More pictures

Here is our moth. He is a sphynx moth. And is now in the wild.



My baby with his holter monitor on. By this time he was used to it.




The result of having the monitor on for 24 hours. He was much more red than the picture shows. Poor thing.





Dillon getting set up at camp. They had their suitcases on their beds to begin with, I'm sure they are on the ground by now.






Matthew on his bunk!

Charge on boys

This morning, Matt left for Florida...early.
So I got up around 8ish to let Sadie go out. She was sitting at the window whining, so I figured I'd better let her do her business. However, we have no fences around here, so she has to be tied up. Which means, that once she is done doing her business, she barks to come in.
Since I was already up, I decided to stay out with her and enjoy the sounds of my windchimes and the birdies. It's great fun to go out and listen to the birds. Who cares if they are scolding you to go away so they can eat more the delicious bird food we put out for them!
Anyway, I sat down on my front steps. On either side of the steps are two big concrete pillars. I had seen fireants on one side before, marching in a line, into cracks of my house! I had dumped Amdro in the cracks to get rid of them. But while I was sitting there, I saw a line of them, marching into a teeny tiny hole. The last time I was at the store, I had asked about Amdro, but they were out. But the man told me that coffee grounds work. So, I thought, what the heck. I've got coffee grounds, might as well try. I dumped some into a bowl and moistened them to help them stick. I really have no idea if they are effective dry, I guess we will see. With a toothpick, I jabbed the grounds into this tiny hole. Of course, it was tiny so I couldn't get them in very well. BUT...the ants wouldn't get near it. So I smeared some around the hole. And also on the big crack I had seen them at before.
They are determined little buggers. They would march around the corner, get near the grounds and turn around. Before long they'd be back.
I could just hear them.
"c'mon boys...we're under attack!!"
They'd come in droves. With their stinger butts straight up in the air. Oh yes, they were going to get these grounds!
"RETREAT RETREAT!! IT'S WORSE THAN WE THOUGHT!!"
"ok, we must regroup....maybe if more of us get together we can take this thing"
Now mind you, I also had a lighter in my pocket from the night before (lighting citronella candles in case you were wondering), and I decided to send them a warning! HA! So, when they would come around and get too close, I'd burn em!
And still, they came!
"CHARGE ON BOYS! WE HAVE TO SAVE OUR QUEEN!"
Pretty soon, the numbers got fewer and fewer. I don't know if this has to do with cowardness, or just the fact that I kept killing them!
By the time I went in, it had been several minutes and there were still a few lonely stragglers, trying to figure away around the deadly grounds.
I'll check on it later today and see how it is going once the grounds dry. I am determined to keep these things away. I wonder how long it will take the queen to die of starvation. I'm sure there is plenty of food to sustain them in there for awhile, but I blocked their entry, so no one is going in or out. I'm assuming that is the only entry because of how determined they were to get in it. And it is concrete, they can't go build a new hole!
I'm thinking of sprinkling grounds all over my yard. I wonder what that would do to my vegetation.
If you recall, (And I was going to link to the entry...but I really must stop naming them ridiculous things, it makes it impossible to find specific entries!) Zachy is very allergic to these things...and I will charge on to protect my baby. HA...maybe the ants need to think about that. They need a mommy willing to protect them, instead of her sitting on her rump making them do the dirty work!

No thank you

Zachy says 'no thank you' all the time. Collin is currently in the bathroom, and Z was knocking on the door. I said, 'do you need to go potty too?' and he nodded yes. Collin said, 'do you need to go poop like me?' Zachy said, 'no thank you Collin' WHAT A HOOT!!
Just to let you know, he didn't want to use the potty, he is so far from being potty trained it isn't even funny.

Could they be any cuter than this??

~*~*~*Hermie is a series of christian videos and books about a caterpillar~*~*~*~*

My kids found a caterpillar awhile ago. It was the biggest caterpillar I'd ever seen, and it was a brilliant green with blue stripes. We caught it and put in in our butterfly container. Thank goodness for the internet because I found out what type it was and learned that they needed dirt to dig down in and make their cocoon. So, we put dirt in and he dug down in there. We thought for sure he had died. But when I went to dump out the dirt I saw his cocoon.

I was just in the kitchen and glanced over at the butterfly container and saw a moth! And ugly brown moth, at that.

Collin was THRILLED and said, 'Zachy...look...our hermie is a butterfly!!'
It was so cute!
I'm bummed that the older boys missed it, cause we will have to let it go before they get home. Oh well...maybe another time!

