Boy Decor and Slide Sledding

I remember when I was a girl, I'd arrange my Barbies decoratively around my room. I guess this is the boy version.

I took my kids sledding today. Ross and Mark insisted on trying to go down the hill standing up in their sleds. They took many a tumble, but no one was hurt. Then Ross got tired of the hill, and started a trend. He went over to the playground started going down the curly slide on his sled. It worked really well. He got going so fast that he just shot off the end of the slide. Soon all of the other kids were over there slide sledding too.

Tag Teamed Again

I see a pattern developing. Clayton starts creating normal one-year-old mayhem. Justice, who should be old enough to stop doing this type of thing, instead of telling Mommy, decides that it looks like fun and joins forces with his little brother. Today it was powder. (I've had MUCH worse.) I found the them together, one with a bottle of baby powder and one with a bottle of medicated foot powder, giving the house a generous dusting. While I was vacuuming it up I came upon them together again: Justice spilling ham & potato soup on the floor (at least that one appeared to be an accident), and Clayton coloring all over with a marker. For the record, I did make Justice clean up the powder with a wet rag.

On another subject, what kind of commentary on my house / my ability to tune things out does this make: The other day, Lydia took a bath upstairs, and there were apparently no towels in that bathroom. She hollered and yelled and jumped up and down on the floor for at least five minutes before I paid her any notice. I heard the ruckus but was under the assumption that it was Ross and Mark playing.

Ssshhhh!

I just finished this year end slide show (actually it's pictures from the last two years, but who's keeping track). I don't want my parents to see or know about this until Christmas, but they don't have the internet so I am safe to post this now.

Off The Cutting Room Floor

I was going through our files, getting pictures for an end of the year slide show, and I found a couple of funny pictures that I just never got around to posting. (At least I don't think I did.)

Try

"My dear brothers and sisters, don’t get discouraged if you stumble at times. Don’t feel downcast or despair if you don’t feel worthy to be a disciple of Christ at all times. The first step to walking in righteousness is simply to try. We must try to believe. Try to learn of God: read the scriptures; study the words of His latter-day prophets; choose to listen to the Father, and do the things He asks of us. Try and keep on trying until that which seems difficult becomes possible—and that which seems only possible becomes habit and a real part of you." ~Dieter F. Uchtdorf

A Peek Into My Fridge

What does this tell you about my family right now?
(Strep throat: The casualty count is up to 4 or 5 currently. Justice and I are still holding strong, knock on wood! Ross was sick first, but I didn't take him to the doctor. His superior immune system beat if off without meds. I don't know whether he had Strep or not. I guess probably so. Good, one less person to get through it.)

Twisty Guys

Ross has been making guys out of twisty ties.

How Does One Family Get Two Such Great Pets?

Here's how I found Clayton just a few minutes ago. How great is this little kitten?!

It reminded me of this picture of Justice and Chloe from a couple of years ago. Neither picture was posed at all.

Sigh of Relief

I am soooooo unbelievably glad that the Stake Choir Christmas Program is over!!!!! Now let Christmas begin! Relax, Relax, Relax!!! I may not do a thing tomorrow but unwind my over-sprung brain. I don't know how you other accompanists do it. The nerves were about to kill me!

