Irresistable Irwins

A little fresh air...

2011-02-25T17:35:00.008-06:00

We took the kids to the park the other day. After almost a full mo of sick kids.. I was feeling a strong need to get out of the house. The older children were ready to get out despite there cough and feeling slightly achey. Cambria is the one that looked the most miserable but she didn't mind being out in the yummy weather either.
( I'm really not trying to rub all of you who are still experiencing cold weather, I'm sorry. really...)

Here are a few shots I grabbed with my camera, we didn't stay long Since Cambria was a bit done after just a short while. But the boys sure got the most they could out of it.
I'm always impressed with my acrobatic son. I actually had to put a stop to one of his jumps out the swing tricks that he and his DAD were concocting.... ( Let just say he was encouraging to get all the way to the top and spin around at least one before landing.)
CLEARLY one of us had to be the responsible one and put safety first. I wasn't up for a trip to the E.R with a broken bone.. and since J-man has the track record for them. I felt I had a leg to stand on. Dads really are just big children sometimes aren't they?!
Cambria is a big fan of swings and loved playing with the bark! She loved exploring the fun little playground.

Not to many pictures of zoey she was too busy make'n new b.f.f's and made sure I met each one, and then when it was time for one to go she was off making a new instant best friend! She cracks me up. It was nice to get out in some nice weather and let the kids burn some energy!

Big heart- little boy

2011-02-10T18:29:00.006-06:00

Every day my kids walk home from the bus stop. Not far but about 1/3 of a mile. Along the way home Zoey will pick a leaf or two..( or a hand full.) She has done this since the first day of school. She gets very excited about her new pick and will play with it, stroke it like it was a soft feather and play pretend with it. She is always very excited about showing me her new pick every day.
This week she has been out of school with a bad stomach bug missing 4 days.
As the boys would barge through the door each day after school. I noticed that Jameson would go over to Zoey ask how she was feeling and hand her something. She would smile ( a weak little smile.. poor girl.) And he would walk off either looking for a snack or whatever he walked off to do.
Curious as to what he gave her.. I saw her curled up on the couch with big shiny leaf.
He had picked her a leaf.
He brought her a leaf home everyday. Each one a little different from the last, he took his time to pick one that he thought would make her happy.
No one asked him too. And he did it quietly.
All to make his little sister happy while she was sick. The fact that he took note that she liked her little leaves so much, I thought was impressively sweet.
Moments like this make me incredibly proud of my son.... and his great big heart.
I hope his sibling realize how lucky they are to have such an awesome big brother who truly looks out for them and show how much he cares in little quite ways.

Once bitten.....Twice shy

2011-02-08T15:04:00.005-06:00

What a bad, bad day yesterday was.

The unbelievable still can't believe it happened....happened.

Vedah my ever favorite sweet patient docile lab mutt dog- BIT my BABY's Face. And yes she broke skin. ( if your eyes just bugged out by this sentence your not alone, my eyes are still bugging out by it too.)

The terrible, no good, very rotten day started at midnight with a puking and explosive bum of my little Zoey.... and seeing has how the room was borderline toxic I decided to set up the play pen for Cambria to take a nap in that morning to keep her from breathing the toxic fumes of earlier events..
But first I take the gate down to our side room ( florida room) so Vedah can come hang out with us like always.. Cambria is toddling all over the house Vedah is lounging around as well. Same as always.. and I leave those two to it while I set up camp in my room for Cambria.

I'm bringing some stuff to the kitchen when I hear this growl attack like bark.. That sent me running ( I was literally 10 steps away from that room) to the Florida room to find Cambria flat on her back by the dogs bowl and Vedah tail tucked betweeen her legs.. I immediatly checked her hands assuming she had tried to grab her food while she was eating only to look at her face and find her bloody and scratched up. She had been clearly bitten by the dog.

Of course I beat the dogs butt all the way out the door( Momma bear style). And turned back to Cambria''s wounds in complete panic. She looked terrible. but thankfully they were not deep, more surface scratched just enough to bring the blood to the surface, but no gushing or large puncture wounds. She had grazed with her teeth just below her left eye and Barely missed her eye all together.. She has distinct claw marks on the side of her left temple. She looked terrible.. and I was in a panic..
Did this really just happen to my baby??
I called Paul in a panic begged him to come check out Cambria and handle the dog.
We cleaned out her owies.. made sure they were treated and once she was settled and taking a nap ( getting bit by a dog is traumatic and she handled it the way most babies do... she cried then went to sleep.)
So now it was time to deal with the dog. I told Paul in my panic that the dog must go instantly.
And with heavy and sad heart we agreed it was still the right thing to do. So we called the animal shelter explained the situation and they agreed to take her. I felt bad. I really didn't want to get rid of her. But I cannot run the risk of that ever happening again. I was so shocked that she was even capable of doing that in the first place.. She has never shown an ounce of aggression towards my kids. She has always been quite patient with little ones. ( even when they are playing with her food bowl which I know is a big no, no.) So if she is capable of it now... I can't assume that it was a fluke thing and it would never happen again.. I can't let my baby go thru that again.. I feel like this time we were really lucky the wounds weren't bad. But I can't risk it happening again. This was something I wasn't willing to give a second chance on. Even if she was just protecting her food.
Which means my favorite dog.. had to go.
I cried. I already miss her.. I'm still shocked it happened.
I cried when I look at my poor baby face... how could I ever let this happen?
But I am thankful that my baby is okay. I am sorry it happened under my care. Hopefully Vedah will find a home that will give her the love she deserves. ( I'm pretty sure I will not be the reciever of both pet owner award or Mother of the year award by this event alone.)

Paul and I have decided not to get another pet until Cambria is older and can understand animal rules better. I have no trust in dogs right now, if Vedah can do such a scary thing any dog can. And it's not something I find worth the risk at this point.
The whole thing just broke my heart. I'm still in shock.
But, Cambria is up and running and smiling away. So hopefully she won't remember or be scarred by this incident. I'm grateful for that.

Cambria Turns One!!

2011-01-23T17:24:00.009-06:00

My baby girl turned ONE on New years eve.

It is so hard to take in how fast she has grown. I can't believe I already have a one year old! ( yes i'm garbling.. I can if I want to it is my blog after all.) I know we all say it.. and it's so irritating but truly truly time slips away too quickly, and baby's really do grow up so fast. I sometimes wish I could just stop my kids from getting any bigger or any older. ( SIGH) alright I'm garbled out. ( maybe)

Little miss Cambria ( aka as Kui, Bri or baby girl.) Weight 18 lbs and is 32 in tall. She has very blonde hair. And the bluest of blue eyes. They are unique to this family.. But I still wonder is she will keep them or go a beautiful green like Jameson's did.. either way she will have show stopper eyes. They are gor-geous!

She has grown alot once we blew her canlde out. She is walking, she is starting to talk
Our vocab is : Dadda ( her most favorite person on the planet) Mum( the lady she only likes if daddy is no where to be found) NO! ( a word she says with as much as attitude and gusto a one year old can muster.) Hot ( always said in whisper) and Owie- Ow ( said both appropriate times and randomly) and HI! And when we say the words BIG GIRL show throws both her arms up as far as they can reach.
She is goofy and loves to laugh and play. She is most amused with finger play songs . I.e five little monkeys ( jumping on the bed or swinging in a tree) Patty Cake etc. She does most of the finger actions that go with it on her own.. and loves particular parts and will insist we do that particular part over and over.
She knows where her nose is... and picks it often. But can find it easily if I ask her where her nose is.

My favorite is her kisses. ( which she will give you if you ask for kisses and make kissy noises) and her BIG GIRL gesture where she throws both hands above her head.

She is a sweet girl with a lot of sassy spunk. She is very aware of strangers and will cry if they even attempt to hold her... if you cross her,she will remember your offense and cry as soon as you enter the room.. She decides quickly who she likes, who she doesn't ... and those who will have to work for her affection. Sometimes I respect it.. Sometimes is frustrating if I need someone to help hold her.

She is a joy to have. I think she is very smart, Very busy, very adorable. And simply Beautiful.

Her birthday was a fun one, Paul's parents came in from Co. She took to Queenie as soon as she walked in the door. And they bonded instantly.. We spent time with them and hung out for the day.. She had her own cupcake to eat and she downed the WHOLE thing. she was all about that cupcake. Opened gifts. Her gifts were some cute outfits and a walker toy ( pointless after a week since she can walk on her own ) And we just hung out and enjoyed our company.

I'm so glad she is in our family We all enjoy her. She is the darndest cutest thing ever.
Paul has a real sweet spot for her.. She has him wrapped around her little finger. I've loved seeing there bond. She loves loves her daddy!

Happy Birthday sweet girl! I can't even believe your one!

2010 moments

2011-01-12T20:27:00.027-06:00

Since I'm always a couple months behinds. I'm going to just touch on a few of my favorite moments from this past holiday season. With a couple pictures to sum it all up.
Oh but where to start..
Halloween -
I have finally figured out that all store bought costumes were designed for Florida and other warmer climate states. This is our first year where we didn't have add layer upon layer as we trick or treated this year.. I mean you could actually TELL what they were supposed to be this year.
We had a fun Halloween..
Jameson was a army soldier. Ethan. Batman( again) Zoey was a fairy princess and Cambria was a fairy.
It came we had treats till Christmas. What more can we ask for really from Halloween.

Thanksgiving was so fun.

Clint has planned on coming out for Thanksgiving, And just the week before Jay called and asked if he and his family could come join us for Thanksgiving. I was surprised since he just got home from his summer vacation in AFGHANISTAN. It was a house full of pure , bliss full chaos. I loved having everyone out. Clint was here to keep the kids happy. They would go play, get bored come jump on Clint for awhile and (possible be hog tied by him) And go play some more.( If he was kind enough to release them.) April and Jameson were instant pals and spent they're time catching frogs and lizzards.( not many pictures since they kept themselves pretty busy) Micheal and Ethan have a shared obsessive love of video games. Zoey and Jessica loved playing pretend and princess. Grant was the easiest going& happiest little guy I have ever met! And Cambria decided that Heather was A-Okay! ( she didn't like anyone else). I loved having them here and catching up. We had lots of fun. Clint is the easiest house guess one can have really.. He sleeps a lot. He'll eat whatever and the kids LOVE him. I would let him live with me .... but since he is building a gorgeous house I doubt that will ever happen.( I should mention I am Ridiculously jealous of his beautiful new home)
Jay's and I kids match up beautifully in age and getting along really well. We should really live closer to each other. They were all super fun to have visit!

Christmas- was a whirl wind! It came and left entirely too quickly. I could not find my holiday spirit. I'm sure I left it in the other state that has snow and seasons. But, it was a good christmas. Kids had fun ,We had fun. Nothing too fantastic. Other then while we live here in Florida we decided that every Christmas dinner will be one with fresh seafood. We call it the Gulf Coast dinner. Super yummy. Still need to figure out the best ways to prepare different fish etc. But since the kids a got a basketball hoop it was fantastic to be able to set it up and let them play with it in Dec. with nothing more then a hoody!
It was Also Cambria's first Christmas. She was cute with it. And thinks Wrapping Paper is good fun!

We also Had Paul's Parents out for New years and Cambria's First birthday ( her birthday post will be all her own.) We had a fantastic time with them! We introduced them to Fill or bust. Which will now go down in the Irwin hall of fame of witty moments and gut busting laughter. We visited quite a bit. Played a bit more. Shopped a little. Watched movies.. We toured a small ship and oohed and awe'd over the rare treat of dolphins in the bay area that we watched from the docks. Pelicans that were not afraid of us pesky humans. It was really neat. We loved having them out and have made new vows that it will not be another 2 years before we see them. Cambria( Aka as Kui) is a Queenie's girl no hesitation.. Zoey is a G'pa's girl, she was his Shadow day in and day out!

Our holidays were filled with a rare treat of Family! My parents came out for Sept( no pics thanks to a corrupted sd card.. BOO!) Then Clint and Jay for Thanksgiving. Then Paul's Parents for new years and Birthdays. I loved seeing and having all of them. And am awed and feel very blessed to get to see so many is such a short time! Yay for family. I miss them all.

Faith in the bathtub

2010-12-10T15:48:00.002-06:00

The school had called and asked me to pick up Zoey because she had thrown up in school. After getting her home she asked if she could get in the tub. I went and filled up the tub, she stuck a foot in and told me it was too hot.So I adjusted and in finished filling it.
I told her it was ready and to go get in . She stuck one foot in and kept pulling out half way. She kept doing this over and over.. I asked her if the water was still too hot.

Her reply with out looking up:" No"( looong pause) "You have to have faith to walk on water,I guess I don't have enough faith yet."
followed with a
"Can I have toys?"
I guess she was trying to see if her foot would stay on top of the water!
It was such a random, casual, matter of fact statement. It cracked me up!!

Well sweet girl, I guess I don't have enough faith yet either.. guess we'll both have to keep working on getting our feet to stay on top of the bath water!

I love her.

Ethans Baptism

2010-09-29T11:42:00.005-05:00

Ethan O'tea Irwin
was Baptized on Sept 11, 2010!

Ethan was so excited to be baptized he waited quite awhile to have it done. Since he turned 8 in July. The baptism kept getting pushed back in order to be able to have my parents fly in. I'm afraid it's been pretty crazy for them as of late and life just kept getting in the way. And things needed their attention. I had talked to Ethan about it and he was fine with waiting if it meant getting his Grandma and Grandpa here!
Queenie and G'pa weren't able to make it unfortunately, But I know they were with us in spirit!

The big day came and my Ethan was so excited for day! He wasn't letting anyone in on his day. It was all about him! He stood so tall and he was so proud of himself.
Katie gave the talk on Baptism ( it was a good one.)
Then Paul performed the baptism. Just one dunk! and Ethan did great!
Brent and My Dad were the witnesses
We watched a cute little slide show of Ethan from younger years while we waited for them to get dressed. Katie's friend Mallory was awesome enough to put it together for me. And she did such a cute job on it.. I admit I may have teared up a bit!
Then I had My Zoey and Abbey and Caroline ( Katie's girls) Sing the Baptism song.. they each took a verse And it was sooo cute!! They all did a great job and no one froze up or forgot the words. I loved it!
My mom talked on Holy Ghost and she gave a great talk.. she cried ( what girl doesn't when talking right??) Which concerned Ethan and then He cried. I don't know if the spirit was strong for him or that he just isn't used to his grandma crying... I kept telling him It's okay and it's a good happy cry not a sad cry.
I think it was all just a little overwhelming for him is all. Everyone staring at him and bawling..It would have freaked me out too!
After which Paul confirmed him with My dad and Brent in the circle.

I was so proud of him! He did a great job with everything. I thought it all came together really cute and was glad I had my parents, friend and ward members there to support him.
He wanted hamburgers and hot dogs afterward so we invited the Craig's over for a swim and some food and just chilled for the day.

Later of course Grandma and Grandpa gave him a set of scriptures with his name on it. He was so excited for them and he got to read them that night for the family.. He has yet to forget them. And they are his prize possession right now.

I must admit I missed having all my family there. I wished we could have magically "poofed" them over for that day. I know Ethan would have been happy to see all his favorites! But alas such is life.

I'm sad to say all the cute pictures I took that day are gone thanks to a corrupt memory card. Luckily I have a few my parents took and sent me.

I am so happy for him and proud his decision to become a member of the church. I know he will never forget it. He has been so cute to talk to me about his memory's of it and the pride of becoming a member! He's eyes just sparkle and I hope he always remember the feelings that he felt.

Mom and Dad and all that love you are Proud of you Ethan O'tea!

Time for School!!!

2010-08-27T22:45:00.013-05:00

Let the 2010-2011 School year Begin!

We started on the 23rd this year. All the kids are going to Bennett C. Russell Elementry in Milton. It's a pretty new school only a couple years old. We hear that the Santa Rosa school district is top notch and thus far I have not been dissappointed!
The kids were so excited for the school year to begin. Especially Zoey! It is so hard to see her in Kindergarten( Kindy is all day here.) But she has been more then ready for all day since last year even. She loves, loves,loves to be around people.We went to Back to school night to meet teachers and find class rooms. I'll tell you My kids were so excited to put on some new duds and meet the Teach!
I got everyone ready, I got ready. And threw everyone in the van. Thanks to the random weather we have here in Florida.. It was Sunny when we left and just as I got Cambria in her stroller Rain came down in SHEETS! By the time we got in the door we were litterally dripping wet. It was terrible I had all four kids and 6 bags worth of school supplys.. it was chaotic and messy!( Of course 10 min after we got in it went back to being sunny.. go figure.)
Meeting the Teachers made me feel better about a new school in a new area. I think it made my kids feel better too. I really don't know who was more excited for Monday to come me or them.

Monday morning Bright and early ( 5 a.m. anyone?)I had decided to get up early and make hot breakfast and pack lunches. ( hot breakfast is rare on school days here) We had Popovers and bacon and juice. Lunches packed. And made sure I had enough time to get Zoey's hair done( no extra hour for me this year thanks.) and get pics of everyone.
I wasted time and put curls in Zoey hair. You won't see them seeing as how the humidity was so high and it was already hot when we went outside they fell right out. But it was cute for the whole ten min it lasted.. BLAH.
All three kids were bouncing off the walls and seeing if there new shoes would make them run faster ( I may have told a small fib when buying said shoes to help them make decision on which shoe to buy....)
I decided I was going to drive them and walk them to the classes mainly for my new kindergartener sake... Okay, It was all for selfish reasons, and" mother heny" really.. I just wanted to ensure they wouldn't get lost... and make sure they were okay...especially Zoey. So off we went Camera ready to go.
I dropped Zoey( Mrs. Micheals) off first, helped her find her cubby and desk.I told her I wanted to take a picture. Very put out by my refusal to leave she agreed I could if I would leave right after. She was waving me off before my finger let off the button... Off to go make insta friends with whomever she could get to the quickest no doubt.. she ignored everything I said after that.. So I left.. unsure of how to really feel about that.. I mean it's a good thing right?.. Nothing wrong with independant fearless socialite, right???...* sigh* I did laugh that everytime she introduced herself she would giver her full given name. I just can't believe she's in kindergarten..I know she not the baby of the family anymore but it's still hard to realize how grown up she really is.

Ethan( Mrs.Madison/Mrs. Faircloth) .. he was most anxious to get there! He has two full time teachers this year. and there is no more then 18 students in the class room. I really like his teachers. and think( hope and pray) this will be a great year for him. He knew what he was doing and what he needed to do, he was a bit more patient with me insisting on a picture..But was also giving me that look of "Why are you still here??!! He loves school. Everything about it. Every morning he is the first one up ( last one dressed.) excited to go to school.

Jameson( Dr.Carson) -was last and was clearly embarrased by me being there. He reminded me often he was in 4th grade and didn't need me to help him.. He amused me, but I swear he was trying to get a bit of distance between us so he wouldn't have to claim me.. He did let me take a picture of him by his desk, Then wanted me to leave and quickly.. I decided to be kind and not shower him with kisses and "I love you honeys". I showed restraint and simply stated to have a good day and" a see you after school buddy!". I think he should realize how cool I was to do that.

We had some MASSIVE confusion on the bus ride home.. I was waiting at the bus stop for them when I get the phone call from the school that there was no bus schedule for them yet and to please pick them up ( We registered later so we weren't on the books yet.) I said no problem and drove to get them. I reached the front desk asked for my kids.. a couple of walkie talkie jabbers later I find out they were on a bus headed home after all! It was mayhemish at the front desk but they did apologize for the confusion, I waved it off and chalked it up to first day kinks. ( see how nice I am.. they appreciated my understanding...I should tell Jameson the front desk thinks I'm a cool mom too.) But I needed to know if they had gotten there already, I needed to catch them. So I ran back to the car and headed back to the bus stop. I pulled up right as she was letting them off. ( Thank heavens I live close.)

What I love about school ( Besides the oh so quite house) is that my kids have had NO problem falling asleep come bed time.. Especially Zoey she is exhausted after school and will go lay down for a nap in her bed, she doesn't even try to fight it!

They all have enjoyed their first week and love their teachers! I was so excited ( and relieved) for this school year and glad to have them back in school! I've LOVED having my days to just Cambria and I!
Hopefully this year will just rock for all of them, I can't wait to see how they do.
I just wish I could get out of their homework part of it. yuck!

Water Rules!

2010-07-25T13:58:00.007-05:00

I could have been a swim coach.
No really. I can still hear my swim coach yell at me. Not because I was in trouble but she just yelled and didn't exactly "coddle" her team.. I can just her her scream KICK HARDER! Do another 300 yards ! BLAH BLAH BLAH. She had a certain way of yelling. That you could even hear UNDER the water. ( I wonder what Sue is doing now. ... I wonder what Yolanda is doing now... can they even talk anymore after all that yelling?) Maybe they didn't yell as loud as I remember... it might have been the echo of the pool?.
Doesn't matter, my POINT is that I have INSISTED the kids learn to swim here.
Jameson was figuring it out on his own last summer in IN. But has it pretty down pat here to the point I'm teaching him the other strokes and getting ornery about when he should breathe and how to make it so his hands don't slap the water. ( yeah,yeah I know I'm no professional..but I since I can still hear it all in my head, might as well pass it down.)
I'm actually really impressed with him. Once he puts his mind on learning how to do something, he does it.. and mostly on his own. He has that gift. The problem is once he's got the bare basics down he thinks he's good and there is nothing else to learn, He also HATES listening to me. I can give suggestions on what he can do to improve.. but he'll argue with me.. Paul can come say the same thing and he'll do it.. And he can do it the first time.
This irritates the crap out of me.. especially one day in the pool trying to convince him to pull his head out of the water with out stopping the flow of his stroke..He would just argue.
So after a long chat ( FULL of compliments may I add.) He agreed he would let me teach him for 45 min each day. If he didn't argue he got his sticker.. If he gets 50 stickers he gets a prize for his really hard work.
Can I just tell you how much more fun swim time is with him!! And can I also un- biasedly say that he is a natural swimmer in the pool.He is really good!! I have taught him Freestyle.. Breaststroke... Back, And fly.. We have done starts and flip turns... Most things he can do with being shown only once. I think I'm going to encourage him to join the swim team. I think he'd do really really well.

oh yeah, my point on the swim coach.. I'm sure my neighbors wonder if I use a whip with my orders. I find myself screaming and walking along the pool yelling.." KICK!!! I want to see those feet make splashes!!! 5 more times !!!GO!!!" ( All in that blessed screechy nag that I hated so much of course.)
I also find myself trying to show the kids what your legs or arms what they should be doing while on the side of the pool.. I too remember our coaches doing this and finding it hilarious. They looked ridiculous.( As do I.)
Whatever, tho since it seems to be working.

Ethan has come leaps and bounds from even last year where the pool was just too big for him to feel comfortable in.. He would not put his face in the water. This year he would. And was determined to learn to swim as well. He has worked SO hard to be graduated to the deep end of the pool. I feel like this pool has actually really helped him in a lot in the areas that he struggles in. He is pretty fear less now. And while we still have a bit of work to do to get him to become a stronger swimmer. He has passed the test to be able to go swim in the deep end.( width of the shallow end. 20x Cannot put their foot down at all.) And we continue to work with kick boards, back floats and breathing and swimming in a fluid motion. He loves the water and is more then wiling to do as I ask him to do. He likes working for a sticker too.
Zoey- At the beginning she wouldn't get off the stairs, then she wouldn't get her face wet. She wanted to hang on to me the entire time. Now she is on the brink of swimming herself..She can do it.. But insist on putting her foot down when she needs a breath of air. She is a great lil kicker. And can almost beat Ethan ( Which ticks Ethan off.) She is the least trusting of my kids when it comes to doing things in the water. She will do the back float but will insist on holding on to me. ( like I'm going to let her go under! ...Okay I probably would.. so I guess it's a valid fear.) She needs a bit more coaching and encouragement to try new things.. She catches on quick, simply because she hates to be left behind. I found that she is one that NEEDS to feel in control of the situation at all times. So we take it at her pace with just a few gentle prods from me accompanied with Lavish praise. What I found hilarious is at the begining she wouldn't go under the water, but when Jameson DOVE ( yes dove, first time off the diving board and he dove head first!) in the water, she got excited and wanted to do it too, and started heading for the diving board! Scared to get her face wet, but wants to jump off the diving board?! hmmm....

But in truth I'm incredibly proud of all three of them and what they've managed to accomplish so far. ( Maybe a screaming nagging swim instructor mom is the magic ingredient!)
Not to mention my fear of one of them falling in the pool and drowning has been lessened since I know everyone one of them can swim to safety if necessary. Which is the main reason for my militant swimming methods. I just can't have people drowning in the pool, the end!

I was going to put them in lessons till I found out how much they were per child for only so many days. I couldn't really afford those ridiculous fees.( For three kids... HOLY CRAP!) And now I'm glad I didn't do it. I try to mix a little fun in with lessons.. Or I just tell them after they do as I ask for 45 min.. the rest of the time is theirs for fun. They all seem to be fine with it and become quite proud of the new thing they learned that day. And I've really enjoyed working&playing with them.

I'll probably start working with Cambria as soon as I can show her how to hold her breath. I know there is a baby survival water class that you can start teaching your infant as young as six mo. I might actually look into this. If you've heard anything about this let me know, I'd love to hear what other people think of that.

Well time to warm up the vocal chords once more so I can ensure they can hear me from Underneath the Water!
...La! La! La! LA!......

Things that make me swear......worse.

2010-07-19T15:38:00.010-05:00

How I was welcomed into Fl. and our new house.
Paul took me to see the house as soon as we got here. It was late..on the outside of the house. Were gecko's and lizards running all over the house. And frogs on the windows.
It made me a bit on edge. Now, admittedly I am not all that scared around reptiles or frogs or snakes. However the thought of them running around ON my house makes me a bit nervous as you never know when one is going to run in your house ( which has happened.) or Fall on your head or down your shirt. ( which I'm glad to say has NOT happened.)

We have and in ground pool in the back that I absolutely love. I love water. I love swimming. It is my new happy place to be..
HOWEVER I hate cleaning out the filter on a daily basis.. I am guaranteed to find at least 2-3 tiny little frogs. ( I mean the size of a quarter) and sometimes my pool filters are the hot spot for the frogs that want a lil water romance.. Nothing like trying to get two mating frogs out of your filter. They have no shame.
I also get a first hand look at all the bugs that fell in and couldn't get out. When we dump the filter out in the grass we realize why we never see any remains the next day... We consider this our sacrifice to the fire ants out here. I'm hoping they will leave us alone if we continue to give them free buffet. ( ick... ick.. double ick.)

Which brings me to the Spiders out here.
i have only seen one large spider in my house.. that was huge ( body bigger then a quarter.. add some legs on it.. well you get the idea) This one even freak'd out Paul.
But outside I see them curled up in my filters often.. It makes me shiver..
But here is my new problem.. They like to swim too..
The 1st assault was when the kids were in the pool with their goggles. Ethan freak'd out and started screaming spider ( we get ant size ones that fall in often....I mean we are OUT SIDE you have to expect to deal with them a little bit right?) I thought that he was bugg'd out about the little ones... Till I saw it.
Eragog's great grandchild! Floating on top of the water legs extended straight out. IT scared me.. and I wasn't in the pool. If the thing was in my hand ( another shiver added here.) It would have been bigger then my palm!
So I decided to drowned him with the pool cleaning Pole with the net thingy attached. I thought if I just drown him and scoop him out right? Dude this thing FOUGHT BACK... I swear he was trying to take the pole away from me ! Freak'd me out. I eventually won the battle. But I walked away with shak'n nerves.
2nd... Again the kids were in and I was out. We had some friends over and Ethan had come in sulking telling me he didn't want to swim because there was a spider in the pool. He didn't seem too upset by it so I was thinking it was just a tiny one... Till I hear Zoey screaming.. She was in her tube floaty and couldn't get away from it.. Everybody surrounding her High tailed it out of there. ( ya know.. everyman for himself type deal.) Except one brave young knight who came to rescue. ( Way to go Tip!) His brilliant idea was to trap the beastie ( It was a biggy too.) in another inner tube , then Pushed Zoey towards the stairs. This is where I come and grab the almighty pole.. The problem was I had too many pool toys in the pool and it kept hiding underneath them... when I grabbed one of the floaties. I realized the beastie had attached himself to it..I pulled it out and slammed it on the ground. It hung on.... then I whapped it with the pole.. it went flying in mid air to the grass... I half expected it to charge me...so I got the big guns out. ( The almighty shovel.) And went on Spider patrol... I watched that grass till I saw it move and went crazy smashing it with the big metal shovel. ( You may think it's a bit extreme. But I think he could have taken me if I just used my shoe.)
I think we were all watching the water a bit closer by then.