BOOHOO

I just got a phone call. It was Dillon. Poor thing said he just called cause he really misses me. :-( He said he is having fun, but that he has tried to talk to Matthew and Matthew refuses to talk to him. Matthew will be getting a talking too. GRRRRRRRR
Poor thing, he sounded so sad.
He was pretty excited that he got to go water skiing, and he said he actually got UP!! WOOHOO Dillon!!
He also asked if I would send him mail. I told him I had, and that maybe he'd get it today or tomorrow. It isn't far away, so it is possible to get it today, even though I mailed it yesterday. I hope so. He needs a spirit lifter upper.
Anyway, I'm sure he'll adjust and have more fun. He said he is getting really tired though walking up all the stairs. He has been taking his allergy meds and his inhaler twice a day. I just hope this doesn't send him into an attack. I can always tell when he needs his inhaler, and that is when he is getting tired walking up the stairs. This must be killing him. :-(
Gosh, when I was at camp they didn't ever let you call home, I'm not sure if it is a good thing or a bad thing to be able to call home. We'll see.
And to think...this is the kid that said, 'this is my stop...I'll see ya later' LOL Goofball!

We survived and now they're gone

Well, we survived the 24 hour monitor. It was tough. But once it was time to take it off, he flipped. The tape hurt coming off, poor thing.
But alls well that ends well, I suppose! I hope we don't have to mess with that again for a long while!
Today, we took the eldest 2 boys to camp. This is their first year, and they have been looking forward to it so much. We checked them all in and got their cabin assignments, then took them to their cabins.
Dillon is in cabin 2, and Matthew is in 4. They are right next to each other, with cabin 3 being set back further. So we pull into the grass to park and unload them, and Dillon sees the number 2. We stop and he says, "well, this is my stop, see you in a week, bye" I about died. I told him he didn't get off that easily, that he had to at least let us walk him in and get him settled! Goofy kid.
Once inside, they were pretty excited because everyone was getting their swimsuits on to head to the pool. They had to do swimming tests to determine their level of swim ability. So that was cool. They got there, set up, and changed into their suits and were off with the rest of the kids in their cabin.
I miss them tonight though. I wish I could go tuck them in. And I hope they aren't homesick!! They are probably sound asleep by now, but the nighttime is always hardest when it comes to being homesick.
I'll mail them packages tomorrow and send off some letters. It's gonna be a long week!!

Appointment update

Zachy had his yearly cardiology visit today.
It went really well.
I had told him that there would be no ouchies, just tickles. When we got in the room, I showed him the wand they would put on his chest to see his heart and the screen where he could see his heart. I also told him there would be lots of slime.
He did really really well for the echo and ekg. He would say, "no ouchies mommy" and "tickle tickle mommy" I was so proud of him. And he thought his "stickers" were pretty cool, even if they hurt a bit coming off.
Everything looked great. YAY!!
However, the dr wanted him to do a 24 hour holter monitor. So he hooked him all up. I asked the dr if it would be hard to keep it on him. He told me no, as long as he had a shirt on.
Well, we got home, I went in to start laundry and right away Zachy came to me saying, "all done mommy" with all the electrodes off. That made them lose their sticky. So the dr said we could just use tape. Since then, it's been a battle to keep the tape stuck to him. Matt did it pretty well tonight.
It kind of freaks me out. It sends me back to too many terrible memories, seeing him with all kinds of wires coming off of him. Ick.
Depending on how the monitor looks, will determine how long until the dr wants to see him again. I'm really afraid it will be like a several year thing. And while that must sound great to you all, it scares me. I like knowing that he is doing good.
So there you have it. Good news. Phew!

These things are not good

I have lost my keys. I'm sure I just saw them. But alas...where? I've searched nearly everywhere...and no keys.
Yesterday, the boys were all in there room playing and I went in to talk to them. Matthew was sitting on his bed, which happens to be a top bunk. All of a sudden there was a "POP" and one of the main support boards just snapped. There is no way to fix it. He wasn't being rough or anything, and the boy doesn't even weigh 60 pounds yet. Just..POP. So, he slept with Zachy last night, and Dillon complained that everyone got to sleep on the bottom, so he slept with Collin. I told Matt we should just push the two bottoms together and make it a king size bed and let them all sleep together!
Seriously though, I don't know what we will do about the bed. Not good.

Do you see how rough they are??

Matt informed me yesterday that if Michele had been eating a pork chop, my bacon bit pun would have been funny.
Then, I wake up this morning to read my email, and I read a comment from my mother in law, saying the exact same thing!
THEY'RE RELENTLESS I TELL YA!!! I'm still such a wit baby, you'd think they'd give me a little bit of a break! Sheesh!!

