Charbonneau Family

Elizabeth's 1st Birthday

2010-06-29T22:30:00.000-05:00

Elizabeth and I celebrated her first birthday together yesterday. Here's a picture of the two of us together. (many more photos on Facebook).

The Kids

2010-05-26T10:35:00.003-05:00

Here are a few recent pictures of the kids. All three are doing well.

Philip is talking more all the time. He still loves ducks and frogs, but seems to be enjoying horses lately too. He's great at working puzzles and I have the feeling he'll be athletic. He loves music - all of it! His favorite color is green, and he likes pizza and cookies a lot! He doesn't watch much TV, but when he does, he likes Barney.

William is learning to read and write his name. He's doing very well with both. Yesterday, I heard him at the table saying, "5 plus 5 equals 10, and 4 plus 1 equals 5." I don't know if he understands what he's saying, but he elaborated that "if you have 1 monkey, and you add another monkey, you have 2 monkeys." Daddy would have been SO proud. William's favorite color is still yellow. He loves monkeys and gorillas and he'll tell you ALL about them. He says his favorite food is pizza, but I think it's Cheetos! His favorite TV show is Animal Atlas and William really loves books on just about any subject.

Elizabeth is a healthy, happy baby. She is super sweet, with lots of smiles, squeals and giggles. She is a great eater. She tries everything, and doesn't reject much. She isn't interested in being fed with a spoon anymore, unless it's a delicious dessert - then she'll make an exception. She loves her stuffed animals, and shrieks with delight when she sees them. Then she happily rubs her face all over them. Elizabeth crawls really well and likes standing, but gets really irritated that she can't climb. She'll try to throw her leg up and over, say to get in the bathtub with the boys, and shows her displeasure at her inability to climb. I'm thinking it won't be long before she's into everything!

Best of all, the three children really enjoy each other's company. William is often heard saying, "baaaabbby, I wuv you baby!" That little girl gets lots of William kisses. Philip isn't all over her the way William is, but he laughs and smiles at her. He also doesn't get upset when she tries to snatch his toys. I'm not saying that he always hands the toy over, but he moves away quietly with his toy. She follows. He smiles at her, and moves away again. The boys play together really well. Sometimes they get a little rough, as I'm told that little boys do, but they thoroughly enjoy each other, and I'm thrilled about that. I wanted them to have a close relationship, especially since they're twins.

So, there's a brief update. Now for a few current pictures -

Philip, Elizabeth and William. We took this picture for our mothers to have on Mother's Day. May 2010.

Elizabeth. May 2010.

Philip. May 2010.

William on crazy hair day. May 2010.

"The Charbonneau Poo Poo Prize Treasure Chest"

House Progress

2010-05-26T10:22:00.003-05:00

We are continuing to work on the house, inside and out. Here are a few pictures that were taken today.

We are creating a flagstone path on the side of the house toward the master bedroom.

This is what the pool area looks like at the moment. The waterfall is unattractive, and that's being kind, but we intend on giving it a makeover after the landscaping and hardscaping projects have been completed.

We are adding natural stone ledgers in the front and back. This is the front of the house. You can see that we still have a lot of stone in the driveway. When delivered, we had right at 20 tons.

This is just another view of the front of the house. A lot of the old, dying or otherwise unattractive plants have been removed. Only a few have been replaced, but I'm expecting the new ones to arrive today.

Here's the dining room project which is STILL underway. I haven't finished recovering the chairs. The fabric arrived yesterday, and since Elizabeth has a cold, well, I do what I can. The fabric strip on the table is just that, a strip of fabric. I'm thinking of making a runner from it, and adding some fringe, maybe even beaded. I'd like to put something on the sconces and something in the larger travertine floor vase, but I haven't found anything that looks good so far. I added the hydrangeas for color, but I'm not convinced that I like it exactly as is, so I may modify it a bit. The room is still a little too bare/stark for my taste, so I'll be working on it. Maybe place settings?

Back Again

2010-05-23T19:59:00.001-05:00

I had planned to stop blogging, and have friends and family see our pictures and updates on Facebook. Why be redundant; right? Well, because some people can't figure out how to get on FB, or can't figure out how to get to the photos, or have forgotten their passwords, or refuse to comment there. FB seems to work great for our friends, but not our family. So, I'm back. I'll have a new post in the next day or so!

Recent Kids' Pictures

2009-12-17T09:17:00.003-06:00

Philip Dec 2009

William Dec 2009

William and Philip Dec 2009 (3 years)

William Fall 2009

Philip Fall 2009

Elizabeth Oct 2009 (4 months)

Little "E" 4 months old

2009-10-30T15:01:00.000-05:00

Obama SNL Skit

2009-10-13T10:32:00.000-05:00

HILARIOUS

11 weeks

2009-09-15T14:43:00.003-05:00

Elizabeth Karene

11 weeks

Thank you Rodger and Nia for the gorgeous dress. I just love it!

