DUCT TAPE!!!!!!

For the record, duct tape does fix everything.
Here is my confession of the week. .....A little background info......I thought I was being really cool trying to save money this year by buying shoes from Payless. They had the buy one get one half price sale. Not too bad. Unfortunately, my kids managed to wear them out in record time. So we ended up buying more shoes for them as winter in the Antelope Valley was not over yet.(This would not have been the case if we still lived in AZ as winter usually only lasts two weeks!) So once again, I found myself out there looking for a bargain. And once again I was so proud of myself when I found shoes on closeout at Target, $8.00 each. I knew that I was rocking the bargain world. (No ,I did not learn my lesson the first time, I was100% positive that I had just found "lemons" and the next ones would be better.)

Hmmmmmm...... Well, the reason they were so cheap is just that...... they were cheap. Okay, not too bad as we live in California and it was sandal time. So I bought sandals and the weather had been cooperating and the kids have been wearing them. However, much to my dismay, the weather is all over the grid. It gets HOT and then FREEZES the next day. (okay maybe not freezing by Utah standards, but definitely so for CA or AZ) Which meant that I had to pull the shoes out again this week. Well they were worn out beyond hope. Toes sticking out the end, side, and bottom. I had to do something. I was not going to buy more shoes as the kids would for sure wear them out in a week and then it will be sandal season . But by the time we need shoes again in the Fall ,they will not fit. My monkeys feet are growing at a super sonic speed right now.

This was my solution for the rest of the week. DUCT TAPE!! Next time I will try my red version of duct tape. Not pretty. But the kids loved it and IT WORKS!!!! (Do you suppose it would work on the knees of jeans too?)

Hope you are all having a great week. Happy Memorial Day, my friends.

Urgent Care Fun!!!!

I decided to just lump our latest urgent care trips into one post. You can do what I did when I saw them. Giggle and shake my head. Seriously, we keep the medical professionals in business!!!

This is Tanner. He was playing football with his brothers when one of them accidently kicked him and his thumb went all the way back. Not broken, just sprained but 2 hours at the urgent care.(Each time we have a broken arm, Tanner thinks it is so cool and he has wished he would break his arm. That would be four different broken arms on various kiddos. Each time I tell him it is not fun and it would be painful. After this experience....... he has decided he never wants a broken bone!!! Yea!! Progress. )

Next we have spring break in Utah. This is also another one of those giggle moments. We rarely make a trip without ending up in the ER. Luckily this time it was not a result of a broken bone. Hunter, who you know, never sits still, is never quiet when he is sick had been down for three days. He was High School Musical over and over. Finally, night 3 still sick with a fever, the runs, had started throwing up and was in severe pain. The docs thought it might be appendicitis.

So at 11:00 at night my Dad and I headed out in the snow to the ER. Thank heavens for great dads who will sit with you late at night. Thank heavens for awesome moms who will watch the rest of the brood so you can go to the ER late at night!! They ran some tests, gave him meds and since he was showing signs of dehydration gave him fluids and at 3:30 we were released with the caution to watch him.

He seemed to perk up alright. However, after we got home he from Spring break he became my unlucky one again. It was a Saturday night. Winding down the day and looking forward to getting kids in bed and watching tv. I had let the kids stay a little later. Bryan and Hunter had gone to the shower together. One of their favorite things to do is dump out all of my shampoo and make the shower slippery. Yea. Well it back fired as they bumped heads. Bryan got a goose egg on his head but Hunter got cut. So off we go to Urgent Care.

For the record........ if your child is bleeding from above the eye....... they will see you faster. :> After only two hours, he came home with five stitches. Our first set of stitches. Not our first cut, but in the past they have been able to glue them shut.

And here we have Nathan. Just last week. Jay, of course, was in the Netherlands for a conference. ( He always seems to miss the fun. ) Friday afternoon, after the doctor office would be closed this is what Nathan comes screaming into the house to show me. GRRRR. I thought about going to urgent care. But decided that I could fix it just as well as they could. So I cleaned it up, butterfly bandaged it and it is healing nicely. Come on "chicks dig scars, right?!?!?!?"

So there you have it. We survived and only with a few scars that will make for great stories when they are older. I still wonder to this day how my mom managed with only two set of stitches and no broken bones with six kids. Have a fabulous day my friends!!!

Are you Stinkin kidding me?!?!?!?!

And I do mean Stinkin!!! Tanner and Hunter are taking an after school biology course. Well the 1st week they had the wonderful opportunity to dissect squids. Yes, that is what you are looking at in the bag and you also read it correctly..... squids. The boys thought they were so very cool they had to bring them home to show us all and gross out the little ones.

Well after seeing this smile on Tanner's face I realized I was in trouble. I let them tell me the gross details of what they learned and looked at the diagrams that they had brought home. I then sat them both down and explained that they must put them in the garbage and why. I told them if they did not put them in the garbage that within a few days I would know for sure because they would start to stink. So out to the garbage they marched and promptly placed them in the trash. Or so I thought. (This is Tuesday)

Well on Wednesday they went to Scouts. I picked them up and they had made cute little garbage bags to hang in the cars. Tanner quickly climbed in the car and showed me his and placed it in the car for dad to use. He was just finishing a juice box and put the box in the trash to "show" me how it would work. He was very proud of himself. I asked Hunter if he was going to put his in the van. He told me he would in a couple of days. When I tucked him in for bed I noticed he had it hanging on the shelf. Cute, I thought he can finally throw trash away and keep his room clean.*giggle*

Well Sunday.........(5 days later) we decided to take a quick trip to Disneyland. It was a great fun day!!! We got home about 8 and the kids were tired. We are frantically getting them ready for bed and Tanner complains that his room smells like the dog had an accident. I go in and look in every nook and cranny to find dog poo, but to no avail. I finally decide it must be something that is stinking outside and since I have left the windows open ithe odor has just snuck in. NOT!!!!!!!Jay was not falling for that one. I go back to rushing kids in and out of the shower to hear a horrible noise as Jay discovers the rotting squid in the cute little trash.