And in the back of my mind..

I've been thinking about Friday. Zachy has his yearly cardiology appointment. I hate them. Truly. It makes me all a ball of nerves. I just wish we could blink and Zachy's heart would never have been sick. What I wouldn't give to take that all away. Unless it meant giving up my Zachy, then forget it.
Last year, our old card had mentioned do a 24 halter monitor on Zach this year. We'll see what the new card says. He has quite a significant murmur, and it is what they focus on when they do his echo. It is caused by the placement of his suture line, and they stare at that white line for what seems like ages, before declaring it fine.
Anyway, just keep us in your thoughts, and pray that his heart is just as healthy as it was last year!

PARTY TIME

Monday night, our neighborhood had a pool party. It is hard to say neighborhood, because it was only the officers. We live in the same neighborhood with enlisted folks, but it was just the officers there. We had the pool from 7-10 and we had a barbecue. It was great fun.
Zachy was so funny. He repeatedly jumped in yelling, "cannonball!!"
We'll buy our pool passes tomorrow...and I see us spending a LOT of time over there this summer. It is right behind our houses, so quite convenient. Hooray for summer! And hooray for swimming pools!

Houston....we have a problem...

The W******* are approaching!
That's all I could think of on our way to Houston last weekend.
We made the trip and saw my dad and his wife. They actually live in Oregon, but had a layover there last weekend. So we went to see them. And they got us a room in the hotel. We had to get adjoining rooms, and Matthew and Dillon stayed in their room, because the 6 of us exceed the maximum capacity rules. Matthew and Dillon thought it was so great.
My dad and Michele gave my boys all shirts. They had been in Roatan, Honduras. The shirts said, Bad Boys Club...Roatan. Matthew took one look and exclaimed, "Bad boys club...ROTTEN!" It was priceless.
Anyway, we had a great time and were glad we went. But I have to say that Houston really didn't do anything for my feeling of Texas. I was actually really glad to be home. I wouldn't want to live there.

Wit and Grease

My in laws are quite witty. Well, my mother in law and sister in law and hubby are. My father in law...not so much...which is why we get along so well, I'm sure of it. Everyone likes to pick on us! Brother in law falls in the middle. He could really care less if he is witty or not.
But, for the fourteen years that I have been a part of these people's lives, they have ridden me about my lack of wit. In the recent years, my mother in law and sister in law have told me I'm getting a bit better.
I try. I really do. Mostly, I embarass Matt. I feel for him, but obviously not too badly because I'm about to knowingly embarass him right now. He never really finds me funny, he just pokes fun at my attempts to be funny. And if it is public, he just buries his head thinking, "she is sooo not funny, no one will think this is funny" But nevertheless, I persevere! Which leads me to my greatest wit accomplishment.
It happened this weekend. We were in Houston seeing my dad and step mom. We were at a restaurant. Michele (step mom) had ordered a petite steak. When they brought it out, it was TINY! I mean..TINY!! We all joked about it being so small, and without missing a beat, I said, "if it were any smaller, it'd be a bacon bit" . Everyone but Matt, thought it was pretty funny, and I was feeling really proud of myself until I saw the look on Matt's face that said, "she is just embarassing herself".
Oh well. I still find it funny. And I do think it was the best I've come up with. Sorry to embarass you honey, but I'll never be the witty girl. I'll forever be the girl that the witty people poke fun at.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
I found the greatest find at Wally World the other day. In a totally unexpected place. We were looking at bike tire pumps when I glanced to the right. And what did my eyes behold?? A DVD of GREASE 2!!! For...drumroll please....$5.50!!! You know I wasn't passing that up. Well, if you know me, you know I wasn't passing it up.
I have come to think that maybe Matt wants a motorcycle because of the movie. Because I love to sing:
If you really wanna know
what I want in a guy
well I'm looking for a dream
on a mean machine
with hell in his eyes.....
Only when I sing it, I picture myself looking as beautiful and sexy as Michelle Pfeifer, which is the furthest thing from the truth. But maybe Matt thinks I really want a cool rider. I always was attracted to those bad boys. It's how I first was attracted to him, but he tricked me good! He was so far from bad.
Anyway, my love...I don't really want a cool rider. I really just want you. So there is really no need for you to desire a motorcycle so much. Can we just lay that to rest?? :-)

Thanks Mom

I have been getting the kids stuff together for camp. And labeling all of their clothes. This isn't sissy stuff, I'll tell ya! LOL There is a lot more work involved in sending kids to camp than I ever knew! Doesn't help that I'm trying to get two kids ready at the same time!
So thanks mom, for all the years that you labeled my clothes and made sure I had just the right amount of toiletries for camp.