William makes us laugh

2009-09-07T15:41:00.003-05:00

William is doing better with potty training, but doesn't always WANT to go. Someone suggested we have his stuffed animal go, and that would make him want to go. It DOES work, but not because he thinks it's funny. It makes him very angry tha...t monkey would even THINK of using his potty. We don't use it every time, but it is a helpful technique when William refuses to go.

Here he doesn't get mad, but he does come with me. He is not taking any chances of finding Gorilla sitting on his potty.

William isn't sure who should be sitting the baby chair, but it better NOT be dog.

Happy 39th Birthday to Pat!

2009-08-30T16:13:00.000-05:00

Little Red Caboose

2009-08-15T14:39:00.001-05:00

Cheese Arrived

2009-08-14T19:09:00.003-05:00

Yikes! Not as expected. I really miss having this cheese dip, but clearly having it mailed is NOT an option.

Chuck E Cheese Videos

2009-08-14T10:00:00.002-05:00

Not a very exciting group of videos, but lets you see the kids if you're interested.

Third Birthday

2009-08-12T14:41:00.005-05:00

Philip and William Charbonneau
August 11, 2009
Age 3

About Me

2009-08-05T10:43:00.004-05:00

These are the boys' new "About Me" sheets for the 3's preschool class.

Sandy and Mom

2009-08-02T17:37:00.005-05:00

Mom and my sister, Sandy, were here for a visit. We enjoyed their visit and appreciated the help. I don't know how I'll burp Elizabeth without Sandy! Here are a few pictures.

Sandy and Mom holding Elizabeth.

Philip and William in the front yard.

I'm holding Elizabeth.

Sandy took one of the five of us together. We don't look great, but it's REALLY hard to get a photo with all of us in it.

We'll keep trying for a good one.

Philip, Elizabeth, and William.

Here I am walking with Philip and William in the front yard.

Elizabeth 4.5 weeks

2009-08-01T13:48:00.006-05:00

Here is Elizabeth wearing the dress that is hanging on the wall in her room. This sweet little dress was a gift from my mother.

2-1/2 Weeks Old

2009-07-17T15:40:00.004-05:00

Elizabeth Karene
2-1/2 weeks

Happy Birthday Damn Dog

2009-07-09T09:18:00.009-05:00

William seems to be singning "Happy Birthday Damn Dog." Apparently, he decided that Yertle the Turtle needed to be included this time. Since this video was taken, he now sings to a number of people or objects. His latest is, "Happy Birthday Damn Baby." We THINK he's trying to say "dear," but who knows?

Elizabeth Dressed up

2009-07-05T09:16:00.000-05:00

Elizabeth, July 5th 2009

Sprinkler Fun

2009-07-04T21:18:00.000-05:00

Philip is playing in the water.

William is happy to be playing in the sprinklers.

Philip is taking a moment to think before going down the slide.

Philip running in the backyard, just moments after he fell and skinned his face.

William dancing.

William, always smiling.

Elizabeth's First Bath

2009-07-04T09:14:00.003-05:00

This was her first bath at home. They cleaned her up when she born, of course, and then one of the nurses bathed her while I was still in the hospital. I didn't even know they were going to do that, so obviously I don't have pictures from the first real bath. We were fortunate that when the boys were born, the staff did almost everything in my room, so the boys almost never left. Very different experience at the Katy hospital.

4 days old

2009-07-03T09:09:00.000-05:00

Coming Home Day

2009-07-01T17:56:00.000-05:00

Elizabeth Karene. 2 days old

Dressed and ready to come home from the hospital.

Elizabeth 1 day old

2009-06-30T17:47:00.000-05:00

Sleeping. Still in the hospital.

This was the first time the boys met their baby sister.

Elizabeth First Photos - June 29, 2009

2009-06-29T14:32:00.000-05:00

This is Elizabeth on the scale. She weighed 6 lbs 15 oz.

Elizabeth right after she was born. If I didn't KNOW the picture was taken so recently, I'd be certain it was Philip.

Pat took this photo in the operating room, right after Elizabeth was born, and the staff cleaned her up. The doctor hadn't even closed me up yet. C-sections are a little scary.

Here I am in the hospital room with Elizabeth. Sweet baby, and I had to force the staff to allow her to stay in my room. Not the greatest hospital stay, but that's another story.

Here's Pat holding the baby in our room. This picture was taken the day she was born. Poor Pat, he had a rough day too, taking care of twins and being there for me. Notice he didn't even have time to shave. The day before, I preformatted the blog for him, and set virtually everything to publish automatically. It was so sweet of him to fill in the blanks at my request. We really appreciated having help from one of my best friends, Meg. She allowed Pat the time to come see me. Thank you, Meg!

Elizabeth Karene Charbonneau

2009-06-29T13:57:00.003-05:00

Baby Charbonneau has arrived.

June 29th, 2009 10:01am
6 lbs 15oz
18 inches

More of Her Room

2009-06-29T10:00:00.001-05:00

Here I am at 38.5 weeks. Gained about 20 pounds!