Playing Toilet Mystery Grab

As is normal for kiddo's around Clayton's age, he is fascinated by the toilet. I've got to start making sure that bathroom door is shut! He keeps going in there to play in the toilet. He especially loves to put stuff in the toilet. He's bound to ruin my plumbing! The other day I caught him stuffing an entire bag's worth of cotton balls in there. Today it was a washcloth, a sock, and maybe something else. When I caught him at it, the water was disturbingly cloudy and colored a purplish brown. Was this from the socks and washcloth, or from something else more sinister? There was nothing for it. I had to reach in there with my bare hands and retrieve said items. As I did, I felt something else more solid underneath them. I recoiled in disgust! What to do? It might be poo. My family is known to forget to flush from time to time. The water was too murky, and the mystery object was too far down in the neck of the toilet to be able to see it. Did I really want to reach in and pick up someone's poo with my bare hands? (Would that really be so much worse than the many other disgusting things I've had to do in my line of duty?) Clayton was insistently saying "Ball! Ball!" If it's a ball, I definitely couldn't flush it. "Oh well, here goes!" I thought as I silently chanted my #1 lesson of motherhood: "Hands are washable. Hands are washable." I plunged my hand into the cold, murky, brown water and pulled out a large super ball. "Phew!" I felt around to make sure nothing else was there. Thankfully, that was it. As I washed my hands and steered my 17 month old out of the bathroom, I thought to myself, "We should add this to our list of 'Games for Bulimics: Toilet Mystery Grab.'"

(No, I'm not bulimic. But here are some of the other Games for Bulimics: Whole Milk Twirlers, the M&M game ...there were more. I can't think of them. We used to joke about Games for Bulimics. Oh well, I'll remember them later.)

My Children

A conversation with Justice:

Me: "Look it's snowing!"

Justice: "No it's not. It's just bees ."

I think I'll just stay inside.All my kids eating ice cream and zoning out in front of that accursed TV, but I think they are cute together.
Lydia actually wore this dress to school today. No it's not crazy day either. She wore it to Mark's Christmas Program just to be silly. Some of her friends saw her there and begged her to wear it to school. I told her she should offer to let them borrow it.

Forts and Good "Good-nights"

Justice rearranged my living room and made "forts" today. Here's Justice & Clayton having fun playing in them. Chloe even got in on the action.


In case anyone is observant enough to notice that my large, cat picture is missing: No, they did not knock it down. I removed it temporarily as a precaution. I figured it would be easier than telling them not to climb on the forts.
A friend commented the other day how she liked how my kids play together. You know, when you are at home with them 24/7, it's easy to think that all they do is fight, because those things are loudest, and they drive me up the wall with it sometimes. However, when I stop to think about it, yes my kids do fight like normal siblings, but they do also play together a lot and love each other. As an example, my children are chronic nomad sleepers. There is almost never a night when everyone is in their own bedrooms. Justice slept down in Ross and Mark's bedroom nearly every night for about a year, sometimes in Mark's bed, sometimes in Ross' bed, and sometimes on the floor. Then we had the period when the weather was so nice and Ross, Lydia & Mark spent several weeks sleeping out in the tent just under my bedroom window. Since Justice is too little for me to feel comfortable about him sleeping out there without Bruce or myself, Justice had to get used to sleeping in his own bed again. Once the weather turned nasty, we had a span when Ross and Mark camped out on the floor in Justice and Clayton's room. The current thing is "sleep overs" in Lydia's room. As long as everybody goes to sleep, I don't really mind all of this non-sense. It's less rooms for me to visit to tuck everybody in.

Bedtime is either my worst time of day, or my best time of day. I'm often tired and crabby by the end of the day, and I can't take it anymore. Sometimes, it's all I can do to read a story (sometimes they don't even get that), and drag myself upstairs and downstairs to kiss everyone goodnight without screaming. Other times however, I really enjoy those quiet, precious moments with my kids. Last night was one of the good "good-nights." Bruce joined me in Justice and Clayton's room, where all four of us snuggled up on Justice's twin sized bed. Clayton was so sweet hugging everybody, but especially Justice. It melted my heart. Next I went to Lydia's room where Ross and Mark were camped out on the floor. I sat there and we told funny stories of when they were little, and we laughed and laughed. It was great! I'll tell you all the stories we told some other time. I'm waxing long and soppish, so you'll have to excuse me. I just love it when my kids are acting like they really love each other (which, despite their insistence to the contrary, they do.)

Quote of the Day

Ross: "Uncle John was born to be eaten by she-bears!"

I'm a Dork!