Now I always clean and skim the pool before I and the kids get in. It was sparkling perfect and I jumped in to play with the kids. All was fine and dandy.. I turned into a shark and was going underneath to grab the kids legs. I came up after an attempt to catch Jameson and did the whole female thing when you use both hands to get the water off your face and follow the motion thru our hair. My fingers came across something foreign and I pulled it out ( yup I GRABBED IT) I glanced at it while I was casting it off my fingers ( I assumed it was bit of grass or something.) And saw it was a big brown bug..which made me flick it harder... After it hit the water it threw it's legs out I realized I had a big brown spider IN.MY.HAIR!!!!!!.. ( everybody squirm with me here..)
I need therapy. Where did he come from and how the hell he landed in my hair I don't know.. But my kids learned a new phrase that day.. .Can you Say HOLYSH*%! I bet they sure can.
Eragog's great grandchildren are out to get me... I just know it. I'm not even safe in the freak'n water!

The scary part is, I am told by a local here. Is that the bigger ones come out Closer to Fall..Something called the banana spider?!
The bugs here will take you away!!!
I have two choices.. Exterminator on call everyday ...... or pack up and leave Satan's playground of insects... I'm leaning towards the latter. The exterminator will probably end up missing in action anyway...
And Paul wanders why I refuse to go outside by myself....are ya kidding me??! I hate. Hate. hate the bugs here!!

Oh, where to even begin?!

2010-07-14T20:19:00.005-05:00

Ya know how if you been gone for a really long time, and someone says you must catch up soon... but really how do you even start it. Since it's been forever.. You can't really start at the beginning... or the middle. And the end certainly doesn't make any sense either. It leaves you almost with nothing to say for fear of starting something you can't finish. Or knowing that it's more past then present and not as important as it was when you were dealing with it. But you don't want ot forget it either... Sigh.
So where to begin.?!

Well.. How about while Paul was in Florida and I was in South Bend.

Worst day ever- The day I realized someone had been in my home and had taken my most favorite thing that was mine and only mine out of my very own bed room. My Camera ( which was a nikon d-80) The hole package too. Extra lense, memory card full of pictures of Cambria's blessing etc etc. that hadn't made it to the computer yet. My house wasn't ransacked Just one item at a time after that biggie went missing. I put togther and paid more attention to things that went MIA. ( Which is all the time since I do have kids, ) Conclusion is this: Neighbor who knows my schedule and knows my dog. They got away way with $200 cash out of my dresser drawer. ( my room must've been the hot spot) back in Nov. My camera ( that one still stings.) And my daugters ds lite. ( she doesn't lose things like the others. I'm betting they lifted it on the way out the door since it went missing the same time my camera did.) Yes it sucks that my things were taken, sucks worse it was someone who knew me. ( it had to be.) Sucks worse is I can't get pictures back. I'm waiting for Judgment day when I can prove my theory of Mrs X, in the master bedroom with a cigerette lighter & sticky fingers. If only I could have proved it here. (Sigh) That day sucked....

Things I learned while playing single parent:
- I RULE! I did not know I was capable of doing things on my own. I became incredibly organized. Aggressive. And embraced the fact of it's either ME or no one. I now know I could make it as a single mom ( as long as someone can still provide the finance part of it... that might be a whole other problem that would kick my trash.) I was a force to be reckon'd with. (seriously tho' just keep the money in my account and pay my bills... I got it after that.) It was definatly a growing expierence for me.
- I also realized that I really am NOT the fun parent. Paul is the humor in our family. He keeps the moods light, and can laugh at typical everyday crap that drives me crazy. So much faster then I can. And this folks is why I keep him around,( that and I love him and everything) and also have a new found appreciation for him and his upbeat personality.( That, and he makes sure the bills get paid on time.. and the $$ maker...) I'm not sure when I became militant mother and in charge of disipline but it happened....

- My husband is also very patient. with my nightly calls.... since he had to hear ALL about my day and the fine details within.( and every mood that could have gone with it.)

- People are amazing. And I was so grateful to all the help that was given to me.. So really I didn't do it on my own. These people were awesome and live the way we should all live.. inspiring to me really. ( a whole other post.)

-Boxes don't pack themselves... ( I gave them plenty of chances... it just didn't happen.)
-The house doesn't clean itself either.... ( also turns out that people have their own version of "clean".)

-If you know of a guy who moves houses as a profession and he lives in your ward.... Make friends with him and ask him to help. Amazing pack job. Amazing!

- I am incredibly organized mover come move day. Or so I was told by the priesthood when they came to help move stuff. ( which was nice to hear, after all the effort to ensure a smoothe move day.)

- I learned tis better to inform your counterpart.. your glad their home... but zip it and stay out of the way till they learn the new system... man, he was soo underfoot, it was make'n me crazy.. AND he dared question my system.. tsk,tsk.( he quickly realized this mistake.. which was fortunate for him.)

- Moving still sucks... Driving a Van with three kids and a baby and a dog..Sucks even worse. ( try not to throw imaginary frying pans at your husband who is safely tucked away in the truck, by himself.)

- Dramamine for kids also works really well on Dogs.. Really really well.

-Atlanta Georgia is really quite pretty, And I could live there. ( well if I could live where Pauls uncle lives.. ) I couldn't help think of Steel Magnolia when I was being shown a magnolia tree.

-Trying to find your bearings in a new state, a new ward, and new house... takes longer then I have patients for.

- I really hate bugs ( next post.)

- I miss my south benders... The ward, the people, the city, ND. The primary.

-But I love the new people I'm meeting, catching up and hanging out with our family away from family, friends.

- I don't really care for the southern drawl ( unless your from Georgia.. that is just really pretty)... Ignorant racist morons....or being called Ma'am all the time.

-I'm kinda homesick.. but not sure which home I'm sick for.

- The beaches are GORGEOUS! It's heartbreaking the oil has hit them. It makes me so sad. ( AND A BIT BITTER.....I'm mean, I just got here!!!)

But we are doing fine here. Still much to learn and figure out I'm trying to keep my opinion neutral till I do more exploring. Kids have had lots of fun with both old and new friends. Having a swimming pool in the back yard has been a summer life saver for me.. And has helped teach my kids to swim( next post.) And I'm very glad to have my husband back, the kids are very glad to have their daddy back it saves them from mean ol' mom.

And I'm jumping back on the blog wagon.. There won't be as many pictures since I have NO camera ( and my phone camera isn't even worth trying to use anymore. to blurry!)

not dead.....yet.

2010-04-02T20:12:00.005-05:00

Hello fellow bloggers!
Just wanted to let you know I'm not Dead ..... yet. Although I am starting to get all sorts of confused as to which way is up at this point.
Mt. Dew is a daily, no... an hourly requirement. And It's effects are starting to not work near as fast as I prefer... maybe it's time to up the dosage? Or maybe find one a bit more potent... I always did wonder what it was like to be a Rock Star, or if a Red Bull really does give you wings. ( kidding.... sorta)

For all of you wondering what on earth we've been up to. Well I'm just going to sum it all up since I am already behind just by sitting here messing around on the computer.
Paul accepted a job in Pensacola Fl. He left The first week in March.
Which means He left me here, By myself with 3 kids and a baby. To Pack, Fix and get the house ready to sell.. oh and to prevent child services from asking too many questions.;-)

So much has happened since then, I owe a post to every single on of them. We blessed Cambria the last week in Feb. I was sad to have such a small circle. But she looked beautiful and Paul gave her a beautiful blessing... I've had massive freak outs wondering how in the world I'm going to do it all... Paul had the pleasure of talking me thru them, and listening to my endless rants and complaints...( that hasn't changed much.) I've had my Camera stolen.. which had my pictures of the blessing...( oh, lets not start that RANT.)
Attempting to get the house on the market, and therefore adding to my list of things to get done.

My kids have been great for the most part, Jameson especially has been such a good help. We won't talk about the Sunday where I just about killed all of them. Everything happened, such as Ethan Leap Frogging down the main aisle DURING the sacrament, Jameson physically fighting with a classmate ( not sure it's legal to have an arch enemy in church, but he sure has one.) Well, to say the very least they were anything but reverent from start to finish. And it's by God's good graces they lived after that day... but I assure you, they haven't tried to pull anything like that since....

But somehow I get things accomplished, and we all survive to do it all again the next day. We call Paul every evening and do scripture study over the phone And let the kids talk to him and tell him about their day. Before you start thinking, wow.. aren't they so great for being devoted to reading... let me give you a taste as to how it probably sounds to Paul on the phone...
Me: ok, kids sit down, be quite and lets read.." I Nephi.." I SAID SIT DOWN!!!".... "having bee-.." QUITE KICKING YOUR BROTHER!!"....n born of goo-"....."THAT'S IT, YOU CAN LISTEN FROM THE CORNER, IF YOUR NOT GOING TO BEHAVE!...."dly Parents..." NO I'M NOT DONE, YET....
Other comments made while in the middle of scriputers:
Yes, I know I just said a bad word, but it's okay because it's in the scriptures.... now quit laughing.
Please quit touching the baby.....
Please quit teasing him!.
I don't know who's turn it is to say the prayer, stop fighting....
Of course there is always the baby who seems to not enjoy the written word..
Although it's not always the most spiritual moment, we haven't missed a night yet, and I hope it's effecting SOMEBODY in a positive way. See aren't we sooooo righteous?!! (okay, that was said sarcastically I promise.)
Please tell me it's like this at your house too??!!

Anyway, needless to say it's been a bit busy, and now I have the new fun of trying to keep the house spotless,in case I have a showing. I've had some great friends from the ward who have taken my kids for couple hours. which is awesome, And one who knows that a girls night does Stacey good. ( although I feel guilty going, it works for me.)
I'm going to try to play catch up soon, and then I can put all of my stories together a bit more complete! In the mean time, I have more scrubbing to do, things to pack, rooms to paint and kids to keep happy. Easter to put together, and Birthdays to start on, a baby to feed and rock. ( how do all of you super moms do this all the time?!)
At least Paul is coming home on Tues for a week to help me with a few things and to celebrate Jameson's and Zoey's b-day, I am SOOO excited to see him, we all miss him! ( I've already warned him that I will be working him like a mule!)
I must be honest, in saying that we really do seem to be managing and accomplishing things. I just think it's in a mom nature to freak out and get overwhelmed about the to do list, and if your like me, you think everything should have been done, YESTERDAY and not sure which should be at the top of the list. But we are surviving and doing alright, I am writing this all with a chuckle.( Does that mean I've lost it???!) Or that I've accepted this new way, know that one way or another I'm outta here by June?!!
I don't mean to ignore anyone or their blogs. But just know that ,I'm think'n about ya!

Changing it up!

2010-02-18T14:05:00.003-06:00

My friend had decided to FINALLY sell her diaper changing kits that she both designs and makes. And I am so excited for her. I happen to have one of these diaper changing kits and I LOVE it!! (1) I think it's cute. (2) it keeps everything I need together in the right departments so I don't have to lug the whole diaper bag out for quick change.. (3).. One word ...... Sanitation!

I never thought I would be raving about a diaper changing kit. And I know there out there. But I love this design. I use it all the time, even when home.

So I'm going to post this link to: Cute Cousins And now I'm going to STRONGLY encourage you to check it out. Even if your not the one that has or having a baby, This is a cute, unique gift to consider for sure!

Now, she has just started this site, there are just a few to choose from, if you don't see one that you after, keep checking back because I know she is working on a few more and I'm sure they will be up soon. And I'm sure you can email her with any questions!

Alright quite reading this and hit that link button!

Mischievous Moments.

2010-02-01T11:47:00.018-06:00

So with the new baby has brought lots of questions from the kids as to what they were like when they were a baby..... It got me to thinking about a friends post she did on the mischief her kids did when they were younger and since some of the memories have been brought up I thought I would jump on it now before I forget a few.. of course, this might have to be an on going post since I have a terrible memory and will most likely remember even better ones later on.
It's true what they say about every kid being different. And that boys are more mischievous then girls. While I'm not sure if that is true for every family it certainly was for mine. One particular child has been the most deviant & mischievously creative with his work.
Unfortunately I didn't even think to grab camera's of the moments as they were happening .. and I've lost a few of back in the day due to computer virus's. All the others are on film and I have no scanner.. But I did want pics and grabbed a few of my favorite at the age all this happened...

When we lived in N.Logan and Jameson was only 2-ish we had to have gates up on the stairs and child proof door knobs. We also put both these items in his room when we moved him out of his crib. Not liking being "caged in" He used his brute force to knock down the gates and soon learned that solid toys could break the child proof knobs right in half. After that it was impossible to child proof anything. Or keep him contained. He also learned the magic of a chair that could be scooted anywhere to get into...... well anything.
Before he figured out how to knock down gates he loved to throw things down the stairs.. Items that took flight:
A Glass dish ( yes it broke)
Paul's Palm pilot( still worked but a bit scuffed up)
a utensil box full of kitchen knives ( In my defense, I saw him grab the container I had them in I was right there putting away other utensils.. He was so quick to grab them and quick to run, I was chasing after him praying he didn't fall on them and hurt himself.)
The Cat ( she was trying to escape down the stairs anyway... he just sort of helper her.)
And really whatever else he could get his hands on.

Also while we were in N.Logan we lived in a town house with 2 bathrooms. While learning to potty train Jameson. ( he was 3-ish) He learned that things go DOWN the potty when flushing. He showed this to Ethan ( who was 2-ish) Between the both of them ( mostly Jameson) they managed to clog BOTH toilets at the same time. ( I think this is where I became very gag sensitive since I was prego with Zoey) We tried plunging and auguring and we'd pull out a few odd items such as:
Batteries,combs, pencils etc.. every time thinking we got it. When worse came to worse we had to pull off the toilet INSIDE the upstairs was a somewhat large McDonalds toy. And in the downstairs was a travel size shampoo bottle. Both did not budge easily.
Other things that attempted to be flushed were A full roll of toilet paper( on the roll still) Books,Larger Toys,Clothes and perfectly good diapers. Needless to say every time I heard a toilet flush I went running in hopes to catch it. We locked doors, but Jameson learned to pick a lock as well. ( see mom so many times with a butter knife...)

When we lived in Ogden, Ethan went through of phase of getting into my purse and finding my cards ( debit, license etc.etc.) they went missing constantly. After searching the house, I just about gave up and was ready to re-order them. Till I sat down at my electronic key board and noticed it's disc drive was sort of opened.. I learned that those lil disc drives can hold 4-5 cards No problem.

When Ethan was 2 ish we had gone to my parents house to hang out just after Christmas all was well and good and we were getting ready to go home.. As I was trying to find all the socks and shoes we heard a loud crashing sound in my parents living room. At first I thought someone had gone thru the glass coffee table.. I ran in there to find Ethan standing on my parents Brick fireplace in his hands was a long runner she had on the mantel. On top of that runner were many Beautiful crystal & glass items that my father had given as gifts. ALL but one which were now SHATTERED all around him. Luckily he didn't even have a scratch on him. But I was appalled by what had happened. We never even thought to worry about the ends that hung down by just a bit as concern for some young kid to grab and pull. And go figure it had to be MY kid that had to do it. This one sent me into tears. As I had no idea how to even fix this for my parents. I couldn't afford to replace.. and the fact they were mostly gifts made me just sick to my stomach.
Thank heavens for kind and understanding parents. Who were just happy that Ethan wasn't seriously hurt. ( I must confess, I didn't even think to check him when I grabbed him out of the middle of all those shards of glass, I spanked him and put his nose in the corner immediately.. how I didn't step on the glass & he didn't get cut is beyond me.) We all agreed we were glad mom decided NOT to put her crystal nativity set( she has every figure that went into that collection.) up there that year.
We laugh about this now... nervously. And yes ,I still feel terrible.

Jameson and Ethan went through an egg breaking period, to which I went thru many cartons of eggs in a short period of time. Not over the sink just throwing them on the floor.

Again in N. Logan. When Jameson was 2 ... He has discovered where I had hid his Christmas presents already wrapped. They were on the very top shelf of my closet hidden. I knew he was downstairs playing and when I went to check on him ALL of his presents were unwrapped and opened. Thank heavens for short term memory. On Christmas he acted like he had never seen them before. ( OR played with them!)

Ethan at 3 has put over $4.00 in spare change I had in my car Into the tape deck. It kills me to know there are quite a few quarters still stuck in there. ...... ( specially when I need drink money!!).............I still think he tries this.( Okay.. to explain this poor kid's eye.. mosquito bites, turns him into Quasimodo)

While we were in Ogden, The boys ( 4&3) were taking a bath they thought they needed more toys.. I went to get some towels came back and found the Leapster( where you can add a book to it.) And their animal flash lights in the bath with them. Just so ya know.. Leapsters are not waterproof in anyway.. But a 5 dollar animal flashlight still work when completely immersed.

When Jameson was 2/3 and Toy Story was a huge hit in the house ( you know the phase of watching it over and over and over) He loved Buzz light year. One day he climbed on the arm rest of this couch, put out his hands.. did the famous line ( TO Infinity .. And BEYOND!) and Jumped up and out.. And fell quite hard on the floor... I sat quietly waiting to see if crying would be involved.. He looked at me with his most quizzical /stunned look and said " I can't fly?!".. I immediately laughed... and felt bad for not telling him sooner he indeed could not fly.
He also learned the hard way that he couldn't breathe underwater. shortly after learning to put his entire face in the water.. (Luckily no serious damage was cause by either of those incidents.)

Notice that I have no mischief stories about Zoey?? I couldn't think of a single one that even held a candle to what the boys have done.. the worst I can remember is her marker phase that she went thru ( MY poor walls still have her "art" plastered all over..) This was the only picture I found when she was 12 mo old.. she loved to get in my fridge and pull everything out.

The good news, is now I look back on these moments and smile in tenderness ...... But as I dealt with them... NOT SO MUCH!

A new must share HIP site.

2010-01-28T12:55:00.007-06:00

So as I was at Walgreen's picking up pictures.. I had the chattiest cashier EVER! At first I was somewhat annoyed with it, since she chatted up the customer before me.. and I was hopeful this was going to be a quick in and out trip.
But I was glad I talked to her. .I still can't figure out how we got on the subject since the first thing she asked me was if my photo's were copyrighted.. ( nope, just heavily picnik'd thanks!) But she somehow moved on to couponing sites.
Now I have been trying my hand at coupons and I get a few good coupons that I have been happy for.. But for getting $200 worth of grocery's for $ 50.00. Well, I'm either just not that dedicated or not that talented. So yes, I know a few sites for strictly coupons.
But she told me of this site called HIP2Save Said it was much more then the spam filled coupons sites and gave me a few of the details. I decided to check it out and see if her ravings were on..

Yes. yes. they were! I think I have new obsession to this site! Not only does she link kick'n coupons ( I love sites that do all the work for you!) But she has freebie links. What's on clearance links. etc.Really, anything that bargain/budget shoppers look for. And she does all the store scouting, telling you what store has what on sale and how to get if for rock bottom price. ( Like I said, I love when someone will do the leg work for you!) If you do decide to go have a peek at her site. Make sure you check out her blue bar on the side and click on the stores to see what she has found on sale + coupons. She seems to have a lot especially under Target. She updates a couple times a day.
I myself am terrible at taking all the ads and comparing for the best price. Plus I'm not super excited about shopping at 5 different stores for the sake of a dollar off coupon. So to have someone do the ad search for me.. Give me the best scenario and what I would end up saving.. ROCK ON!

She even has video's of how she organizes her coupons and how she shops. Proud to say, I too have a binder and her and I.. well, we think alike in our categorizing... But I am so going to have to get some baseball card sleeves.. brilliant.. All my coupons keep falling out! ( course my binder is not near the extent of hers... jeez~) Like I said, I'm very new to coupon clipping. And feel very overwhelmed with the whole process. But love when I can get stuff I need to buy anyway.. cheaper.. much cheaper. So for me it's very helpful to have someone kinda help you sort thru it.

Please just tell me I'm not the last to know about this here site!! But I couldn't help but share with the rest of you. Since I know quite of few of you are all about bargain shopping and coupon clipping. Go check it out and then comeback and tell me what you think!

Hope it helps!Happy savings!

Sweet Baby

2010-01-26T22:00:00.012-06:00

I have been terrible at take'n pictures since Cambria has gotten here. And I am determined to have as many pictures of Her as I do of all the other kids! It has been so interesting how much babies change even in a few weeks. I have been intrigued with her features, trying to figure out what she is going to look like as she gets older. She has such a different look then I had expected I'm almost obsessed studying her, trying to figure her out. I think she will look like herself. Why I'm surprised I don't know, It's not like my kids look exactly alike, everybody is so different then the other. So it will be fun to watch her grow... Now the only question I have is How do I keep getting such beautiful babies?!

Now I just need to get a picture of all four of my beautiful babies together. Sad to say but I haven't taken one picture of the other kids holding Cambria.. I'm too busy ensuring that she won't get roughed up! But that is my next goal.

Cambria seems to be a sweetheart of a baby. And has been very easy and laid back. Thus far she rarely cries. And sleeps for most of the night, I wake up and work with her once in the middle.. And once again around 6 a.m ish.. ( I can't tell you exact times.. to tired & blind to look at the clock) I just know I am not rocking her or begging her to settle in so I can get back to sleep. It has been wonderful.

A Blessed Visit from my Parents

2010-01-22T18:46:00.008-06:00

I should just start this post by saying ..My Parent Rule! Seriously, they were so fantastic to come out to us and stay the week to meet their new Granddaughter and to see the kids and to help me.
My kids are in love with their Grandpa and Grandma and were so excited to have them out. Zoey especially loved jumping and being in Grandpa's face the ENTIRE time they were here. He took her like a champ! ( and being a tired dolt, I didn't take many pictures, they were here a week, you'd think I would have taken more then 3 shots!) Of course the boys did their fair share of jumping and playing with him as soon as they walked thru the door.

They were great to attempt to get used to eastern time and get up and help get the kids on the bus for school. ( that means they woke up around 4:30- 5:00 a.m. their time almost every morning) I think by the time they were able to adjust to the time difference it was about time to head back. Poor parents!
While they were here we celebrated my birthday. My dad took the kids to the store and I was brought back a birthday cake, a balloon and some roses. it was so very cute. after pizza and cake. We broke out the cards and played so Oh' Pucky! It was so fun to play again~

My parents SPOILED us rotten while they were here! And must have thought my pots and pans were pretty pathetic, since they surprised us with a really nice set after they returned from a quick trip to the store to pick up a "few" things. I am in love with them, and they are indeed my new babies! This among other things were done for us, and I felt very very spoiled. They were so good to us! Grandpa gave each of the kids $5, they thought that was so neat! ( thus the money in the picture!) And couldn't wait to get out and spend it ASAP!( seriously, so spoiled!)

My dad for the most part was a good sport with my dog. I think he secretly likes her. And I bet he missed her too.. even tho' he will never admit it. I'm considering getting him a dog for Christmas just so he'll stop coveting mine. He "pretended" to be annoyed with her and gruff with her just for appearance sake.. but deep down I think he wanted to take her home. ( Ah, laughing so hard right now...)

My mom was fantastic as ALWAYS and pretty much took care of everything there was to do. I so loved having her around and chatting her head off as always. If I haven't mentioned it before.. I so love my mom...She is the best of the best!

We celebrated my dad's birthday while they were here too.. the kids got him a book. a balloon. some jerky and a coke Zero. I bet he was thrilled! We did Taco's and cake.. and of course.. more oh'pucky.. We weren't sweet enough to let him win, even tho' it was his birthday.. The love stops there.

I'm so bummed I didn't take more PICTURES!

But it was a great visit. I loved just chill'n and chatt'n. And they were a godsend with the help. and keep the kids happy!

My parents are fantastic!!!.... The End!

Our newest addition

2010-01-01T18:23:00.008-06:00

Cambria Made her debut on New year's eve at 12:02 p.m. weighing at 7 lbs & 7 0z, 20 in long. She was quick and easy for which I was extremely grateful for. I was also glad she was not a new years baby! All I can promise her as she grows is there will be a party going on somewhere on her birthday and she will always get to stay up til at least Midnight!

Labor and delievery went Fast.. they started me at 7 and she was here by noon. I got my epidural Just in time too! She was fast and furious! I had Fabulous nurse, Fabulous Dr. And a nice Anestiesiolgist lady who was sweet enough to get me an extra boost of feel good medicine since I doubt it would have kicked in in time to start the show. I was very happy with how it all went.

I am so glad to finally have her here. So far she has been a great baby.
The kids have been so excited to finally be able to see her. Paul and I will have to be on the defense with her for a bit, they are just so eager to help with...well, everything!! I'm glad Paul is here to play bodygaurd for me and the baby!

Jameson has been the sweetest and most thoughtful toward me, I had a cute poster made by him he made my bed after my nap and is sensitive to being careful around mommy and baby! I think he is going to be a great big helper and a great big brother.
Ethan has been excited to have me home and somewhat intrigued with the baby.. he filled a bottle with regular milk and brought it to me to feed the baby. He wants to do something and gets frustrated that all his good idea's and well intentions don't happen.. he is very bumbly which makes mommy nervous. he is cute to go check on the baby and announce the baby is still sleeping!
Zoey is soo excited about baby and will have to learn to be a bit softer with her.. and not to touch her constantly. She will also have to learn that she can't sneak on my lap when I am holding the baby. She too wants to help with everything and constantly. But I am so glad they are so excited for their baby sister... I don't know if baby will feel the same way getting mauled all the time.. But they mean well....

Her official name is Cambria( CAME-BREE-A) Kulani( Kooo-Lonny) Irwin.
Kulani means Celestial in Hawiaan. Yes I decided to give everyone the phonetics on the first and middleAnd name since I know half of everyone has already said Cam-Bria & Ku-laaney. So I'll just go ahead and put that to bed now.

I am so glad to be home. And glad to have her here! I love seeing her and trying to figure out who she looks most like.. But I think it's safe to say she'll be our Fair Beauty!

Welcome Baby Cambria, We are so happy to have you here!

Merry Christmas

2009-12-25T22:14:00.010-06:00

So here is some of the fun we've had during the christmas mo. We have made into a tradition to go see Santa in down town South bend. this year Santa was awesome, he was great with the kids and was so patient to listen as they rattled off their list.

T'was the night before christmas and we had opened our new jammies and as I was trying to get a picture of their new jammies in front of the tree. we couldn't get vedah to move out of the way and they decided to luv up on her for a few shots.

Christmas morn... after all the presents were opened The kids had talked Paul into helping him build his Indiana Jones lego set.... Paul truly had a great time doing it, which is good since he ended up doing it by himself anyway
Zoey got all the Polly pockets and a pollly pocket cruise ship from Santa.. she LOVES polly pocket and was in polly pocket heaven for the entire day.
I got to keep my big ol' belly for christmas.. which is EXACTLY what I wanted for christmas, Looks like my good Karma paid off! How many 39 week prego's do you know that would be excited about still being pregnant at this point?! No christmas baby here folks!
The boys had a great christmas, and got all sorts of cool stuff.. yes nerf blaster guns.. I think we have the entire nerf collection at our house. They loved em. Along with their DS lite's. And they air hog helicopters.. Santa REALLy needs to stop bringing toys that whirl and fly by mom and dad's head! When will we learn?!

All and all it was a great christmas. We rang it in at 5 a.m!!! The kids seemed happy and played with everything the entire day. I loved just hanging out with the family and counting my many blessings and enjoying each and everyone of them.

Merry Christmas!

Running away to the wild,,.....

2009-12-06T16:47:00.003-06:00

Early.. Way to early this Morning
Ethan had woken up somewhere around 3 a.m. coughing, after trying to get rid of it for an hour or so.. he decided he wasn't tired after all.. and started demanding breakfast. around 5 a.m.
I told hm it was way too early for that and to just go relax and QUIETLY watch cartoons for awhile.. Now I emphasized the QUIETLY since Ethan is anything But QUIET in the a.m.. He thinks the whole house should be up with him he is sooo LOUD AND OBNOXIOUS he has drove us all nuts every morning of this last week.
Well of course not a few min later I hear him yelling and slamming doors and yelling random things to Jameson just for the fun of annoying and waking him up.' I went down to get after him more then once, on the third round. I woke up Paul and told him to go deal with him.

Well, Since it was early early.. and Paul didn't want to be up anyway... his mood was less the amused with Ethan's antics for the 5th day in a row.
So he stomped down the stairs, I heard him yelling at Ethan to come here..., I heard Ethan starting to freak out since he knew he was in big trouble, He told Paul no because he was going to spank him. And from the sound of it, that exactly what happened, When Paul came up he told me that Ethan ran away and tried to hide under the bed instead of obeying his father, which got him a harder spanking. He was then sent to the corner where he wailed and wailed and wailed.. ( NONE of this was done quietly I might add.) Paul warned him if he heard another peep out of him he would be in bigger trouble and to go watch his cartoons and leave everyone alone.
Now, I know it sounds harsh.. . . . but trust me.. this boy had this coming all week long.. and day after day of his way too early pot banging ways is enough to put any body who enjoys their sleep over the edge.
Well, not a few min later Jameson ran up the stairs and to tell me that Ethan was going to run away ( he said this with great concern.) A min after that I hear Ethan sulkily telling everything he saw good bye. "goodbye Christmas tree",goodbye cutting room" etc.etc. I had such a hard time not laughing. I told him to come in my room to talk to me before he left and in his hands he had a blanket a pair of pants and a shirt and his spiderman whiteboard. was all his hands could carry. He told me he was running away to the wild.
Paul told him he didn't have to go, he just needed to be quite in the morning and stop waking everybody up.
He said he was going to go anyway. and started heading for the door.
Doing my best to keep the chuckle out of my voice and I said "Okay, I'll just have to tell Santa Clause not to bother bring you presents since you won't be living here anymore............."
He stopped dead in his tracks, I saw his shoulders drop and with a grumpy sigh, said " Fine, I guess I'll stay."

