Just Trust Me!

Will has somehow convinced Sophie that she wants a bullhorn. Now, Sophie likes attention - don't get me wrong - but she's not a girl that would think she needs a bullhorn to get it. Obviously there is a devious mind at work here, but that's beside the point of the story.

Will: Sophie, do you want a regular bullhorn or a girlie one?

Sophie: A girlie one.

Will: OK, Mama, I'm just going to go to Google and type "girlie" in to search for a girlie bullhorn, OK?

Mom: NO! Not OK! NO, NO, NO!

Hmmm... might be time to check in to SafeEyes now...

Praying for each other

Excerpt from Will's prayer tonight (Will, Sophie and I were praying together):

"...and please help Sophie not be so irritating..."

Introducing Lawndale

Here is our latest project house, as it was at the time of purchase way back on 8/27/10...

Front:

Back:

Side:

This one is now almost finished and looking amazing. Watch out for "after" pics very soon!

Will's Adventures in Electronics

It all started innocently enough, with a snap-circuit electric kit (highly recommended!).

Then we let him take apart a vintage phone, as shown in the pictures above.

Now Will's fascination with electronics is out of control. It's almost all he talks about, and he has wired up speakers on all three levels of our house.

The system is complete with a megaphone in the basement and a telephone with which he can broadcast announcements (similar to morning announcements at school, only these are updated throughout the day) to keep us all on schedule. (Example: "Good morning everyone. It is now bathtime. I repeat, it is now bathtime, thank you. Have a good day!")

As an added bonus, he has a CD featuring Queen's "We Will Rock You" and Baha Men's "Who Let The Dogs Out" that he plays to give us that great "PE Class" feeling while we try to have a conversation or watch TV.

Here's to hoping this is just a phase.

Evan Andrew Flanigan

God blessed us with this little bundle of joy on 10/1/10:

Evan Andrew Flanigan

8 lbs, 1/2 oz.

We are all living in constant adoration of this little guy. He is a sweet, happy, cuddly and perfect addition to our family.

Sophie's Birthday

Here are some pictures from Sophie's birthday. The cupcakes were for her preschool class. The other pictures are scenes from her party.

Immediately after the party:

Will's First Day at Glendale

(That precious little girl behind Will was just sobbing quietly away. The teacher came over and comforted her moments later, and Will said by the third day of school she was doing fine.)
Will's school year is off to a good start! He has adjusted well to his new school, teacher, routine and friends.

Born Entertainer

Baby Bee's Room

Baby Bee's room is just about done. We're still going to change out the (dim) light fixture and hang his name over his bed. However, this requires deciding on a name, so that task may be a few weeks from completion.

This was previously a guest room and we wanted to keep the twin beds, since we fairly often have more than two houseguests at a time. We bunked the beds which left plenty of room for the new crib and changing table. Don't worry, out-of-town visitors - we'll move him out when we need the beds for family or friends (unless you just WANTED to volunteer for baby-duty)!

Between the reality of his room and his constant squirming, it's getting hard to deny that this is a real little person on his way into our family!

Fathers' Day - Flanigan Style!

We aren't really huge celebrators of special days. It just doesn't always work, and since we're all on the same page regarding this (so far), no one seems to mind or get their feelings hurt.

Sometime within a week or two of Fathers' Day, we managed to present Andy with a gift he'd mentioned he wanted earlier: a set of camp chairs with attached ottomans. (By the way, somehow a small canvas ottoman seems to increase camp chair weight by about three-fold.)

Of course, the whole family (save the intelligent pregnant woman) had to try one out immediately - all at once. This picture was taken in the two minutes before the ottoman suddenly detached and hit the floor.

Whoops! Anyone want a very heavy camp chair with matching canvas... mat?

Status Updates

Since this blog is meant to be a journal of sorts, and more and more I find myself using Facebook as a quick way to summarize happenings in our lives and tell funny stories, I thought I should capture recent status updates on the blog so that some of these anecdotes aren't lost. Readers, feel free to skip/ignore these. And while I realize this post could seem a little self-obsessed, please don't take it that way.