Here we are working on the baby's room.

Pat really was happy to paint flowers.

I didn't realize we would be taking pictures, so I'm looking pretty rough working in the garage. I think this photo will convince those who think I'm "skinny," that they are WRONG.

Here are two more pictures taken of her room.

The boys playing

2009-06-27T19:15:00.000-05:00

Philip playing in the mirror today.

William put on his shirt by himself.

Baby Girl's Room

2009-06-25T10:57:00.003-05:00

Emily Kate Wood

2009-06-23T15:51:00.002-05:00

Our new niece, Emily Kate, daughter of Kate and Gareth.
Born today June 23rd, 2009.
8 lbs 12 oz.

37 weeks

2009-06-18T13:19:00.000-05:00

My Phone

2009-06-14T12:12:00.002-05:00

This is one of the many awful screens I currently get on my phone. It also flashes sometimes, randomly dials people, hangs up for no reason, and restarts over and over. Now it no longer functions as a telephone. I can tell that you're calling, but there's no sound when I answer. I can call you, but you won't hear anything when I do. So, if you need to reach me, do it by text or email for now. I hope to have a new phone by the end of the coming week.

34 weeks 6 days

2009-06-02T12:44:00.002-05:00

Facial Profile. 35 weeks tomorrow.
Estimated 6 lbs 2 oz.

Weekend with Chris and Zona

2009-06-01T09:49:00.005-05:00

Chris (Pat's brother) and Zona (Chris' daughter) came to visit for the weekend. I took a lot of pictures - here are a few!

Chris and Zona making cherry lip gloss.

They are having fun!

Charbonneaus in the pool.

Chris and Zona enjoying the pool.

William and Pat swimming.

Philip, William, Pat, and Chris.

Pat and Philip playing in the pool.

Philip, William and Zona

Zona on the waterfall

Philip

Philip climbing the waterfall.

Philip was really interested in the water.

Philip, Zona, and William in our front yard.

Philip, Zona and William.

Zona

Philip, Zona, and William. I was trying to get a good picture of the three of them together, but our boys weren't very cooperative. Philip was playing around too much, and William wasn't at his best either!

William and Philip playing in the front yard. William has a tea bell. I'm sure the neighbors appreciated that.

William loves to give hugs, and Philip thinks everything William does is wonderful and hilarious.

Zona

Pat, Philip, William, and me (about 8 months pregnant). This is one of only two or three pictures of all four of us together. We appreciated Chris taking it for us.

Zona and Chris

Cookies, Singing and Giggling

2009-05-30T11:45:00.002-05:00

34 weeks

2009-05-27T19:33:00.001-05:00

Memorial Day Weekend

2009-05-25T14:28:00.004-05:00

Here are a few pictures from our weekend. Pat worked, so it was mostly just the boys and me.

Philip running in the backyard.

William playing outside.

William would like to "Go wimming in the poo please."

"Poo pease," for Philip too.

After playing outside, I thought it would be a good idea for the boys to paint. This is William making a pretty picture.

This is Philip working on his nice work of art.

Playing Outside

2009-05-23T17:23:00.002-05:00

More Picture Cards

2009-05-19T14:22:00.002-05:00

Letters, Shapes and Colors

2009-05-18T16:14:00.001-05:00

Painting Project Phase II

2009-05-16T08:16:00.004-05:00

Last night we completed our painting project. Here are a few photos.

William is just about to start painting.

Philip beginning to paint.

Here I am showing William how to paint.

William enjoying his favorite color, yellow.

Philip found it very interesting that he had one blue hand and one red one.

William is getting the hang of it, but with more smearing than I intended.

Philip is ready to paint with his feet.

William is working the canvas.

Look at all this paint on my hands!

William having fun painting.

William is developing his own technique.

William's painting

Philip's painting.

William's Potty Party

2009-05-10T10:50:00.001-05:00

No time to talk. Don't want an accident.

Painting Project Phase I

2009-05-08T08:32:00.007-05:00

I've started a new painting project with the boys. They enjoy it, and we need more art for their upstairs playroom. This is just phase I - the background. They'll paint the foreground in a few days. When Pat saw how things were going, he retrieved the camera. I already had William somewhat cleaned up, but obviously not Philip. Philip LOVES fingerpainting! I think William prefers using a brush, but he did well too.

Here's William after a reasonable clean-up job.

Philip standing near his piece of art. My hand is in the picture because I'm trying to be sure he does run off on my cherry floors. Look at his feet and you will understand.

Did he have to paint his lips and teeth?

It was SUCH a mess that I had to run three tubs of water to finally get them clean. I'll post phase II when we do it. That will probably be next week. I'm not sure I want to attempt it when Pat is at work. I need the extra hands!

31 weeks

2009-05-07T18:13:00.000-05:00

Unclaimed Money

2009-05-07T15:22:00.004-05:00

Unclaimed Money by State

Go to the site above and search the states where you've lived to see if you have unclaimed money. Pat and I don't have any, but we've found several people who do. It's legitimate.