We of course talked about why he got in big big trouble. He didn't think any of it was deserved. ( he never does.)

But I'm glad he decided to stay none the less. Although sometimes I wish I would have let them walk out the door just to see what they would do next.

And being the terrible parents we are, Paul and I just laid in bed and laughed.

Undeserved Credit

2009-11-16T10:09:00.005-06:00

So this last Sat, Paul and I head outside to Tackle the yard and the garage. It was a beautiful day, high 60's. As I was cleaning out the garage I came across a couple of boxes of Christmas lights. That I have had for a few years. I thought to myself this was a PERFECT day to get them up. And I shared those exact thought with Paul. Of course he wasn't near as enthused with the idea. and made the "humph" sound. As he was running, I mean returning to the yard. Again as we crossed paths we both agreed that we were getting quite a bit accomplished. I thought this was a good point to plug in my idea of hanging the Christmas lights... which was followed by another "humph" and this time he let me know he really didn't want to do that. As he walked away.As we continued. I took as many opportunity's as I could find in my most cheery voice of my desire to get those lights up TODAY. As I did my plea's. I mentioned that the kids would love it! And we never had them up before. I even showed him the cool little clippy things I got for the gutter so He did have to do too much prep work.... I also pointed out that we have a very low roof and only two boxes so it should be too hard or take to long. Again my pleas were met with great resistance , he wasn't shy on letting me know that he Really, Really didn't want to do that today... I then pointed out if it didn't get done TODAY it wouldn't get done ever... Nice weather in The middle of NOV is a rarity.. and I know better then to expect him to get up there in the freezing cold...
Again, my please were followed by another"humph and a grumble" as he walked back to what he was doing....
I was Just about to give up , when as we were both finishing up, I thought I would try ONE more time to talk him into it, with a promise to stay out there and be his" lil helper"..
It was met with silence... then a grumbled "fine, where are these lights?." Of course my excitement went up and I tried to get him excited too. Needless to say, he wasn't very excited, or amused..
So as we got out the ladder and started hanging the lights. ( all with GREAT ease, I might add.) Even Paul realized it wasn't as bad as he thought it would be.. But he wouldn't admit that verbally of course.
Jameson came out and saw what we were doing and got super excited and mentioned that we had never had Christmas lights up before.... And asked Paul if this was his idea.
Paul, my dear husband, responded like this:" Yeah, I thought it would be fun to finally have lights up this year for you guys. And thought this was the perfect day to do it." which of course was responded with a " wow, thanks dad!!!"

....I stood there holding the ladder, mouth a gapped, eye brow raised.... no way did he just take credit for this??!!
I deal with " bah-humbug"husband and he comes off as "Father Christmas" to the kids??!!
Are you kidding me????!!
But since he was up on the ladder doing the work for another one of my great ideas. I didn't say a word.I just shook my head and glared at him in pure disbelief. Paul just laughed, and I went ahead & let him have his moment of undeserved credit... ( which seems to happen a lot here..)
Paul thought it was pretty funny... and it was...But I warned him that one day,When I'm gone the kids are going to see the truth of who really pulled the strings around here. And his lil"fasodd"will be over!
I felt it was neccesary to blog so when my children are grown and start looking thru our lil family blog book they will find this story and realize the cold hard truth. Then maybe they will visit my grave & put pretty flowers on it, for all the times I pulled something off and let their father take the credit! ( who's laugh'n now???)

What I want to know is , is this a typical husband thing???

It's a give away!!!!

2009-11-12T09:34:00.005-06:00

Nope, Not from me. I know better then to promise something. .I may or may not deliver.. ( all with the best of intentions of course.)

My friend Tami is doing it and it looks fun! So of Course I'm going to enter and I think you should too! I wonder if my chances will increase if she knows that I don't even OWN an apron!!( um.. did I mention it was an Apron giveaway?? ) And her aprons looks super fun and cute. So why don't you come play with me. Hit the link button and follow the instructions! ( you know you want to.. everybody is doing it... you want to be popular don't you??) She welcomes ANYONE to enter!
Here is the link. she has listed the rules and instructions!
Suissescenarios

Gooood luuuuckk!

These are a few of my favorite things......

2009-11-08T06:54:00.011-06:00

SO as I was saying sweet nothings to one of my beloved appliances. ( Oh, like you don't do that!) I started me thinking about my few "can't/won't live with-outs ever again. And I thought I'd pay tribute and do a post.
My#1 item I will never ever do with out
The Kitchen Aid. I still to this day cannot fathom how people make due with out this blessed appliance. In fact I told Paul if it ever gives out on me it will be replaced Immediately. ( and maybe just maybe we will upgrade to the bigger better and heavier duty version... ooh I think I just got chills.) I told him this was as big a staple in our house as the computer or T.V is. I don't think he agreed with me on that.. but he knew better then to argue.
I should also throw in that the cheese grater attachment is as important to the kitchen-aid as any beater attach.. I can Grate an entire Block ( the big block too.) of cheese in matter of seconds! It's a must have.

My #2 item that has climbed the charts especially as the cold season is sneaking in ,is this:
That's right, the Hot Cocoa(& other hot drinks) maker. This thing is awesome. It is my version of the coffee maker.( since I start mine every a.m) It heats and froths, and will turn back on if your hot cocoa cools too much! To me it's a must have and it too will be replaced if ever broken. I love that I can add my "whatever's" and walk away. It rocks!

Okay, those are my top two. But here are few others that I have deep feelings for:

The Dyson.. It has been my favorite vacuum. ( of course in the way of my other vacuum's they didn't stand a chance since they were always the cheapies.. and yes cheapies suck exactly the opposite way you want a vacuum to suck.) But the Dyson..It has been a very good little sucker.

The rice cooker- How do people make REAL rice with out a rice cooker??? I don't know and I never want to find out.

The Panini or electric Grill.... I love convenience and quickies.

The Electric wheat grinder.. Okay I don't have this one yet, but as I crank my hand one I fantasize about getting one someday.( I love my hand grinder it works great... but my arm gets very tired for as often as I use it.)

The food chopper....... I hate chopping vegi's and I love making vegies soo small you can barely see them. So this too is a staple in my house.( Plus the kids have a grand time pushing the lil hob nob as fast and as hard as possible.)

So there is a tribute to my household gadgets. I wonder what other gadgets people revere in their house?

...moments.....

2009-11-04T17:23:00.003-06:00

Today while driving to the store I had Zoey with me. She asked when the baby was going to come.( this is a daily question.) I told her not till christmas time( this is a daily answer)
She told me she was going to help me get the baby out.It went something along the lines of this:
Zoey: "I'll help you get the baby out mommy, I'll grab the baby's legs and pull it out!"
Me: "Aww....thanks hon, But I think we're going to let the doctor help mommy get the baby out okay?"
Zoey:" Okay, But I want to be by you, So I can give you hugs & kisses better when the baby gives you owie's."
............
Zoey: " I escited for my baby sister......because, I love you mommy."

Now.. why she thought we needed to grab the babys legs and yank her out I don't know. But she does understand that having a baby hurts.. ( Ah blessed TLC baby channel .. so educational.)
But I thought it was cute she wanted to give me kisses while I was having the baby to make me feel better.
Now to break the bad news to her that she won't be able to see mommy or the baby while we are at the hospital thanks to swineflu/flu season. I think she might have the hardest time excepting that.

Happy Halloween

2009-11-03T11:26:00.010-06:00

This year for Halloween, I was really debating if I was going to buy costumes again or just make them pick from the bucket. But ended up giving in and letting them choose.
The kids had a great time at our wards trunk or treat and it was good turn out which equals extra candy. And of course our neighborhood doesn't get a lot of trick or treaters so we always head out and adopt our friends old neighbor hood. which is the jack pot of all neighborhoods.

We did about two blocks worth of a street and already the buckets were full. Ethan said since the bucket was full it was time to go home. ( here in IN. we can only trick or treat between 5-7) It was a bit cold.... Jameson fully understand the faster you hit each house the more candy you get.. and was frustrated about constantly having to wait for the younger two to catch up. ( it was ruining his flow.) Zoey had so much fun trick or treating and told me so every time she got a new piece of candy.. Ethan did as well...But he isn't in a hurry to get to the next house and always wanted to check out the good in his bucket. But once he felt his bucket was full it was time to quit. They did really good and had a blast.
After trick or treating we always head back to the house and I make hot cocoa and put on a movie. Which is my favorite part of the evening.

This year.. Jameson decided to be Snake Eye's from G.I Joe.. and felt the sword was a must for the final touch
Ethan... decided to be Duke from G.I Joe.. and need a sword as well.. mainly because his brother got one.
Zoey after many thought of fairy& princess, decided to be a witch.. she loved the hat and the fact her skirt would light up.( yes, she showed EVERYBODY)
I put a little eye liner on her and tried to give her a lil mole... she loved the eye liner and asked me to take off the mole cause it wasn't pretty. I then told her it was beauty mark.. but she insisted it was not cute.( the song your so vain just popped into my head.) I wonder what her reaction would have been if I painted her face green?

These other pictures were taken on Sunday following .. I threw the kids out of the house for pure sanity reasons. ( can we say SUGAR HIGH) and told them to rake up the leaves why they were out there... they raked and raked and raked.... and then they played and played and had a leave fight... I couldn't resist but to go snap a few pictures near the end of their fun.

30 weeks-Almost There!

2009-10-20T16:32:00.007-05:00

Well I was going to do a "half way there" post.. But for some odd reason time keeps getting away from me. ( and I never really know how many weeks I really am till I hit the doc office)
So I'm going to go ahead.. with an ALMOST There post.
Now before I start all my typical pregnancy complaints.
The truth of the matter is this, I feel very blessed and grateful to even be able to carry a child with no large complaints or complications. I've have read other blogs and listened to other women/friends who struggle with the very task of getting pregnant. And even when such a miracle happens their are those who lose them too soon.. or struggle with health concerns/ baby concerns etc.etc.etc. Just to keep the baby, praying they both can make it to full term. When I hear my dear friends talk of their struggles and heartbreaks. or Just to listen how pregnancy's are so hard on their body's. I have no choice but to step back from all my lil gripes and moans and realize just how lucky of a women I am to be able to conceive and carry with great ease. I'm also grateful that thus far all my babies have been healthy. I often realize how ungrateful I am when I complain and moan, just to hear another wish they could even understand what it's like to be pregnant or even make it to motherhood.
My heart breaks for them. And I give huge hugs for those who managed to conceive after so long and still hang in there and are happy despite all the miserable medical complications they have with a pregnancy, everyday they are grateful that that baby has made it One more week in the womb. After all the pregnancy's I've had, I honestly cannot imagine how taxing that must be on both body and soul.
I won't even begin to try to understand those dear mothers who have miscarried time after time or even just once. That is a heartache I cannot even begin to fathom. But non the less my heart breaks for them. And I admire their strength to move forward and onward.
I recognize this gift and blessing I have been blessed with. And I'm grateful to have it so easy.
So with all that being said.....

30 weeks!
I must say that I have had a very healthy pregnancy. I'm one of the lucky ones who in the first trimester rarely throws up .( although, girls make me sicker then the boys apparently) I do get very very very tired.( like ... getting run over by bus feeling.. the min you wake up.)
And this one I have felt a lot nervy-er, if that makes any sense.. It is not a feeling I love at all.
So that's first trimester.. which in my case, is the worst trimester to get thru. But I'm grateful I do not spend all day with my head stuck in a toilet.
Second trimester- Is what I lovingly call the "feel goooood" trimester. Nausea is gone, nervy feeling is fading and I have energy back. Although I learned that hard way that it's still a good idea to eat often even if you don't feel hungry since puking right after taking two bites only to realize I waited too long to eat, is never fun. With this pregnancy I have become very gag sensitive. Not over foods per say. But textures & nasty gross pictures to which I can imagine horrible smells. ( Mask Of Zorro has been banned till further notice thanks to the prison scene, I could just imagine how terrible and gross that was there and it sent me into a hard gagging fit.) I also can't watch the hoarder show on TLC since they showed a toilet that clearly hasn't been cleaned since lord knows when. ( oh I have to stop thinking about it....GAG) Just for a few examples... And of course I am just as poop sensitive as ever. So that hasn't been very fun. It's bad when your brain can just imagine it and it sends you over the edge isn't it?

Of course I have my typical pains in back and pelvis. ( I swear this baby is trying to split me in half) My legs get fatigued very easily and it always feels like I've just climbed a very steep mountain for a long period of time. And this happens after an hour or so on my feet.
The pelvis slash tailbone is the hardest. Since it is more of bone sore and how do you make THAT feel better ... really? Paul's new job is just hitting all my pressure points from lower back on. It seems to release a lot of the built up pressure and really helps a lot.
Oh! And I'm constantly out of breath! I know I'm out of shape but I assure you I'm not THAT out of shape.. I get winded after climbing the stairs, walking ...anywhere. Talking on the phone.It makes me look pathetic. But this has happened with every pregnancy I've had. So I assure you it's the baby!( I'm puffing just by sitting her typing .. whew!)
I also have a medicine cabinet stocked with TUMS! Well....at least I know I'm getting enough calcium EVERY DAY!

My BIGGEST complaint however is this, I HAVE NO CRAVINGS... none.. zip... Zilch!
How can you have a pregnancy with out a craving to make you feel better or special??! No odd demands? No midnight runs? No special craving to be had morning noon or night? Pregnancy is the only time you can get away with such demands and having a stock on some obnoxious food!!!! I feel Jipped! I'm never hungry which doesn't help the situation.. Paul says he knows when I need to eat when I start snapping & stating things a little too bluntly. But no matter the suggestion...nothing sounds good. I'm hoping this will be more a benefit with the weight gain part...hmmm.

The other shocker is that this baby doesn't particularly care fore Mt. Dew. Now, If I wasn't carrying this baby myself I would question as to who's child this really was. Diet Dew is out of the question, and I can drink a can or two of regular.. But that is pushing it and if I drink too much I feel soo sick! And it just doesn't have the same effect as it has oh .. say, for the past 15 years!
I know this is actually a good thing, But it's just soo. . . . odd. I feel naked with out a dew in my hand!

Now I must throw this in here for some real sympathy...... .I have never ..ever gotten stretch marks from any of my babies and it looks like it will be the same with this one. ( Knock on wood.) Oh ,don't hate me too much it's not like my stomach has ever been flat enough to show off this lil perk! SO I guess it doesn't really matter. But I think I must have some kick'n elasticity in my skin! Go me!

But that really is the worst of my pregnancy.. Not really bad at all right?? I know it's not. even the aches and pains are do-able. And who doesn't love fruit flavored tums right?
I wonder if my husband realizes just how good he has it with me???? I think I'll remind him of that and ask for an extra 5 min on my nightly massage.

I assume I only have about 7-8 weeks to go.. ( I usually go two weeks early) One thing for sure with a house full of kids.. pregnancy go by a lot faster and you don't have much time to dwell on all the lil things. But I will say even on baby #4 feeling the baby kick still makes me smile. . . .

I didn't think you'd actually do it!!"

2009-10-01T07:42:00.001-05:00

So I must post the reaction from the boys as they discovered a perfectly clean room

At their first discovery of the clean room, they were happy! And began thanking me for cleaning their room... of course they never finished that thank-you since Jameson realized mid sentence that his remote control car was missing.. A few seconds later he realized the buckets were missing.
He fired off the question.. "Where are my toys?" My response was " Garbage." He then reminded me that HE PAID for his remote control car by himself! This simply got a shrug from me.
Ethan Darted in once.. said nothing....turned back around and ran back in his room and fired off a demanding question of " Where are my bakugons??" I simply replied "in the garbage".
He huffed in anger & left the room... came back in looked around and asked about another one of his favorites..only to get the same reply.
Jameson realizing what really happened... started to get upset and cry.
Ethan was just annoyed by my actions and told me that he was going to clean it today. He was just mad but not distraught.
I just shrugged and let it ALL SINK IN. And then asked them to go get their chores done.
Jameson started searching the house for where the toys could have possibly gone too. He looked in the laundry room. the Garage. the storage shed.. and the garbage can. ( I told them I used the neighbors.) He seemed to have accepted the fact and sulked off to do chores.
Ethan was angry and kept saying " I was going to do it today mom!" I simply told him he was a day too late.

A few minutes later I found Jameson hiding in the laundry room bawling. I said to come and talk to me about it..
His first comment was-" You threw away my favorite toys. and now I don't have any!!!"
my reply/ reminder was with a question -" I asked you for how many days to clean your room? " and reminded him exactly how many days that was. I then asked him what I told him I would do if he didn't get it done.
He replies" you said you'd throw them away..... But, I didn't think you'd actually do it!!!!
after a small discussion not even he could argue that he was warned and given plenty of chances to get the job done, and even agreed with me that this was his own fault. Still upset he accepted the fate of his toys and sulked off to do his chores. Not at all happy.

Ethan I suspected would have been more upset of his missing toys..But he was just pissed. When Paul got home I told him what I'd done..shortly after Ethan came up and Paul asked what happened to his room.. Ethan glared at me.. and said "Mom threw my toys in the garbage". When I reminded him why I did that. He just shrugged. "You are going to have to buy me toys mom".
When I let him know that was NOT going to happen.. He told that he was going to clean his room today, and now I OWE him new toys. ( this was all said with a LOT of hostility in his voice.) I let him know that I owe him nothing. and that is exactly what he is going to get. Till he could do what he was s'posed to WHEN he's s'pose to do it. He just shrugged and said " Fine, I'll just buy new toys with my money." I'm not too worried about that.. since he has no money. And refuses to do extra chores to get the money. But yes, he's definitely does not see this as his problem . . . but mine. I'm hoping a few days will help break this boy down and he'll realize just what he lost.

Now, I must admit, With Jameson I did feel kinda bad for causing emotional damage.....But I'm hoping it will be for the greater good.. If not then I guess I can start a savings account for him and look up a good therapist for when he is older.

I'm deciding that they can earn back their toys here maybe in a week or two.. But if they can't request a toy by name... It's gone! I also imagine Jameson will get all his favorite's back before Ethan earns one. Since Ethan clearly thinks I'm being nothing short of ridiculous.
But that's fine.. the less toys the better. Right now I'm enjoying a clean room.

What we could mean when we say "Or Else!"

2009-09-25T12:25:00.008-05:00

So the never ending story.. which I'm pretty sure this goes for ALL house holds....
Is getting the kids to Clean their rooms!

I have absolutely no problem kids making a mess while playing..and usually by the looks of it.. they had lots of fun. What I do have a problem with as soon as the fun is all done and I mention the dread words of "clean up". All the sudden they become deaf. Incapable of picking up a single toy.And whiny. followed by one or more ..or all of the phrases: " I can't do it!"... "I didn't do it".... "It's too hard.".... "I'm too tired"...."so & so isn't helping!!"

Now I have been a mother long enough to know to expect these exact responses. As I have come to expect my request being met with great resistance. It's not shocking. I also know a 20 min job will most likely turn into a 4 hour and counting job, and that is IF I stay and enforce my request. I also know that if I walk away after I request said job... It will more then likely NOT even get close to getting started. May I add that I threaten...alot.. most the time empty threats.. but threats non the less. So why was this job any different?
Well it started about a week ago.. ( yes, I said a WEEK ago!!) The boys played and when my boys play.. they dump...I told them they would need to clean it up right after school the next day. I knew that this mess would take a long ...long time.. SO I.. being the nice mom that I am did their regular chores, so all they would have to do is their room.... well, they started....I went to check it only to find and another bucket of toys were dumped in the mist of their "play time".. I yell.. threaten and leave them to start.. again. Repeat this a few more times and we are still in beginning phase.
Next day same thing. Except this time Ethan Left a note on his closed bedroom door that said." NO more chores FOREVER!" Yeah right buddy... nice try.
a few days were busy enough that I didn't even attempt for them to try.. But warned them in needed to be done. Still nothing.
So ...after sending them down AGAIN to clean their room. And after a few frustrations of finding them in front of the T.V... Building another Robot or just messing around in general..... I warned that If I asked again we'll do this clean up VIA garbage bag... Ethan who meets me with the most resistance when it comes to any type of cleaning ... Told me to "go ahead".
I warned him that EVERY TOY including his fav's would hit the garbage.. He told me that was fine... Jameson just ROLLED his eyes at me.. he too attempting to call my bluff..
So, Last night I gave them a last chance clean up in order to save their toys. They didn't even look scared. Nor did they attempt to even touch it.
Apparently my boys are unaware of who they're really dealing with. Nor do they realize what I am perfectly capable of. And/or how mean and heartless I really am. tsk.. tsk..tsk.
And since my youngest son attempted to call my bluff...... I decided to make good on my threat.
Someday... they just might learn.

NO toys. not one.
I did leave the books, since I hear they we as parents are to encourage our kids to read daily. But if that becomes a problem I'll take care of that as well.

As far as they know I chucked them all in the garbage.......

Okay, I didn't really chuck them, do you know how much money I have spent on all those toys???
But they are in permanent storage.. I may let them earn a toy back one by one. Haven't decided how or when yet.

Course I don't know who really won that round... sure their toys are gone.. But I cleaned up the entire room which really sucked quite frankly... But since my efforts were cleaver and come with a lesson.. Let's just say I did.

Lesson: Don't ever attempt to call a bluff on yo' momma!

Super mom!!!!

2009-09-18T07:06:00.003-05:00

Last night as I was making up a quick dinner for the kids.. ( Okay!It was Ramen noodles .. don't judge me!) I had just finished up watching some kids one of them being a very new newborn which of course the kids were so enthralled with.. and it got them excited for when it was going to be our turn, So after talking about baby's for a bit I sent Jameson to the table to do homework
Jameson looked up at me and asked me this question:

"Mom does it take A LOT of energy to grow a baby?"

Me: " Yes... yes it does."

Jameson: " Does it make you really tired?"

Me: "Yes, but my body is getting used to it."

Jameson" But, how can you use all your energy to grow a baby And still make dinner AND clean the house AND take care of us??"

Me: ( smiling)" Well, I'm a supermom..that is one of my awesome ability's!"

Jameson: ( in awe) Wow!......Can Dad's do that?"

Me: NO.

Jameson: " Oh.....Are ALL mom's supermoms?"

Me: " yes.. some are stronger then others.. but yes".

Jameson: What if they don't have kids? Are they still supermoms?

Me.. Nope.

Jameson... wow... so... what powers do just Dads have????

Me ( smiling) They learn to read mommy's emotions and act accordingly. And they do anything to make sure we're happy.

Jameson: That's it??... wow.. that's not very cool. Oh well at least my dad can fly and steer a car with out hands.

Me: (smiling) It's cooler then you think... but I s'pose it doesn't beat the flying power.

Jameson: I can't believe I have a supermom!.....Mom... You're a really good super mom!

Me: "Thanks buddy."

Then looking at Paul..Said " I didn't know mom was supermom!!!.........But it's okay dad, at least you can fly."

My Keen lil' 8 yr old.. Man I just love him.

Kids School

2009-09-15T09:49:00.004-05:00

Man, Can I just tell you how lost I feel with out my card reader for my camera!!! I feel every post needs a picture and I my reader has dissapeared!
I tried to do it the USB cable way but for some odd reason it didn't work..So until I get Paul to look things over or BUY ME A NEW CARD READER!!! my blog is pictureless and this does not work for me.

But I'm going to update anyway.. since I'm sooooooooo far behind.

KIDS

Kids have started school and have been in for about a month now.
Jameson in now in 3rd Grade & has Mrs. Medich Paul and I refer to her as professor Trelawny from Harry Potter She has the coke bottle glasses and a hippie feel to her.. she also talks in a soft yet flighty voice. And seems to have different method of teaching... I'm a little nervous about. I think Paul and I are really going to have to pay attention to how J-man is doing and what he is learning and if he is being pushed hard enough... since she lets the children "guide her". So far Jameson is really liking his class. But I have no faith in this teacher what so ever.. and personally I think she's a cracker.
She threatened Jameson if he didn't turn in his mo. calendar he would have to go to after school detention.. I informed her my son will not serve A.S.D for a missing piece of paper.( especially a pointless calendar where all they do is put an X on each day.. .LAME) Her method to me seems chaotic and unorganized. SO we guess a lot of what she really wants from him. So like I said we are watching her close and if things get too crazy I guess we'll deal with it however necessary.
But thus Far Jameson is happy and likes her. I've yet to be impressed.

Ethan is in FIRST Grade. And has Mrs. Moore. This was not the teacher I was told he would have at the end of last year. But talking to her I think she will be very good for him and has lots of years of experience working specifically with kids with ADD and reading problems. which makes me very relieved and grateful. I was especially more appreciative of her when she told me... "You know I work 36 weeks out of the entire year.. there is no reason or excuse that I should not give it my all for these kids in those short weeks I have with them." I wish Other teachers had the same attitude. Ethan is loving it.. But does get overwhelmed by all the work and expectations that is required of him. Luckily, this teacher believes in high praise and rewards SO he works hard to get his daily sticker so he can pick a prize out of the box. He also insists on getting a 100% on EVERYTHING and takes it personally if he doesn't. ( a.k.a MELT DOWN!)
But so far I am loving her and so is he.

Zoey has just started Pre-school, in fact her very first day was today. She has Mrs. Monsereee whom I know a little about since my friends kids had her and LOVED her. She goes three days a week in the morning. And she has been looking forward to it since the boys started school!
She was soo excited to go! When I dropped her off, I walked her in.. reassured her I would be back in time to pick her up when the teacher told her it was time to go. She said" ok.. you need to go now mom!" She walked in with confidence like she had done this a million times!! I must admit I was a bit sad. Not crying sad.. but just weird feeling sad.. And it's only preschool! She just looked soo big. OR maybe I just thought she would be a bit more nervous about leaving me... And I should know better then to expect that. But she loves it and being my typical Zoey THRIVES in the social atmosphere.. Oh she also strutted where ever she went because she thought she looked so pretty. ( well..she did look pretty cute.) But strutting? really?

And now I have three morning a week til about 11:30 to do whatever.... I think I can get used to that!!!!

Paul- Paul has started crack'n down on studying for his CPA exam. ( it hard to focus if you don't have to.) He thinks he should be able to get all the sections done in about 9 mo. He was wise and took off the mo. around the time I'm due. So I can rely on him when the baby comes for a mo. or two. But I know he's serious this time since he has already paid for the exam and has a study partner. And believe me the CPA is no small fee!! so he HAS to study and he HAS to pass!
after this he really will be all the way thru. ( yay.) So I think I can suck it up for awhile. ( hopefully.)

I plan on doing my 1/2 way there pregnancy post next where I plan on posting hideous pictures of my fat lil self along with all my gripes and moans!! Well time to jump on ebay for a card reader.

Overnight Camping trip

2009-08-25T13:12:00.003-05:00

So Paul and I decided that we wanted to take the kids up to Potato creek for an overnight camping trip before they started school. ( sorry no pictures, I didn't even break out the camera! how pathetic right?)

