chocolate air freshener

Our house smells like chocolate. Not because I am baking.
Last week there was another incident. I had put Natalie down for a nap and Lauren was in her room for rest time. I worked that night and needed a little nap also. All was well, until I heard little voices. I laid there for awhile, saying to myself, I need to get up and see what they are doing, but it took a few minutes, b/c I knew it would be bad. Lauren had gotten Natalie out of her room and I think woke her up. I came out to find a large pile of hot cocoa spilled on the carpet. In the piles were little holes, where I assume the licking was taking place. Of course, she had gotten the economy size cocoa from Sam's Club down from the cabinet, thinking it would be a good snack?? Where/How do they think of these things? Not only was the cocoa spilled, but there was ground in areas where they had licked it down to the carpet and the wetness from their tongues got it nice and ground in to the fibers. So I vacuumed up lots of cocoa and scrubbed the carpet.

Now every time I vacuum I get the nice aroma of chocolate, which would be nice, except it brings back the memories.

computers!!!

Yes, I know the next pictures are upside down and sideways. I have them straight on my computer and they come out crazy here. I'll have to wait for Dan to fix it.

mommy- the photographer

Well, I have been meaning to get a picture of the kids together for a Christmas card photo. And the timing was perfect. A friend of Dan's at work let us borrow his nice Nikon SLR and Saturday was the most beautiful day--in the 50's in December!! So I got the kids all washed and pretty--which they loved-ha! and headed down the road to a friend's acreage that has a barn. I have been eyeing this place for months, thinking it could be a perfect photo spot. It was perfect in everyway, except the kids don't like getting their pictures taken, especially for mom. Dan helped- we pleaded, bribed and threatened. I kept saying- let's try one more, ok one more...I did NOT get the photo I was hoping for. Out of the four, there was always someone smiling weird or looking away or mad or sad or just being goofy or naughty. I think even Dan was ready to throw the camera. We were however able to get some single shots--enjoy.

my little monkeys

The day after Thanksgiving, Dan was gone all day helping a friend move and then went to the NU/CU football game. I wanted to get out of the house, so we did something spontaneous and decided to go to the zoo. The zoo in November??? Well, it was cold, but the Henry Doorly Zoo has so many indoor exhibits, so it was not a problem. We were there for four hours!! I was exhausted the kids had a blast and the day flew by. At the end of the tour, the kids wanted to go to the gift shop. The two oldest have had some allowance money burning a hole in their pockets:) So Kaylee and David bought their favorite zoo animal and then David let Natalie and Lauren pick out a stuffed animal also. How sweet of him. He said it made him feel good--me too.

Peanut butter is much better than a different p word

Well- since after Dan and I returned from CA, Natalie has been acting out a bit--to say the least. From the moment we returned home she has decided that she is no longer potty trained. She had been potty trained for quite some time-- no accidents, no problems--I didn't even think about it anymore. Right after we got back she just started going in her pants, on the floor, etc. So I restarted with diapers...ugh- I thought I was done with diapers. So I thought, I won't make a big deal about it, put on the diapers and just see what happens. Well, it turns out, she doesn't really like diapers either. As soon as she pees or poops, it has to come off immediately. With this has come a new problem. If I am not right there, she will take it off and try to deal with it on her own. This then has led to a discovery for her--a disgusting discovery... I guess poo is good for painting--kind of like finger paints??? Unfortunately, she has "painted" numerous times, in numerous places around the house--which the first time I dealt with ok, the times after have almost put me over the edge!!!

Well- I have been pretty distraught over the whole thing- wondering what is wrong with my child. Well, we discovered it may be a consistency thing. I was talking to a friend of mine, who said her daughter went through a phase like this and her Dr. said that she might just be really fascinated with the consistency of poo---ugh! My thought was that she was just being naughty and knew how to push mommy's buttons.

Well, the other night, I was running errands and Dan was home with the kids. At some point, Natalie had gotten into the pantry and found one of her favorite things--Peanut Butter! And it wasn't your normal jar of PB, but was an extra large Sam's Club gallon size of PB. This is how we figured it went down. She was being sneaky, so went in the pantry and shut the door. After eating some of the PB, she was then stuck. Her hands were full of PB and she couldn't open the door to get out. So she sat down and proceeded to paint the inside of the pantry with peanut butter--the door, the shelves, the floor, herself... Very similar to her past incidents with poo. The kids eventually discovered her upon looking for something to eat.
Soooo... maybe it is a fascination with the consistency. Maybe someday she will be a famous artist or potter, and I will have quite a story of how it all started.

Missing Dan

Well, Dan is off hunting. So it is just me and the kids for 5 days. So far things are going ok, but I do miss having Dan here. It makes me so happy that we were able to spend some time together last week, just the 2 of us. We were in California for his grandpa's funeral. We flew in to LAX and were able to stop at Dan's childhood home, see his old neighborhood, his school and to go to the cemetery where his Dad was buried.
Besides the funeral, we also had some good time with family. Dan and I were also able to sneak away here and there for some us time. We walked on the beach, took a trip to Hearst Castle, watched a beach sunset and had a fabulous sushi meal. The weather was gorgeous. Time on the beach was just so relaxing, and we had quite a bit of time in the car and planes to talk and just be together. We haven't had time like that without the kids ever, so it was good. Here are just a few pictures from the trip.