I was just cleaning the toys, old apple cores, dirty socks and debris in general out from under our entertainment center. I reached my arm way under there, past my elbow, and I couldn't get it back. I got stuck laying stomach down on my floor with my arm all the way under my entertainment center! What a dork! I was starting to feel slightly panicked thinking about Bruce coming home eventually to find that I had spent all day with my arm stuck under the thing. I did eventually wiggle my arm just right and got my elbow back out. Bruce stopped by and asked me why my black shirt was all dirty. :p

Quick, Get Me Some Soap!

One draw back of having a kitten and a toddler in the same house: Finding that the baby's been playing in the litter box. I think I need to install a cat flap.

Win Some, Lose Some

Justice and Clayton were very sweet this morning by getting themselves washcloths and helping me clean the kitchen floor.

Then Clayton found a marker and did this:

In other news, for Family Night we walked through Rock Springs Park and saw the Christmas lights. We go every year, but we usually drive. This year we did the opening night walk, which was really neat. A bit chilly perhaps, but fun none the less. (I couldn't get a good picture of the lights. I haven't figured out my camera well enough yet to do good darkness pictures.)Heres just a nice picture of Clayton snuggling with Bruce. Good times.

My husband is being disgusting right now. He's "celebrating" Flatulent Day. It's is a holiday that he and my brother Todd made up many a year ago: Dec 1 ~ Flatulent Day. He even had White Castle for lunch just so he could "celebrate." What a doof! I can't believe I'm even posting this. Oh well, you win some, and you lose some!

Lydia Talking In Her Sleep

"Mom, he stole my sandwich!"

"What?"

"You know, my purse that looks like a sandwich."

"What?"

"My sandwich purse, he stole it!"

My Boys

I like how Ross and Mark set out their clothes for school.
(Yeah, some of these days, we'll put the carpet back in their room.)

Justice and Clayton up to their usual shenanigans.
(They dumped an entire bag of Frosted Flakes out and were having a good time grinding it into a powder.)

Blah

"Helping Mama"

My two little guys helping me make mashed potatoes. How sweet is that? Justice pulled up a chair and Clayton found himself a big plastic container to sit on. Justice worked hard with the extra potato peeler, and Clayton went through the drawer and tried out just about every tool in it. He did wind up with the potato masher. Isn't HE a smart boy ;) .

In other news, my hubby has been WAY better to me than I deserve for my birthday. He's been planning and squirreling away money just for me. I got a new memory card for my camera, Photo Shop AND he arranged for me to have a sitter all night last night, today, tonight and a good chunk of tomorrow. How great is he?! I so don't deserve all of this. Unfortunately, I've been so incredibly busy that I haven't had hardly any time to practice piano this whole week. I was about to have a nervous break down. I'm accompanying our Stake Choir in our Christmas Program this year, and I need a LOT, LOT, LOT, LLLLOOOOTTT of practice to be able to play confidently in front of people. (I had no idea that Bruce was sending my kids away this weekend). So, I'm planning on spending like 5 hours or more if I can stand it at my piano today. What a crappy way to spend my time sans-kids. It's totally necessary though. I am literally on the edge of freaking out because of lack of practice. I've been a mean, crabby person all week. (I can hear Bruce saying sarcastically in my head "Really, I hadn't noticed a difference." Implying that I'm always mean and crabby. Which, unfortunately is kind of true. Argh, I suck!)

On another subject, I've been riding my bike in the basement a LOT the past month. My hip has been giving me troubles, so I haven't been running much at all. (I'm doing a 10 mile race -running- tomorrow. I'm pretty sure this year won't be a PR (personal record) for me! My hip is feeling much better, so I think I'll be okay there. I hope.) Anyway, the bike didn't hurt my hip, so I've been doing that instead. It's a regular bike on a trainer, which is a thing that you put on your back tire that creates friction equal to riding outside, only you don't go anywhere. If the back tire isn't aired up properly, the friction is a LOT less, hence the workout is not as effective. I've been thinking that I need a new inner tube for the thing, because I've had to air the back tire up nearly every time I get on it. Yesterday I was downstairs doing laundry when I heard a hissing noise. I turned around and saw Clayton attaching the air pump to the back tire just enough to let the air out. There is nothing wrong with my tire at all. Clayton's been "helping" me again.