Good Grief

Matthew stapled his finger today. Crazy kid. Well, I guess he isn't crazy, he didn't do it on purpose, but still!
We are going to Houston this weekend. My dad is coming home from being out of the country and has a layover in Houston, so we will drive down there and see them for the night.
Today is my sister's birthday. HAPPY BIRTHDAY AIMEE!!! I tried to tell her she is getting old, but she isn't buying it! HEHEHE
I think I need to explain something about the last post. We are teaching our kids that it isn't ok to hit anyone. The problem is coming with the neighbors telling their kids that they are not allowed to hit girls, but not reprimanding the girls for doing anything. I have talked to C's mom, in fact SHE talked to me. Said that she had seen M and C pushing and it was not ok for M to be pushing C. This has taken place several times, and we had already addressed it. But in her mind, it doesn't matter what C does to Matthew, she's a girl, he's a boy, end of story. I just really don't think it is ok.
I know in my comments Leslie said she feels there is a big difference between girls hitting boys and boys hitting girls, and I'm sorry, I have to disagree. Boys are NOT always stronger than girls, and just because one is a boy and one is a girl, does not make it ok for the girl to hit the boy. Does any of that make sense? I know plenty of women who have beat up their husbands. And because the man was taught never to hit a woman, he has taken it. That is so wrong. I certainly don't want my kids to think they can't defend themselves because they are boys.
And then, it is probably just my skewed thinking because I don't have any girls to worry about, and as they say...boys are easier. *rolling eyes*

Raising Boys

You know, people often tell me that boys are much easier than girls to raise. That there are less worries.
I obviously don't have any girls to compare it with, but there are definitely things that pop up that make boys tough. Things that I haven't quite figured out how to deal with.
We have a neighbor girl, C, who is way too much like Matthew. They both like to be in charge. And they both don't like to budge if they can't be in charge. Because of this, they butt heads....a lot.
Lately, it seems to be turning physical. No hitting, but pushing certainly takes place.
Of course, they both always say the other started it.
After the first episode, we informed Matthew that it was NOT ok to lay his hands on a girl. And as the words were falling out of my mouth, I realized just how off it seems.
Yes, boys tend to be stronger, but does that mean that boys have to take a beating from a girl, just because she is a girl? That doesn't seem right to me.
I am pretty traditional when it comes to the roles of boys and girls. I absolutely believe the man should be the bread winner, and the woman should be home taking care of that home. And I am not a feminist. Far from it.
I just don't know how to handle this. Seriously. We all know of people who have relationships where the woman DOES beat up man. And is that ok, just because he was unfortunate enough to be born with a penis?? I don't think so.
I will continue to tell Matthew that he can't lay his hands on C, ever, but I'm so not sure that is the right answer. I don't understand why it is ok for her to lay her hands on him though.
*sigh*
See, people don't think of these things when they make comments about boys being easy. It certainly isn't easy!

We're DONE!

My boys finished up their books today.
They are officially done with school for the year! WOOHOO!!
Matthew spent a long time yesterday and last night finishing his up. Dill finished today.
Now to get started ordering their new stuff for next year. And next year I'll be throwing Collin in to the mix! FUN!

Because there will never be too many songs

I changed my song...again. This one fits my blog a bit better. While I love the last song, it was a bit too rockish for my blog.
This is my song for my beloved. It has been for years now. There are few songs that fit us better than this one.
If you happen to be new to our life, we got married at 18 and everyone said we wouldn't make it. No one wanted us to get married, but we did anyway. It was the best decision I've ever made, and I wouldn't have done it any other way. Yes, it's been hard, but it's only made us stronger.
So my dear Matt, you're still the one. I love you more than anything. Thank you for being my everything.

Matthew's wish list

The other day, Matthew came to me and said...
"I know what I want for my birthday. Three things.
1. A bicycle, of course
2. a lifetime supply of bread, but I'm kidding about that.
and 3. an ipod"
OK, first of all, how funny is it that my kid says he wants a lifetime supply of bread, then follows it with an I'm just kidding?
And secondly, how is it that he is old enough to want an ipod? And he doesn't even go to school!!