Tired and out of shape??

Well, for some time now I have felt super tired, but have just attributed it to my busy life and four kids. I have also felt very out of shape--I've been getting winded easily and just wore out--even short of breath from very little physical activity. Well, today I figured out why. I'm not just sleep deprived and out of shape-- my Hgb is 8.5. So now it is on to testing and figuring it all out.

fabulous fall

As I said in a previous post, our Fall and Halloween weather has been fabulous!
So instead of carving pumpkins inside or in our sunroom in front of a space heater, we were outside in short sleeves and shorts. Then of course there was Lauren-- in PJ's for the pumpkin carving. That girl would live in pajamas if she could. It is all about clothes being soft and comfortable. It's hard for me to fight her on it, b/c if I could get away with it, I would be doing the same thing:)
Besides the pumpkin carving, we had some great times playing in the leaves. The kids made some huge piles, jumped and played in their bare feet. My kids don't believe in wearing shoes unless it is below freezing!

We now have 3 go carts-- from my parents. They had them for quite some time and we have been slowly getting them, since we seem to have the best area to use them. David has loved riding them. And the girls each take turns with mommy or daddy flying around the property! so fun

the life of a mom

Dan and I just got back from spending 4 days in beautiful California. Unfortunately, it wasn't a trip just for fun. Dan's grandpa passed away. We wanted to go for the funeral and at the last minute we were able to get a great price on airline tickets, so we could both go. I spent several days getting things ready for us to leave--cleaning, laundry,shopping for food, making out schedules, preparing meals, etc. There would be 8 kids at our house. My mom and sister and her 4 kids, plus my 4. I knew it would be chaos, so I wanted to try and make things as smooth as possible. It didn't hit me that I wouldn't see my kids for 4 days, until the night before we left. I haven't been away from them for that long EVER! The thought of that was very weird.
We had a good time with family while in CA. There was tears and laughter. Dan and I even had some time just for us. We walked on the beach, collected shells and sand dollars for the kids, ate lunch in Morrow Bay and visited Hearst Castle. We caught up with family and even got to watch a romantic sunset on the beach, followed by some awesome sushi! The time went quickly, I missed the kids, but enjoyed my time with Dan and his family. I did shed a few tears while away...missing my kids.
Then we got home.

David was sick, complaining that he had strep throat. We immediately got home,looked at his throat and took him in to Linc Care. Sure enough--he had strep. Natalie and Kaylee were snotty and cranky. And that was just my kids. My mom was sick and two of my sisters kids were sick with fever and headaches. On top of everything else, Lauren had had a huge collision with her cousin--- her teeth and his head. His head got infected and upon coming home, I looked at her mouth and it didn't look good. Her front teeth were loose and the gums looked dark, bloody and awful. She ended up with a trip to the dentist the next day. After the dentist, she also was complaining of a sore throat and ended up on antibiotics for strep. Welcome Home Mommy!!

Besides the sicknesses and injuries, I got some reports of a naughty 2 year old! My niece, Sadie and Natalie are both two. They both had some pretty good fights with war wounds to show for it. Their main source of defense was biting. They both had drawn blood on each other!! I guess the youngest kids of four have to know how to defend themselves--yikes!

So is the life of a mom...
Can I go back to the beach???

carpet

Carpet is my enemy, my tormentor, the taker of my time... If I had my way, there would be NONE in the house. It seems I am always cleaning it, vacuuming it, freaking out about it--when a child spills or tracks in or there is some catastrophe on it.
Well today was another one of those days where my time was taken up cleaning it again. I was busy around the house, doing laundry, picking up, etc. The girls were upstairs playing nicely---or so I thought. I go up to find Natalie covered in white creamy stuff. Somehow she had gotten a bottle of Watkins burn cream open (it has a child proof cap) and had smeared it all over herself and the floor. It looked like she had been finger painting with it and really rubbed it in.
I also found that they had gotten into some Halloween candy. We did have it put up high, but it is amazing how they can figure out ways to get to anything! I guess Natalie didn't like some of it, b/c there were spots on the floor of chewed up slobbery candy remains. Ugh!!!
Dan and I had bought a small steam cleaner years ago during one of David's catastrophic messes. What a great purchase. I recommend it to anyone with children and carpet!

Halloween

We were back home by Thursday, so the kids could be home for Halloween and be back in school. It was a warm Halloween evening. I can't remember the last time it was warm for Halloween. Normally we are bundled up with winter coats and hats and taking trick or treat breaks to warm up with some hot cocoa. This year was very different. We dressed up with Dan as Old McDonald and the kids were his farm animals. Kaylee was a little piggie, Lauren was our rooster wrangler, and Natalie was a little sheep. I wanted David to be a cow or maybe a bull, but he wouldn't go for it. He is almost 10 and that just wouldn't be cool I guess. So he went as Darth Vader and his best friend was Luke Skywalker. It was a fun night, with plenty of candy for everyone!! We were amazed at the crowds in our little town. People were everywhere and lots of home had huge displays and mini haunted houses set up in their garages and yards. It's amazing what a little heat wave will do for Halloween.

what a week--part 2

After our few nights in the cabins, we headed to my parents. The weather turned beautiful and warm, so we headed to one of my favorite places. A family in my dad's congregation have a large area of property that they farm and raise cattle. It is beautiful rolling hills with a creek running through it. We love to go there when we are home visiting. The kids play by the creek, in the creek and this time we even went fishing. The kids pulled in little fish after little fish and had a blast. I could spend all day there.