Time Out in the Naughty Chair

2009-04-27T20:47:00.005-05:00

OK, so we have this issue with William standing on the bed. If you've been reading the blog for a while, then you know that's what he was doing last year when he broke his arm. I finally brought a "naughty chair" to our room for time out purposes.

Clearly it isn't ideal to film him while on time out, but I wanted you to see him saying "standing on the bed is unacceptable." I thought for sure he wouldn't know he was being filmed. Wrong. He immediately says "take a picture" when he sees the camera. Oh well. When I ask why it's unacceptable to stand on the bed, he usually tells me "because you ball. Monkeys ball too." He didn't this time, but I can't keep filming him during time out since he knows what I'm doing! Darn it, I realize after watching it that I talked to him even though he was whining. I should have waited until he stopped, especially since it's obviously intentional. I can't say this is the best representation of time out, but hey, it's a start.

What's in the wall?

2009-04-26T13:46:00.009-05:00

Yesterday when the boys and I were having lunch, I heard something in the wall. We haven't redone the kitchen yet, so we still have one of the those ugly intercom systems. It sounded like it was coming from the intercom, but it was a scratching noise. Worried me. I knew it was either a mouse, a rat, or a squirrel. There are lots of squirrels in the yard right now, so I kind of hoped that would be the case. Second choice would have been the mouse. The cats were very interested in the scratching and I knew that wasn't a good sign.

Pat had worked night shift, so I didn't wake him right away. As SOON as it was time for him to get up, I mentioned that I thought we had something in the wall. He came downstairs to check it out, and one of the cats was right up to the intercom. He agreed that there was definitely something there. He asked if I wanted him to take the front plate off. I said, "yes," and climbed up on the chair.

This is what we saw.....

So the good news - it was a squirrel. While I realize there isn't a huge difference between a squirrel and a rat, something about the fluffy tail makes me more comfortable. Besides that, squirrels weren't involved with the plague. More points for squirrels over rats. We SHOULD have just grabbed the thing and put it in a container, and by that, I mean PAT should have. Ha ha. He said there was no way he was "grabbing a squirrel's tail." We started thinking about what to do next.

Pat hoped the clamps would allow him to get the squirrel. I worried that the animal was too thin, and would just slip through, but it was worth a try.

The clamps were a failure, so Pat tried this long pinchy thing. That didn't work either. Then he tied rope to the pinchy thing and tried to loop it around the squirrel. Another failure.

The squirrel didn't appreciate what Pat was doing, so he moved up a little. Now all we could see was his tail. In a moment of desperation, Pat got the clamps again and tried to pull him out by his tail. Not only was that a failure, but the squirrel ran away.

Pat had to go to work. I had to take care of the boys. We hoped the squirrel would find his way out. No such luck. We kept hearing scratching, but this time it was near the butler's pantry, which shares a wall with a guest bathroom. Before Pat left for work, he mentioned that the squirrel might be stuck. I hoped not. Most of the evening, the boys and I could hear the squirrel scratching in the same location. Eventually he stopped, and I hoped that meant he had found a way out.

The next morning (today), there was more scratching and it was in the same location. As soon as Pat got up, I let him know. He figured the squirrel had fallen between two studs in the wall and was trapped between drywall. He was right. So he tried one hole up high. No squirrel.

Then he tried a hole down low, and out came our little friend. I tried to get a picture of the squirrel in the bathroom, but it scared him, and he started back toward the wall. We couldn't risk it. At that point Pat chased him out of the bathroom with a broom (in a nice way), while I held a quilt in the hall to keep him from coming my way. OF COURSE he started my direction and began climbing the quilt. I shook it, and the squirrel ran out the door.

Pat got the camera and took a picture as the squirrel was running off. Here he is! Bye bye squirrel. Eat our acorns, but stay out of our walls!

Philip's Chocolate Bunny

2009-04-25T20:30:00.000-05:00

Flying a Kite

2009-04-25T14:26:00.001-05:00

School Pictures

2009-04-24T13:01:00.003-05:00

For Easter, the kids at preschool had their pictures taken with a bunny.

Here's William. He LOVED the bunny and kept shouting "bunny rabbit" over and over. Why did they let the bottom of his shoe be in the picture though? Come on, do I have to wash the bottom of their shoes too?

Philip wasn't as vociferous about the bunny. He did pet the bunny and try to put his face on it.

Here's there preschool class, or most of it. Some of the kids must have been out that day. The primary teacher is on the far right, Mrs. T, and the boys love her. William's favorite friend is Savannah, the girl sitting next to him. Philip seems to like all the children equally, but seeks out his brother the most.

More from British Talent Show

2009-04-23T14:15:00.001-05:00

I wish we got this show!