We don't have much camping gear, but knowing Potato creek it's what I consider comfort camping. ( means you pitch your tent on GRASS. and it has all the bathrooms even a general store etc.)
I figured we would make do with what we had, and it was only a one nighter and how much do ya really need.
We headed up right after Paul got off work on Fri.And got a lil nervous since the sign said that the camp grounds were full. As we were paying to get in we were informed that their were a few opening in the horsemen campground left. And for as much packing and gathering of crap that I had done, we decided to take it! As we drove around to find out lil spot we saw a lot of Horses up their, the kids wanted to ride them. ( me too!) It was hard to explain that they weren't ours and we couldn't PAY to ride them either.
Fortunately our camp area wasn't right next to others who had horses! So I didn't have to smell em. Or worry about Vedah barking at them.
We set up our WEE lil tent, realized we forgot the cover so it was pure screen. ( oops!) We didn't have an air mattress ( it wouldn't have fit anyway.) and we didn't even have a foam pad. I had just gathered up every single blanket we owned and threw them down for some padding. And gave everyone their own Sleeping bag made out of blankets.
After having to BUY firewood ( it's illegal to find your own in the woods up their apparently.)
We threw the kids in their swim suits and went up too the lake too cool down and just have some fun.
We took Vedah with us, I thought for sure she would be in heaven. And she was..... for awhile.
Since I didn't want to get wet for just and hour or two of play time and attempt to change in the tent ( we put a blanket on the outside for privacy) I took Vedah over to the dog beach and watched Paul play with the kids in the water. ( I was soo okay for them to have some daddy/kid bonding time SANS momma) I tried to get Vedah in the water, but she would have none of it, wouldn't even get her paws wet! After awhile she just started to pout and refused to budge and inch. While I was there attempting to play with a pouting dog. I was chased and attacked by very large and very ugly bugs. ( that is No exaggeration!) I know I looked crazy trying to shoo them away and run away, and shake them OFF me! Vedah would bark and I would squeal and freak out! And Paul would laugh. I want to say they were Cicada's but I cant be sure, whatever they were they were aggressive and ugly! ( eww, eww. eww.) After I got tired of being attacked over and over I told Paul it was time to go!
Back at camp with kids in P.J's and bug proofed ( yes even the dog got bug proofed, which she didn't appreciate.) and BEGGING to make s'mores. Paul Attempted to make a fire. He blamed it on the lack of kindling, But I have my doubts. We had a very smokey fire going thanks to some papers from the van. enough that the kids could roast a few Marsh mellows and get their fill of them. But I swear their was more smoke then their was fire. And I could do nothing but laugh.( and cough!) But the kids loved it and really? isn't that the point?
I finally had to put the cap on s'mores in fear of upset tummy's. The kids broke out their flashlights and went in to play in the tent for awhile to tell "scary stories". While Paul and I sat on the non smoking end of a dying fire. ( still laughing, it was so pathetic!) enjoying stars and just chilling. Vedah, tied up by my side... was still pouting.
Eventually the kids came back out one by one and hung out with us I showed them the stars and tried to remember a few constellations and find the obvious ones for them. The younger two could careless about it, But Jameson seemed intrigued and started asking lots of questions some were too deep for me to answer. But I loved having the time with him to ponder out loud the wonders of space and stars. He is my most inquisitive kid and I love it.
When the smoke.. I mean fire, died down we declared bed time for everyone..
As we settled the kids in and tried to figure out how the crap we were all really going to fit.( diagonal if you must know!) I layered on extra blankets in fear of the kids freezing to death. ( I'm used to camping in MOUNTAINS okay!) Vedah tried multiple times to get in the tent with us, but their just wasn't any room for her! I laid out my yoga mat at the opening for her to sleep on. And she continued to pout.( spoiled rotten dog!)
As Paul and I settled and it didn't take more then a few min to realize that we were in for a very long night since we were already uncomfortable! (who knew that a ground could be that so freak' hard!!) It was a very long night. But at least we didn't freeze in fact I slept with one light blanket and it was fine. I woke up through out the night in attempt to find a better position, Vedah would come to my side of the tent and since she could see me through the screen, she tried to step thru the tent. I don't think she slept well that night either. And she was pretty mad at us by the time the morning came.
The kids slept like BABIES! And thought that was great fun! I must admit when I woke up and opened the front of the tent, I felt bad for the sulking dog sleeping on a wet mat. So I let her come in and snuggle in with us for an hour. which is the only time I heard her snore!

We had a quick breakfast. ( Sans fire!) Packed up our pathetic camping gear.And headed back up to spend the day at the lake ( we also did our mini hike to the frog pond since J-man wanted to try to catch some frogs.) before heading back home.
I again just didn't feel like getting wet. So I sat by Vedah and put my lawn chair in the water to splash my feet and watched the kids. Paul eventually jumped in and played soo good with them. Vedah sulked and whined and refused to even look at me. Lots of dogs came to play and she did enjoy investigating them. I was hoping she would follow some of those dogs out and go get wet. But no, she really hates the water.
The kids played hard, made friends. Built sand castles. And tried their hardest to take Paul down in the water. they were having a blast!!

In the mist of all our fun. Paul got an alarmed look on his face and shouted at me he had lost his keys. ( yes they were in his short pocket.) And Paul doesn't do well when he loses thing. I told him to walk back in forth in the lake and focus on area's he played and see if he could find them.
I did the search thru the swim bag and the van in hoped he left them their. NOPE!
Paul was getting more upset and frustrated by the min. I told him I'd go change into swim gear and started searching with him. All he kept saying was "what's the point?? their gone!!! We'll never find them in here!!" I didn't see any other choice but to look. I told him to keep looking and he kept getting more upset. As I headed up to change and try to figure out plan B. I saw someone who looked like they were on lake duty and took the chance of seeing if they were turned in to Lost and found. Luckily for us someone had found them ( yes IN the water!) and turned them in!
I was so tempted to change anyway go pretend to do some REAL searching and Find them just to make a point. But I couldn't hid my smirk as I headed back down to tell Paul. In truth we were both grateful and yes even very luck to have gotten them back! Who finds lost things in a lake? seriously?!
We decided that had pretty much wrapped up our day and we headed home. The kids had a blast and want to do it again.
Vedah was glad to be home and I'm pretty sure DOESN'T want to do it again.
And I will as long as I have a lil something between me and the ground and a MUCH BIGGER tent.And Paul practices his fire making skills of course!( still laughing, saddest fire I have ever seen.)
I paid for that sleep out for a good couple days! Sad, I know.

And that is the first attempt we have made to go" camping" since we've been married. We'll do it again, but with a lil more suitable gear. oh, well, it made for some fun memories none the less.
next time I must take pictures! I can't believe I didn't break my camera out! ( tsk, tsk)

It's a girl baby

2009-08-17T09:01:00.002-05:00

Thurs, I had my ultrasound. And luckily Paul was able to come with me. I love ours for the fact you don't have to have a full bladder for your ultrasound. ( don't you think it's hard to concentrate when you have to pee really bad?) or has it really been that long since I've been pregnant?
Everything looks fabulous and she was very photogenic, even I could recognize all the different parts of her. She was very eager to show us her feet, her hands her belly and yes even her lil area! She must be very proud to be a girl and doesn't care who knows it! It was a fun ultra sound, I must admit with the other three, it was hard for me to make out what was what and had to have the technician point it out and trace out what part was which!
When they told us it was a girl. I got excited! I was thinking girl this last mo. or so. and everything girl caught my eye in the store. But the night before I had to remind myself that it could very well be a boy and not to be shocked if they tell me that! ( not that they're is anything wrong with a boy. I just had girl on the brain.)
Paul took his bet on girl on the way to the appointment. I said it would be great to have a girl, but I'll just plan on it being a boy.
I was glad to hear it was a girl for these reasons:
I don't have any boy names picked out that I really like.
I didn't see any cute boy outfits that were "must haves"( okay I didn't really look, I kept getting distracted by the cute lil outfits they have in the girl section!)
Zoey sleeps in a bunk bed, it would be great to have a girl who could take the extra bed
Zoey really really needs a sister.
I love doing girl hair.
I love dressing girls.( Zoey's had plenty of baby clothes I get to dig out!)
I have at least 4 girl names that I Love
the boys to girls ratio will be even'd out!

More importantly she looks great! no concerns and she is developing with everything is where is should be!
We came home to tell the kids, but first asked if they would want a girl baby or a boy. of course the boys said a boy and Zoey said a girl.
After we told them what we were having, Jameson and Zoey were fine with it and just happy and excited about anything baby period.
Ethan, however, was not, He told me he didn't want it be a girl and to make it a boy. I told him that I didn't have a dial on my belly that could switch the baby for a boy. He told me NO on the girl. and how he needed to have another Bro so he could start a band! ( I blame Jonas Bro.)
I tried to talk to him about it, but all he found were the draw backs to his idea. apparently she can't play in a band, she can't play sports. And girls are just STUPID!
He truly was put out by the news. But hopefully he'll get over it by the time the baby comes!

Zoey is very excited to have a baby sister and tells me every min. she wants to name her COWBOY! Jameson is just excited for the baby. And as he tells me, "I've never had a baby before!" this makes me laugh. I think he just doesn't remember zoey when she was small.

Paul's predicts this baby will be darker with green or blue eyes. since we don't have that combo yet.
I think this baby will be light with blue eye's and take after the Irwin side.
I'm more intrigued by what color of eye's she'll have since all our kids have been different.
Jameson are a very cool muddy green
Ethan's are beautiful deep blue
And Zoey's are very dark brown
See why I'm wondering on what could possibly be next? maybe that will be the next bet in the family.

Ethan update

2009-08-04T11:21:00.002-05:00

We took Ethan to see the specialist in the middle of July,
Can I just say, Where the crap was she from the get go?!!!!!!!!
I Loved her! she was aggressive! and was willing to explore all area's.
She WORKED with HIM, not just stared at him and listened to me.

She took him in her big office full of different toys and immediately started talking to him and playing "games"with him. It was amazing how many thing she caught with in the first 5 min of working with him. she had him, color, throw/catch a ball, do a somersault, asked him questions,
and invited him to just play with the toys while we talked, but never really took her eyes off him.

She encouraged us to have him see a Opthemologist since she noticed his eyes seemed to wonder a bit and cross when she had him touch his two fingers together. She wondered if he was seeing double or something and that could be causing a reading delay and his struggle with writing and coloring.( he is always a 1/8 inc off from the line, he doesn't go outside the line but never gets right next to it, same with writing.) He saw an optometrist when he started kindergarten and all they said was his vision was excellent.
We did take him to see a opthemologist she recommended, he said his eyes do wander out a bit as things get closer, but it is VERY mild, and it could or could not be causing a reading problem, he gave us an exercise to do with him every day for 5min to help strengthen his eye muscles. We are going to do this, If it works and helps great, if not at LEAST we know it's not the problem.
She would also like us to see and Audiologist, to see what he is hearing. We had his ears tested every year for speech, we know he hears fine, but she wants to know WHAT he is hearing. ( how words and sound REALLY sound to him.)that could be effecting his speech a bit. SO we still need to schedule an appointment in that.

We talked for quite awhile, she explained quite a bit, asked ALOT of question about Ethan.
And said she had ways that she could help him and US with his focus,attention.
She does want to rule out any possibility of a disorder so we do have lab work to do. ( dreading that)
Like I said, she covers all the bases and wants to rule out anything it could be medically!
She also stated she would like to be on a conference call with his teachers discussing what would be best for him in the class room, and talk about his IEP scores etc. ( so nice to feel like We have our own personal advocate!)

We discussed his original diagnosis of A.D.D, I told her I was sort of unhappy with it, not because I was sure it was something else, but felt the doc. just sort of guessed and didn't seem sure of it herself. And if I need to work with him, I need to know exactly what we are doing and ensuring we working with him in the very best way.

She actually thinks he has P.D.D( pervasive, developmental, disorder) which basically means he can go into a few area's of disorders. She also stated he also COULD be in the Autism spectrum,
Although she made it very very clear that she did NOT think he was Autistic, but does have a few of the minor symptoms.( I hate using the word symptoms.) that autistic children have but not the MAJOR ones. That is the same with A.D.D he has quite a few of the symptoms that qualify him, but is not severely ADD nor is he SEVERELY Autistic.( heck she said if he was autistic it would the mildest of the mildest cases, which is why she did not think it necessary to classify him as autistic.) which is why she qualified him with P.D.D.( with more emphases on A.D.D)

She had no fears for him or his future, She thinks all his symptoms are pretty mild, it's just a matter of working with him and leading him down a path that will be best suited for him.

I was in tears as I nodded in full agreement with her, grateful that someone finally gets my concerns and I felt better with her answers like I knew it was something, I just didn't have a name for it!!!!
I love that she is a fearless Dr. who seems to have answers and solutions and tricks!( and clearly has been working with kids for a very long time.)
She gave such nice compliments about him. She said he is very well behaved. Very good manners. And she said unless people are working with him directly they would never know what he struggles with. ( I told her he was on his medication which helps alot!)
She did not change his medication thus far. and stated she would like to see him off his meds to see the difference and how big a difference it really is.

So I deem this a good news visit!

I read this amazing book, Called Super Parenting your ADD kids. I absolutely loved it and it's attitude towards ADD. It talked about it not being a disorder, but a gift. And our job as parents is to help our kids "unwrap" their gift so it actually works in their favor. I also loved the fact that it talked about how all the professionals in the world could never mount up to the knowledge of an in tuned parent. And that WE the parent know our children, know what they need, and know when something isn't working right. And to not doubt ourselves and our instincts even when it's our own well intentioned family members, friends, or doc. I gave such great insight for me. And a whole different outlook on working with Ethan. I would recommend this book to even parents with kids who don't have A.D.D but are just more difficult to work with.( I had to find this book on tape for Paul since he hates to read.)

The bad news.( isn't their always something? )No, I don't want to deem it bad, Lets call it the NEW CHALLENGE will be figuring out how to pay for all the visits and the tests. I am hoping to up our insurance at the beginning of the year so it will cover and we won't have to meet such a damn high deductible. ( cursed insurance, or the lack their of.) I haven't even looked to see what they cover for specialist and if they even cover her.( out of fear I guess.) But since we are s'posed to be seeing her either mo. or bi-mo. I better find out and quick. specialist don't come cheep ya know! But the attitude I have towards it, is we will do what we can do and often as we can do it.
oh, and prayer! oh and lots of reading and self educating!I'm not as stressed about this as I was at the beginning. It will work out as it needs to.We will do what we think NEEDS to be done. Slowly but surely!

I'm pretty sure this is going to become my new soap box subject! just so your warned.

Things that makes me smile

2009-07-31T11:41:00.003-05:00

I saw this on Lou's blog and loved it! So I thought I would do the same

In no particular and completely random order here they are.

Things that make me smile.

1.The movie Empire Records.
2.Late night Dinners at the Downs house.
3.Walks to 7-eleven
4.Basketball w/the boys
5.Rocks in the shoe
6.Chicago
7."Game on!"& Target Tom
8.Pool
9.Shaved Ice
10.Bohica
11."Bring me a drink"
12."Do I look like The Rock to you?"
13."Baby, I looove Cake!"
14.My husband in all his efforts to make me happy.
15.Jameson,& his kissing spot.
16.Ethan, & his uncanny wit
17.Zoey,& her need to be "close".
18."Fire fly's"
19.a good book
20.good music
21.ballroom dancing
22.a hair cut with the cauliflower ear that involved a vacuum
23.a new pen
24.My fat,spoiled dog.
25.hikes up to the wind caves (Ahem!)
26.oh'pucky
27.malt O' meal cereal aisle
28.rain
29.Dharma and Greg
30. climbing over the fence

cheap thrills for the kids

2009-07-29T13:44:00.004-05:00

So as I was sitting in yet another dr. office waiting our turn to be seen, thumbing threw the family circle magazine I came across this idea, that I so have to share.
It's called the FOAMANATOR
It's fast
It's easy
It's not messy!
And it has kept my kids entertained for a while.
oh yeah, and it's FREE to do!

I took pictures of the kids having fun with it, but I can't find my reader so I'm going to still the cute lil models from the magazine until I find it.

All ya need is:
an empty plastic bottle.
pair of scissors.
a dish towel, ( I used my collection of mis matched sox. that way I didn't have to cut a perfectly good towel up)
rubber band ( yes even hair bands work.)
dish soap and a lil water in a very shallow bowl.

Cut the very bottom of the bottle off, place the towel or sock around it and secure with rubber band.
dip into dish soap solution and let the kids have at it.
( I said to blow it like they would a balloon, so the suds didn't go the wrong way!)
Trust me on this one, it's a cheap thrill that has lasted quite awhile! and it really isn't very messy. ( I think real bubbles are worse.)
Just thought I would help out all the moms with bored kids!

Ethans 7th B-day!

2009-07-27T11:04:00.003-05:00

I thought I better not wait any longer to get Ethan's Birthday up here.

Ethan turned 7 on July 11th. And can I just tell you that was a 7 mo. Count down!! It was torture for him to get to July. Watching every one's Birthday come before yours!
My parents had a lil birthday bash for him while we were out there. And that just made his whole Day. He kept saying "Happy Birthday Party to me!"

On his Actual Birthday We took him to the "splash pad" ( Kennedy pool) Which is a knee deep pool with a big playground in the middle with some fun water spouting toys attached. He really liked that although I couldn't get him to go down the lil slide for anything. He had the most fun stopping up the water tunnels and then letting them go once they were overflowing. He is still a cautious player even in shallow water. He kept to ankle deep area most of the time.
But he had a really fun time and they played for hours.
Unfortunately since I had never been I didn't take my camera for fear of it getting wet or stolen. SO I have not pictures of that.

He chose a Transformer Cake for his B-day and was sooooo excited for that!We did cake and presents that evening and he was content to play with his new toys the rest of the night. His big exciting toys were the bumble bee helmet, and transformer walkie talkies. and a few character shirts that I now have to threaten to hide if he doesn't take them off after the second day of wearing!

All day he would ask odd favors from Jameson and when Jameson looked at him weird and said no, he would be quick to remind him that it's HIS birthday! He was trying to milk all the favors he could get on his day!
He wanted Paul to carry him to the car after swimming, when Paul told him no and he could walk, He quickly reminded him that it was HIS birthday.
It made me smile. I was happy to see him finally get to HIS day. He said that this was the best birthday ever! ( he said that about his "birthday party" too.) And asked if it could be his birthday tomorrow too. I said NO! and he has 12 mo. till his next birthday.
The next day he wanted to Change the calender to Aug. Since his birthday was over,which apparently meant so was July.

Glad your FINALLY 7 buddy! Hope you had fun on your birthday!
I love you~

Guess What?

2009-07-20T09:05:00.002-05:00

Yup, I'm pregnant!
( I really don't love when people say "We're pregnant", that's crap. It's a one woman show. Don't think his one minute of fame ranks up to your 9 mo. of pure Pregnancy BLISS!)
How about we say: I'm pregnant and He's excited!

We are expecting baby #4 the last day in DEC! ( yay, merry Christmas & happy new year to me!)
Since I already stated multiple times that I never would have a Dec/ Christmas baby. ( damn ovulation calendars aren't worth CRAP! I even cut the boy off for four weeks of APRIL! Just to be safe! All for not I tell ya!) I will refrain from saying that I refuse to have a Christmas or new years baby. Since we all know what will happen if I do!
How we found out, oh well, back in April in Ut. I was LAAATE.( I can't say that with out thinking Austin Powers.) I was hoping it was a lil confused of the Mountain standard time or something. So I snuck Paul off to the store to pick up "THE TEST".
Well, THE TEST was defective.( Is it wrong, to want to take the Pee soaked stick BACK to the store when they are defective? I mean gross sure, But wrong? I paid good money. And let's face it that is not the time to be wishy washy and unreliable!) It's wrong to play with a girls emotions like that!
So on our errand running day. We grabbed Another test(that had TWO in it.) I took one while at a random store.( we were trying to be discrete at the parents house ya, know.) the faint lil second pink line BARELY showed up... It was questionable at best!! I didn't believe it, SO I was going to wait till the morning to take the other one! So the morning came, I did my THANG. and wouldn't ya know it, THE DAMN TEST was defective as well! HOW DOES THAT HAPPEN?!! ( next time I'm gonna take that test back, the fact that it has pee all over it is NOT my problem!) I should sue for emotional distress or something. So, one more time out, By myself.( running out of excuses to run to the store.)So I bought ONE more TEST. the kind that say "PREGNANT" or "NOT PREGNANT" Not dumb line to question.
Needless to say 4 test& $40 bucks later, we got our FOR SURE nothing left to question THAT time. I was a lil surprised. I really thought I took some good precautions so I wouldn't get pregnant THAT mo. ( This is where Paul likes to Puff up & beat his chest.)
So the pregnancy was planned.The Mo.Was NOT! But it's all good, we're excited!
I have come to terms and acceptance of this Dec Baby and will let the cards lie where they fall. ( that and I haven't been all too successful in manipulating the Docs.to start me!)

On the first ultra sound, the doc couldn't find the heart beat right away, and told me that my Uterus was definitely swollen, ( gee thanks doc.I think?) And after a moment of thought he asked if twins ran in my family. My eye's widened and said "NO! and I plan on keeping it that way thank you!"( this was even funnier since my dad was just predicitng what I was having and he said TWINS.)
He threw me in for a quick ultra sound since his machine couldn't pick up the H.B.
Happy to report there is only ONE baby in there and it seems to be doing just fine. When he came in to ask the nurse if all looked well, he asked if there was more then one baby in there and seemed a bit surprised when she said JUST ONE. ( great! what does that mean? I have a fat baby or what?)

The kids are super excited and keep looking at my belly to see if they can see the baby. Jameson of course has grasped it more then the rest. And has had a lot more questions then the other two. We told them during a F.H.E night. and I had the ultra sound pictures so it would be easier to explain. they were all very excited.
Ethan asked a lot of questions of if the baby can jump on the tramp. play hide and seek. run and play tag. ( my alert senses went up to keep a very close on this kid when this baby comes.) I think he thinks this baby will come out being 2 yrs old.
Zoey kept holding the pictures up to my belly and saying, yup, there's the baby!
And kept checking my belly button. ( we'll go with the belly button idea for now.)
Jameson wants to be the big helper, and hold and carry the baby around.

I think it will be so nice with this one, Since Jameson is big enough to be a huge help to me. Which will be so different and weird since I'm used to having all very small children on the others.

We get to find out what we are having next mo! Paul and I both are indifferent as to what we have, although it would be nice for Zoey to get a sister. We are just as happy with a boy! Care to bet on the sex?

We decided to wait and tell the family til we went out in July, Then I planned on telling them after the wedding was over. But coming out of the Temple after the ceremony, Jameson ran up to give me a hug, and announced at the top of the lungs " MY MOM IS HAVING A BABY!" with all the aunts and cousins standing right next to me.
Nothing I could do at that point, but to admit it. ( although I was tempted to make my son look like a liar instead.. but I did just come OUT of the temple. sooo.......)
I did my quick "yup I'm pregnant". And hurried to make sure my sister knew from me instead of hearing it from a distant relative. ( she wasn't very happy I waited so long, she would have killed me if some random person told her first.)
I told her she would have to forgive me or I'll make her wait to find out what I'm having till the baby gets here! ( and I would too!)
So the count down begins! Forgive the count down calendar, I'm not a big fan of them, but the kids like to see what the baby looks like NOW.So I'm just going to roll with it.

And that is our BIG news!
YAY!!!

Utah Trip for July!

2009-07-13T13:20:00.004-05:00

So obviously we headed out to Utah for Tav and Kristin's wedding.
We got in about a day & half before the wedding. Can I just say I am really beginning to hate that drive! But it was nice to pack whatever I wanted, however I wanted and not worry about losing my cool at the airport. The construction we hit added on two hours! ( on a 11 hour drive that feel's like a decade more!)

Thurs we ended up running around finishing up the odds and ends of wedding stuff for them. It was fun to be apart of that. and fun to see what she was planning on for her wedding. I even got to learn how to make corsages and bootineers the night before the wedding!( lol! nothing like learning a late night new trade right?)

Wedding went well. I love that there wedding dinner was catered! How nice it was to just sit and enjoy family company instead of setting up and tearing down . ( oh we all hate the after party clean up do we not!) I tell ya If I could do it again, that's exactly the way I would do it!

It was so fun to see my cousins Shealene and Malinda. I had such a hard time being reverent in the temple while we were waiting, since I hadn't seen them since well 8-9 years. Turns out we are all the same as always. And they crack me up! yes even in the temple. ( oops.)
I haven't seen alot of my extended family in a long time. It was good to see them and say hi.
It makes me miss home especially visiting with my cousins. It's probably good we don't live close, I can only imagine the trouble we could stir up together.

The only thing I hope didn't get us in the perma dog house is the decorating of Tav's truck ( or was it kristins truck?) Either way Tav hates that stuff and wasn't happy about it.( I hope it didn't ruin their honey moon night?!) But you can't fight some traditions no matter how ridiculous you think they are. embrace it pal and just roll with it! LOL! okay I really don't feel THAT bad. I'm sure he forgot all about it by the time they hit where ever they were staying that night. ( bowm chick a bowm bowm. What truck right Tiger?)

After running so hard the day before and on the day of wedding. I attempted to play stylist and wedding photographer, I'm not sure I won an award for either, but hopefully they were happy.( sure I was tired. but it was so fun!) We just chilled with the family. and celebrated the fourth and did a lil' birthday party for the July birthday party's. ( okay, it was all for Ethan, he has been counting down his birthday since Jan. and April just about killed him. and my mom promised) But we tried to make it a party for Clint and Heidi too! ( Nothing say's I love you like a b-day card right?)

All the kids played really well together, Kallee, Ethan & Zoey were cute to watch. Kallee did Zoey's hair a couple times. which I thought was adorable, Zoey came and told me Kallee did her hair and made it hot. ( that what we call my straightener.) While I'm glad there were no burns to speak of, I made sure I unplugged it and kept it out of lil stylist hands. I'm sad that Hailey couldn't come up this time. ( darn basketball camp!) It felt weird not to have her around!
Braydon and Jameson had fun catching bugs. and doing lord know what else outside!

We played Scum with the family ( this is a good big group card game. where you can still chat and play at the same time, drives my dad nuts we don't shut up!) Even Jay played! It was fun to see him too! He was loads of fun and was a good sport with all our game playing ways.
I wish his family could have came with him. Sure would have loved to see them. I hope they know they were missed.

In the afternoon, the boys went out and played Bocci(?) while we the girls ran to the store for the last minute b-day cake and dinner.
That night we roasted wieners and marshmallows. Sang happy B-day to ALL the July B-day's and let Ethan open his presents. Wow! that soo made his day! He kept saying Happy Birthday party to me!
Heidi was the cool Aunt who brought fireworks and even one illegal one.( we are soo naughty. LOL!)
And on went another round of scum.
It was such a good day. I had so much fun with all my family!
Sunday we hit sacrament and finished up on some good family bonding time before Bryce n' Lisa had to take Jay back to the airport and Heidi hit the road. We had to be out Early Mon. So it was perfect timing for us to pack up & clean up. and get ready to go home.

Oh yeah, and drive home suck equally bad. especially for all the construction we hit this time! augh! I was worse then the children. ARE WE HOME YET?! HOW MUCH LONGER!!! I NEED TO PEE!

Sadly enough I don't think we will be going back for awhile. But it was good family visit. And a great wedding!
I so miss everyone all ready.
And super sad of everyone I didn't get to see. ( sooo... how much trouble am I in LOU?!) Hopefully she will love me despite my good intentioned promises and forgive my by the time I can make it back there. ( so sorry girl. I really am sad I didn't get to see you.)

Family rocks! am I right or am I right?

Congrats Tavis & Kristin!!

2009-07-13T12:26:00.015-05:00

We went back down to Utah to see My brother Tavis and his now cute wife Kristin get married.
It was so fun to see these two get married. ( finally bro, finally!) They were married July 3rd in the logan Temple. It was a cute ceremony, they were smart and had a catered dinner after for family and close friends. It was fun to be there and see it FINALLY happen. Tav has definetly found himself a keeper that is for sure. She is great! And perfect for Tav.
So here are a few pictures of them both engagements and wedding.
Thanks you two for letting us share you day! It was a beautiful wedding!

( All the family from the groom's side.)

( the Buys family)

( Kristin's family)

What is this box doing here?!! It doesn't want to leave! Oh well

And now the rest of these pictures of the cute newly weds!

Congrats you two! We are so happy for you guys! And hope you guys will be happy too!
Best of luck!

Utah trip from April

2009-06-19T14:48:00.003-05:00

( I have NO idea why this whole post is underlined. I have been trying to get it off for awhile now.And I am just giving up! sorry.)

