i LOVE me a little Bradylicious

today we are going to find out what my CUTE nephew, Brady, LOVES. he is my sisters oldest child, and is 4 years old. he is full of memorable quotes, many of which my husband quotes around our house ALL THE TIME. here is a sampling of some Bradyisms... " i don't want tooooo", "1,2, time out (sadly he has sent me many times)", " goo boy, goo boy", "sandwich...take it downstairs". We really LOVE him here at the Ruf house and here is what he told his mom about what he loves...

i love the movie TRANSFORMERS (when his dad had an accident with his car he thought that it was because the transformers got to it), i love eating spaghetti, mac and cheese, and pizza...

i love playing with Brenton and playing with CARS...

he wants warmer weather so he can go outside and ride his new bike...

i love playing the games memory and candy land!!

Brady i have just one question for you...WILL YOU BE MY VALENTINE???

p.s. i will be doing a special v-day post tomorrow even though i normally don't post on saturday...i just can't resist!

my "self taught" LOVE

after having a baby and sitting at home coming up with more to do than clean and cook, i decided to teach myself how to crochet. i like having that feeling of accomplishing something and cooking and cleaning just doesn't do it for me. so i checked out a bunch of books from the library, bought me a crochet hook, and some yarn. i sat down and taught myself how to crochet. then, a few years later, i did the same thing with knitting. i feel like these are becoming two lost arts and hopefully it will lead to my kids wanting to learn. even Brenton has asked if i would teach him (now ask Walter how he felt about this, i don't know what he is worried about. big deal, a boy wants to learn how to knit.) my brother is now learning, along with his girlfriend, how to crochet and i couldn't think he was any cooler, applause applause!! so to all the BOYS out there, go ahead and pick up a crochet/knitting needles, 'cause i think that is AWESOME!

i taught myself how to knit in a round and made these cute arm/hand warmers, now kylee wants a pair.

this is a dress that i am in the process of knitting. i am so good at starting projects...finishing them, not so good. and now the baby has gotten to yarn and i have a big knot to clean up!!this is a blanket that i crocheted, fell in love with those colors.this is a hat that i am knitting and am almost done with.and another blanket that i crocheted.

the other day kylee was in the car and was moving her hands around and says to me "mom can you guess what i am doing?". i replied "no, what are you doing?". she then says, "i am KNITTING mom, just like you do? when are you going to teach me?".

wordless (who doesn't LOVE disneyland?) wednesday

i LOVE kylee

kylee has taken over this post and will now tell you about all the things that a 5 year old girl LOVES...
playing in the pool, taking naps at home, playing on the wii, watching barbie movies...

teasing my brother, playing with my old friend grandpa, eating mac and cheese...

shopping with mom, going to the zoo, AND MAKING FUNNY FACES!!

my "home baked" LOVE

i really LOVE my kitchenaid. it has helped me in so many ways. i truly do not know what i would do without it, 'cause i sure as heck refuse to use the wooden spoon, bowl, and elbow grease...blech too hard. i enjoy BAKING much more than i enjoy COOKING(as seen earlier here). my sister, Molly, now assigns me to bake all things needed for Metcalf get togethers. and i can always count on her to LOVE whatever treat i have baked at the moment. Here is a sampling...

sometime in the future i want my kitchen to be red, white, and blue thus, the red kitchenaid.in the middle of making my coconut cupcakes...

and now finshed and ready for delivery, don't YOU wish YOU got some!!

mixing my lovely honey wheat bread dough.

and look how lovely it turned out. my kids choose mom's homemade bread over store bought ever time!!!

now, what to BAKE next...

my "learned" LOVE

my next LOVE is sewing. this LOVE did not come easy to me. i of course took the mandatory home ec classes in school and not once did i feel a connection to the sewing machine. this could be the feminist in me that saw the sewing machine as a drudgery for women but, i think i just didn't really care to learn about it. it wasn't until later on in life (and by this i mean after having my children) that i "learned" to LOVE my sewing machine and all i can do with it. i can fix my childrens ripped seams, make "crafty whatnots" (or whatever it is that MARTHA is making), sew cute kids clothes, and make a quilt. this is why i LOVETH my sewing machine...

this is normally where my sewing machine resides...on the kitchen table. we normally eat at the counter.a skirt i put together and have made three others along with it.

a birthday present i made for my mom. i still need to put the binding on. i am not good at doing this and would happily pay someone to finish this part for me.

and on a side note i just have to show off kylee's hairdo today. i learned how to do it here. so many fun ideas. i think i will do the double heart on VDAY.

ps we are off to see Pink Panther 2 tonight with the kids, and i get a GNO saturday night to go see he's just not that into you. YEAH for me!!!