Bruce is an Old Softie

Our vet told us that we need to keep our new kitten locked up in the upstairs bathroom for 5-7 days to train her to use her litter box. We go up and visit her often, but Bruce took the cake. He slept on the bathroom floor last night with the kitten. "Aww, how sweet!"

More Similarity

Clayton with his hair cut reminds me a lot of someone I've seen before.Ross

Introducing Lady Nemesis Grim

Bruce brought home a kitten from deer camp. I've never had a birthday present that I loved so much and yet wasn't sure if I wanted before. I'm not sure what I'm naming her, but for now she is Lady Nemesis Grim, on Chloe's behalf. The two animals are shyly getting acquainted. Nemesis crept up to Chloe today and sniffed her nose. Chloe (the 100 lb lab) jumped about a foot in the air and scared the cat. It was kind of funny. I'm hopeful that they will be good buddies. The ride home from deer camp was about 2 and a half hours, during which the cat did not freak out. She crawled up underneath the gas / break pedals and into the dashboard and stayed there for the duration of the ride. It took us about a half hour to get her out once he was home. I could stick my hand up behind the glove box and pet her, but I couldn't maneuver her to get her out. She nuzzled my hand, purred and licked me, but she just wouldn't come out. I eventually got her by the tail and pulled till she came out. Bruce was in the garage getting out a screw driver to disassemble the dashboard at the time. I gave Lady Nemesis Grim her first of many baths if she's going to live with us. Lydia and I are both allergic to cats, but both too in love with cats to stay away. She didn't like it, but was pretty good. I hope this doesn't turn out bad!

-oh, and Bruce killed 3 deer. He has many a disgusting picture that he can post on his own blog.

Snotted and Haired

I just gave Clayton his first hair cut. He didn't enjoy it much. It never fails to surprise me how much older little kids look when you cut their hair. I'd post a picture, but Bruce is out hunting and he took the camera.

Note to self: Do not cut the child's hair without first cleaning off the oatmeal and snot from his face. It stuck all over his face, like being tarred and feathered only with out the pain of the hot tar.

Thinking

I've been thinking about posting kinds of things that I didn't use to post. In the past, I have not posted about spiritual things that I was thinking, preferring to write them in my journal. This was not because I was ashamed of my faith. It's just that some things are so personal and sacred to me that I didn't want to send them out into the world wide web. There are still things of a sacred nature that I will be keeping to my journal, but I think it is a mistake not to share the little thoughts that help me. They might help someone else too. I've recently started keeping my journal with me when I read my scriptures and church magazines so that I can write down little passages that strike me. Today I read an article in the Ensign that had quite a few little thoughts that helped me. Here are a few:

God is "...someone I can turn to for love" (and help) "when I feel weak, not hide from in shame."

"We are worth loving because Christ thought that we were of enough worth to atone for us individually." -Bonnie D. Parkin

". . . We can distinguish more clearly between divine discontent and the devil’s dissonance, between dissatisfaction with self and disdain for self. We need the first and must shun the second, remembering that when conscience calls to us from the next ridge, it is not solely to scold but also to beckon.” -Elder Neal A. Maxwell

My thought is this: Don't look around and, seeing where you are on the path, lie down and give up because you aren't where you think you should be. It's not about where you are on the path. It's about getting back up and keeping on going."

Anyway, I don't by any means plan to turn my blog into a big pulpit or anything, but I just wanted to share what helps me.

Am I an Ignorant Mom, or Does Anyone Else See the Similarity?