Shaheen Jafargholi Sings Micheal Jackson Britains Got Talent
Uploaded by lilwayneTV

Easter Videos

2009-04-22T17:29:00.001-05:00

Dying Easter Eggs

On the way home from preschool after their Easter party

Indoor Easter Egg Hunt (heavy rain that day)

Easter Eggs and Baskets

2009-04-22T13:54:00.004-05:00

As I said, I'm a little behind on blogging because I'm trying to catch up with other photos of the boys and we're busy setting up the baby's room.

The boys loved coloring Easter eggs. The two aspects of Easter that they enjoyed most were coloring eggs and searching for eggs. I stripped them down to diapers and T-shirts to avoid too much mess. William wanted to hold the dye cups and eventually.... he spilled. The whole front of his shirt and belly were bright pink. Next he spilled the green, but that went Philip's direction. Philip's lap and rear end were green for several days.

William admiring a green egg.

Philip likes the green ones too.

Philip's Easter basket. He rejected the new duck! If he only knew how hard we tried to get him another of the same duck... oh well. He enjoyed the chocolate bunny and the M&Ms.

William's Easter Basket. William liked the blue bunny, but not as much as the bunnies sent by Nana and Pop. He tried an M&M. He didn't spit it out, but made a terrible face and refused more. He definitely wanted the chocolate bunny, but he wanted to hold the bunny, not eat it. That didn't go so well.

Thank you Nana and Pop for the Easter goodies. The boys especially loved the books!

Pretty Pink Clothes

2009-04-20T19:35:00.007-05:00

HUGE sale, so .... here are just a few more things...

We took Easter pictures of the boys, and did a little filming. I had intended to post this prior weekend, but Philip wasn't interested in napping. Shocked? I hope to have some time this Wednesday, so check back!

Susan Boyle - British Talent Show

2009-04-15T16:56:00.009-05:00

Susan Boyle on Britain's Got Talent

LOVE THIS. It's a MUST watch!

27 weeks 6 days

2009-04-14T10:57:00.002-05:00

Approximately 2 lbs 10 oz.

27 weeks

2009-04-09T16:27:00.001-05:00

American Idol

2009-04-09T10:44:00.003-05:00

If you aren't watching American Idol this season, here's why you should be!

Pretty Little Dresses

2009-04-08T09:03:00.002-05:00

We haven't bought a lot, but here are the dresses we have. SO much cute stuff available for girls.

Red velvet with a silk sash.

Similar to sailor style, but with tulips. I have it in navy too.

I think Philip will like the ducks.

This one is from my sweet sister, Jan.

Pink and Green

2009-04-05T20:20:00.001-05:00

Where's my cat?

2009-03-29T14:02:00.004-05:00

We had a full Sunday morning. The boys and I did two art projects and I did some cleaning and organizing. As I was on my way to put the heart stickers in the container labeled for Valentine's Day, this is what I saw!

Our ceilings in the entry are about 30 feet, at least according to the realtor. I didn't measure them. AHHH! There's Nina. The first white ceiling that you see is actually the staircase that wraps around. She must have jumped from it, to the window. I worried about how she would get down. Were the other cats worried?

Apparently not. They were busy depositing hair all over the office chair.

The next time I went downstairs, Nina was sitting on the stairway looking very innocent. I guess I don't have to worry, but I REALLY hope she doesn't fall.

18th Anniversary Vase

2009-03-28T18:22:00.000-05:00

Sweet gift from Pat for our 18th anniversary. It's a hand-painted porcelain vase created by a Thai artist. Very sweet of him, and I thought I'd show you.

Where is Tiger?

2009-03-25T13:38:00.002-05:00

William singing "Where is Tiger?" 47 seconds

Philip loves his duck. 3 minutes.

Waking up the boys from naps. 8.5 minutes. They are so sweet when they wake up - hope this one isn't too boring!

Marker William

2009-03-21T09:59:00.006-05:00

The boys had just finished painting a picture using their easel. I had them strip down to their diapers so they wouldn't get paint on their clothes. They did well, with very little mess. Great, I don't like things messy. I promptly took the art, paint, and paintbrushes to the kitchen to avoid any additional mess. I quickly washed out the brushes and told Pat how well they had done. I had a bit of a surprise/shock when I returned.

My mouth literally fell open when I saw William and the playroom. It seems that someone who had colored with the boys a few days prior hadn't put one of the markers away. Well, William found it, and William used it. I immediately started scrubbing. Pat insisted I stop and take a few pictures, an idea that I didn't find particularly amusing at the time. By the time these photos were taken, the pillows and changing table cover were in the washer, toys had been cleaned off, the floor had been wiped, the chairs had been cleaned and so on. Still, you get the idea from the pictures below.

Oh, and by the way, washable marker MUST mean you can throw the marker in the washing machine. It definitely doesn't mean that the ink cleans off easily!

Thanks, William.

Here's their little table. Philip is having fun throwing diaper cloths all over the room. I guess he thought the marker mess wasn't sufficient.

Our cabinets, recently painted! Next time, which may be sooner than I expected, we will use an oil-based paint.

Look at my counter and walls. AHHH!