Okay here's a fast cap of the week in Utah.
We had a blast of course. Filled with Traditional( open fire, fishing, and usually the pool, but this time it was too cold. oh'puckey& and a sleep out in the tent.) things we ALWAYS do when we go to Utah. We had all the family down for a couple days. The kids had fun roasting hot dogs and marsh mellows. And we even threw a party for all the April Birthdays that were there. So Hailey, Braydon, Jameson and Kallee. Got to have ONE more birthday celebration. They thought that was pretty neat. Ethan had just about had it with the mo. Long celebrations of his siblings birthday. And was really wanting it to be his.. He tried to be okay with MORE presents for them. My mom was sweet and picked a bakugon up for him and even wrapped it up. when he found that there was One present in there for him it made his WHOLE day and he had the Ethan surge of excitement. Which made it so worth it. All the kids ended up getting one thing or another so it went well and it was cute lil family party.
Jameson had tons of fun playing with cousins and Uncles and grandparents. Especially hanging out with Grandpa and rough housing with the uncles. He lives for that stuff.
Zoey was actually quite social with everybody and played pretty nice with all. All though as she got more tired she became more choosy as to who was her friend. which meant only the girls.But she loved playing with cousins too.
There was alot of oh'puckey and a new family game of scum which is great since EVERYONE can play at the same time.
We got to meet Tav's new fiancee Kristin. And I totally love her. She will be so fun to have in the family. And fits right in with the family.
All the kids had fun fishing with Grandpa. Jameson and Zoey think the fish are soo cool .But Ethan is terrified of the fish. He loves to catch them. But once the fish reach the surface he tries to flee. And he REALLY hates when we put them in the bucket and they splash around as sometimes jump out of the bucket. This is where he becomes incredibly weary and tense.
SO, Paul Caught a really big one. And i wanted to get a picture of it.. He tried to pick it up and it flipped out of his hand. Behind me I heard Ethan do his beginning freak out.( which is a sound while breathing in.) I turn around and that boy is on a dead run for the gate screaming. Eyes forward. Every man for himself type run. I had to head him off before he made it thru the gate. ( admittedly I was laughing, cause it was incredibly funny.) He wrapped himself around my leg with great tenseness. He wasn't letting go for anything. ( yes I was still laughing.. trust me, it's funny.) I had to have my mom come and help me unwrap him. ( if I wasn't so worried about him getting thru the gate where a bunch of nets laid on the bridge, I was afraid he would get caught up in one and fall over in the stream FULL OF FISH) I would have just snapped away with the camera. I finally got the picture of Paul and the dumb fish, After that Paul went to assure Ethan the fish wasn't after him to bite his legs off. ( I think he sees these fish as SHARKS.)
Poor kid. It's ridiculous how much he hates the fish, But he Insists they go fishing with Grandpa every time.. and loves it till the first fish goes in the bucket!
Paul and I got to see a few friends while we were there, We were able to meet up with His best friend and wife. And I know he loved seeing them. I got to catch up with my long lost friend Tami too. And I was so glad that we could! It was so great to catch up! and just chat!! I am sad ( and in lots of trouble) that I didn't get to see my girl Lou. And I so promise we are getting together the next time I am in town. ( Even if that means a midnight walk or V.I) I have to see Her for sure!
It was fun to see my family and hang out. I so love my fam. I love hang'n out with the parents too! my mom always being the good sport let me chat her head off!
Can't wait to head back out for Tav and Kristins wedding! The kids are excited because this time it will be warm enough to play in the pool. And my parent promised Ethan that it was be his Birthday party turn when we come out next. ( I should probably remind them of that.) SO he is definitely on the count down for that.
Hopefully more embarrising pictures of Byrce to add to my collection.( oh come on, YOU SO miss ME!)

Jameson's Babtism

2009-06-17T08:10:00.007-05:00

I know, I more then a mo behind. But this one HAS to go in and then I'm just going to do a quickie on our trip for the sake of pictures and what not.

We did Jameson Baptism on April 25th in Utah. So it would be easier to have more of the family there.
We had been talking quite a bit about Baptism to Jameson prior to his big day. Explaining what it means and what his new responsibility's would be as an official Member of the church.
He was so cute about the whole thing. Telling me after he turned 8 he wasn't ever going to make a mistake again. I wished him the best of luck with that. And if he figures out the secret on how not to do that, please feel free to share.
Paul and I felt it was important to emphasize the beauty of the gospel and the atonement. And how simply god expects us to make mistakes. We also emphasized the importance of making good choices now so as he gets older it is easier for him to resist the temptation that will come later.

I was impressed with his desire to make good choices all the time. Of course now, he realized 8 isn't much different the 7 and he is still Jameson.But he still try's to be a bit more conscious about his decisions we are also going thru the repentance process and how to take care of our mistakes.

So of course come the big day He is excited and nervous. We had Paul's parents speak and bare their testimony and my mom talked as well. They all did such a good job. I'm so glad they were willing to participate. I know Jameson loved it as well.
Paul did a great job although we had to do it twice.( darn sleeves.) On the second time up Jameson decided that was just so much fun. Someone clapped for him. He got really excited and he decided he really wanted to go swimming in the font. Paul had to get after him a bit to get him to calm down.
Of course I'm helpless by standard and Paul had to calm him down and remind him this was supposed to be a reverent thing and we do not try to go swimming in the font.
Yes, I cringed as a mother. Didn't we talk about this before? EEK!
Of course Paul handled it. And he came back with reverence and even folded arms.
He was set apart by Paul as well. the setting apart went really well.And Jameson ended up giving everyone in the circle a hug. Even Bishop Grange.. it was sorta cute.

I was so proud of him. I really wanted to make sure this was his decision. And to know what it meant to be baptized. We had a nice day hanging out with the family.. I ended up leaving to go to the instacare because of my stupid eye. But I was glad he had all his favorites around to keep him entertained.

My parents gave him a nice set of scriptures. He thought it was so cool they had his name on the front. My sister gave him a Moroni tie tack and a set of books that are written like magic tree house except with stories about Jesus from the bible. Which is pretty cool idea, he likes them.
And he got a CTR dog tag chain from us. He was excited about all of them.

We were all really proud of him. And I hope when he thinks about it his day, it will be something special for him too.

In memory of

2009-06-01T08:39:00.003-05:00

My Grandma - Jewel Hall Buys.

I'm sad I couldn't go to the funeral. So instead I decided to write down a few memories I have of her.
Most of my best memories of her are while I was young. Since her health started failing so much more as I got into my later teens and worse by my 20's.
I swear my Grandma was the fountain of never ending patients. Who could laugh with the most difficult of children. ( and if you met any of my family including extended. you would see what a god send that really was.)
When I was young. Her hugs were the best. And she always had treats in her pantry and crackers in her tin. Jaw breakers that were to big for your mouth. And when we left to go home, she made sure we got a treat for each hand.
She always spoke softly and sweetly. I don't think I ever seen her lose her temper or get cross.
I used to spend a week in the summer with her. She always had stories of old times and old memories.
We ALWAYS watch the whole series of Anne of Green Gables. With a hot cup of Cocoa ( made with MILK.) and whip cream from the can. ( I thought that was soo cool.)
As we sipped our cocoa I remember many times of talking of How it was when Grandpa was alive. How much she loved him. And would pull out some of the letters he had written her way back when.. Turns out my tough& grough ol' grandpa had a real soft spot for grandma. She even talked of the fights they had with a twinkle in her eyes. She loved him. And that was never a big secret.
She loved the church. And would read me the stories out of the friend. I sorta thought they were boring. ( it wasn't the mickey mouse book I had picked out.) But she loved the stories especially the ones of pioneer children.
She always had ice cream in the freezer. and a bit of buttermilk in the fridge.. I tried it once.. buttermilk is gross. So I never understood why she liked it.
I remember how much jewelery she had on her dressers.. Yes it was the o'l lady jewelery lots of beads and broaches. A lot of turquoise colors all of it seemed quite big.

She had a hutch full of crystal sculptors and nice looking dishes. My cousins and I always asked which one we could have when she dies. We would each pick out our favorites every time we went. staking our claims to Grandma. who would just smile an begin telling us where each of the pieces came from. I don't know if I would even remember the one I picked out. I think I picked a different one each time.
I remember the house coats and little house slippers.
Her rose bushes to which she showed me how to make a rose lady. ( with a bud on top and fully bloomed rose on bottom.)
Mint growing on the sides that we would chew on.
and the big canal that we we would throw leaves/sticks or whatever else would float. in and run to the over side and wait for it to come out. Catch the skeeter bugs. they had a a canal that ran all around the house. with lil bridges to help us cross. That turned into multiple adventures.
We would spend hours in the big tree out front. It amazing how many kids it could hold.

We would pick all of her butter cup flowers and bring them in to her in Bouquets.. She always had lil' jars of butter cup flowers. And we never got in trouble for picking them.

I loved that I got to have a week in the summer with her all to myself. when my clothes ran out or I we got a bit to wet from the canal, she would have these big white tee's for us to wear.
I never Can watch Anne of Green Gables or have a cup of Hot cocoa with out thinking about her.
And I have still yet to meet someone who loved everyone no matter what their quirks were.

I am actually really happy for her. Her health has been so bad for so long. I am amazed she hung on for as many years as she did. And she so dearly missed her companion. I can't help but smile thinking of them up there. Perfect health and enjoying each other's company once again!

Love and miss you.
Stace~

MIA.. Bloggers Mojo.

2009-05-26T11:54:00.003-05:00

AAACKK!
I'm behind. I'm behind. I'm behind!
Too tired to even blog. how pathetic. Where did my bloggers mojo go? SOB!
well I promised I would blog about our trip to Utah. even tho it's been a FULL MO!
But my memory card and card reader has gone A-wall! seriously. how does that happen?
Here memory card!! Come out come out where ever you are??!!!

I'm hoping to catch up. gain some momentum.. a little desire. And a helluvalot of energy.So I can do some serious catch up.

Don't ditch me.. I'll be back.... I think
Just kidding, Just kiddng. I will dammit. I will!

Luv,
Me.

me and airports,

2009-05-08T10:38:00.004-05:00

So here is what I have learned about myself this last week.
Me and airports don't seem to get along and it brings out the very worst in me.
Thanks to the "friendly sky's". You can only have one check in per ticket. and the cost is $15
Fine. What they don't tell you is if your bag is over the 50lbs limit.. they will charge you an extra 65 dollars. Simply because, they can.

( Here is your fair warning that I swear when I rant. And I make no apologies for it.)

Well, I thought I was clever while I was packing ALL the bags ALL BY MYSELF. That we would all just take a carry on and check in only one very large suitcase. I packed ALL the suitcases extremely full. Especially the "beasty" one.

After a sleepless night of pure worry that I was forgetting something vital and making endless list of things that I should have done before we leave. etc.etc.etc. Waking up early to make sure we can all be ready to go out on time. I think it was fair to say I was a WEE bit tired before this trip even began.

We get to the airport..park the car in the Long term parking.. LUGGED all these damn suitcases thru a less then smooth parking lot. Along with making sure the kids are keeping up and staying close.
Climb the shuttle. and we are off.. NO problem.
We get in, get in line to print off tickets and check in our ONE piece of luggage.
Lady had the nerve to tell me our bag was 9 lbs over. and said the price was now..$79 if we wish to check it in as is!
This is where I become unglued and less then cordial. I just spent all damn night and part of the day packing these damn bags to meet your damn requirements. I am checking in ONE BAG for 5 people! And you have the gull to charge me 65 buck EXTRA for 9 lbs??!! How does that ADD up exactly?

We are told to either Redistribute the weight or pay the fee. SO I opened up all the bags praying to find just a bit more room for some dumb heavy item to shove in there. You better believe I bitched about it the whole time and not quietly either. All the organization of those bags went completely out the window. And that did not make me happy. Paul tried to soothe my ruffled feathers but it didn't work well. Me and the ticket lady were giving each other the evil eye by the time we worked it out. I hate it when they win.

By the way if this happens to you and your hubby is traveling with you. .Start with their shoes and jeans first. you'll be amazed how much those things weigh. But be warned they don't fit into small places.

So after a few more choice thoughts and a couple deep breathes and soothing moments from my ever so calm hubby. We were on our way thru the ... METAL DETECTOR.
Wretched SOB's!
Now have you ever tried to get a smooth line running with three kids and 5 heavy bags?
Off go all the shoes. each having to go thru their own bucket.. Oh, yeah Off go the jackets! do they have anything in their pockets? Who knows?!
"Hurry up ma'am."
Glare from me. and a thought to invite him to go ahead and do it if thinks he can do it faster.
Paul goes thru then the kids.
I'm still throwing crap on the belt and I haven't even started ME yet.
Once again I am irritated , frustrated, rushed& annoyed.
I throw my shoes up, my purse and my bag.. praying I didn't leave anything in there to be questioned or confiscated.

I start to walk thru the metal detector and I'm told I need to take off my Vest...I stare at the jackass.. I mean security guard, and inform him that is part of the ensemble and my shirt is see thru.
He shrugs( like he cares.) And repeats the order.
I look behind me and I have line who is waiting on me.... FINE.
I rip off the vest shove it on the belt.
And hurriedly stepping thru the M.D.
I give him the worst look possible. But I think they are immune to this type of look or even threat.. Let's be real, he could make my life a living hell if he so chooses.
I wrap my arms around me and hide behind Paul till the damn vest comes thru. And yes I was extremely pissed.
Paul tries to assure me that shirt wasn't THAT see thru. But I don't care. See thru is see thru.
On the other side I tried to pull all the mass mayhem off the belt. Giving it to all the right kids. stacking up the bags till we get our shoes Back on. praying I got everything OFF the belt.
Why isn't Paul annoyed? Why is he being so chipper and calm? oh yeah.. cause he went first and then watched the kids come thru. and he didn't have to worry about showing off his "who haws."

I had thoughts of chucking luggage or shoes at the next person who orders me to" keep the line moving."

Another few deep breathes. And a few calming words from the hubby.. a reminder that we don't have to go thru that again till we come back. and I managed to be in relatively good spirits by the time the airplane took off.

How's that for smooth? Maybe this is the reason we don't fly often. And here I was thinking it was because it was too expensive.

Maybe I should just stick with automobiles instead of airplanes.

Alright I got that vent off my chest.. tomorrow.. I'll blog about the actual trip.

Happy Birthday Jameson!

2009-04-16T10:30:00.011-05:00

The big 8 has finally come!!
Jameson turned 8 on the 10th~ He too was counting down to his birthday with great excitement.

It is soo weird to have an 8 yr old. to shop in the big kid section...just weird.

He has been looking forward to turning 8 for the ENTIRE year. He is super exited to be baptized at the end of this mo. We have had many discussions about baptism.. the process.. the responsibility .. etc. etc. etc.

So on his Birthday we talked about him FINALLY turning 8. He kept saying he couldn't believe he is 8. And he says and now I have to be really good... "because I'm 8 now". ( what mother is going to argue with that?)
I smiled at him and said I thought he was already a pretty good kid.
His response was.. yeah.. but now I can't be all crazy.. cause I'm 8 and it will only get me in trouble. And since I'm 8 I can't make any more mistakes.
As much as I want him to practice not making any mistakes. I felt he needed to know the truth of the matter. which is simply... we all screw up. Weather we are 8 or 80. I mean I didn't want him to be hard on himself and feel full of failing guilt simply because he was an 8 yr old boy. acting like a typical 8 yr old boy would. So of course a mini discussion was had.

All day long he was incredibly well behaved and didn't bounce off the walls as I expected him to do.( it is his birthday after all.) He kept asking me if I liked it now that he is 8 and not crazy.
( I must admit I loved it,I certainly don't want to encourage crazy or bad behavior...)
I praised him for controlling his excitement... for being NICE to his siblings and being well behaved. but again reminded him I didn't not expect him to change who he was or what he was all about.. That he was already a good kid that I was proud of. But just told him to practice on making good choices with good behavior. I also told him to expect to make mistakes.. heck I still do, and daily..
He was bit shocked by that.. cause since when do grown ups make mistakes?... I smiled and said even us grown ups are still learning.

I have always loved his thought process. He truly thinks thing thru and does all he can to doto understand and do it right.

He had tons of fun and the children's museum in Chicago. He loves to build an create. Loves it! He could have spent all day screwing in bolts to pieces of wood to make a house. And trying new designs of foam airplane models to send up to the ceiling to be launched. ( really and it was a very high ceiling.. it would go up on a vertical conveyor belt and then let go and we go to see how it would come down off the drop. He actually made the best one.. helicopter style.)
He never tires from stuff like that. And he is very good at it.

On his birthday since it was the last day of spring break and a Fri. I let him have his FIRST sleepover. He invited his little buddy Kapapeli to sleep over and his friend Thomas for cake n Ice cream.
They played pretty well and were excited to get his new Nerf machine gun out and running.. we ended up gathering up all the nerf gun( we have enough to start a war..) we had. Which ended up being all the kids against Paul and I. They thought that was awesome.. Just so ya know... never make just your head available...Nerf gun bullets sting. There were a few battle wounds. ( WELTS!) But they all thought that was a blast. ( cheapest entertainment ever!)
After Thomas went home. We set up the tent in the basement. We threw on a new movie ( bed time stories.) And Kapapeli was out like a light.. so when your friend is a sleep .. turns out nothing to do makes the other kids tired too. And here I was expecting to BEG for them to go to sleep till the wee hours of the morn.HA!
I will say this . .Jameson's friend Kapapeli is the most well behaved kid I have EVER met. I mean really.. It's hard to see him as 8. when he acts so much older. ( and he's Tongan so he is soo much bigger too.) I would adopt this child anytime. Amazing!

Jameson had a great 8. Birthday.
I can't believe he's 8!( oh, wait I said that already...)
I'm proud of him.. really, really proud of him!
oh, apparently he decided he didn't need to try to hard after all to be 100% fabulous. The next day he was back to being pure Jameson.. with Pure Jameson energy& attitude. . . Just the way I like him.
Happy Birthday Buddy!

Happy Birthday Zoey

2009-04-13T10:22:00.013-05:00

Zoey celebrated her Birthday on the 7th.
She is the big 4! I really don't have a baby or really even a toddler.( aww. sad face.)
When watching the baby story ( or whatever that show is on TLC) After watching a new baby come into the world. She informed me that I needed one of those. ( as she points to the t.v with a brand new baby.) I told her ( half kidding.) that she was my baby.
At that point she looked at me straight in the eye and with all the seriousness she could muster told me she was NOT a baby. And that she was a big girl. ..."Got it?" then she pointed at the screen and repeated her request for me to have "one of those." babies.
So I am not to refer her to a baby. at any time unless I want have a lecture to go with it.

So my BIG GIRL is 4. so crazy!

She has been counting down her birthday since Jan. She loves her birthday.Last Mon Paul and I decided that since we have two birthday's the same week we would skip a birthday party and take them to Navy Pier in Chicago where they had a kids museum.
( The museum in and of it self deserves it's own post. So I won't get into it.)
She had a blast! Her favorite area's were the water area and where she got to play house with other kids. And she loved riding on the train( we take it to get into Chicago.)
that was her big party. And it was a hit!

She becomes soo independent around crowds of people. And is fearless. She was truly annoyed by Paul and I if we ever attempted to hold her hand our guide her in any one direction. It was quite scary really. She walks around til she finds someone she feels is worth her time and walks right up to them and starts talking and playing with them. and when she's done she walks away and ready to move onto the next thing( includes walking straight of the room to move onto another.) Paul and I had to be on"Zoey duty" the entire time simply because she would walk away and never look back. And really didn't care if Paul and I were in sight or not. Because as far as she was concerned she was surrounded by all her friends. I had to pull her aside and threaten her a few times. simply because if I touched her she would yank away and glare at me ( I'm not kidding she was so annoyed with Paul and I, we must have been cramping her style.) Since I don't take kindly to that sort of thing we had a few words and "corrective action" moments. She was such a Houdini.
We would be in an area, She would be right by me. I would look to the left to see what Ethan was doing and give him the "wow that's so cool." attention.. Look back down and Zoey would be GONE! I mean gone! I would scan the room( they are meant to be played in after all.) And couldn't see her.. So I start calling and walking the room.. and nothing.. Just as I start to Panic.( It's not like they can't leave the room when they feel like it.) I was walking around this huge Jewish Orthodox family huddled together ( I don't know if Jewish orthodox is right... the ones where the men where the side burn curls. and drab clothing..It I'm completely wrong.. sorry.) they were just looking at me weird. And as I rounded them.. There was Zoey right in the middle of them talking to one of there younger children( who was just looking at Zoey as if she was from Mars.) Completely at home with them.. I about killed her! And yes she was annoyed when I told her to come with me. I'm surprised this family didn't say.. is this yours? ( Don't we all know the look of a panic stricken mother? I mean really!)
After that .. Paul and I would sit at the entrance of the room and the other would follow her wherever she went. Luckily the boys would stay close or at least stay in the room and come find us when they were ready to move on!
But she was in "crowd heaven". She loves people. And she had a really good time. Once she realized she couldn't shake the parents she chilled out a bit and just enjoyed each room.

Tues. We hit the stores to which she informed anyone who walked by it was her "bout'day" and tell them how old she was. we did cake and Ice cream that night.
She got some well needed new clothes. some playdough spagetti makers and some crayola wonders stuff. She loved it .( Well the clothes she thought were pretty boring, but what can you do.)
OF course quite a few phone calls from all her favorite people .Which made her feel so grown up.
She had lots of fun and seemed to have enjoyed her birthday.
When I tucked her in that night. And I was asking her if she had a good birthday she said no( I don't take it personally, she always says no.) And that she was going to "save" her birthday for "po-marrow"( tomorrow.) I told her that we couldn't do that. But told her she could have another birthday in 12 mo... She wasn't very happy about that and asked if she was still 4. ( I think she was thinking I was going to make her be 3 again.. I wish.) SO now every day I'm asked how many more days till her birthday... and the count down begins ..again.

Happy Birthday Big Girl!
We love you!

Dentist & P.T.C week.

2009-03-23T11:48:00.006-05:00

We've had a busy week full of Dentist appointments and P.T.C~

Everyone in the family hit the dentist. Only to find out all the cavities that must be taken care of.( BOO!) Even Zoey had a very small Cavity. luckily it was small enough that no anesthetics were needed and she was out of there in 15 min.
Ethan has bad teeth. Even his 6 yr molars are coming in with problems. They think since he had so many ear infections , The damage is caused by all the high fevers he had. ( Great!) Hopefully his adult teeth will have better luck.
They encouraged me to really cut down on the sugar. ( This kid loves sugar more then my other kids.. so this should be fun.) I think I will just have to make him brush immediately after anything sweet. I wonder if there is a kid safe fluoride?

But it will be nice to get caught up and taken care of.I really don't care for the dentist.. I don't like people in my mouth.

Out of curiosity, When other mom's take their kids to the Dr or Dentist. Do you let your kids know exactly what they are in for? If there will be shots. If it will hurt?
I tell me kids weather it will hurt or not. I always tell them it's not scary. I let them know when we are going in for shots. And really exactly what to expect. Not to scare them. But to ease some concerns. It's not like I tell them oh man this is going to hurt so bad, your going to bleed.. No. I tell them it might hurt for just a min. But then explain why it has to happen. along with a bribe.

Zoey had some apprehension for her first Dentis appt. and didn't want to comply with laying back in the chair. So I sat her up and we had a "Chat".. I let her know. It wouldn't hurt and it's not scary. I also told her what they were going to do. I told the nurse to show her every instrument before putting it in the mouth.
She calms downs and complies with the Hygienist wishes. The hygienist then Lectures me about saying only" positive" words. and not to use the word "scary or hurt"? Are you kidding me??? who do you think that is going to fool? I wasn't being negative.. I was being honest and ensuring her that this wasn't anything to worry about. I was also letting her know what was going on? I don't believe in lying to kids about that at all.'

Whatever lady. Stick to cleaning teeth.

Anyway, catching up on dentist appointments was not fun and didn't come with a lot of good news. So we are working on some stricter habits. And really wasn't kidding about make'n my kids brush after anything sweet. SO if you see a toothbrush in there hands more often then not.. Just know it's for the greater good. Apperantly brushing at night and before school isn't cutting it.. who knew?

P.T.C went quite well!
Ethan- has improved in many area's. He is even a level reader this year. ( he wasn't last year.. at all.) Teacher is happy with what the medicine is doing for him. And has seen a difference.
She is concerned for his writing ability. And doubts it will be up to where it needs to be for first grade standards. also is hoping for him to catch the reading ability full strength. ( problem is he can sound each individual letter, but is struggling to connect them together to form the word. He is terrific at MEMORIZING words so he knows quite a few.)But she does think he is ready for first grade. Is still encouraging me to get him tested so they can provide him with extra help for next year. Overall she was pleased with his progress and so were we. Of course we are still working with him and praying it just clicks.. I really feel once he figures out the whole reading thing he'll be off and unstoppable. Math- he has done well and seems to understand the concepts better. They are going to bump his speech up to 3 times a week.
Paul and I were worried about social skills ( he is sort of a loaner perfectly content to play by himself and do his own thing.) Teach.says he has a group he plays with everyday. And is very interactive with them. Says that Once he makes a friend he becomes VERY loyal and protective over them. Also says the other kids play with him very well and like him alot. Ethan's top friend this year is Brennon. Last year it was John and Liney Lou. You will hear about this people constantly.
I was very happy to hear that this medication seems to be working and he is improving. ( Happy dance.. inserted here. Please feel free to take moment and join me.)

Jameson- Has really improved in just about every area. His Math skills have really jumped up and he is now unstoppable. ( I think he just found his confidence in it and it doesn't frustrate him anymore.) His Spelling grade-Is top notch. And has finally buckled down and gotten his A.R quizzes done. SO his grade finally shows his mad reading skills. I was very proud of his improvements with grades. He earned the high achievement award at school, and is excited for that! He needs to work on focus and not being so silly and chatty. He is too social and gets in trouble for messing around when he is s'posed to be working. She said she has tried to put him by alot of different kids. Shy ones, meaner ones,( she didn't say meaner, but that was point she was making.) the highly disciplined ones. But to no avail. Jameson makes friends with all of them and quickly finds stuff in common to talk about. He is going to be a "front rower." for life. He is also very silly and bit hyper. ( sigh, like I don't know that!) She laughed and said.. "Your son is a little TOO well liked, with typical boy energy!" She also warned me that he has become close to a little girl named Kaitlyn. ( my lil' romeo.)
So once again. The challenge for him is focus and discipline. Figure out when it's okay to talk and play and when it's not.

We talked about how much play time they get for recess... 5 min -10 MIN max and that's if they can get thru their lunch fast enough. I personally think this is absolute asinine! You lock up 20-30 7 yr old kids for 8 hours and only let them burn some energy for 5-10 min? And pray for gym day? No wonder they are restless~ I am figuring out who I need to talk to, to start a change for that. The keep cutting down the free time since they are trying to prep the kids for the ISTEP program. I personally think it will hurt their scores.. NOT help.
I should probably start a petition to get the kids the recess then both need and deserve.

Sorry it's a lame post. But since it's my record keeping way.. I want to chart and remember what they were like and issues that we dealt with, and how they did in school.

The new plan of attack of the dreaded Chores.

2009-03-17T10:51:00.003-05:00

So I don't know if I'm alone in the endless battle of getting kids to pitch in and help. And finding a system that works. Maybe I put my expectations too high.. or maybe they are just too low.. I'm a pushover.. and not good at being consistent.. that might be a BIG part of my problem.

Systems I have tried that have failed.

* Chore charts with stickers. Payment. 25 cents a day if all chores are done. ( yeah, I know, I'm cheap.) Extra chores above and beyond would get extra money..

Why it failed: I really hate standing over all the kids to make sure it gets done and have to constantly put stickers on the chart. 2- the meaning of the word" Done" become all in the eye of the beholder.3- Only Jameson cared about the money.. and therefore demanded payment for every little thing I asked him to do.
Ex: Me: " Jameson will you please pick those clothes and put them in the hamper."
Jameson:" Do I get paid for it?"
Me: " ummmm... no... can't you just help me?
Jameson: Not if I don't get paid.. cause that is and extra chore.
( I would then rephrased the idea.. you can do it quickly and quietly OR... you can put your nose in the corner and not come out till you are willing to do it quickly and quietly.)
See how this conversation( not to mention the boiling point I reached often.) would constitute a failure?

* I've tried the online computer chore chart called Handipoints where you could create a list of things each kid had to do and when they accomplished it, they would jump on and could put a "stamp" on the job done. I could then get online and approve or disapprove. It even allowed them to pick out there rewards. ( ex. Go to movies. etc. etc. etc) and they could see there chart fill in to the 100% mark..
Why it failed: This was great for awhile. till getting on the computer every moment seemed to cause quite a few distractions as well as It wasn't hard at all to meet your goal.. like done in a DAY!
It was more fun for the kids tho'.

Here are my other problems-
I'm a control freak on how some jobs should be done.( like loading a dishwasher,washing dishes.laundry.)
I know I can get it done faster if I just do it myself and sometimes . . . it's worth it.
I underestimate of what my kids are perfectly capable of doing. And have it stuck in my head that they are too little to do certain chores. ( even tho I was doing that plus some at their age.) And learning that my friends kids are doing them just fine~
I really hate going the rounds to get 10 min job done.( which will inevitably take over an hour since I will count on at least 3 total avoidance of job, 2 arguments. 3 whinings. and 1 melt down.)

So I was in the middle of my brainstorm of how I was going to turn this endless cycle around and figure out what the kids can and can't do. One that I will actually STICK too.
I thought back to when I was a kid and what the routine was at our house.

First I need to mention if you grew up around me you know we couldn't do ANYTHING unless we had our "Jobs" done. We had jobs on a daily basis and deep clean jobs on the weekends. That if we wanted to play with your friends you had to get your stuff done. It sucked. I won't lie. We were always cleaning. My friend would tease me and call me "Stacey-rella". BUT with six kids. It was needed. And I see my mother logic perfectly.( Now.) I still admire her stubborn ( which is incredibly rare .) refusal to give in on this topic. I could never get out of cleaning. Ever.
Her system was this:
Everyone had a room they were in charge of for a two week period. Weather it be the kitchen, bathroom, Etc. etc. and of course our bedrooms were a given.
When we got home from school we were in charge of straightening the room up, wiping down counters, and vacuuming. Come Fri- Right after school, She would have a list for each us that we had to do in our room. It was DEEP CLEANING day. and trust me we scrubbed and scrubbed. My mom has an eagle eye for this stuff! Sat Morning we would have to go over it again and If we did a good enough job Fri.. it didn't take too long.( It seemed like it did tho'.)
Then when our two weeks were up we would rotate to a different room. We rarely got paid an allowance. But they did dish out the cash, for movies. friend activity's, etc. etc. So I guess that was our allowance.