A Typical Day at Our House

I call this picture "Another reason to keep my kids out of my laundry room."
Clayton is trying to learn how to make french toast on the floor apparently. He did it almost perfectly too, just a little backwards maybe. First he dumped out an entire bottle of Cinnamon Sugar, then he added a few eggs and a cup of milk, and mixed it all up. The kid's a genius! At least my kitchen smells nice. What is cracking me up is that right now Justice is singing "No one likes a frowny face, change it for a smile..." over and over again.

More About Holes in the Floor

Justice and Clayton love throwing things down the little holes in the floor. Our house has quite a few of these little oddities from old pipes from the radiant heater that isn't there anymore, and other little things like that. Recently they discovered the small hole beneath my piano. It's especially cool because, not only can you drop things down it, but since it comes out just next to the basement stairs, you can push things back up the hole. Unfortunately the two sticks that stabilize the peddles on my piano are the perfect fit for that hole. Clayton and Justice keep pulling them off to stick them down the hole. I had to break Ross and Mark from using them as swords years ago. My poor, beat on piano! Can it survive my children?

I LOATHE, HATE AND DETEST DEER SEASON!!!!!

So Many Things. Where to Start?

My mom always gave us a small spot in the yard where we were allowed to dig holes. (Ours was in the spot under our tree swing, where the grass wouldn't grow anyway.) So, in that spirit, I've always told the kids that they could dig holes in the garden (in a spot where nothing was planted). The kids have been outside for several days this week working on their hole. Our yard is pretty big, and pitched slightly downhill, so while I could see them from the kitchen window, I couldn't really see the hole. The kids were outside and having a ball. These are good things! Yesterday I finally went outside to see their hole. They dug up the entire bean patch! Oh well, I did tell them they could dig a hole in the garden. I'll just have to make them fill it in when they are done with it.

Here's Mark with a guy he made from the mud in the garden.

The kids have also been having a blast raking up leaves and then jumping in them.

Yesterday I was downstairs doing laundry. When I came back up the stairs, I found the basement door locked. I hollered for Justice (everyone older was at work or school) to come and unlock the door. After a minute or two he did. However he had scampered away so quickly that he was gone by the time I had opened the door and come up the last step or two. I had an armful of clothes to put away in my room, so that is straight where I headed. To my surprise, that door was locked too. I knocked and hollered for Justice (who was on the inside) to unlock the door. After a minute I heard the door unlock, and more scampering footsteps. This is what I found upon entering the room:The little scamp! He had sneaked an ice cream bar and was trying to hide from me.

Hop on Pop

I Love Rowan Atkinson!

Where Have I Heard That Before?

I just told Justice to pick up his toys (for the 10th time). This was his reply: "That didn't sound like 'please.'"

Lydia's 24 Hour Triumph, and Other Various Things

Once again, there was a big event that I forgot to bring my camera for. Lydia participated in a 24 hour run at school. Lydia and all of the other participants prepared for a couple of months so that they'd be able to finish it. They had about 5 teams of 11-12 kids each. They ran relay fashion from 9 am Friday morning until 9 am Saturday. Each kid had to run about a mile approximately every 1 1/2 - 2 hours for 24 hours. Way to go LYDIA!!! She did it. I went up for a few hours during the day, and ran with her while I was there. Bruce's parents came up for a while in the evening, and Terry ran with her. Bruce and Trent went there around 7 ish in the evening and stayed the rest of the time, taking turns running with her. I think they only got about 2 hours of sleep. Lydia was soooo tired when she got back! She slept nearly all day and was eager to go to bed early that night. I'm so proud of her for setting that goal, working for it and then doing so well! Love you Babe!

On another topic, here's Ross and Mark with a tower that they were proud of.

Here's Clayton, very happy with himself for discovering the canister that I keep snacks and stray cookies in. Ain't he cute!

Bruce took Justice to Tae-Kwon-Do with him the other night. Justice was very excited to go! He kept asking about it all day. Bruce told me that while they were there, Justice announced that he was going to do a flip. (We have a trampoline, and Justice is very good at doing flips on the that - but on regular ground?!!) Before Bruce could react in any way, Justice jumped up in the air, and attempted a flip. I hope that he learned a lesson about how unspringy regular ground is, when he plowed himself head first into the ground. Silly boy!