" i LOVE swords"...still??

today i am going to let Brenton tell you about all the things that HE LOVES.

REAL swords, REAL guns, spaghetti, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles...Superman, Batman, Spiderman, coloring and drawing swords and guns and superheroes...

going to grandma and grandpa's house, playing with cousins, and sleeping on the floor of my bedroom in my sleeping bag.

wordless (i LOVE movies) wednesday

my LOVE, my ipod

i LOVE my ipod. i LOVE all my music. i NEVER listen to the radio, ever. i LOVE that i can put m0vies on it for those moments when you are REALLY bored or your kids need some entertainment. i LOVE that i can put a million songs all in one tiny littly place and take it with me wherever i go. i have decided to list my 10 MOST PLAYED songs (according to my beloved ipod).
1. my love 2. cobrastyle 3. last dollar 4. province 5. fidelity 6. grace 7. london bridge 8. let the drummer kick 9. get me bodied (remix) 10. catch my disease. there you have it, my top ten. although numbers 1, 2, 3, 7, and 10 have alot to do with my kids requests.



what would i do without you???

kylee has already told me that when she gets older the ipod is HERS!!

my month of LOVE

no my dearest husband it DOES NOT mean THAT!! so sorry to let you down...i will be discussing this month all of the things that I LOVE. this will not be just limited to me. i am thinking that i will be interviewing those whom I LOVE to find out what THEY LOVE. i am going to try and stay positive this month (because believe me there are some negatives i could most certainly write about...like kylee being home with a major croup/cold). but see, i am not going there. oooo i am so evolving right now from pessimistic Marci (until next month that is). so to all those who read my LOVELY blog...enjoy!!

i am starting with the basics today. i LOVE LOVE LOVE my kids. Brenton is my oldest, cuddlebug, karate chopping, sword fighting, hero lovin 7 year old. Kylee is my sassypants, metcalf girl attitude, baby lovin, makeup and nail polish wearin, dancing queen 5 year old. Tessa...well so far i can tell she has got throwing a fit, smiling, laughing, running away from you, on the move all the time 1 year old attitude down. (this picture is from last valentines day)

poor child born on christmas eve

we are celebrating my nephews birthday this saturday. his real birthday is on christmas eve. this poor child gets stuck with a tough birthday. so i just want to say...


HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY BIG BOY BRADY!!!!!!!!!!


don't worry your bestest friend in the whole wide world will be there too. i know he is the only one you really care about coming. can anyone guess who that could be????

why i hate cooking!!!

one of my resolves this year was to cook more often. this also has alot to do with not having much money to work with=no eating out (as often as i would like to). thus, if we had money i would still be eating out rather than cooking. but, here we are no money and i need to start cooking. i have taken to watching the foodnetwork which i thoroughly enjoy (for some reason it is calming watching someone cook so effortlessly). and watching these people cook so easily makes me think, hey i can totally do that!!!! so here i am in my kitchen whipping up some homemade lovin from the oven when i realize that there is total silence (aside from kylee watching donnie and marie dvds in the basement and singing along with them). where and what is tess doing i ask myself!???


you see now...this is why i hate cooking. i have no control over what my 1 yr old is doing. she got into my diaper bag...pulled out my fav chocolate covered altoids...and shoved ten of them in her mouth.

and while i was dealing with her my sauteed onions burnt!!! i hate cooking!!!

wordless wednesday

when the fridge door opens...

tessa comes a runnin. i am telling you she can hear the fridge open even though she is in a completely different area of the house. and this is what she does...

oh sweet sweet sweet water bottle, how i love you.

yep, I CAUGHT YOU!!!!!!!

bragging on kylee the cheerleader

allow me a post to brag about kylee and how well she did in her cheerleading class at The Little Gym. these are pictures of her last class and showing us all the neat stuff she learned.

notice how the instructor behind her is not needing to hold her...(I WAS TOLD THAT IS VERY ADVANCED FOR HER).

working the beam

flipping around on the bars

and dropping down...look at her toes...pointed...i am so proud.

preparing for a toe touch...
check out the height!!!

teaching mom and grandma a cheer.

doing her favorite trick before getting her medal...a perfect cartwheel!!!!