My friend Tami was blogging about how she works her system with her kids and I liked her idea's too!!! And agreed quite a bit with her point of view. I had to send her email asking for more detail to see what other clever idea's she has come up with. ( That I could steal!) So after reading hers. and Talking to my mom .

This is my Newly devised plan of attack.

- I'm upping the responsibility if each child- They will get assigned one room they are in charge of Per week. As well as their bedroom. Along with a dish night. ( yes,I will be in there helping them.)
Which then will rotate Come Sunday to a new room for the week.( open minded, well rounded.)
Each room has a list that they must complete Daily.
- They will Not be getting Paid for Regular chores. I no longer think that is a good idea. Part of the family..everyone chips in.
- I have made a list of EXTRA chores. ( you know , the ones that Nobody wants to do. But desperately need done.) That are open to earn some $$$. There are open for the taking,Till a certain date. If no one takes it. It goes into the "group effort" category. to which Everyone helps get it done... for FWREEEEE!
-The idea is you can take it on by yourself for some extra cash or you can all do it together for nothing. ( It's going to get done one way or another.)
-They are not eligible for the extra mula jobs if the regular chores are not complete.
-Once they put their Initials by the extra mula job.. they are herby bound to it. and must be complete by date stated. And it must be done to my specs.. or it is recalled for a do over.. no extra cash will be dealt out the second time around.
- Since every kid is ability's are different. And some can pay a little more attention to detail. They are paid a certain amount of $ according to age and ability.. PER JOB.( Jameson will clearly be paid a bit better then Zoey for obvious reasons.)
- No T.V, Video Games. Computer, Or friends til jobs are complete. If this is broken after ONE warning, I tack on 1 extra job per offense.. . free of charge of course.

I know Tami uses a white board. and Clever little names for Duties assigned .Ex: Sanitation engineer for Bathrooms etc., Zoo keeper: for the pets. Domestic Engineer. ( for help in the kitchen and typical mom duties.) I think this is super cute. And might follow suit here later on if this system works.( everyone cross your fingers.)

I have high hopes that this just might work for us.( Okay. . Me.) So a big huge Thank-you to my mom. both for example and some ingenious ideas. And to Tami for some great creative thinking and some really good points and ideas! You guys RULE!
Wish me luck.. since I'm pretty sure most of this will NOT be popular with my children. ( I'm doing my EVIL laugh! wahhahh haa haa!)

But I am still curious as to what other Moms are doing in regards to chores etc. I would love to hear about what works for you!

My New Room!

2009-03-06T08:52:00.012-06:00

So my husband rocks. He never ceases to amaze me with his thoughtfulness towards me and trying to find ways to spoil me or make me happy.

As most of everyone knows I do hair. My goal when I graduated was to build a salon in my house so I could keep close to the kids while bringing in a income. Of course that hasn't happened... yet.
We also talked many of times to set up a room where I could just do hair cuts etc. in. And stop doing it in my kitchen ( I soooo hate doing that!)
I went back and forth on the idea. And really couldn't decide weather I wanted to continue doing it or not. Sure I wanted it. But really, did I want to spend the money on it. And did I really want to start doing hair seriously again. ( sure I did haircuts for friends here and there. But usually never told people what my profession was.)
Well, Paul surprised me with a lump sum of cash with specific directions as to what it was to be spent on. We started planning how to move the kids rooms around and what I needed. And the fire was on!!!
I loved putting it together!! It is by far from finished. But the fact I have a designated room! YAY! no more hair in the kitchen!
And it has sort of rekindled my fire for doing hair. I've loved getting back into it. ( That and I think listening to Katie going thru the learning process of cosmetology school. Brings back the memories of excitement and passion for my trade.)

I hope thru time and hopefully enough business I can add to it and make it "official" and do a "Real" salon. But I am so excited to have this set up. I don't care if I do no one but family It is soo worth it.
Of course it has worked out ok, more of a" if you build it they will come".. and they are indeed coming. which is great!

I should say Zoey has Loved getting VIP treatment every morning doing her hair. ( I tried to do it with the boys.. They just don't care. And think it's torturous.)
Now...if someone could just do my hair!
I need to give credit where credit is due: Zoey is sporting a fun style I found off of "She does Hair blog." If you have lil girls you need to check out my link ( Site's I play on often : my link is there.) So many fun & creative ideas.

Creative camping

2009-03-02T07:50:00.008-06:00

This weekend was supposed to be filled with little friends. sleep overs and big friends and Wii Mario Kart with some friendly trash talk.
I told Jameson he could have his very first Sleepover and we talked about it with his Friend and with the mom. Although no for sureness was set.
He looked forward to it.Planned what they were going to do. Did all his chores. All week. Come Friday right after school I said he better call his buddy and do the "official invite."
Well for some reason his friend told him he didn't want to and didn't feel like it.
Jameson was crushed. And I was surprised. ( I talked to his mom on Sunday, they actually had a gathering planned with family and she had forgotten about our talk of a sleepover, still laughing about how this kid worded his no. Must have really wanted to play with his cousins.)

I felt so bad for Jameson. And of course was trying to think of ways to "save" his night. We had friend coming over to play games that had a boy close to his age. So I talked up that and how he could play for as long as they were here. And even told him we could do some indoor camping . with a tent and some s'mores. This seemed to do the trick and he was once again excited. so were the other two.
So I grabbed our little tent and set it up in there room. And grabbed stuff to do s'mores in the oven ( best way to do it, if you don't have a camp fire. just turn your oven on Broil. square of Graham a square of chocolate and a huge marshmellow.. few min under the broiler and they are golden brown.)
Jameson was so excited! Our friend came over and he took his new buddy down to see the tent. I fixed up s'mores in the oven and brought them down to them. They played for about an hour before his buddy came running upstairs stating he needed a bowl to puke in. Of course our friends packed up and headed home.
Once again.. Jameson was disappointed. And Once again I played up and idea to make it better. We moved the tent out to the family room and put Mario Kart on the big screen and we ALL played together( yes we sat in the tent) and had treats. I set up all three kids in mock sleeping bags ( folded over comforters.) And they all slept in the tent that night. Jameson told me that was the coolest thing ever. And seemed to forget about his disappointments. In fact I think I heard him tell his friend on Sunday that he missed out on camping in his tent.

I of course felt like I rocked the mom world this weekend. (HHERE I COMME TOO SAVE THE DAAAY!)

What did I learn.. call the mom first before letting the kid call.. never talk up anything that you can't guarantee will work out.

random ranting

2009-02-23T07:08:00.014-06:00

There is a couple in our ward I just do not like.. . . I try to avoid conversation with the at all cost. Yes they are very nice and very good. I think the problem is ...well... I don't "speak" uber nerd. And every time he opens his mouth I just want to start..ZZZZZZZ. a few different couple had a little get together.. someone invited them.. I had hopes that maybe talking with them outside church walls would be different and hopefully see a lighter side to this couple.... nope. He's the type when people joke about something to be funny.. In his most serious voice would throw in an" actually.. and spout of some facts and philosophy..." Talk about a joy killer!Drove me nuts!! ( beauler... beauler..... beauler.... beauler..... beauler.... beauler.... beauler.... beauler....) There, I said it.

- I think that secretly bus drivers are spiteful and mean spirited people. And today's instance pretty much proved it for me. Our bus stop is about 30-40 ft from house. This morning we rushed out to tromple in 5-8 in of snow, I saw the bus coming and started running ( well as fast as one can run with two small kids all in moon boots.) In hopes that she would see our rush and wait for a min. It looked like we were going to make it. ( this is where they start to spitefully smile and begin the game of chase.) I did the wave for her to wait.. Jameson tripped up..and as soon as I pulled him to his feet, that bus driver was pulling away!!! Are you kidding me? we were maybe 10-15 ft away!!! oh she saw us too, I know she did. we were facing her! I'm pretty sure I heard her spiteful laugh as she drove on. spiteful @#$%! I might have to think of something clever to make a point with her.cause man that was just cold!!!

-Getting Paul to snowblow the walk is like pulling teeth! I have to go the rounds with him to get out there. Last time I went out and did it plus the neighbors to prove a point! He back talks with snide remarks and stuborn behavior. And I get super irriated and frusterated. So yesterday after doing another dance with this topic. He got me pretty riled up and flustered. Which he thinks is pretty funny... . I tricked him and told him I had " urges" he cocked an eyebrow and got closer to ask what those urges might be..this is where I grabbed him around the throat and mocked stangle and shook him.. He thought that was funny as hell and decided to go shovel the walk. good choice dear.

-I absolutley love weekends. I hate weekend mess. I end the week with a good clean house. I start the week playing catch up from all the leisure that was had during the weekend! Not quite sure how that works out that way.. But it bugs me.

- Some cashiers don't know how to bag grocery's. I group my food to help it go in the same bag.. Frozen group. produce group. non food group... boxs and cans group.. Meat group. That way it's easier for them and I don't have to have food in with non food.. meat gets its on bag. ( you get the point.. perfect logic right.) while i do understand that sometimes you need to combing a few items.. most of the time they completley undo my system i have yogurts rolling around in different bags. frozen with the box food. D.soap with cereal... Why? All they have to do is scan and attempt to keep it all in the same bags. why is that hard? I think I will get snottier about this It is becoming my pet peave. Maybe I'll demand a re-bag!

- I think our primary is out of control. it always kills me to see the teacher completely ignore the class disruptive behaviour. .CALL THEM OUT ON IT!!! Kids get rowdy I get it. But this one is completely ridiculous. Unfortunetly Zoey is one of the naughty ones who doesn't feel the rules to sit in a chair do not apply to her.. . I try to encourage her teachers to get after her. But I end up leaving my class and "encourage" her to sit and behave. Yes I have even put her nose in the corner right in primary. two tricks that seem to work.. Take them out of the primary and find a empty class room. tell them they can join the others when they can sit still& behave. Treats are a winner.. you can't give in and give it to em if they haven't earned it. But really the primary pres and the teachers ( heck even the parents.) need to step it up and stop tolerating that crap. . . .. Man I sound like a hard A. But trust me it is borderline ridiculous.

. . . . . hey... ranting is fun sometimes! . . .

update on Ethan

2009-02-21T07:16:00.007-06:00

We took Ethan to go see his pediatrician Fri Afternoon to discuss some concerns with his Medication. My biggest frustration is simply I don't know what I'm s'posed to expect or really what to do. I took Paul to be my mouth piece as well as to ask the questions and retain what the heck the Dr. was saying.( I have a hard time paying attention when frustrated)
I brought up concerns that the teachers weren't really seeing a big enough difference with his attention and focus in school even. He had his good weeks. But all three of his teachers would never guess he was on concerta to make a difference. Although I could see a big difference at home in regards for him to follow direction and be able to complete a chore or just get dressed. But he was still struggling a bit in group work. Also the fact he it kept him up til really late. He was just unable to "shut down". So the Dr. wants to try him on a different medication ( Vyvanase) Also give him a natural sleep aid at night to help him get to sleep easier. ( non addictive not a sedation med.)
We also talked about seeing a specialist and having him tested to really rule out some stuff and perhaps get some clearer answers as to what is really going on here.. Which actually makes me feel better. I just need to know for sure what we are doing.. And stop "fishing" and guessing.
Paul was unsure if this was necessary, But in truth I would rather have him tested and find Absolutely nothing out of the ordinary.. then constantly guessing with meds and how both I and his teachers need to work with him. Sure wish I new the medical terms she was using.. but I don't remember. But she brought up a few things it could be that could be causing him to struggle. She brought up maybe his IQ might be too low.. I just started laughing... How about his IQ is too high. ( yes I know every parent thinks there kids are really smart..But trust me this boy is very very bright.)

I was proud of my aggressiveness with the doctor. But very happy to have Paul there to come up with questions and concerns. And challenge her idea's as well. Which is how we finally got to the specialist. I asked for a specific a time line as to when we should see the affects of the drug in full affect and should be noticing a difference.. two weeks.. FINE. But again.. the last dosage of Concerta I was happy with and could see a big difference. U It was the teachers who really couldn't( although they were somewhat iffy in their answers.) and that is where it counts for me.. if it's not helping him at school then it really what is the point ?

She explained what the difference with this Vyanse vs. Concerta.. but I can't remember. the jist was.. Concerta worked more with focus where Vyvanse is s'posed to cover a bit more ground. Attention span, focus and and couple other things in this same catagory. She thinks it might be more helpful with school activity( groups work etc.) Crossing my fingers and hoping we found it. But looking forward to having him tested and seeing what the specialist says. It will just be nice to know SOMETHING as to what we are dealing with.. I don't care if he confirms it really is ADD . At least it's for sure. Not the well... he fits the catagory. And if it's something else.. FINE at least we know. And can learn what to do for him to help him. And perhaps the specialist can give teacher note as to what they need to do for him there too.( like his own personal aid.. smaller groups I can probably enforce that better with a dr. note right?)

Side note.. Have I mentioned how funny this kid is? I wish he was louder and easier to understand so other people could appreciate his humor! He is my wittyest kid! We ran a few errands Sat and Paul was ranting about some stupid driver.. and was still ranting when we parked the car.. Ethan got out of his seat and started patting paul on the chest.. and kept saying "hey, dad... Hey, dad" it took Paul a min to hear him and pay attention. .after he replied "what" Ethan grabbed his face and said" just breathe man!" All with a glint in his eye. Paul cracked up and laughed all the way into the store. Most kids after getting a funny reaction will keep trying to do it over and over again.. But Ethan just laughed too and got out of the car and was on his next thing. The other two kids are the only ones who don't find him funny. but that is usually because Ethan uses them as the BUTT of his jokes and teasing.( sigh), hopefully when they get older they can appreciate his wit instead of crying and getting mad all the time.

Is it wrong to laugh even when his teasing wasn't kind and involved my other off spring? I try to encourage kind words and thoughts.. But funny is funny.

catch up

2009-02-19T06:58:00.002-06:00

This last week and a half everyone in house got sick. And wouldn't you just go figure it was just when I thought to myself: "wowI think we are going to get out of this season with out anyone puke'n! sweet!" I didn't even think it out loud! but apperantly just thinking it was enough for that stupid bug to turn around and bite us right on the .. well you know.
But in truth it didn't bite us as hard as it usually does. So we all took our turns expierencing the joys of just a touch of the flu or stomache bug.
Jameson and I finished it off at the then end of the week. And I had to cancel plans on fri for a little V-day party some our friends were having. ( go figure)
On V-day Paul and I were s'posed to go out. I woke up feeling better, but still not wanting to do anything especially eat. I was determined to go out anyway. Luckily by the evening time I was feeling a bit better and even managed eat a bit. ( yet ever so cautiously) We FINALLY went and saw Twilight which was at the dollar.. I'll keep my reviews to myself... And just put it this way... I would have been pissed to pay full price for that movie. But Paul thought it was alright.
I probably would have liked it more if I didn't read the books ( doesn't that go for any book made into a movie?) And if people didn't get so obsessed over the dumb thing, I just choose not to be associated with twilight fanatics.
And that is all the time I will allow for twighlight.
So while our date wasn't romantic and I doubt I made for very good company. It was nice to get out. We didn't do anything for each other. Usually we will do a small gift and most of the time I get flowers. But I don't think either of us were really into v-day all that much and didn't feel well enough to care . Which is just fine with me.
The kids had a great time at there v-day parties. Jameson was upset I didn't make my sugar cookie hearts for V-day. And sent store bought instead. It was flattering for him to prefer mine over store bought sugar frosting cookies... But I just wasn't up for it.
I'm not going to lie.. it was a pretty low key V-day.. And I'm okay with that.

I must be in bloggers funk. I just haven't had much desire to blog about.. well.. nothing.

Kid theory on recipe's

2009-02-05T08:26:00.004-06:00

Jameson has been watching me make all his favorite foods. such as Ramen and scrambled eggs.( not kidding he loves these two "meals" and would eat it everyday.) While sitting at the table He informed me that he knows the recipe for Ramen.
Smiling, I asked what that is.
His reply:
"first put some water in a pan
then boil it
then break the noodles in half( I break the noodles so they don't take for ever to wrap around the fork)
poke em with a fork until they let go of each other.
put the sauce in it and stir it."

I said that was pretty dead on "recipe" but informed him he was not allowed to try to make it till he is just a bit older. ( how old do kids have to be to use a stove? I'm freaked out by letting them try this.)

Yesterday he was looking for an after school snack and found the eggs at which he asked what is the "Recipe" for scrambled eggs.
When I looked at him with question and informed him we weren't making scrambled eggs for snack..
He understood that. But started giving me his best guess as to how to "make" them
which was: "crack some eggs. put in some milk... mom, does the milk go in before the eggs or after the eggs?"...... and then keep scrapping them till there lumpy."
I laughed. I wanted to know why he need to know this right now.
He said," I need the recipe so when I get old, I can make it by myself."

Well at least his willing to learn to cook... I should probably find something he can"make" in the microwave since for right now the stove is out of the question.

ode to the poop pipe.

2009-02-02T10:42:00.005-06:00

Well what a fantastic weekend we have had at the good ol' Irwin home!
I can't begin to describe to you the feelings that is felt as you just flush the toilet and have the opportunity to re-live what just went down coming through your bath tub. To hear. the "glub-glub-glub" as it makes it's encore appearance in the tub.
Nor can express the amount of awed surprise we had when it started "raining pooh water" in our basement right underneath the toliet after someone flushed the toilet or ran the tub to rid it of it's ghastly nastiness.
So we tried to grab the crap by its horns.. We bough 2 different augers.And Lye. And pulled off piped to the sink. Pulled the toilet off and tried to auger the water down ( all pipes were full!) No matter what we did nothing worked..
Bless my hubby's heart.. He just isn't analytical and not good with mechanical stuff. I can work & narrow down the problem so much faster then he can.. He still was stuck on a clog in the toilet. ( we will refer to that as Step A ) And I had already decided it indeed was not that and must be a Huge clog in the main pipe below where the tub,toilet sink pipe is connected .( from here on out will be refereed to step." aww shit!") But of Course my hubby must make sure it is indeed not step A or B Or C. by auguring out every single pipe in the bathroom. Once he came to realization that his wife knew what she was talking about the WHOLE time. We( he) decided to forget a,b&c go take a look at Step."A.S".
At this point I have fully taken over since I know I'm on the right track. And my hubby is trying to tell me it's a water valve and not a pipe.. ( ... really he just needs to stick to his books.) I decided to open the back up pipe ( or whatever it's called.) SLOWLY
Now, I am not retarded. I know that is a really big opening. And if it's clogged where I think it's clogged. I am going to get hosed by pooh water. So I slowly start to loosen the cap on it and a bit of water starts to trickle out.. bit by bit till I have a steady stream flowing down right?..
Well.. It seemed to let up and I thought we should be about drained out.. So I loosened it a lot more and a huge amount of pressurized pooh water flew out and HOSED ME DOWN!
I am now covered in sewage.. not like junks of pooh flying at my head... but broken down 6 weeks old.. Pooh water even evidence of t.p. I guess I should be glad I didn't bend my head down to see what I was doing or I would have gotten it right in the face. I was so pissed. And incredibly grossed out.
If anyone knows me I am incredibly poop sensitive. I gag really hard at the smell ,sight and especially bad if I had to remove it from anything. I don't poop scoop for this reason. And when I do kids diapers I hold my breath and look away.
It stunk so bad! and I was Covered in pooh water!! But I hung in like a champ. ( I certainly wasn't going to let go of the cap on the pipe now was I?)
Paul dared laugh. I might have said a few choice words in response.
Anywhoo after it was positively with out a doubt all drained out. I put Paul in charge of trying to auger the main sewer line. And yes that was just plain nasty and I gagged so hard I left the room. Well after our best attempt to clear the line. We put ever thing back together. And since Paul and I stunk to high heaven we hoped we cleared it enough that the water would flush the rest away. So we Scrubbed out the tub and jumped in the shower a WELL needed shower. It didn't take long to see the tub back up again ( I didn't care. I wasn't getting out till I had soaped down 3 times!) It was the fasted shower I ever took. But it didn't matter. By the time we got out. it was seeping out of the basin of the toilet and RAINING downstairs again.. Didn't I just get done Lysol/bleaching the floors and wall? So I guess our auguring didn't work. But I am NOT opening that drain pipe again. I'm paying the plumber! Until then we make trips up to the gas station or whatever store we are in to do our business. Paul has to plug the tub just to get a shower for work. and then empty out the bucket after words. Such a huge pain.
I think I am permanently traumatized.And should probably by stock in Lysol and bleach for how much I bought these last couple days.
I can't even begin to explain to you the mess I have endured. Next time I will Let Paul dwell on all the steps until he gets to what the actual problem is.. I am not helping again!

Turns out we had roots in the pipes. And only a true plumbers auger could get through. My basement now smells terrible and again I am going to stock up on bleach and lysol. And Contemplaing using straight up bleach on the pipes and floor.. It was disgusting!

To quote a classic. N.L. christmas Vacation,

In the wisdom of Eddie:

"Merry Christmas ... Shitters full!"

The haps.

2009-01-26T09:49:00.003-06:00

Well this last couple weeks. We have had the opportunity to freeze our butts off. With Sub-Zero tempetures. Day in and Day out. Of course some days our far worse then other and a 5 degree day feels semi warm compared to the -15 the day before. And as I said before and I'll say again. Humid winters are far worse then dry winters. FAR WORSE!
Kids have stayed home from school since the temperatures dip so low. And I survived a very long week end being snowed in and freeze out with the kids! I can officially say I am sick of cold weather and winter.

Jameson has decided to start Karate. He has gone to few classes thus far and seems to enjoy it! He comes home and practices so he can understand it more. I think tho' that he was expecting more action and WAACHA"S I don't think he was ready to just do smaller exercise and work on focus etc. So we will see what he thinks at the end of the 7 week period. If he wants to keep going great. If not then I guess he'll choose something else. My guess it will come down to tumbling or basketball.

Ethan has started Tumbling. More by my choice then his. I gave him his choices, I did. But everything I suggested he didn't want to do and constant reply was:" I don't know how" SO I just gave up trying to give him the choice and thought for motor skills and balance and control of body tumbling was perfect. He complained he didn't want to do it. Til he got there as soon as they got started the Ethan surge of excitements went into full force. And he said it was fun. I really think this is was the right choice for him. It is very very basic tumbling. And that is okay since he struggles with it. The other moms and I were sitting in on first day and were cracking up at him . Every time the instructor asked if they took tumbling before to raise hands. and Ethan would raise his hand. ( I would whisper ..NO! first time.) Any time the teacher asked who knew how to do something. Ethan would raise his hands and get really excited. The last one was a how to make a bridge ( back bend) He raised his hand and when asked to describe he shrugged he shoulders. Then she asked him to show the class. He laid on his belly and put his hands out super man style. Then she tried to show him and use him as an example. . .
At this point the other moms and I were cracking up at him.. He was so obsessed with watching him self in the big mirrors. He couldn't follow her directions to save him. So she flipped him on his back and told him to put his arm back and arch.. well.. he put his arms back... took his feet off the floor, then his hands and had the teacher support all his weight on with her hand on his back.. Of course he thinks this is all just fun! I felt bad for the instructor.. but it was just funny! He is the only boy in there.. But as I explained half laughing to the other moms.. as he struggled to do all the tricks that this was EXACTLY why we were doing tumbling and not soccer. He just isn't ready for any sort of ball action. Even against the girls in the 5-6 age group he is soo scrawny! Once he figured out the what the bridge was exactly.. he gave it best effort. His arms just aren't strong enough to push himself up.
But he had a ball! And I really think this will help him a lot.

Zoey isn't signed up for anything right now. But she is so determined to be apart of everything I MIGHT look into tumbling or ballet for her for the summer. But once she starts pre-school that will be it for awhile since it is so expensive. It was hard to explain to her that she couldn't go sit by Ethan and do what he does. The same as when we watched Jameson. She just wants to be a part of everything. And I'm sure it looks fun to her too. So I guess I better see if I can squeeze her in to something not too expensive.

I wish I had pictures of the boys in action But in Karate it's just plain inappropriate . And in tumbling I would just feel like I was distracting everyone. So I have to with hold til I get permission or before or after shots.

Other then that. Life has gone back to the norm. Paul working. Me doing the mom thing. And kids doing the kid thing. I do have a new house project starting up but think I will just post pictures as to what it is when it's done.

Good-bye butterflies.. Hello Fireflies!

2009-01-17T20:33:00.006-06:00

This last week Paul and I celebrated our 9 yr anniversary! We did it pretty low key but it was fun one none the less.
Our Anniversary was on the 13th which was a Tues. We thought it would be easier to get away for a night come the weekend.
Come Tues which was our actual anniversary I realized that the kids didn't have school for some reason. I said something to Paul about it.And did it with a small plea not to leave me.
Paul surprised me on our anniversary by Leaving work early and bringing me 18 red roses a few red balloons. And a cute little card expressing his love and happiness with me. All of was very sweet and thoughtful.
I felt terrible since we agreed we wouldn't be doing anything for each other. ( We had decided to do a bigger purchase earlier that week and called it our anniversary present.) I had no idea he would be coming home early or with gift. I felt bad I had nothing for him.

We spent the day enjoying each other company and running errands. That evening we ordered take out that was positively terrible!! But at least it ended on a good note of some yummy V.B cheesecake for TGIF"S
Paul and I have a thing we do every anniversary ( NO, not THAT! well.. yes that.. but that is NOT what I 'm talking about.)
We do a remember when... back to our high school dating years.. to our first years of marital bliss. funny moments and even remember our first fights and how dumb they seem now.And who was being the most ridiculous in them.
Then we seem to do a quick survey to make sure each of us is still happy in the marriage and with each other. Turns out he still thinks I'm hot. He still loves me. And he still likes me for company. I of course feel the same way.
He always checks to see if I still get " Firefly's"...

okay side story as to WHY the joke of the firefly's..
Once during a long car ride, I had been reading a romantic novel( not the dirty kind!) And brought up the subject of how I sometimes miss the feelings of butterflies and new relationship romance Stuff.. Paul CLEARLY not listening to me and only picking up the phrase of missing butterfly's...Looked at me with a great amount of puzzlement and asked: "What? Fireflies aren't doing it for you?" I thought he was just being a smart A. And do what most girls do when they are irritated with their better half.. and whacked him on the arm and gave the evil glare...
He didn't understand this since he thought I was actually talking about REAL butterflies.
Once he caught up on the real subject and what I had meant. He laughed at both his witty remark& costly mistake.. since I was still glaring and shaking my head.
And now the joke is .. I may no longer get "butterflies".. but by darn at least there will be" fireflies".
" what, fireflies aren't doing it for you?". . . . . SIGH. . . . This is what I get for reading a stupid romance novel. And trying to express romantic connotations to the opposite gender.

Of course when he jokes with me about fireflies. it is guaranteed to come with a scowl and and eye roll from me. And of course he thinks it is just hilarious.

All and All.. fireflies or not... It has been a good run so far.

Happy 9 yr Anniversary!

Happy Birthday to me!

2009-01-07T12:27:00.006-06:00

Well...
It happened.. the dreaded number that has been haunting me since I turned 29 last year. Had finally come. And Paul had a joyous time teasing me that I was "officially" old.
We started the celebration early with a date night Sat. I think that was the first night Paul and I actually went out by ourselves since well.. wow, I can't remember.
He took me out to dinner at T.G.I.F's. which is becoming my favorite spot.
And then took me shoe shopping after...I was hunting for a new pair of running shoes. And he knows the process this is. I have an Asics on one foot A saucony on the other and I am jogging up and down the shoe aisle and around the store.. I stand on each foot and do a few other things to get the feel of the shoe.. I take off the one I like least and try on a different shoe.. could be a new balance or just a different shoe same brands.. and repeat process. Until I find the ones I like best and gives me the comfort and support I need.. Of course this takes a bit.. And Paul laughs at all my required tests.. yes I get funny looks, But I don't care.. If you look at me funny, it just tells me you don't know how to by a good pair of running shoes, so who's the idiot now huh?
I stick to my tried and true Asics and hope they can give some relief to my sensitive feet. ( I have retarded feet, and I blame Pepperidge farm for it.. too many years standing for over 8 hours on cement floors. tack on a few pregnancies... I think they are permanently damaged.)
Paul was patient and kept me and him laughing at my fool making ways.
It was nice to get out!
On My Actual Birthday, I expected it to pretty quite and normal since we went out earlier..
It started out with Telling Zoey it was my birthday, She quickly responded that it was NOT my birthday, But HER birthday.. I quickly told her again it was MY birthday.. and was trying to get her to wish me Happy Birthday... Instead she just broke out into a full fledged fit, of how it is HER birthday.. and I'm not her friend.. she threw herself on the bed and cried... I couldn't believe it.. I was regretful of even bringing it up.. And then decided since it was my birthday I didn't have to listen or deal with her fit and went downstairs.. Lucky for her my Sis called to wish me a Happy birthday and talked to Zoey and convinced her to color me a pretty birthday card and have birthday cake.. Thanks Heidi! I was wondering if Child services was going to end up being my birthday present..
I got a surprise bouquet of flowers from our super good friends in Fl. And as always a good chuckle from the card attached.. Game on Brent Craig... Game on. ( Katie.. your off the hook, I know you've done the best the you can with him..)
Since Paul was beat with flowers, He decided on a thing of balloons and taking the rest of the day off to hang with me. (I was happily surpised at both.)He then gathered the kids to give my presents.. on Jameson's assistance I was given two 24 pack of Dew. ( good job j-man!) I love that... And a cute note. with my name and my NEW age in a big balloon with everyone elses name and age in much smaller balloons.
They all handed me my wrapped present witch was a Wii Fit. I was surprised and excited, Since I actually wanted this and didn't think I was going to get it. At this point the kids were all into my birthday.. I got a Million and half "Happy Birthday mom's" from each kid ALL night long.. it was soo cute.
Other gifts that came coming all night were:
A box of half used wipee's with a christmas bow on top - from Zoey
A leather watch band that fits my interchangeable watch( looks a lot like the one I had in my top drawer.) - From Ethan ( he even wrapped in wrapping paper.)
lots of pictures drawings of various Pokemon characters - from Jameson
An asics shoe box with shoe paper in it - from Zoey
A doll wrapped in a blanket -from Zoey.
Balloons that looked a lot like the balloons Paul gave me... from Zoey, then Ethan.

