The good, the bad and the talented

The good? Who else... our little trooper is healing up nicely from surgery. The bruising on his face is nearly gone. It's now just kind of a greenish hue running down the side of his face. Lovely. We go in two weeks to get the tube inside of his nostril removed. Can't wait. It remains to be a boogery, bloody mess. Gag.

Quinn continues to be a delight, although he does love to do whatever anyone else next to him is doing. So if that said someone is throwing a fit, then by golly, Quinn's gonna match it, and raise you a double. That's the kind of week its been at my house. A hair raising, whiny good time!

But one cute thing the boys started doing this week was making funny faces. They get a laugh and they know they are funny. This picture is Quinn just coming out of his funny face (he likes to squint his left eye, thus the half squint.)
And its a good thing Turner found something cute to start doing this week, because other than "Make a funny face, Turner" its been non stop, "Stop hitting, Turner." "No, Turner." "Time out, Turner." "Do you want a consequence, Turner?"

Can't you just see it in those eyes? I'm pretty sure he's plotting pure evil in this picture. In fact this week he has decided he will no longer wear socks. It was a 20 minute power struggle as we were getting ready to head out to the Y this morning.

In one of my finer parenting moments I *might* have gone into the other room and used the F word. Not sure when the last time I dropped an F bomb out loud was. Seriously, I'm not proud of this but I figured that was a better route than bodily harm. Do you think someone at our house is full on into the terrible two's?! (Hey, I was talking about Turner!)
My daughter, who you may mistake for Hannah Montana in this photo (don't ask), on the other hand has turned into a dream boat.

My very own little miss lippy from two weeks ago had a break through moment the other day. She and her brothers were going to the park with Steve. It was cold outside so I said she needed to wear her winter coat. Here was her response, "I don't really like wearing that coat, but I'll say okay." And SHE DID. What the...??? She got an automatic congratulation prize for that.
She's also been a great helper recently.

Here are the two of us "couponing." She didn't get real ones, but what she doesn't know won't hurt her, right?
In one short week she learned to draw and to snap. Thank you Dayton Public. This is O with her self portrait. The fingers are a bit spooky, but the detailing on the dress is superb.
Since I went ahead and admitted a personal failure, is it okay if a brag for a short moment too?

Steve and I went out on a date last night and we put a major dent in our Christmas shopping. We got some awesome deals and are more than 1/2 way done. After that, we went for some Indian food. We always have an in depth conversation on where to eat without the kids... then we almost always end up at an Indian restaurant. I ordered Indian hot. Living on the edge, what can I say.

I also bought nearly all of my stocking stuffers this week. FYI, I don't know about your Target, but our Target has TONS of Princess and Hello Kitty stuff in their $1 section. I HIGHLY advise getting there soon if you have a little girl in your life who loves all things pink, sparkly and Disney. Santa's not getting caught with his pants down this year!!!

That's it from here. May the rest of your day be fun and family friendly. Wish me luck as I try and do the same.