Correction: Bruce says Justice landed on his back.

Kind of Frustrated

My hubby tells me that I'm being silly. My best friend tells me that I did good. Maybe I am being silly and I'm trying hard to be sensible. But it is sooo hard -to work for so long at the one thing (apart from the important things in life like Mother and Wife) I REALLY want to be good at, only to screw it up when it counts. I know that when I am alone, I am actually quite good. I am not what I want to be yet, but I am making real progress. I can see it. But every time I get in front of other people, it falls apart. It's a good thing that I am a stubborn, determined little buger. I hate being mediocre - crappy; especially when I've worked so hard, I want so much to be good, and I (only I, no one else has ever heard me play like I can - except for my kids) know that I can do it. Would it be too much to ask for everyone at the Stake Christmas Program to turn around, plug their ears and hum? Oh well, it was only a practice. I've got several weeks to practice yet. "I think I can. I think I can!"

Okay, I need to get a grip and get back to work. I'll probably delete this post. Sorry for being glum. You can ignore me if you want.

A Story by Justice

"Once there was a fat, and he died. The End."

Brrharoom, School Projects!!

A Couple of Pics

Oh Brother!

Seriously Kid, Not Your Best Idea!

This is Ross and Mark getting into their Halloween candy bags. Ha ha!

The Lizard

The Difference Between Kids and Grown-ups

When I woke up and saw that my basement had standing water, I didn't whoop and holler for joy. I didn't have a ball splashing in the puddles in my basement. (After all, to a kid, what could be cooler than having puddles in your own basement to splash in?!) I did not go through 3 pairs of clothes playing in the basement. However, I couldn't resist a grin or two watching Justice and Clayton playing while I was shop vac-ing.

The Sun'll Come Out Tomorrow

Come on! I'm getting a serious Vitamin D deficiency! When will the rain stop?!

Animals Shocking Themselves

Chloe (our yellow lab) always greets everyone who comes to our house with a present of some kind. She picks up the first thing that she can find on the floor and brings it to whoever comes through the door. Today, when my sister in law came over, Chloe picked up a 9 volt battery. Amazingly enough, she dropped it straight away! I laughed. If it weren't for the fact that Clayton would pick them up and put them in his mouth, I'd leave 9 volts lying around on the floor more often. Maybe I could curb her over enthusiasm when we get company.

About a decade ago, Bruce and I had a BEAUTIFUL male cat named Hoth. He had long white fur with markings like a Siamese, and blue eyes. He was utterly gorgeous. The only problem with him was that he had a few habitual peeing spots other than his litter box. (It was this flaw that drove me to get rid of him.) One morning I was sitting in the living room. All of a sudden, Hoth screams and comes flying out from behind the TV stand, along with a bunch of smoke. The stupid cat had peed on the electrical strip and shocked himself! I woke Bruce up because I was afraid it would start an electrical fire. It didn't, so I laughed and laughed at that moronic cat. Served him right! (He was not damaged.)

Yes, I Too am Posting our Halloween Costumes

I do think we had some good costumes this year.

Here's Mark as Frankenstein:

Ross as a "Demond"

Me as Glow in the Dark Stick Woman
(I had a cat costume for inside, since my stick lady costume is only good outside)

Who can tell who Bruce is?

...and here's Lydia as Marie Antoinette

Justice was Spiderman, but I haven't yet managed to get a picture of him. As for Clayton, he's had an ear infection, and I never had the energy or the heart to force him into a costume. (At least not yet).

Renae Gets Taken In

Ach! I HATE wasting my money on things that don't even approximately work!
What a piece of HUD! I'm taking this thing back to Wal-Mart and demanding a refund!

Bock, Bock, Bock!