So Much Splashing

2009-03-15T11:16:00.001-05:00

William Singing

2009-03-14T08:20:00.001-05:00

Here's one of William singing. Hmm. I hope he's good at math. :)

Bubbles Please

2009-03-11T13:47:00.013-05:00

OK, I admit that the filming isn't very good in these videos. It's REALLY difficult to watch 2 two-year-olds, blow bubbles, and film at the same time. I tried, as you shall see.

Sunday Painting Project

2009-03-08T16:21:00.000-05:00

Stinky Duck

2009-03-08T10:53:00.004-05:00

Last Easter, the Easter Bunny brought both boys ducks in their baskets. Philip LOVED the ducks. Surprise. Surprise. William loved his duck too, but finally gave up the fight and let Philip have both. Over the course of the year, one of the ducks disappeared. Oh no! After the first duck was lost, we haven't allowed this duck to leave the house. Philip adores his duck, and while he loves others, no duck is as special as Stinky. He sleeps with it every night and squeals in delight each time he sees it.

We know the Easter Bunny found the ducks at Hobby Lobby last year, and they were only about $3.00 each. Unfortunately, our Hobby Lobby doesn't have them in stock this year. If any of you find this duck at your Hobby Lobby, would you please buy one for Philip? We'll gladly reimburse you. I don't know if he'll even accept a new one of the same type, but in the event something happens to Stinky, we'd like a back up. Thanks!

This is Philip, Easter 2008. This was his first day with his new duck.

This is Stinky Duck now.

Airline Service

2009-03-06T20:17:00.001-06:00

Cellphone Pictures

2009-03-06T06:35:00.002-06:00

Right next door to the Korean Karaoke bar, is the "Vegas Nit Club." In the year we've lived here, this sign hasn't changed.

William

Philip

A little more video

2009-03-05T16:49:00.001-06:00

Nothing major, but here's more video. I THOUGHT I had one of William singing "Row your boat around a tree," but it seems that the camera wasn't on. AHH! Oh well. Next time.

Boys in the Tub

2009-02-22T14:28:00.001-06:00

20 weeks

2009-02-17T10:41:00.003-06:00

Bad Valentine's Day Commericals

2009-02-14T09:36:00.001-06:00

Last year's version was worse, but I can't find it.

Creepy Clown Art

2009-01-29T13:34:00.004-06:00

Philip was bored in the peds clinic waiting room, so Pat let him explore a bit. Philip ventured into the refreshments room, and here's the art that was hanging on the wall. Sinister clowns?

Fun with Straws

2009-01-26T10:35:00.002-06:00

Look what the boys found in the cabinet. Who knew straws could be so much fun?

Time for Snack

2009-01-24T10:17:00.000-06:00

Sweet Sleeping Boys

2009-01-22T15:12:00.001-06:00

Naptime.

So sweet.

William offering Philip a paci. Philip declined!

Baby Charbonneau U/S

2009-01-20T18:04:00.006-06:00

Here she is!

Brothers

2009-01-16T17:17:00.004-06:00

William gives Philip hugs.

And he gives kisses.

Someone loves Daddy's glasses.

And he loves to play ball.

Hi everyone!

I make silly faces.

And giggle at my brother.

Wish I could remember what was so funny?

Porn Industry Bailout?

2009-01-07T18:09:00.002-06:00

Porn industry seeks federal bailout
From CNN's Rebecca Sinderbrand and Mark Preston

Larry Flynt is asking for a bailout.

WASHINGTON (CNN) — Another major American industry is asking for assistance as the global financial crisis continues: Hustler publisher Larry Flynt and Girls Gone Wild CEO Joe Francis said Wednesday they will request that Congress allocate $5 billion for a bailout of the adult entertainment industry.

“The take here is that everyone and their mother want to be bailed out from the banks to the big three,” said Owen Moogan, spokesman for Larry Flynt. “The porn industry has been hurt by the downturn like everyone else and they are going to ask for the $5 billion. Is it the most serious thing in the world? Is it going to make the lives of Americans better if it happens? It is not for them to determine.”

Francis said in a statement that “the US government should actively support the adult industry's survival and growth, just as it feels the need to support any other industry cherished by the American people."
“We should be delivering [the request] by the end of today to our congressmen and [Secretary of the Treasury Henry] Paulson asking for this $5 billion dollar bailout,” he told CNN Wednesday.

Flynt and Francis concede the industry itself is in no financial danger — DVD sales have slipped over the past year, but Web traffic has continued to grow.

But the industry leaders said the issue is a nation in need. "People are too depressed to be sexually active," Flynt said in the statement. "This is very unhealthy as a nation. Americans can do without cars and such but they cannot do without sex."

"With all this economic misery and people losing all that money, sex is the farthest thing from their mind. It's time for congress to rejuvenate the sexual appetite of America. The only way they can do this is by supporting the adult industry and doing it quickly."

So far, there has been no congressional reaction to the request.