Gross, Gross, Gross. At first I was so frustrated, but then Hunter goes on to tell me how very sad he was that we just killed the squids so we could cut them up and look at them. Then, he told me that he was so sad that he was going to just have to throw it away. How would that mommy of the poor squid feel if she knew her baby was just thrown away. Hmmmmm...... he rendered me speechless. (and for those who know me well, knows this is not an easy thing to do) WOW, where did that come from. Big kind hearts. However, I am still not sure that their room smells normal. But they are boys so that effort may be futile anyway. But I must say I am very proud that these are my boys and they are "good" kids!!!
Sleep well my friends!!!

Triplets?!?!?!?

1st Let me say I know I am so very far behind on blogging. My excuses...... as lame as they may be include.... spring break trip, sick kids, urgent care emergencies, and computer that had horrible virus. :> (all great stories too, I might add) I am going to try and do some catching up this weekend.

2nd This, however, was too cute to not pass on. This is Jayson. I was putting Jayson, Nathan and Bryan to bed tonight. But before they could go to sleep they had to make sure that their triplets were tucked in and Jayson took extra special care to make sure they all had their toy with them. Their names are Jackie (that is your real name right mom?), Denise (that is grandma's name, right?) and Nathan. So precious!! It will also make some good blackmail when they are older!!

Enjoy. Have a great night. I will get caught up soon!!!

Tooth # 3!!!

Cassie lost tooth # 3 tonight. She was so excited she could hardly stand it. #4 will not be far behind I am afraid. However, with Jay being out of town and having two kids home today the tooth fairy is woefully unprepared. We will see what she can find, she happens to be pretty creative if I do say so myself!!! :>

Jayson and Nathan have both lost 6-7 teeth. They are running neck and neck with Hunter and losing teeth. Hunter has 2 more loose ones with Jayson right behind. Tonight after Cassie lost her tooth.... Jayson had a complete meltdown. He wanted both of his very slightly loose teeth out. (When I say slightly loose .......I mean you really have to think long and hard as you wiggle to see that they even move. :>) He was so serious about having them out he went and got me the pliers and wanted me to give them a good tug. So now with the most kind, most quiet tone , trying with everything I have in me and not laugh..... I try to explain that if I pull the teeth when they are not loose they will hurt. However, he was having one of those "moments" the fingers go in the ears and he sits there and tells me, "I cannot hear you!!!" (Can you imagine what it is going to be like when they are teenagers?) Since their Uncle Adam came and lived with us when they were little they may have to go and stay him!!! Love you Adam!!!

Class Presentations!

(I AM NOT PEEKING!!)

Here is my funny story from the Science Fair........... Growing up I never had to participate in the Science Fair. And it is a good thing really. I had a lot of anxiety when it came to science, not really my cup of tea. So when I realized how seriously they take this at Sundown I got nervous. Six weeks before the projects were due, I asked Jay if he would take this task and run with it. The great news was the school allowed the kids to do a sibling project so we did not have to do separate projects and it was not required in Kindergarten. Jay reassured me he would do it AND not wait until the last moment. For Hunter this was 100 points and his Science grade for the term. Tanner would get extra credit.

Each week I would "gently" remind Jay (okay NAG) the date was approaching quickly and the kids had to give oral presentations in class. Each week nothing would happen. I would search the internet for great ideas, print them out and hand them to Jay. As the due date got closer my anxiety level would rise. There is nothing worse than getting up in front of your peers and not being prepared. (I did that once in elementary and was scarred forever) Okay not forever, clearly I got over it, but I do not want my kids to live through that moment. (For the record it was not my parents fault, I never told them about the report I had due.)

Finally, the weekend before the projects are due, they decide on a project. Two days before they test and gather data. Day before, I am running around trying to get pictures printed, and make sure the kids have everything they need for their oral presentation. Jay gets home and they start putting their display board together. At 7:30 that night I go downstairs to listen to watch and listen to their oral presentations. ( If you remember correctly, we get up at 6:15 to be ready for school on time. Therefore, bedtime is 7:00) It is Wednesday night and the kids are tired. Hunter is practicing and cannot spit out the word propellant and apex. Daddy is asking them if they can say propeller? Because propellant sounds just like it? Are you kidding me?!?!?!? Clearly there is a huge difference between Daddy's engineering pilot brain and my child discussion brain.

Not only can Tanner and Hunter not pronounce the words, they have no idea what they mean. So if the judges or teachers ask them about the words the kids are stuck!!! I can see the anxiety in their faces as they are trying to figure out what to say ,when to pull the stuff out of the box or which picture to point to. So I demo what they should say. Let me guarantee you propellant and apex are not in my vocabulary. LOL! Instead I use vinegar and water (propellant) and highest point (apex). Still I can see stress in their faces. So we sit down, write on index cards, and practice, practice, practice. Finally at 9:00 they are heading to bed confident they will survive. Next morning they are still both practicing around the breakfast table for their brothers and sister.

We are proud to announce both Tanner and Hunter got 100% and survived. We learned some great lessons on what we need to do for next year. And now we can all rest well and know........we survived the Science Fair!!!

Science Fair!!!

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Glad to have this behind us this year!!! We did learn that next year we had better start sooner!! Enjoy!!!