It cracked me up!!!

That night we played with the wii fit and had Arby's for dinner. Paul even threw a cake together for me. at 8 p.m at night. made it himself frosting and all and even did the candles. ( Ethan's insistance.. it's not your birthday to him unless you've blown out the candles.. he was also concerned with the lack of party hats.) Of course their were cracks of burning down the house , setting of smoke alarms. blah blah blah.( No judgements on my lack of make-up etc and retarded hair.. It was 8:30 p.m and we had been chilling basically all day!)
I just thought it was cute.. I don't care for cake, but the kids and Paul loved it.

I had a good birthday.. Paul did a great job making it a fun birthday with suprises and just being cute about it. Thanks for making it a good birthday babe~

Oh, Must tell another Jameson moment..
When Paul was teasing me about getting OLD. Jameson piped in and informed me that now that I'm 30 , I'm just old and slow and soon my teeth were going to fall out. ( really he was just talking about females in general.) But Guys don't get old.. they just get bigger muscles. ( like daddy did... ha ha ha) He then informed me guys get older better then girls do..... . At this point my eyebrow is cocked and I'm smiling.. Paul advised him to just stop talking... and run away. Paul was doing all he could to stifle his laugh, he then flexed his"guns" and ran downstairs.. Where does my son get this stuff?!

A big thank you for everyone who made my birthday great!! Thank-you for all the phone calls, cards and f.b well wishing!!
Here is to the big 3-0! ( GULP!)

Dear : End of the year

2008-12-31T08:36:00.006-06:00

Dear House,

I don't really like you.. I don't really get you. and personally think you are way to much work then you are actually worth.. But I beg of you. to just stop being such PAIN ! Yes, we made a mistake when we bought you.. lets bygones be bygones. your stuck with me.. I'm stuck with you.. how bout we play nice. and let me play catch up on all your flaws. Before you show me a new one. I just want to portray the potential you had at the beginning. Back off me or I swear I light the match and put you out of your misery.

Owner

Dear Computer

You and I have been somewhat attached as of late. And while I think about breaking up with you from time to time. I must admit I cannot live with out you. You are my window to the outside world. And I am completely addicted. But soon or later I am going to have to take a break & see real people. Until then keep luring my back and showing me all your wonders. I love it.

hopelessly addicted.

The lady who fondles your mouse.

Dear DAM Van

Well, we made it another year of repairs. And you are still hang'n in there. Are you running out of things for me to repair yet? No? Damn. Well the good news is you are basically paid off. So if you don't think I care now.. just wait. I deem you now expendable.. Be good, behave.. And I might keep you out of the scrap yard. Hey, I might even replace the scotch tape on the tail light for some real glue! Let's be friends.. for your sake.
Dam Van's can't live with em.. can't live with out em

GGGRRR. . .. Stace

Dear Mr. Obama

Well, you did it. And this new year you will be officially in charge. I'm going to go out on a limb here and give you some positive support. You got a big big big mess to clean up, and I certainly don't envy you.. I expect you to make mistakes.. it happens.. but just don't make it a habit okay.You are working with a pretty thread bare constitution.. I hope you can do something to patch it up or something. Good luck, God bless you. Please be awesome. Like super hero awesome! No pressure... okay.. there's pressure... lots and lots of pressure... Lets be honest,we'll be watching you like hawks.

Be a good president or we'll boot your butt to the curb!

Fellow American

Dear Vedah,

I so love you.. you fat dog.. But know that you will forever be my fat dog. Thanks for being such a good girl. I just have a few things I would like for you to work on.. Please for the love of all that is holy stop going nuts and making such a ruckus over the mailman... you scare him and one of these days he is going to pepper spray your A.. I don't really want that to happen.. It's hard to convince him that you really are a sweetie. when you hair is raised and your are barking your head off at him.. Work with me here and I'll give you 2 pieces of Junk mail to shred. Oh, Stop barking like a mad dog at people who have more color then we do. .are you racist?! And if you could just poop in the corner of the yard I would appreciate that too. Also, I understand the need to chew and while you have done tons better.. do we really need to destroy the plastic cups... stuffed animals..... and crayons and pencils?... . . If you really need to, could you please clean it up after your done?
Thanks for not peeing in the house. And being such a sweetie.
Consider yourself part of the family.. No matter what Jameson's says.

We love ya!'

The lady who feeds ,bathes, rubs your fat belly.

Dear Paul.

You made it through your very last semester EVER!! What in the world will you do with all the extra time? ( Don't worry.. I have idea's) You have been really great and amazing in ways that I never could be. You have worked wonders in the finance department and I must give you mad props! Everybody could learn a lesson or two from you about budgeting and finances. No matter how much grief I give you... you've been great. Now, I know they're will be some adjustments now that you will be home before 11 p.m. Feel free to step up and in with helping the kids.. don't be shy. Stay out of my kitchen! I know what I'm doing.. I do not need comments from the peanut gallery. Please don't come bother me just because your bored and don't know what to do with yourself. Feel free to go after that raise/promotion/ when ever your ready.( I'm here for you big boy!) I'm still madly in love with you.And freaking proud of you! So glad your my best friend.. Here is to the next step! I hope this year brings lots of good things for you and all your hard work.

love, your hotty wife.

Kawika

Yay!! ALL your teeth came in!!!! ( you can thank my genes for that .. who pulled thru for you huh?!!!) waiting those 6 mo was just torture wasn't it I was think'n they were MIA!! You've been a great kid. and have really started to shine in school. I'm so proud of you.
A few reminders.. You can't be the best at everything all the time. feel free to let someone else be cool just for a moment. Good work = hard work. Effort is everything ,you can't be naturally gifted in all departments. Even super hero's work hard. Soon as you figure that out. The world is your oyster. You could succeed at anything. Weather it be .. Athletic.. Educational...Creativity... You are just so naturally well rounded & gifted. And such a good kid. Thanks for helping me out so much and being a good big brother to the others.. You have been great with Zoey.. .Try not to give Ethan such a hard time, I know it's only natural.. but still... and for the love of Pete CALM DOWN and try to control some of that never ending energy of yours. Now come here and let me see your kissing spot. I Love that big heart of yours.

Love you till your completely embarrassed.

Mom

P.S. Stop hitting on all the girls . . .

O'tea

You smart little stink. This year has been a crazy one. And you've taken it like a champ! I am super proud of you. Keeping pushing yourself!!! Now, You are perfectly capable of doing big boy chores.. "I can't do it." Doesn't work on me. Gett'er done! You sense of humor is the best. Your wit saves you a lot from getting in trouble. However, the glint in your eye tells me alot of what really happened. Your quite little self isn't fooling me. So please for the love of Pete, quit TEASING everyone!!!! Especially your sister. (All the cracks you make under your breath still count as teasing!) You get the snot beat out of you almost daily between Jameson and Zoey...I know you think it's worth it.. Well, you are tougher then you let on that is for sure.
You are by far the easiest kid to handle, thanks for not being crazy all the time. You can come to the store with me anytime you are so well behaved. Thanks for make'n me laugh.. even when I'm supposed to be mad. Now Go show the world what your all about!
lots of love

Mom

P.S. Come here .. I got a secret for you.. . . .

Mahelani

Zoey,Zoey,Zoey, You and I have been quite buddy buddy this year. You have grown up so much. And I am quickly realizing how big you have gotten... I will keep my wails of how I no longer have a baby, under control I promise.
You have been quite a bit of fun and are quite silly. You crack me up with your sass and thinking you are as big as everyone else. I love how you LOVE to help me in all the baking and cleaning.
I know it makes your feel all big. Ya cute little stink.
I dare say we have gotten past MOST of the tantrum stage.. and for this can I just say THANK-YOU!!!
You have finally finished up being potty trained, ( knock on wood.) another big milestone. I can't believe how stubborn you were about that. But it HAD to be your idea... why I thought this was going to be different then anything else. . .
Couple things. . .Stop screaming every time Ethan looks at your wrong or makes you mad.
And please Use your INDOOR voice. I promise I can hear you just fine. Really.
Also. you really need to learn the meaning of personal space you don't have to be in my face all the time. I'm just ask'n for 2 in of breathing room here. Oh.. and stop mimicking me every time I put a hand on my hip and make a "I'm not play'n" face.. it takes away my point!
You really are a sweetheart, who tries to make me happy. And you do. I'm proud of you. I love ya baby girl! ( sorry, you're not a baby.)

I "luby" you!

Mom

Dear: End of the year,

Holy Crap you went so fast this year!
Lots of crazy stuff has gone on! Crazy stuff!
Economy falling, Gas prices raising to past$4.00 then falling sharply to $1.50 ( not complaining there.) Wall street.. having to be bailed out by the government.. now along with the Auto industry, just to name a few of the biggies.
But in truth this has been a pretty good year for our family.
I was able to stay home.. can I just tell you what a leap of faith that was! I'm still looking back at that jump and wondering how we made that! But it worked out. And for that I'm grateful.
Paul finished all of his schooling.. another thing I swear would never happen.
All my kids are healthy and happy. No massive crises there.
So I don't have really any complaints this year, In fact I feel a great amount of gratitude for how blessed we really were.
So here is to you 08 for all the new things that happened both good and bad. You will definitely be going down in history for all the stuff that has happened to you in your year. But for me and my family we will have no complaints.

The Irwin family

( I wish I could take credit for this letter idea.. I'm just not that cool. I think I saw this on Jessica's blog awhile ago and thought it was great way to round up the year. copying is the best form a flattery right?)

Christmas was a fun &Santa was kind.

2008-12-27T17:11:00.005-06:00

Christmas was a success. It was a fun Mo. We had fun doing all the prep work and treat making. The kids were so excited for every step. And even on Christmas Eve they came in my room EARLY to let me know it was Christmas eve.

The kids did well Christmas eve.. yes, they were bouncing off the wall but I would be more worried and disappointed if they weren't. Surprisingly they went to sleep faster then expected which I appreciated very much.
Jameson woke up at 4 a.m. and came to get me to tell me he thinks for sure Santa had come cause he saw reindeer tracks out in the snow. ( well we did throw reindeer food out in the snow. it was too freak'n cold and windy to go all the way out to get it on the roof!) I was worried he would mosey on out to the front room so I pulled him into to our room, after restlessly toss and turn. I kicked him out and told him to get read in his room for at least another hour or so and I will come get him then.
(Santa didn't finish up putting together gifts until 1:30 a.m.)
Come 7:30 a.m I woke up and was surprised I was allowed to sleep that late. So we got up and got the kids. ( what's wrong with this picture here?)
All the kids were so excited, they hit their piles first. and we opened gifts soon after. Paul did a great job handing out presents.. He made Christmas morning last as long as he could.. opening present one by one and teasing the kids with a big long ..TTTOOOOO....??? and all the kids would tremble with excitement and point to themselves and inch their way closer to him.. Zoey kept saying "POr Zoey"!..... Ethan would throw his name in as soon as the word "To"was off Paul's lips and then if Paul confirmed it was for him he would do the Ethan Surge of excitement!! They all did really well waiting their turn the best they could.
They were excited for all the gifts weather it was for them or not.
Jameson kept saying We must have been really good if Santa brought us all this!!!!
Of course I had Mt. Dew in my stocking which made Jameson happy. ( heck. made me happy too!)
The whole family agreed it was a very good Christmas. And they all had fun with their new found treasures.

Unfortunately, I didn't feel all that hot so my desire to have tons of fun doing whatever they wanted to do was hard to keep going.. . but we managed and snuck a few new movies in when I needed to lay down. ( Movies are another tradition.. one to each person.)

I realized this Christmas season just how blessed we really are. And thank-full that we have been able to make Christmas such a fun time for everyone. The kids were so cute to remember that we were celebrating Christ birth even amidst all there new presents.
till next year.

" It's not a lie ... IF you believe it"

2008-12-19T07:44:00.004-06:00

This year has been lots of fun with the kids. All the excitement and inpatients for Christmas to come reminds me so much how I felt. That even I am excited for Christmas to come. I'm excited because their excited! And believe me they are very very excited.
I've had so much fun watching the kids learn about the spirit of giving . And letting them earn money to buy gifts for each other. And while it has taken a bit to let go of the hard earned money to buy SOMEONE else a gift.. After they had their turns to wrap the gifts. And see them get so excited for that person.. It was worth the melt downs.. the million question, manipulations. etc.etc.etc.

I' m must admit I'm still trying be consistent with legends of Santa Clause and all his wonder.. It is turning out harder then it should be. Simply because Jameson is just too sharp and is always questioning things. He catches everything! Both he and Ethan remember everything they see and hear.
So here are something I learned and need to improve for next year:

1- I must be come a much better liar and consistent one at that. ( I need flow here.)
2- I must be able to lie on the spot and remember it for next year.
3- I must learn to listen for quite little boys who sneak down the stairs with barely a whisper. And reasons as to why the closet is full of toys and presents.... and why it isn't for them...
4-I must learn to verify the kids are sound a sleep before taking inventory of what is in the SANTA closet.
5- Watching all the Christmas movies Is NOT a good idea.. considering Santa Claus is often a fake or a bad guy and they talk about not believing in Santa clause and how he isn't real...
6-Most of the Santa clause movies do not coincide with what we told them about Santa clause. Which therefore requires a lot of explaining and answering a million questions
7- when buying for your husband online.. Remember not to use his account or card since they send email alerts directly to his blackberry. and this is done IMMEDIATELY! Which results in a call asking what I bought that cost X amount of money....
8- Never tell your husband it's none of his business and stay out and off his email and out of the bank account till after Christmas.... it just gives you away.
9- having a banker and accountant as a spouse isn't fun... you can't pull anything off & they track your every move. which makes it impossible to pull off a surprise.
10- I decided reindeer food isn't a good idea after all, since my 7 year old doesn't think throwing it up on the roof will help the reindeer at all, and thinks it would be better if we got a ladder out and put the food in the bowl on the roof.. since that is the way reindeer eat. He keeps insisting .. there is no way the reindeer are going to be able to Eat the food if it's scattered all over the place.. SIGH I told him they do it all the time and in no way am I getting on the roof. Ruldoph and his friends will just have to work it out.

Lying and covering is exhausting.. even if it is for the greater good..
ANd I'm not very good at it.

Finding the missing teeth

2008-12-16T23:22:00.001-06:00

Okay. .. .
I know this doesn't matter But I have to blog about it. So it is in the family records. ( Paul isn't going to be happy about this.) But it's for posterity reasons! ( wink wink)
First let's get the genetic history. Paul does not have great teeth.. in the sense that he was missing 4 of his adult teeth.( This credit goes to his Father side of the family. ) his two Lower centrals. and his pair of Laterals.( two teeth on each side of your front teeth.) They just didn't come in.
I knew about his teeth before we were married ( He wears retainers that have the teeth on them) although he never would take them out for me to see.. Not once in my 5 yrs of dating him. But I knew. about the top two.( plus I could feel his retainer when I was giving him some tongue action!)
However , I didn't know about the bottom two. Until our Honeymoon night.. we were both in the bathroom brushing our teeth and getting ready go to bed. ( Hey even honeymooners get tired and sleep, even if it is just for an hour or two.) and out pops the first retainer.
"Okay" I thought .. No big deal.. I started firing of the questions about them.
Then he pops out the second set.... I just stared at him...wondering if there was anything else he was going to be take'n out or off for that matter... I mean, is he going to start popp'n out a glass eye too? So me being me said:. . . what the,!!. . . YOU didn't tell me about that?!... Is there anything else I should be aware of ? He laughed, I laughed .. and of course I started firing off questions on that subject... Is it a big deal . . . nope .. I just was surprised that's all...
So like I said it runs in the family.. he and his sister share this trait. But Paul is missing the most.
However now that we have kids that are starting to lose Teeth.. okay Jameson is the only one this far.. But Ethan should be starting soon..
Jameson has lost teeth left and right since the first week of Kindergarten. . . .

(Okay I have to side track to when he tried to dupe the toothfairy,)
He lost his first tooth.. I told him to put it under the pillow ( in a bag of course.) well come bed time he couldn't find it.. very first tooth and it was lost... he cried.. SO I said write the T.F a note and tell her & when you find it you will be sure to put it under the pillow.. He did.. I reassured him I would leave a note too...
Well the tooth fairy is a softy and left money anyway One whole dollar. ( the tooth fairy likes him better then she did me , I only got a quarter.)
Well the next day or so.He found the tooth and put it under the pillow.. the tooth fairy left an extra quarter just so he knew that she got the tooth and appreciated his honesty.
Well soon after out comes the next tooth, he's was so excited. He put the tooth in a bag. but not under his pillow. I asked where his tooth was.. he said it was in a drawer. I told him to go put it under the pillow. He didn't want to. When asked why, his reply was :"So I can get extra money."
( I had to hold a real straight face here.) We then talked about how we don't dupe the toothfairy. Because she is just too smart for that and she just won't leave anything at all..
He got a real thoughtful look on his face as this all registered then he said he wanted to write an "I'm sorry" note to her..
I said that was a very good idea.
A 5 yr old Dupe'n the toothfairy!!! what has the world come to??
Okay back to point. . . .
Everything was coming in fine.. he has my rabbit teeth. poor kid. But hey, at least they were all there.. Well he just lost his R & L Laterals. ( and since he was greedy for more money he really pushed these baby's to come out.. probably a couple days to soon.) He lost both the same day.
But nothing was coming in.. nothing. we waited and waited. and there was nothing. He lost these before the first day of school, well before... so needless to say my hope for them to come in was diminishing especially given the genetics. I told Paul to start a savings account cause dang, this is going to be expensive!
Well last night..... he came out of his bed to show me that a tooth was indeed poke'n thru. Why it took well over 3mo for one and4-5 mo. for the second to show up is beyond me. ( since most of his teeth were coming in maybe a week or two after. ) But hey, I'm glad he's got em!!! maybe my genetics have trumped Pauls! 'woooo! I was so relieved!
One down, two to go!!!
I really hope my teeth factor play in for all the kids. I would like to kick the Irwin teeth genetics to the curb!!!

No more school!

2008-12-13T20:33:00.004-06:00

Paul finished up his very last semester this last Wednesday. And can I just say YAY!!! ( I'm doing a little shimmy n shake at this very moment.) I am so glad to be done. done. done!!!!

I must give him mad props for buckling down and getting it done. I know it wasn't ever easy for him But he hung in like a champ and did really well actually. I'm so freak'n proud of him and for all the hard work he has done both for school and work. He amazes me!

We are both so glad for him to be done and I'm so glad to have him back at home. No more solo parent duty for me!!! yay!

This week has had lots of happenings. Jameson had his Christmas program and did really well in. It wasn't long ( who complains about that ?) I wish I had gotten down closer to take a few shots but after being extremely annoyed with other parents who blocked my shot,( and I'm sure other good parents who stayed in there seats.) I'm glad not to be one of them.

( notice the lady in red.. who stood there and recorded it all!)

Friday was the ward party where we were "by the wayed" all primary children will be singing Christmas songs on the stage. followed by "by the way" so will the whole ward... just watch the Chorister.. she is the only one who knows what's going on. I won't get started.. I won't get started. It was okay. the kids did there best. Good thing us teachers went up for crowd control and "voice support" tho'

Sat - South bend puts on a community festive for the kids. they can see Santa clause.. with a bring your own camera. which is fine with me. They get to get a piece of South bend Chocolate Co.( good chocolate.) And then go decorate a cookie at the College Football Hall O fame. and color a pic. The kids always have so much fun and we do too. Zoey was willing to talk to Santa this year which was cute. And Jameson had a few things to list off ( some I never heard of till tonight.) Ethan answer has been cosistant enough ,yup.. a bakugon.

Jameson informed us he was going to tell his friend who thinks Santa is fake. that HE saw Santa Clause with his own eyes tonight. I'm sure that'll fix his friend.

With Paul here I was able to knock out Grocery shopping and let the kids shop for each other with one trip ( I grocery shopped on one side. Paul took a kid one by one to pick out present for the others.) It was so fabulous. 2 birds ONE stone baby.

He asked if it that was considered a smoothe shopping trip? I smiled and said yeah it went pretty good.. He raised his eye's and went oh.... I don't go shopping with the kids very often......so I have no idea if it was always like that . ( hello WALMART middle of Christmas season.... and the kids behaved pretty well.) He just isn't use to doing the 1.2.3 on the kids and answering all the questions.. and of course the reminders. But he was a really good sport and I think the kids had fun hanging out with dad.

I'm so proud of my hubby. I really am. He impresses me with his focus and dedication.( I wish I had that sort of focus.) He doesn't just skimp thru. He finishes with strong grades. And that takes a lot of hard work and study. I know how hard it is to stay focused with a family and a full time job. But he did it. And he rocks for it!! I'm so lucky to have such an honest hard working hubby!!! Good job Babe~ You did it!!! and we can officially say. We are sooooo done with school! YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!

my favorite Christmas ever.

2008-12-10T12:48:00.002-06:00

My favorite Christams ever.
Was probably when I was in 6 th grade. I had asked for a Cat for Christmas. ( my dad hates cats.. and refused to have them indoor's.... I knew what Iwas doing by asking for christmas.) But in truth I didn't really think it was going to happen. So I asked for a few different things.. But the main focus was the cat. ( I wasn't holding my breath.. but the trick is if they're going to ask .. ya gotta be consistant.)

Well, Come Christmas Morning as we were heading up the stairs a black little turtle calico kitty came pouncing over to the banister.. I was so excited and surprised! I knew instantly she was mine. She came with her own kitty condo and "kitty stuff." I was so so so so so so so excited.. I really don't remember what else was in the pile or stocking.. or presents. I was too busy with that cat. She was all mine.Everybody claimed to hate her.. yet they would try to steal her from my room and try to get her to snuggle in there bed with them.

I named her Tiki. And she was the best cat ever.. I had her till Jameson was about 1-2.
Now my dad did his best to be nice.... But, In the end she just learned to stay out of his way.( he growled at her everytime she entered the room.. made me so mad.)

I know my mom ( I mean Mrs.Clause.) dug her heals down to ensure that I got my cat. That and since my dad and Tav just got to dogs that fall... and my mom hates dogs.. the bargain was if they get those. then Stacey gets the cat. ( way to bargain mom.)

Best Christmas ever. ( If I ever get a scanner, I'll throw a photo up of my favorite cat.)

Memories of Christmas Traditions

2008-12-06T14:36:00.007-06:00

For record keeping purposes I thought I should give a few and hopefully my memory won't fail me and I will remember the details that count.

Christmas is the one holiday that BOTH my parents get into. My mom has sort of collected Santa's ( all of them pretty different.) over the years. and I think she has over 50 ( I might even be under estimating.) My dad had gotten her Crystal Nativity scene which is beautiful.( and I don't care for a lot of the nativity scene stuff.) Needless to say . . our Front room turns into a whole new magical room . And was always my favorite to be in come Christmas. ( It didn't have any question about the Christmas spirit.. for sure.) Now when we were younger.. we didn't have all the Santa's' and crystal stuff. But we still decked the place, (decorations everywhere.)

My dad would get so excited for Christmas..( I don't know if it was for us or he really does love the holiday.) If you know my father.. he doesn't get all gun ho on really anything. But he was always so fun around Christmas. He always played Christmas tunes on the piano and I would sing along. A memory I always will cherish.

When I was younger.. Traditions went something like this..

Tree decorating eve. ALL six kids would load whatever awful station wagon we had.. go pick out a tree ( before we got an artif. tree.) Sing the Christmas tunes there and back.( how big of pain that had to be.)

Dad would set the tree. Put the lights on. and the garland( we had to sit on our thumbs we were soo excited!) And then my mom and all the kids would hang up all the ornaments.( six excited children grabbing ornaments and putting them wherever.. eek.. she was so patient.) After My dad would play and we would all sing Christmas songs. Maybe have some eggnog.

For a couple of Christmas's when we were young . .Santa came to our house ( as well as Mrs. Clause and there cute little elf.) we would sit on his lap and get a bag of treats. That was always so cool.

We all bought for each other and the parents. ( none of this drawing names thing.) They would takes us in two or three's and we would pick a small present out. ( does anyone remember KINGS store.) All of those went under the tree. ( we couldn't stand not sitting there and looking at them.. finding ours. etc etc.) We were warned multiple times to get from under the tree.

We had a huge countdown Felt calendar tree. every day you snapped on a ornament.

Of course we did the night of handing out Neighborhood gifts. and your doorbell never stopped ringing.( I kind of miss doing that here.)

Come Christmas Eve. The house would be buzzing. My mom would make all sorts of treats and set them out. ( This we were never stopped as to what we could have or how much!!) We would open our P.J's and put them on. And watch the Christmas Carol and then sing songs at the piano. And off to bed we went. ( Cookies for Santa of course! And carrots for the reindeer.)

My dad would all taunt about weather Santa Coming or not etc,etc,. ( all this was done with a glint in his eye... such torture!) Of course the threat of a lump a coal was mentioned once or twice.

I didn't want to stay up all night... I just wanted the night to get over with! But of course it was next to impossible to sleep. Come Christmas morning. we were FORBIDDEN to go upstairs for anything..So we stayed downstairs and tried hard to focus on cartoons. ( I remember being so excited I had knots in my tummy.)

Well, it always felt that they would NEVER Wake up.. And NEVER come and get us!!

But eventually my dad would come downstairs.. sometimes with a pair of socks in hand.. he would take his time putting them on.. ( we all tried not to go crazy and be super good so we could just get up those darn stairs!) He would sit there for a little bit.(just to torture us!) and then FINALLY line us up.. sometimes youngest to oldest.. or oldest to youngest.. He would take his time here rearranging us...all the time taunting us about Santa .weather he came or not..

My mom would wait at the top always grinning. As we got there.. Dad would point to which pile was ours and we would run and go thru our new treasure.( Santa didn't wrap our presents he left us piles.) And our stocking which has an orange in it every year. After our fill there.. Dad usually if not always played Santa and delved out presents from under the tree one by one. ( of course Santa did add to the pile of presents ) Even that was torture hoping his" TO...." was for you.. And yes he teased and tricked us here too.

Traditional Breakfast was biscuits-cheese & ham biscuit's. And the rest of the day was enjoying out loot.

Oh another way we knew it was the Christmas season was when we heard the sewing machine going NON stop till wee hours in the morning. And us "picking" the backing off the shirts my mom appliqued( she made them for a fair and sold em.. I think that's how they came up with extra money for Christmas.) Never ending pile of SHIRTS! to sew and pick.. ( my mom always had her Diet Coke and M&M's by here when she did this.) That was how we knew it was getting close to Christmas.

Of course ALL the kids were excited. But I tell ya. Clint was the worst of the worst when it came to the holiday season.. He was just so excited and couldn't hardly contain himself! Always so Hyper.
I don't remember everything I had ever gotten.. But I always remember how the house felt and how much fun we had getting ready for Christmas. I don't think I had ever had a "disappointing"Christmas.

Good Job MOM and Dad. you made miracles every year for us kids. Thanks for such fun memories.

I know they are more.. But I wanted to general points of our tradition. I will have to do my favorite Christmas memory soon.

Christmas wisdom

2008-12-03T09:35:00.006-06:00

A little piece of wisdom given to me that I will remember forever.

Back when I worked at Target. During the holiday season, A dear co-worker asked what I was doing for Paul for Christmas. and viseversa, I said I didn't know.. Probably nothing and just focus on the kids. But I had mentioned that Paul had gotten me a very very nice camera that is counting as Christmas and birthday, aniversary. for the next ever. And it was fine with me.
He then said to me. Everyone should always have something under the Christmas tree come Christmas morning. No matter how small the gift it is. To let that person know you are thinking of them even when times are tight. I asked what he usually gets for Christmas , His re-ply was an Orange.. maybe a pair of sock.. they too focus on kids and grand kids. And I think after that he cracked another joke and then started another round of me doubled over in laughter.. I so appreciate quick witted people.