–CNN’s Chloe Melas contributed to this report

Link to report: http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2009/01/07/porn-industry-seeks-federal-bailout/

Thank you Meg for sending me the link!

Ultrasound Update

2009-01-06T11:15:00.004-06:00

13 weeks and 6 days.

Funny

2009-01-03T19:51:00.001-06:00

Uncle Jay explains the news

2009-01-02T16:38:00.000-06:00

Gifts & Gingerbread House

2008-12-28T14:04:00.005-06:00

Here are a few more pictures from Christmas.

Philip and William opening a few gifts on Christmas Eve.

More paper tearing action.

Philip can't believe how wonderful his new duck is.

Philip enjoyed the bows. So did William.

Katie (my niece) was here after Christmas. She and the boys decorated a gingerbread house that my friend Missie sent.

Some sampling is going on. Hmm.

William decided to get in on the sampling too.

Having fun decorating.

I know Philip put a few pieces on, but frankly, his primary concern was removing and eating the candy. Evidence on his face...

The gingerbread house is finished. Voila!

Christmas Videos

2008-12-26T15:14:00.006-06:00

Nothing amazing in any of the videos, but if you haven't seen the boys in a while, you might enjoy them. Each is approximately 3 to 4 minutes. Sorry so long, but I haven't figured out how to edit them with the updated software. Sorry! Still, if you're interested, take a look.

Philip adores the duck from Aunt Charlotte. William wants to know if he can play with it too. The answer is... "no." Fortunately, William enjoys the puzzle book from Aunt Kate, Uncle Gareth, and Annelise.(3:49)

William has fun with his soccer ball from Pop and Nana, and Philip opens the ABC toy from us. I REALLY have to apologize for my hideous voice in this video. It's especially bad at the start of the video. (3:15)

This is Christmas morning. Obviously Santa didn't bring a lot this year. I'd like to say it's because of Philip's bedtime antics and William's incessant use of the word, "no," but in reality the boys have plenty! They enjoyed the puppets, the train, and the bead toy that Santa brought. (3:43)

UPDATE: I just figured out how to trim the videos! I'm not about to redo this blog, but next time I'll edit the videos to make them shorter.

Christmas Eve Gifts

2008-12-24T21:23:00.003-06:00

We let the boys open a few gifts on Christmas Eve. The rest are being saved for Christmas morning.

Philip is IN LOVE with the quacking duck from Aunt Charlotte.

William is about to open a gift from Nana and Pop. Hmm - what could it be?

Christmas Eve

2008-12-24T11:35:00.002-06:00

Merry Christmas from The Charbonneaus

William & Philip, 28 months

July 8, 2009

Ready for Preschool

2008-12-23T13:17:00.000-06:00

Good Morning!

Christmas Balls

2008-12-21T17:32:00.002-06:00

The boys made these this morning. William's is on the left, and Philip's is on the right.

Master, Living & Dining Rooms

2008-12-19T20:44:00.008-06:00

Look at how much the guys have accomplished. Yay!

MASTER BEDROOM

The master bedroom when we moved in.

The master bedroom now.

Another view of the original master bedroom.

Here it is now.

LIVING ROOM

The living room when we moved in.

Living room now. We plan to do some work on the fireplace and of course change the light fixture, but this is the progress so far.

Another view of the living room.

DINING ROOM

The dining room when we moved in.

The dining room now. I haven't decided if we'll keep the light fixture, but probably not. For now, we'll at least lower it.

Renovations Continue

2008-12-17T13:49:00.003-06:00

My nephew, David, and four of his friends are here helping us with more renovations. Here are a few pictures!

The house is a wreck. Here are piles of furniture in the entry.

Stained cherry hardwood in the master bedroom. The tape is temporary, and has already been removed.

Living room before paint or flooring. Stevo is outside cutting flooring as he and David were working on the master bedroom.

David and Nick preparing the living room for paint. David is standing on pallets of cherry hardwood.

Nick, Will, and Shea painting the living room.

The living room as it looked this morning. Walls and trim have been painted and half the flooring is installed. The marble around the fireplace will be replaced with something else. That's a future project.

Another view of the living room.

Shea and Will are prepping the dining room for broom texturizing and painting. You can see a few of my sample paints on the lower right.

Peppery Red in the dining room. Painters tape wasn't removed at the time, but it is now.

Elf Yourself

2008-12-12T13:43:00.001-06:00

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Christmas Tree Art

2008-12-10T18:59:00.002-06:00

Holiday Photo Fun

2008-12-07T15:00:00.002-06:00

Picture Day

2008-12-04T10:42:00.007-06:00

Today was picture day at the boys' preschool, so since I had them dressed and ready, I thought I'd try to get a few pictures. I hope the professionals do a better job. Let me tell you, it's QUITE a challenge getting them to cooperate.

Limiting Residents' Work Hours

2008-12-03T09:18:00.002-06:00

Medical experts propose limiting residents' work hours to improve patient safety.
NBC Nightly News (12/2, story 9, 2:15, Williams) reported, "A report [Tuesday] from the Institute of Medicine is taking a stand on a big and long-running problem in medicine." The organization "said that working for 30 consecutive hours creates an unsafe working condition, that is hazardous both to physicians and to the patients for whom they care."