So, I've been taking some time off of the blog-o-sphere. As I was catching up on reading all of your blogs, my kids were driving me up the wall. I need a serious chill pill this morning or something! Am I just a terrible mom? I got up to check on things and found my camera on the floor (the one that we just got back from the fix it shop). I found the remains of about half a dozen chocolate - chocolate chip muffins, left over from breakfast, smashed all over the kitchen floor. I think that Clayton might have fed them to the dog. I hope she doesn't die! When I was throwing away the crumbs that I swept up, I found my stake music in the trash. While I'm taking care of all of that, Justice deleted my post that I had started. Then I had to go and get Clayton our of about a million things including opening up the cabinet and beating on the stereo system while he turns the volume UP and down, playing in the dirty dishes (I finally just took out the glass things and let him play with the rest), and literally taking apart my stove -top. I'm looking at a burner on the floor next to me right now. Does that make me a horrible mom?! I pushed his chair away from the stove about a hundred times! Argh! Just laugh it off, Renae. Just laugh it off. All too soon the house will be too quiet and too clean. It's all good.

Here are some things that I've meant to post, but just never got around to:

Things Bruce found in his shoes one morning

I can't tell you how wonderful my dog is! (who I hope is not dieing right now from eating all of that chocolate) She is so unbelievably good with my children! I really wish I'd learn how to use my camera so I could properly capture how adorable she and Clayton are together!

One morning I awoke to find Ross' coonskin hat on top of a stove burner that had been accidentally left on (on the lowest setting) all night long. I said a huge prayer of thanks that my house didn't burn down. Seriously!

Here's one of those moments that I love!

In other news, I spent the weekend satisfying the demands of a sick Justice. ( I giggle to myself at all the little word plays on Justice's name.)

The other day Justice asked me about his "naked." He asked, "Is it a little tail?" -lol!

A while back, Bruce set up the tent in the back yard and the kids slept in it for over a week (when the weather was still nice). They loved it! I cracked them up one morning by waking them, singing this song from our childhood (I think Brad taught it to us) - to which I had just made up a new verse (the last one):

I love you, I love you,
I love you so well
If I had a peanut
I'd give you the shell

I love you, I love you
with whole heart and soul
If I had a dough nut
I'd give you the hole

I love you, I love you
I love you so much
If I had a hammer
Your face I would touch

I love you, I love you
I love you, it's true
If I had a swine
I would give you the flu

Lastly, can you believe it? My daughter stole my skirt to wear to church yesterday! When did I get a child with whom I can share clothes? (True, it was rather long on her, but still!)

To the Tune of Les Miserables' "Lovely Ladies"

I smell poo-poo,
smell it in the air!
Think I'll change a diaper
on that baby over there.

Stinky babies,
smell 'em all the day.
Just the mere suggestion
makes my husband run away.

Even mommies need some time to play!

(Sorry if this topic is WAY over done in my blog. It's just a fact of my life right now.)

At Last...

after several batches of salsa, a double batch of grape jelly (that took FOREVER), and lots of green beans, I am finally done canning for the year! YAY!!!

This and That

We went bowling last night for Family Night. The kids always like that. Except for Bruce, who is a decent bowler and beat everyone, our scores followed reverse age order. Justice scored 101, Mark was next with 97, Ross followed with a 95, then Lydia with a 93. I was the biggest loser with a 91. Actually a 91 is pretty good for me. I'm a terrible bowler. No lie - I once bowled a 19! The thing about Justice getting such a good score was partly some kind of uncanny luck / skill thing going on. Bruce was having an off night, so while he bowled a bunch of spares, Justice (the 3 year old) was the only person the entire night to bowl a real legit strike. Go figure. There were several other "strikes" on our score card, but those were all because the kids don't throw the ball hard enough for the lane to register that a ball had been thrown. Hence the kids got a LOT of extra balls, another reason for Justice's high score. Anyway, it was a good time.

