Quote of the day:

Madison: "Mommy? When you're all grown up how do you get babies in your tummy?"

Um...

Are You Smarter Than A Home-Schooled First Grader?

Take this quiz on the rise of ancient empires and find out!

1. Tall, stair-stepped monuments in ancient Mesopotamia are called _________.
a. pyramids
b. ziggurats
c. cuneiform

2. Egyptian pyramids and Mesopotamian ziggurats show that these ancient peoples were good at ____________.
a. singing
b. building
c. poetry

3. I lived in Ur and traveled to Canaan. God told me to go there and worship only one God, not the many gods of Mesopotamia. Who am I?
a. Abraham
b. Sargon
c. Joseph

4. Abraham's descendents are called __________.
a. Egyptians
b. Jews
c. Babylonians

5. Where did the Israelites go when they left Canaan?
a. Mesopotamia
b. Babylon
c. Egypt

6. Babylon was a large, powerful city in __________.
a. Mesopotamia
b. Egypt
c. Canaan

7. Hammurabi was famous for writing ___________.
a. a book of poetry
b. a story of gods
c. a code of laws

8. Followers of Judaism believe in one God.
a. True
b. False

9. I am a king of ancient Mesopotamia who was taught a lesson by a monster named Enkidu. Who am I?
a. Hammurabi
b. Gilgamesh
c. Abraham

Answers: 1. B, 2. B, 3. A, 4. B, 5. C, 6. A, 7. C, 8. A, 9. B

Not your best score?

Yeah, me neither.

Bradley kicked my booty...

Do you see this?

Did he lock himself in his room? Play hide-n-seek too long? Time-out taken to hysterics?

Sadly, no.

This, my friends, is where Marshall has decided to take his afternoon nap. Yep, his two-year-old self has decided things downstairs are way more fun than sleeping so instead of doing so, he screams and bangs on the door 'till exhaustion takes over...

...and he sleeps like this.

It's been going on all week long. I made the mistake of moving him to his bed once. He immediately woke up, commenced crying, and that was that. It's been a fun week.

"Well," someone said to me, "I guess he's trying to tell you he doesn't need naps anymore."

Hmm, food for thought, but since he's not making up that sleep anywhere else and is beyond cranky everyday, I don't think that's what he's telling me. Not to mention, the day I allow the toddler to tell me what he thinks is best for him will be the day he eats chicken nuggets and chocolate for every single meal.

So, he cries

and cries

and cries

'till he chooses to climb into Madison's bed or I find him like the picture above.

So...this is a stage, right?

right?

My husband

I had a knock at my door yesterday. A very unexpected knock followed by the most unexpected surprise...


Followed by this...


Since the recent passing of my father-in-law, the family firm has now fallen on my husband's shoulders. Hence, we don't get to see him very much anymore.

I can't even begin to tell you how much that card means to me.

Grrr...


You wouldn't believe how many of those little dinosaur sticker thingies (what ARE they?) I found stuck to clothes.

But that is the cleanest money I've ever seen.

What do YOU find in your dryer?

What do you do with a two-year-old child who has declared himself independent?

Document every single moment, of course!

Yep, it's true, Marshall has confirmed his big boy status all week long.

He no longer feels the need to wear bibs,


Gets himself dressed every single morning,

Brushes his own teeth,


This boy even decorates his own cookies,


Yep, Mommy's job is all done. He's good to go into the world now and be all on his own, he tells me so daily.

Anyone else been fired from their job by a toddler?

Christmas tree all aglow...


Special ornaments hung with care...


Christmas music playing in the background...


and naked bums a-plenty.

Here's to hoping your house looks as 'pinch-able' as ours!