs before.

My aunt found that out and was mortified.

So out came the egg dying kit.

And in went twenty little fingers.

Cambri only got through two eggs. And they were both a very deep orange. She plopped the egg in and out of the cup several hundred times before it became too much for me. And I took away her spreading-dye-all-over-hell-and-breakfast privilege.

 At least we were at Grandma Great's house. That's all I have to say about that.

Adventures in Un-Babysitting

Okay peeps, I was only gone for 15 minutes. All I wanted to do was run to the store and not have to schlep my kids with me. And Chuck volunteered to help.

But when I got home, things were amiss... the cookies had been broken into.

 And the culprit was at the table eating them.  At least she put on a bib. She's a clean thief if nothing else.

And no one was wearing pants. Well Chuck was wearing pants. Thank goodness. But no one else. 

Remember when I said I was only gone for 15 minutes? That may have been a slight exaggeration.

I was only gone for 12 minutes. But yet my babysitter was completely asleep.

And he was covered with every blanket in the house that was available for use. Courtesy of his loving granddaughters. 

And an hour later, when I had completely cooked dinner, I had to go wake him up. He had actually slept through a reposition.

Once again, coutesy of his granddaughters.

Anyone else need an un-babysitter? I believe he may be available for hire on nights and weekends...

Yay for Adoption!

Hey Faithful Blog Followers!

Can I ask you a favor? You know, besides reading this blog regularly :)

I want to introduce you to dear friends and just ask that you keep them in mind as you go about living your day to day life...

Meet Tyler and Hillary!

Don't they look sweet? Just in case you were wondering, they are as cool as they look!

They are hoping (& praying) to adopt. And I know their baby is out there somewhere.

 Hillary and I have been friends for over 10 years. Yes, thank you for asking! It is very scary that we are that old!

I have flashbulb memories of her talking about being a mom all the way back in our high school days. I know how much this means to her. She has such a sweet spirit and will cherish and honor her commitment as a mother. This baby will  be loved and taken care of in a way that I could never possibly describe here.

Words could never truly capture it .

So where do all of you fit in?

1. Just keep them in mind. You never know when you may run into a friend or family member who needs your love and support while considering adoption.

2. Peruse http://www.tylerandhillaryadoption.blogspot.com/ You can learn more about Tyler and Hillary and how extremely fun they are!

3. Open Facebook and search for Tyler and Hillary are hoping to adopt.

And then this is the important part. 

Hit "Like"

Even if you don't know them. Even if you know that as much as you would like to, you would never be able to help.

Because you never really know where life is going to take you :)