Here are just a couple of things that amuse me, recorded for posterity:

Mark wants to be a "Jet-Pack Ice-Cream Man" when he grows up. I'm not sure how the logistics of that are going to work, but what ever.

You know how little ones tend to lag behind when you are out and about anywhere. They are always dawdling, walking on the sidewalk curbs, or stopping to look at every little thing, always stopping to smell those darn figurative roses. Sometimes that's all good and well, and I try to stop along with them, but sometimes (okay a lot of times) I'm running behind schedule, and I just don't have time. Anyway, I've discovered a GREAT way of keeping Justice up with me. All I have to do is say "ACCELERATE!" (It's a Ben-10 Alien thing - one of his current favorite things on the planet. He has a "Ben - 10 Watch" otherwise known as an "Only Tricks" (Omnitrix is the real name) that he wears pretty much everywhere.) Anyway, all I have to do to hurry Justice along is to holler "ACCELERATE!" and Justice will mess with his watch for a second and then come running. It works almost every time.

Clayton Asleep in a Toy Box

Mark Trys to be Sneaky

Once Bruce and I had just come home from a long bike ride. Bruce was in the garage putting our bikes away, and I was still sitting lazily in the truck. Mark ran around the corner from the backyard, to the side of the house (right in between me in the truck and Bruce in the garage). After a peek over his shoulder to make sure that the other kids, who were still playing in the backyard, couldn't see him, he pulled down his shorts and starts to pee right there in front of the truck. He evidently hadn't noticed me sitting there, nor his dad right there in the garage. Bruce and I both called out "Hey Mark! What are you doing?!" He was so embarrassed! It was funny.

Challenge of the Bluffs 09

I came in 2nd in my division. It's a small race, so really whoop-dee-doo. I beat my PR by about 4 seconds. It's a hilly 5 mile race, and I ran 8:30 minute miles. Summary, I did okay. My brother Trent did GREAT!! He came in 2nd over all! Go Trent!!

This Type of Thing Only Happens When You Are In a Hurry

I should have learned by now to be quicker with the diapers when getting the little ones out of the tub! I had just given Clayton a bath and was rummaging around for some clothes. Clayton pooped on the floor then of course, stepped in it and proceeded to walk all over the room. Dang! I put him back in the tub. I'm walking back and forth from bathroom to bedroom, cleaning up the mess when he does it again! Only this time it's in his bath. Ick! I hate fishing out those little floating nasties! Now I have to bathe Clayton again, clean his room and the tub. You'd think I'd have learned by now!

The Adventures of Cardboard Chris

More Old Videos

Whistle Dance,
Starring Ross & Lydia



Ross and Mark make Chocolate Milk

Old Videos

I've been going through and saving all of my old VHS videos. I've been at it all day, and I'm thoroughly sick of it. I've rediscovered some great clips, but there is SOOO much. It will take me forever to get through it all. Here's one clip of Ross and Mark:

Spotted Boy on a Pizza Box

I normally reserve 6:30-7:30 am for cooking breakfast and getting kids ready for school. Today, however with an extra kid or two or three and a busy day ahead, I decided the kids could have cereal and left over pizza for breakfast while I rode the exercise bike in the basement. Clayton helped himself to the older kids' leftovers. Those spots are the chocolate chips from Cookie Crisps that he was eating out of the bag and out of the older kids' bowls that he spilled all over the table and floor. He's darn cute though, is he not!

Various

We've had my nephew, Erik staying with us. He and Justice have been a great time. They are really fun to watch together.

Here are (some of) the fruits of my labors. I spent many an hour out in the garden weeding this summer. I've also spent many an hour canning green beans,

salsa,

and grape jelly

Here's me with my little guys. Clayton was hanging out and chillin with us, till Lydia pulled out the camera.

Clayton

Here's a bunch of pictures from out trip to the zoo that I don't know why I didn't post before.

Lydia, Mark and Justice

Mark & Ross

Justice

Ross

Boa Constrictor and Mark

Clayton

Lydia