According to the New York Times (12/3, A23, Parker-Pope), the "national panel of medical experts proposed significant and costly changes for training new doctors in the nation's hospitals, recommending mandatory sleep breaks and more structured shift changes to reduce the risk of fatigue-related errors." This "experts' report...focused on the grueling training of medical residents, the recent medical school graduates who care for patients under the supervision of a fully licensed physician. The medical residency, which aims to educate doctors by immersing them in a particular specialty and all aspects of patient care, is characterized by heavy workloads, 80-hour workweeks, and sleep deprivation." Notably, while "a series of changes, including limiting residents to an 80-hour workweek and 30-hour shifts," has been made in recent years, "the expert panel said those reforms were not enough," because "caps on work hours are often not enforced, and many residents still do not get enough sleep, putting doctors and patients at risk for fatigue-related mistakes."

Therefore, in order "to improve patient safety," the panel members recommend that "medical residents...get at least five hours of sleep after working 16 hours," USA Today (12/3, Rubin) adds. At present, "the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME), which oversees residency programs," requires that "residents work no more than 80 hours a week, averaged over four weeks, and no more than 30 hours straight. Previously, residents often worked 100 hours or more weekly."

The Washington Post (12/3, A6, Brown) adds that the proposed "work rules for physicians-in-training...are considerably more restrictive than those that went into effect in 2003, but are widely violated." For instance, "a survey of about 4,000 interns found that in the first year those rules were in effect, 84 percent reported working shifts that violated them at least one month of the year." Meanwhile, "43 percent reported working more than 80 hours weekly."

The Los Angeles Times (12/3, Engel) points out that "hiring additional staff to allow residents to work shorter shifts would cost about $1.7 billion annually, according to the medical experts who prepared the...report."

The AP (12/3) notes, "At issue is how to balance patient safety with the education of roughly 100,000 medical residents. ... The long hours are in some ways a badge of the profession; doctors can't simply clock out if a patient is in danger." Yet, "sleep deprivation fogs the brain, a problem that can lead to serious medical mistakes."

The report, which is titled Resident Duty Hours: Enhancing Sleep, Supervision and Safety, "also warned that violations of the 80-hour limit occur frequently and are underreported," the Salt Lake Tribune (12/3, Rosetta) reports. Therefore, the "ACGME should more closely monitor teaching hospitals' compliance." In addition, it "recommends greater supervision of residents by experienced physicians, limits on patient caseloads based on residents' levels of experience and specialty, and overlap in schedules during shift changes to reduce the chances for error during the handover of patients from one doctor to another."

In the Wall Street Journal (12/2) Health Blog, Victoria E. Knight wrote that the "federal Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), which commissioned the report," stated that it "provides solid recommendations that can improve patient safety, as well as increase the quality of the resident training experience." The Boston Globe (12/3, Cooney) and Modern Healthcare (12/3, Lubell) also cover the story.

Charbonneau Family

Elizabeth's 1st Birthday

The Kids

House Progress

Back Again

Recent Kids' Pictures

Little "E" 4 months old

Obama SNL Skit

11 weeks

William makes us laugh

Happy 39th Birthday to Pat!

Little Red Caboose

Cheese Arrived

Chuck E Cheese Videos

Third Birthday

About Me

Sandy and Mom

Elizabeth 4.5 weeks

2-1/2 Weeks Old

Happy Birthday Damn Dog

Elizabeth Dressed up

Sprinkler Fun

Elizabeth's First Bath

4 days old

Coming Home Day

Elizabeth 1 day old

Elizabeth First Photos - June 29, 2009

Elizabeth Karene Charbonneau

More of Her Room

The boys playing

Baby Girl's Room

Emily Kate Wood

37 weeks

My Phone

34 weeks 6 days

Weekend with Chris and Zona

Cookies, Singing and Giggling

34 weeks

Memorial Day Weekend

Playing Outside

More Picture Cards

Letters, Shapes and Colors

Painting Project Phase II

William's Potty Party

Painting Project Phase I

31 weeks

Unclaimed Money

Time Out in the Naughty Chair

What's in the wall?

Philip's Chocolate Bunny

Flying a Kite

School Pictures

More from British Talent Show

Easter Videos

Easter Eggs and Baskets

Pretty Pink Clothes

Susan Boyle - British Talent Show

27 weeks 6 days

27 weeks

American Idol

Pretty Little Dresses

Pink and Green

Where's my cat?

18th Anniversary Vase

Where is Tiger?

Marker William

So Much Splashing

William Singing

Bubbles Please

Sunday Painting Project

Stinky Duck

Airline Service

Cellphone Pictures

A little more video

More Videos

Boys in the Tub

20 weeks

Bad Valentine's Day Commericals

Creepy Clown Art

Fun with Straws