Kathy Morris Flanigan Sophie: Mama, when you grow up and get big, do you HAVE to move out of your parents' house? Mom: Well, a few people don't, but most people want to have their own house when they get big. (thinking: Aw, I have the sweetest girl EVER.) Sophie: Well, good.... because I don't want to spend all that money!July 18 at 4:36pm

Kathy Morris Flanigan Did I have ankles before I was pregnant? Or was it just an optical illusion caused by my then-higher heels?July 16 at 10:16am

Kathy Morris Flanigan I don't know much about Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey, but based on the materials we receive daily in the mail, his campaign managers are NUTS.July 14 at 11:40pm

Kathy Morris Flanigan ‎"Sophie, why are your Barbies dancing without shirts?" "So they can be pretty!" Where does she get this stuff?July 12 at 5:17pm

Kathy Morris Flanigan is confident that NEVER has a snap-circuit electric kit made a child happier. If I'm not careful, I may accidentally learn something.July 12 at 11:03am

Kathy Morris Flanigan is completing online traffic school. :(

And it is designed for very slow readers. (yawn)June 29 at 3:48pm

Kathy Morris Flanigan I think I have a Ferris and a Cameron. Does anyone want to guess which is which, or what the next one will be?June 28 at 3:01pm

Kathy Morris Flanigan ‎'s 5.5-year-old is determinedly babyproofing our house three months early. It's a good thing someone in this family is responsible!
June 26 at 8:24am

Kathy Morris Flanigan Only 105 days left... how crazy is that?
June 24 at 10:01am

Kathy Morris Flanigan may not be as hopeless as a parent as she previously thought. :)
June 23 at 2:48pm

Kathy Morris Flanigan just acquired two new bottles of Vanilla Caramel creamer. Pro: Feeling happy and perky. Con: Now want to drink coffee ALL. DAY. LONG. Neither Baby Bee nor Dr. S. approve.June 23 at 10:29am

Kathy Morris Flanigan It was nice of the kind officer to point out that the speed limit goes up just one mile down the road from where he pulled me over. I thought that plus the pregnancy might equal a mere warning. Turns out my math was wrong.
June 16 at 9:31am

Kathy Morris Flanigan Live every week like it's Shark Week. Dress every day like you're going to get murdered in those clothes.
June 15 at 3:10pm

Kathy Morris Flanigan A book hasn't caused me this much trouble since Where's Waldo went to that barber pole factory. :)
June 9 at 2:39pm

Kathy Morris Flanigan
The future is like a Japanese game show - you have no idea what's going on.
June 9 at 3:37pm

Kathy Morris Flanigan is pretty sure her hair still smells like campfire!
June 8 at 2:11pm

Kathy Morris Flanigan Operation Raise That Van is a moderate success. Now we just have to see what happens when we load the whole family in there, including my pregnant self.
June 4 at 4:27pm

Kathy Morris Flanigan Will is skeptical on the value of stocks: "If I own a little part of Lowe's, why can't I control what goes on in that little part of the store?"
June 4 at 1:48pm

Kathy Morris Flanigan Note to self: 2 Italian ice popsicles = 3 golden minutes of silence, save slurping. Would it be inappropriate to give them 10 in a row?
June 3 at 8:46pm

Kathy Morris Flanigan forgot to consider ground clearance when committing to a new vehicle. Hubby is trying to figure out how to "raise" it to clear our driveway. Let's hope we can accomplish this without turning it into a hoopty wagon. HOA would prefer that I not park on the street for the next two years.

Kathy Morris Flanigan is going the minivan route, and is surprisingly excited about it!
June 1 at 2:51pm

Kathy Morris Flanigan Can someone please explain to me why we didn't purchase headphones for the portable DVD player two years ago when we first got it?
May 31 at 11:42pm

Kathy Morris Flanigan Really, Train? "My heart is bound to beat right out my untrimmed chest." You had to come up with a two-syllable adjective for chest, and UNTRIMMED was the best you could do? REALLY???
May 26 at 11:08pm

Kathy Morris Flanigan The world is made by those who control their own destiny. It isn’t made by those who don’t do. It’s made by those who do do. I do do. - Jack Donaghy
May 26 at 10:37am

Kathy Morris Flanigan Kathi and Chad (who were previously our houseguests) welcomed their son into the world at 3:23 AM this morning - 15 days AFTER his due date! The details are theirs to share!
May 26 at 10:26am

Kathy Morris Flanigan The world is made by those who control their own destiny. It isn’t made by those who don’t do. It’s made by those who do do. I do do. - Jack Donaghy
May 25 at 5:22pm

Cottage Life

A couple of weeks ago, we - along with much of our Michigan family - went up to Andy's grandmother's cottage in northern Michigan. The cottage is right on a beautiful lake. We had a great time just hanging out, swimming, boating, jet-skiing, and even collecting driftwood and minnows! It was one of our most relaxing vacations ever!

Real Estate Update - Foxview

(After a two-month hiatus, I am bringing the blog back to the land of the living. I know it's not the most exciting return, but we're starting with a real estate post. Others will follow on a more reasonable timeframe.)

Here are the "after" pictures of Foxview. We're keeping this one as a rental, and it was turned over to its new residents on 7/15.