Before we left, my parents watched the kids, and Dan and I had great night away to see Fireproof--excellent movie.
And to top it all off, the kids got to see and pet a wolf. One of the neighbors by my parents house has a wolf pet--96% wolf. He was only 6 months old and HUGE. The pictures don't do it justice. The kids talked about it for days, and even brought pictures to school as proof of their stories:)

What a week--part 1

Last week was October break for Dan, and we decided we needed to get away for some family time. At the last minute, my sister found a great cabin on Milford Lake in Kansas. We had a great couple of nights with my parents, my sister and her family and one of my brothers. The kids have been sooo missing their cousins and had a great time. It was cold and windy, but that didn't stop us from bundling up, exploring, hiking and having a campfire. It was a great little get away.

school report

Well, the kids came home from school today and somehow we got on the subject of boys and girls, who likes who, who they would marry, etc...
David reported that all the girls were "crushin'" on Corbin, because he is a real athlete. It just cracked me up-- crushin' on.

Then Kaylee said, if she had to marry someone right now it would be Adam. When I asked, "why Adam?", she said b/c he is the best boy in her class-- All the others are stinky. Yes, boys are a little stinky!

My future Heisman winner!

Well, I got my first call from the principal the other day.

It had been a busy day. I got the kids off to school, then dropped the two little girls off at a friends so I could go to a doctor's appt. Then ran errands, took Lauren to preschool, had a meeting at work... the list goes on and on. Well, after all that, I was rushing home to make sure I got home before the older kids got off the bus when I got the dreaded call. Right away, I was thinking--oh no, what did my kids do. Then the principal proceeded to tell me that he had been notified that David had NOT gotten on the bus AND he was NOT on the playground. My heart dropped...my kid was missing and I panicked a little. All of sudden I remembered!!! I had told David that he could go to the Lutheran, after-school program with his friend, but of course I forgot to call the school or the bus service to tell them. I apologized profusely and explained what had happened. The principal was kind and just said that next time if I remember, I should call. The school and I had a bit of a scare all because of the absent minded mother. Oh my:)

When mommy is sick...

When mommy is sick, it seems the world just falls apart!

Last week was a tough one. Kaylee and Lauren got strep, so I spent several days caring for them and trying to keep Natalie entertained and away from them.

Then I got it... oh boy, I haven't been that sick in a long time. I could hardly function for several days. We just went on auto pilot each day until daddy got home. The girls watched a lot of TV, the house fell apart and they ate a lot of cereal, crackers, whatever I could put together with minimal effort. One of the days after taking some Tylenol and feeling barely alive, I actually threw together some mac-n-cheese AND even made some rice krispy treats, then fell back into bed. Well, when I got up, Natalie had climbed up onto the counter, eaten half a pan of rice krispies. Then decided, that the left over mac-n-cheese needed to be toasted. I found a whole pile of macaroni IN the toaster. Thankfully, it wasn't on.
By the end of the week, it looked like a tornado had gone threw the house, the kids were wearing dirty clothes, the bathrooms were growing fungus and Lauren had dreadlocks (her hair hadn't been brushed all week).

I am finally feeling better and it's time to pick up the pieces--ahhhh!

just a funny

The kids were all outside jumping on the trampoline, when Natalie and Lauren came in. Natalie was crying a bit with the cheezits in her hand and chewed up slobbery cheezits down her mouth, on her dress and arms. We're not sure what happened, but it was probably the result of eating cheezits while jumping. Anyway, Dan and I were on the couch and didn't feel like getting up. Dan says jokingly, (I think), "Lauren, go take her out and let the dog clean her up".
Lauren's response-- "ewww yuck, that's gross--that will make the dog throw up".

pumpkin patch

Every year we try to make it down to Roca Berry Farms Pumpkin Patch. We went this last weekend. The weather was perfect and we had a great time.

David was singled out as the best pig caller and got to cheer on the green pig in the pig races. His pig won and he got a handkerchief and pig nose as a prize!! He did a great job.
He also rode on the BONE CRUSHER-- a huge monster truck-- with Dan. They had fun, although Dan said David was a little concerned a few times when it seemed like the truck was going to just flip right over.
The farm has lots of little haunted houses--David is finally getting old enough to go through some of them with Daddy. Dan would preview the haunted house and then go through it with David if he thought it wasn't too scary. David doesn't like the really scary stuff, but can handle the mild ones.

The girls and I went to the bouncy houses and fed the animals while Daddy and David did their big boy stuff.

We also went on the hayrack ride, picked out some pumpkins and wandered through the corn maze.
It was a good day, but we had some grumpy tired children by the time we left.