But I never forgot that conversation. I went home and told Paul about that conversation I had. I said you know.. He has a point we should do things for each other. and so the kids see that we take care of each other too. I went out shopping for Paul and got him a few things( he didn't get a camera so I felt I could spend a bit more.) I really didn't expect anything from Paul . It was too close to Christmas Eve when we talked. And I wasn't really worried about it. ( I was still very excited about my camera)

Come Christmas Morn. My stocking was full of Mt.Dew cans and some professional Hair Products I like. I loved it! Does my baby know me or what!!( Hilarious for a last minute gift!)

You know what is funny. Jameson reminds me how I had a stocking full of Mt. dew and how I laughed.. he asked if that is what I wanted for Christmas.. I said yes.( trust me it will be appreciated.)

I know of so many family's who focus on the kids. Which is how it should be. And some who are tight enough they just don't do anything. Again, I understand why. But this I thought was great piece of advice. Everyone should always have something under the Christmas tree to let them know they are thought and cared about . No matter how small it is. Weather it be a card or their favorite treat. It will always be appreciated.

Bless my co-worker.. who taught me a thing or two. (Okay and make me double over with laughter on repeated occasions!)

Christmas Questions

2008-11-29T13:55:00.006-06:00

I'm stealing this off of Jess's blog.. Thought it was a great cheap thrill!

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? Gift bags for adults.. paper for the kids.
2. Real tree or Artificial? Artificial So it won’t die on me.
3. When do you put up the tree? First week or two in a Dec.
4. When do you take the tree down? Just after New years
5. Do you like eggnog? Once a year. But Yes.
6. Favorite gift received as a child? A cat.. an Indoor cat..
7. Hardest person to buy for? My parents & Grandma K.
8. Easiest person to buy for? Kids.. what don’t they like?
9. Do you have a nativity scene? No…. but I should.
10. Mail or email Christmas cards? Either way.
11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? Ooh. Worst? I don’t remember any say present that was bad……oh wait.. During and elephant gifts exchange. I got a ratty old manican head.. she thought I would like it..
12. Favorite Christmas Movie? N.Lampoons Christmas. And Christmas Story. And Scrooge.
13. When do you start shopping? Day after thanksgiving
14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? I plead the 5th,.
15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? whatever candy was in the stockings.
16. Lights on the tree? Yes.. white only
17. Favorite Christmas song? Carol of the bells. And all the forgotten carols.( do they count?)
18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? Staying home
19. Can you name all of Santa’s reindeer? (deep breath.) Dasher-Dancer-Prancer-Vixen-–Comet&Cupid-Donner-&Blitzen .But doo yyyooou recallll… The most Favorite Reindeer of all….Ruldolph the reedd nose reindeer.. had a very shiinnyyy noose.. . Oh wait I don’t have to sing anymore do I… oops.
20. Angel on the tree top or a star? Star.. I don’t care for the winged angels.
21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? P.J on Christmas eve.. everything else on Christmas!
22. Most annoying thing about this time of the year? Umm. . crazy people who think Christmas will cease to exist if they can’t buy the things they want. Those who put the stress into retail world. “Yes Ma’am I know it’s hard to believe we are out of that item , I know you NEED it.. . apparently so did everybody else… No.. I’m not withholding out of spite… Spiting the guest is against store policy.” Working in retail. Makes you cringe holiday season.. since it does NOT bring out the best in people. ( I'm still traumitized from working retail.)
23. Favorite ornament theme or color? Umm My snow globe ornaments.. cause they are just cute.… But I like deep reds.
24. Favorite for Christmas dinner? Ham Dinner
25. What do you want for Christmas this year? I want, the war to end. a tougher crime laws Passed . The economy to strengthen. Gas prices to stay low. Ending world hunger. End terrorist attacks..... And world peace.

( I'm practicing if I'm ever in a beauty contest..I'm showing my not so pearly whites right now.) But I get a new knife set or a cocoa maker for Christmas that would be cool too.

Post Thanksgiving

2008-11-29T10:13:00.004-06:00

Well, I think I have walked around with my pants unbuttoned for a good 24 hours. . and am just think'n I should just give into putting on a pair of stretchy pants. Why are those left overs so addictive!!!

Thanksgiving was a success! ALL the food was yummy.( the left overs are even better.) I cracked and made a second dessert which was even tastier. All the hard work paid off.

Later we got to know some more people over pie and cards. It was tons of fun. And I was exhausted come 11:00 p.m. ( I didn't get a post Turkey day nap.)

So tired in fact..I didn't get up to go shopping.. I swear I was physically unable to move. Come the 3 a.m. alarm and I don't think I even heard it. And since no one was waiting in my driveway I didn't have the guilt of that. I did feel guilty come 8 a.m.... and wondering what deals I had missed out on.. should I still go and see what is left.. eek.. I don't know.. my body is still tired.. No desire at this point to even move.

So later I jumped online.. and found out that Toys r us. was offering black Friday online. and Pay pal was taking an extra 25 bucks off if I go thru them..plus free shipping!! So I online shopped and got the same deals from my least favorite store to shop at. Although I'm glad to have gotten a few things. The feeling just isn't the same as braving the crowds and and sacrificing sacred sleep. I almost felt like I was cheating..
But I'm over it now and really quite okay with it. I am looking forward to Cyber Monday and hopefully can find some kick'n deals there.

The day before Thanksgiving. Ethan had his Thanksgiving feast at school. IT was very cute. He was a Pilgrim and and Indian combined. They had pumpkin pie cornbread and fruit salad. Zoey got to come with me and even eat by him.. She felt SO big and loved being apart of something.. While they all sat down to have there feast. Zoey took a bite of her food put her fork down and asked one of the aids if she could say Prayer? She folder her arms and was telling everyone to quite it down. I didn't know if that was okay or not. But she was insistant.. So I went behind her and guided her thru a short prayer thru all the buzz of the table. Ethan n Zoey were the only one folding there arms. I don't think the other kids had a clue what was going on and were into there feast. I thought it was adorable. And was quite proud of her for remembering and insisting. ( could I have actually taught them something right?!)

Ethan sang his turkey day songs so good and did all the actions. I was proud of him. It was fun to see him in action. Of course Zoey wanted to be apart of the group and asked his teacher if she could do it too. So she stood up there with all the kids and was feeling quite cool.. Needless to say I think she is more then ready for school.

I'm glad the Thanksgiving holiday went down with out a hitch. All the hard work paid off. Next year I do think I will get up and go shopping. But am requiring a new partner in crime to ensure I get my hiney out of bed!!!!

Now, who's ready to start the Christmas season?... I think I'm putting up my tree on Sunday!

Happy Thanksgiving

2008-11-25T15:27:00.002-06:00

Here is me wishing everyone happy thanksgiving! I hope it all goes smoothly. the family not fight or get in your way. ( I'm think'n of you Jess.)
All the traveling. the prepping. etc. etc. etc.

Make sure you ooh and ahh over all the dishes and give the cook the proper praise and kudos. Do the cook a favor and eat slow and add lots of mmmm's in there. Just so they know the days of hard work are appreciated and worth their labor of love.

Paul and I are doing our own thing this year.( by choice. thanks to all for the invites.) And are a having a few friends over for pie later that evening. I have loved planning and prepping and doing everything my way. ( I'm such a control freak in the Kitch.. )
I have already started the prep work and praying it all turns out in the end. ( I really don't mind preparing.. but when I try something new it's all ways a toss up if will work out or not.. and what if it doesn't.. then what.... pressure is on.. eek. )

I have made a V.B. cheesecake.. and doing the finishing phases.. With one Minor( okay not so minor.) issue.. I have lost my last Vanilla bean.. ( how could you do that considering you used it in the first phase....? I DON"T KNOW!!) but I have! so my whip cream is missing it's key to it's awesomeness ingredient! I am a bit panicked but oh well if I don't find it by tomorrow.. I guess I'll fork out some( MORE) dough for another one.. ( providing the specialty store isn't CLOSED.) My mistake for trying to make more then one thing at a time and do clean up.. and watch the kids... I must have absent mindedly put it ....somewhere...

I will also be preparing my plan of attack for Black Friday. This year I have to take it on Solo since my partner in crime MOVED. I miss her already... But hopefully I will have as much success this year solo as we did together. ( this really is better with a pal.) SO if you too.. are getting up at the crack of dawn.. May your deals be awesome.. your headache be light. And the weather not so darn cold! I am looking for a new Partner in crime for next year.. any takers? Oh and puh-lease be kind to the sales associates. the cashiers and those aggressive crazies around you ( you are one of them.) It's painful and frustrating for them too.( Think'n of you Lou & all my Target pals! Good luck.)

This is the time I miss friends and family the most. So know that I am thinking of you all and miss ya tons!

Happy Thanksgiving!!!!!!! MMMWWAAHH!

Chunk o'Hair

2008-11-14T09:52:00.009-06:00

Last night I was getting Zoey ready for bed. I decided to take out her french braid. It was falling out anyway. I was running my fingers thru it and while watching T.V. Well, I pull my hand away.. And I still have a HUGE chunk of hair. And its not attached to her head!!

My first thought was. Did I pull that much out with her elastic?.. No, that is too much... Then I thought.. Is she losing her hair or something?.. Still WAY to much ..So I started searching for the patch of scalp that surely would have been left behind.. I found it.

Middle of her head.. on the Right side. Just to the right of the occipital Bone... Large CUTS were clearly evident.

She had CUT her hair!! And left MAYBE a 2-3 inch of hair in it's place!

I was so mad. I couldn't believe this has really happened..( I guess I spoke to soon the last time.)

Needless to say she was in MASSIVE trouble last night.. MASSIVE. ( there was a good chance she was going to have cobwebs from being in the corner for as long as she was.)

I can't do anything to fix it.. nothing. It's hidden .However, It was such a large chunk that you can tell when you look at the bottom of her hair. It so stringy and of course it looks like it's missing a CHUNK!!! SO pony tails in a bun will be the look of choice until it grows long enough that I can at least bob her hair.( this is where I wish her hair grew fast and was super thick.)

Darn Kid scissors! Clearly those will have to go high up.( oh, wait I did that already.) Not that it will do any good.( J-man has too many H.W. projects to just throw them away.) I'm hoping I made a big enough deal out of it last night she won't even DARE to do that again. ( I have a feeling this is taking over her marker obsession.)

Oh.. Dora the mermaid got a good chunk out of her hair too... ( why couldn't JUST Dora take the hit this time?!!)

Don't think I was laughing.. I wasn't. these pictures were not taken till about 30-45 min after I found it.( hence why she is still crying.) I need proof of these antics. So when they all get older and claim they never did this or that.. I have proof.( also will answer why my eye permanently twitches.)

I am Doris Day

2008-11-11T17:40:00.003-06:00

http://quiz
I found this on Jesse'blog and thought. "sweet another cheap thrill." this is what it told me..I will tel you where I disagree...

You are a Doris -- "I must help others."

Dorises are warm, concerned, nurturing, and sensitive to other people's needs.

How to Get Along with Me
* Tell me that you appreciate me. Be specific.
* Share fun times with me.
* Take an interest in my problems, though I will probably try to focus on yours. ( umm depends how close we are I guess.)
* Let me know that I am important and special to you.
* Be gentle if you decide to criticize me.

In Intimate Relationships
* Reassure me that I am interesting to you.
* Reassure me often that you love me.
* Tell me I'm attractive and that you're glad to be seen with me.

What I Like About Being a Doris
* being able to relate easily to people and to make friends
* knowing what people need and being able to make their lives better ( umm. I'm not sure I have ""improved anybody's life... maybe I'l work on this one.)
* being generous, caring, and warm
* being sensitive to and perceptive about others' feelings
* being enthusiastic and fun-loving, and having a good sense of humor

What's Hard About Being a Doris
* not being able to say no
* having low self-esteem ( I think my self esteem is just fine thank you very much.)
* feeling drained from overdoing for others
* not doing things I really like to do for myself for fear of being selfish
* criticizing myself for not feeling as loving as I think I should
* being upset that others don't tune in to me as much as I tume in to them ( no.. I don't care abou this..)
* working so hard to be tactful and considerate that I suppress my real feelings.

Dorises as Children Often
* are very sensitive to disapproval and criticism
* try hard to please their parents by being helpful and understanding
* are outwardly compliant
* are popular or try to be popular with other children
* act coy, precocious, or dramatic in order to get attention
* are clowns and jokers (the more extroverted Dorises), or quiet and shy (the more introverted Dorises)

Dorises as Parents
* are good listeners, love their children unconditionally, and are warm and encouraging (or suffer guilt if they aren't)
* are often playful with their children
* wonder: "Am I doing it right?" "Am I giving enough?" "Have I caused irreparable damage?"
* can become fiercely protective .

Well wasn't that fun!!! I'm guilty in loving personality quizes. It's dorky but I don't care.

Vistors frrom Da'West.

2008-11-08T16:31:00.016-06:00

My Mom and Sister Flew in on the 1st of Nov. When we picked them up the kids were soo excited( SO was I!) Once we got them all loaded up in the Van. Zoey kept asking
Grandma Heidi" is she wanted to come to her house.( she was just talking ot Grandma.) She asked this constantly for the eintire 2 hour ride.

Well of course the kids were bouncing off the wall. Heidi brought dress up clothes her kids had grown out of and the kids had a ball trying them all on. Ethan is loving his Batman costume and is starting to remind me of Daddy day care bolt kid who LIVED in his costume! I laughed when I told him to go make his bed And he informed me Batman doesn't make beds!

I laughed when Mom gave them their Halloween cards and there was"$500 dollars" in it.( Well according to Zoey there was"$500 dollees "in it... But I'm pretty sure it was a 1 dollar bill.) And Pop rocks. . I don't ever buy pop rocks for my kids... I now remember why. ( Thanks ALOT Mom! ha ha. Jusk Kidding.. they loved em!)

We hung out Sun. and just chilled . We made them watch a lame kids movie. And didi the usual CHAT our heads off routine.

Monday we headed to CHICAGO! "Via" Train. We went to Shedd Aquarium. I was excited to show the dolphines, Beluga's. And was talking them up all morning even to the kids. So we got our tickets and headed in! we looked around at all the exhibits. Hit the Spongebob 4-D show ( Ethan laughed so hard the entire time.. Zoey sat in my lap. she didn't like it.) Well. Come to find out the Dolphine/Whale exhibit was CLOSED due to remodeling...... W>T>H???!!! How was this NOT mentioned when getting our tickets? It's the Main attraction!!! I was so Pissed! Well we went and saw the sharks. Learned a bit about my sister while looking for the saw shark. ( Marine Biologist? WHO KNEW?!) It was pretty cool....It wasn't DOLPHINS but it was cool.

So after grabbing a COMMENT CARD. We decided to leave. And see if we could find NAVY PIER. Problem... We had NO Clue how to get there! So walked a bit and caught a bus, to find out we would have to catch another bus....Some friendly Chicago dude. told Paul how to get around what route to take.. Food came up and we were told to go for the GioDano's Pizza. We were hungry so were going for that first. We were also told to get a bus pass it would be cheaper..

So we jumped OFF the bus, headed the wrong way looking for bus passes.( we ended up in the subway station.. they don't sell bus tickets.. conflict of interest I guess.) Headed back up a few blocks to the corner CVS.( which sell bus passes .. who knew?) At this point I was confused and really lost. It was all in Paul's hands. Well he turns out to be awesome with direction and got us to the Pizza Joint.

GioDano's was awesome! It's more like a pie and less like a Pizza. Holy crap! I now get my people make a fuss out of Chicago style pizza! Soo yummy. One piece is more then enough! And it's Certainly better then the "Chicago dog" we had from the vendor before hitting the Shedd.. That was all for Paul.. Let me do everyone a favor... A "Chicago dog" is a typical hot dot with a bunch of crap put on it.. Jalapenos. tomato's. a huge pickle. etc.etc.etc.. Retarded.. I hate hot dogs and I hate "Chicago dogs "too. ( Paul liked 'em .. all for you baby.. all for you.) TiP: Skip the dog for for the pizza.

Anyway by the time we were done with dinner it was getting dark. We weren't sure Navy Pier would be anything to see in the dark.. I think we were bit full and therefore tired. So we decided to head home. Those bus passes we picked up went wasted since we only caught the bus once with em.. oh well... It was fun to fly by our seat and explore!!

TUES. Paul was kind enough to stay home and get kids off the bus and watch them while we had a GIRLS DAY( whoop, whoop!) we had fun We laughed our butts off while trying on clothes. Did catwalks in the dressing room halls. Found some fun stuff. We took my mom out to BoneFIsh grill for her Birthday. I actually ate fish.( I NEVER eat fish.) Tilapia with capers to be exact. Heidi was freak'n that we were eating Calamari.. even the "baby ones." Creme brulee to finish it off. It was pretty good. And we had tons of fun. I felt bad Mom didn't find anything to buy.

That evening they took the kids to pick out a toy. Mom let them choose one.. Let me tell you that is such a freak'n process.. they just couldn't make up their minds! You have to put the countdown on! Well Wal-mart was out of Bakugons.( don't ask...) So we Ran to Toys R us. I thought they were closing in 10 so I pushed Ethan to make a quick choice. ( turns out we had an hour oops!) Heidi bought them curious George animals and books.. They love those too.. They were so so so SPOILED! And of course they loved it.

We took them back Weds. Ethan was upset most of the trip.. He asked for mom's autograph,( aww mom your famous.) she complied to all the children's request( good for fan fare I hear!) he kept telling them not to go and he would miss them... as we got closer the stronger the pleas came.. So of course we unload at the drop of point. they got their hugs and kisses good bye. Etc.etc. and the WHOLE back seat is in tears!!!! I tried multiple times to distract and calm them down. I actually had to climb in the back to have a conversation. Ethan Kept telling me to PULL OVER he was going to run back to find Grandma! ( okay buddy..middle of Chicago Highway.... good plan) Jameson was good after a min.. Zoey was in full fit. But calmed down.. Ethan.. well he was really mad! It took a bit to get him to calm down.( I might have promised a trip home soon.)

We had so much fun with them out!! It was fun to talk to my mom and sis. The kids all took to each of them. Ethan and Heidi were quite buddy buddy. He was so hung on the conversation that Kallee was in Kindergarten JUST like HIM! Zoey kept telling them they were her Best Friends! Jameson we so Excited and FULL of Rambunctious Energy!( he reminds me so much of CLINT when he was younger! ) I had to warn him to Calm down a million times!!! He was just so excited.

Heidi was the nominee to get jumped and climbed on...poor girl! Bring one of the boys next time.

It came to our attention on our girls day that we couldn't remember the last time we actually had a girls day! SO thought we should do it once a year.. Heidi nominated me to plan the first one... SUCK.... any suggestions anyone?

Til next year!

Halloween "08

2008-11-06T13:38:00.009-06:00

I know, I'm behind. It has been pretty busy and I haven't had a chance to even look at my Computer since Halloween night!! I have so much to catch up on!

Let's start with Halloween,( I know, it was sooo last week.)

First let me just say this is the first Halloween I could remember where a coat or even a jacket were not required!!! It was beautiful and warm. So that made it much more enjoyable!! In Indiana we can only trick or treat between 5p.m & 7p.m.( lame, I know.) So we were out the door as soon as Paul walked in.

Jameson decided to be Ghost Rider. although we have never seen it.. He chooses his costumes more by the accessories that come with it, then the actual character.. I didn't look close enough at the mask( hey, we were on store three and I was done.) Or I probably wouldn't let him get it. ( since I just X'd out a ninja costume that had gross looking skulls on it at the LAST store.) I'm not into skulls, and he is 7, but my mistake for not inspecting closer and being in hurry to be done. He loved it... and admittedly it is a bit wicked looking! And we didn't see another one while T & Ting. He did okay.. He had tons of fun trick or treating, someone was handing out hot wheel cars and he thought that was the coolest thing ever.

Ethan quickly Picked out IRON MAN. Again he hasn't seen it, but he loved it. and didn't take off his mask all night! I was surprised to realize that he was an original as well. we didn't see another one of his kind all night. which I might add is a bit refreshing. He did superhero poses all night it was hilarious. Ethan LOVES trick or treating. and was the most focused and in a hurry to get to the next door. He hated waiting for the rest of us. ( That the true Halloween spirit if you ask me!)

Zoey was a princess( shock, shock) she chose the sleeping beauty dress and I couldn't talk her out of it or get her too look at other costumes. ( hey, she knows what she wants.) It was a might bit big on her, and she tripped on it often I finally tucked in the front into her tights to look like a bubble dress in front. She absolutely LOVED t&ting. She kept telling Paul she was so "esssicited"!!!

And every time someone put a treat in her pumpkin she would have to dig it out to show Paul what the prize was. She wouldn't have anything to do with me while t&ting it was all about Paul and showing him all her goodies. She would curtsy to a few people and got excited when she saw other princess's. and quickly walked away from the scary mask people. It was fun to see her turn into a Daddy's girl for once although I could have done w/out her attitude towards me. ( she told me more then once, she was not talking to me as she ran to show her daddy.) So I called Paul her bodyguard for the evening. While they were plenty of Princess, and a few sleeping beauty's her costume was the only one I saw as well.

Paul and I never dress up. And I hate it. Next year for sure.( I think I said that last year.. oops.) I realize it has been few years since he has come with me. So it was nice to have him along. the kids got enough to last til Christmas!!! Don't worry I went through all of the buckets and ate the ones that looked "questionable:. It was a sacrifice, but someone has to do it.

New additions to the yard...

2008-10-22T07:56:00.012-05:00

Jameson decided to go out and play in the dirt.. I saw him with his little giraffe shovel and thought nothing of it really.

Well, he came in and asked where Daddy's shovel was. I asked him what was wrong with his shovel. He showed me that he bent the spade part. ( apparently we are doing some SERIOUS digging. And a Giraffe Shovel just isn't up to the task.)
When I went out to take pictures I now realize the he killed both of the giraffe shovels... where I thought he just bent them. (SIGH) Yup, not made for hard labor.

His eye's just LIT up when I asked what exactly he was doing. His response was:

"I'm building you and daddy a pool!!!" Which followed with details of his plan to accomplish this.

I smiled and said:" A pool huh"?

Jameson: " Yeah. cause it's really easy, all you have to do is a dig a really big hole and fill it with water!!!"
" Are you surprised mommy?"

I'm laughing of course and said yes I was very very surprised. I just didn't have the heart to tell him where the flaws were in his GREAT IDEA. SO instead I gave him the big shovel. ( excuse me Daddy's shovel.. since girls don't use shovels.)

And hoped he would be bored or overwhelmed a few digs in. Well, After some serious hard work he brought me out to see his progress, The whole was big enough he could fit his butt in it" ( you know it looks like he fell into a bucket.) and was just past my knee..

I must admit I was impressed.. He got through tree roots and all. However.. I really don't need anybody tripping over this and breaking something.. SO now it is time to discourage the pool... eek.

So after much praise and admiration to his progress. I started asking what happens when you mix dirt and water...that started him thinking...But then his reply was. "Well, it will be just like Potato creek. and rivers and "Stuff".( crap, he is too smart.) So I switched tracks.. I told him it's just too cold now. and by the time he was done Snow would be here. This seemed to help a bit.

He asked if he could just put hot water in it. like they have at pool places. I told him it wouldn't stay hot long enough. So I think I have managed to convince him to STOP digging. Now I just have to convince him to fill it back in. before the snow hits. ( Or I might just make Paul do it.. I would, But Girls don't use shovels apparently.) And hope by next spring he will moved on to another " Great idea."

Bless his heart. Building mom and dad a pool. I must give him snaps. Man, I just find his logic so amusing I can see he ideas like they were light bulbs going off. And his wheel turns as to what, how, and why it should and could happen. I love how he can argue his point and stick to his idea of why it's good one. I laugh when he tilts his head and bluntly asks me why I didn't think of it or How come I didn't know you could build a pool by just digging a really big hole. ( I swear he wonders if his mother is a vision-less dim wit.)

Sometimes it suck to be the "idea" killer. Since he was soo excited about it. and was doing it for a big surprise. But I really can't have huge holes going on in the back yard.( broken or twisted ankles waiting to happen, that or the dog will fall in.) I'm just glad he hasn't thought about making it into a Tiger or Large beast of some sort trap, Yet. ( this is where I am glad that they have never seen Swiss family Robinson.)

I must admit his logic reminds me much of my own when I was young. all the fields we had between houses were used for so many things and great ideas.We had forts planned out. Holes dug.. buried treasures. I think we tried to set a few boobie traps. and catch a few wild beast.( yes Swiss family Robinson style.) club houses. attempting to build crap out of old wood full of rusty nails. I think about all that and how creative the crew was in the neighbor hood. we had so many"games." And make believe fun that involved everyone.( night games of course)

I think my favorite was PUMP. played on Thains huge yard with every person in the neighbor hood! basically one kid in the middle calling someone out and they had to make it to the other side with out getting tagged. if they were they joined the person in the middle. and so on and so forth. It was a clever fun and few people were hurt game.( I'm sure the parents loved it.)

I really wish we lived in a neighbor hood with lots of kids like that. That just sort of saunter between friends houses... that is one thing I miss about home. Here we arrange play dates and meet at the park. Kids just can't run the neighbor hood like they used to. ( like WE used to.)

Ahhh.. the memories... well ,I better go fill in the" pool"..( I think the pictures remind me more of outhouse type hole..eww.)

Welcome to the "Lame" house

2008-10-14T17:57:00.002-05:00

This week has been a tougher one for me...
It's just been so , so , so , so , so ,so ,so( you are getting my point with this right?) LAME!

Sure we are doing the routines of school and all that good stuff. And I am "sort of busy".
But since Paul has been incredibly busy with the NEVER ENDING FREAK"N MIDTERMS!!!!!
And I feel very CONFINED. ( since I broke my damn van and Paul and I just can't seem to coordinate his schedule to a car appoint..) And really I haven't minded too much.. Prevents me from being tempted to spend money.. But still some days I felt like a caged animal.

Cleaning up the house CONSTANTLY gets a little old and very un-fulfilling... Having the children from early to Late. Everyday including weekends... all gets little "eye- twitchy".

Sure we go to the park and play some B-ball. walks that sort of stuff... But I'm just so bored with it all!!! ( no offence my children whom I love to play with.)
Thinking about it.. During the week I don't mind.. you know when you have kids coming home at different times there is only so much you can go and do. And homework, chores. etc.etc. etc.
But weekends being home on my own and not much to do.. Pretty much blows!
So as I was sitting around on my own AGAIN thinking.. I'M SO BORED! and thinking of how Lame we have become. LAME! I tell you! LAME!
So when Paul called me the other day to see how I was surviving... I told him we are the home of the Lames... just call us the LAME house! ( he laughed.. I was quite serious.)

SO this week, I took about all the LAMENESS I could handle.. Vented to Paul about it.. And we both agreed I need more projects and FREEDOM! ( what can I say.. I like my independence) He also gently reminded me to hang in there for just a bit longer.
Of course I then listed off all the stuff I need to do.. Get for the kids. ( I was subtly hinting that I need to have some spending therapy...) Okay, okay, I wasn't subtle at all. Actually, I was pretty vocal & blunt about it.
Well, Since My Husband is just so freak'n awesome sometimes. He nodded and smiled and gave me some sympathy. And just sort of meandered into the bedroom... I just figured he was grabbing his study material and I sort of dropped it.( you know.. pick your battles.) He came back out with a few folded bills handed me the keys and told me to go get some clothes and shoes for Zoey.( she needed a few winter clothes and shoes.) And also told me to get myself something fun.
He mentioned if I had enough left over to consider projects I would want to do with the kids ( I always talk about projects I want to do, but never have the material.) That would keep me pre-occupied for a while at least til he was done with mid-terms.
SO I took him back to study. And since Ethan was in school ALL day. Zoey and I went and picked out a few shirts and pair of Tenny's. I found some cheap little paint projects for the kids to do.. And really it was just NICE to get out and look at some FUN stuff. My creativity went in full force that day. Really, it was just a nice spirit booster.( exactly what I needed) I then reminded myself Life is only as LAME as I allow it to be. AND since I consider myself a pretty entertaining person.. I was just going to have to get more creative with my time. ( that and fix the damn van)

Just so I have it on record.. I totally adore my husband. I'm so grateful he gets me. And does what he can to make things better for us. And helps me figure stuff out.. I felt so selfish.. since really he hasn't had very much fun as of late either.. So I think I will redirect my LAME pity party over to him and think of something fun and cute that he would get a kick out of. And give him an OUT too.( lord knows he's earned one.)

Seriously tho' I must find something. I'm even running out of things to even blog about!

Oh and that is the name of my van.. the Damn van... trust me when I say it's very fitting.
What did I get myself?... umm.. not good at spending money on myself... I might have bought me dew. Who cares.