It's tough to realize you aren't what you thought you'd be

When I use to picture myself as a mom(you know way back before I was a mom), I didn't picture myself like this.
I always thought I'd be the mom that everyone loved. The neighbor kids would love to come over because I was the cool mom. I would bake warm chocolate chip cookies for them. I would cook good home cooked meals that everyone would love. My house would always be nice and neat and clean. I would have the patience of a saint, and I would certainly never lose my temper with my kids, heaven forbid!
But what I am, is completely opposite what I thought I'd be.
I cook nice, home-cooked, healthy meals for my wee ones, and they all complain and turn up their noses. Matt will at least eat my cooking, but I've been married to him long enough to know when he doesn't like the cooking either.
Really, the neighbor kids don't like me all that much, because I'm much too hard on my kids, and it isn't all that fun to come over here. I'm certainly not the cool mom, so far from it, as a matter of fact. I rarely bake cookies. My house is always a pig sty, which Matthew informed me today was like a trash can. He said there are flies and it's always messy. Nice observation! I certainly don't have much patience, and I certainly lose my temper.
I'm not sure I like this mom I am. I'm not sure my kids even like the mom I am.
Although, I have to say, when I pictured the mom I'd be, I never pictured me homeschooling. And I never pictured me sleeping with my kids, or nursing for an extended amount of time. And forget cloth diapers. I was the typical mainstream mom in my dreams. I know for sure I don't want to be a mainstream mom, and am so glad I didn't go that route. I just wish I were a better mom.
And I wonder if maybe the mom thing doesn't really come naturally to me at all. I see mew moms doing a far better job than me, and I think they really have it all together. Here I've been doing this a long time, and I don't have it together.
I pictured myself June Clever. I turned into Roseanne Connor. Why can't there be a happy medium??

Health fair

I took the kids to a health fair today. It was at a private school and the kids put it on. It was all about your body. There were real kidneys, eyes, brain, heart, and a rabbit that was all opened up.
Matthew thought it was quite gross, while Dill thought it was pretty cool, and he touched everything.
I don't think that Collin got that it was real stuff from inside your body. Zach slept the whole time.
As for me, I got sick to my stomach because of the strong fermaldahyde (sp?) smell. Oh man, I could never be a science teacher. Ick.
It's hot here today, so we've hung out inside all day long.
The kids are almost done with their books for the year. By the end of next week they'll be done. YAY! I'm so ready for school to be done for the year.

If I could save time in a bottle

My mother asked me the yesterday if I was alright because I hadn't updated. LOL Who knew she checked on me every day?
I have been thinking alot lately, about how I wish I could ingrain memories into my head so I never ever forget them. My kids are growing so quickly, and this time will be done before we know it.
Some things I want to remember~
~the day we were at the zoo, we were in the reptile house, and I got the pleasure of taking my Collin around with me. Matt had Zachy and the older boys, and Collin and I just took our time. He was so fascinated. I had to lift him up to see in each cubicle. He would hollar, "YIKE!" at the sight of the snakes. One time I lifted him up to look in a tank, and we couldn't see anything. Except there were several flatish, round, smooth stones. He got SO excited and said, "LOOK MOMMY!! It's TURTLES!!" It was so cute. I had to tell him that nope, it wasn't turtles, just rocks! How I love his enthusiasm and innocence.
~Monday evening, I was sitting outside. My boys were playing with the neighbor kids. You have to understand that we live in town house type houses and our particular building is in the shape of an 'L'. We are back in a corner, and there are 4 families that live in them, but there are 8 units. We live at the end of the long side of the L and the other three families live right down at the corner of the L. They were all down there and I was just watching them. Dillon and his friend C, were on her stoop playing UNO. Collin and Zachy were riding bikes with the other two 4 year olds, and Matthew was chasing them. Everything was perfect. The breeze was blowing, and everyone was happy. Eventually, as usually happens, the hoses came out. And the water guns. And what ensued was a huge water fight. That included Matt and I on opposite teams, each with our kid teammates. I was abandoned by my teammates as they realized that they were on the losing team! LOL It was so fun to be the fun parents. The kids LOVED drenching us. And we LOVED drenching them! Lots of laughter. It is a moment I never want to forget.
~the same day at the zoo, we were walking along and Dillon hollared, "MY COUSINS!" We weren't sure what in the world he was talking about, but he took us to the warthog exhibit! He thinks since he has warts, surely they must be his cousins! Goof ball
~yesterday, we were in the car, and Dillon was wearing his visor upside down and sideways. I told him he couldn't wear it like that because everyone would think he was a punk. I had to explain to him what a punk was, and he said, "oh no, I am NOT a punk" But, Collin caught on and immediately said, 'Dillon's name is punkin, and I'm going to EAT him!' LOL So once we got out of the van there was lots of chomping of the teeth! It was funny.
~and last but not least, last night, Collin and Zachy were supposed to be upstairs in their beds going to sleep. It didn't take long for them to be downstairs with us. And they both promptly went and snuggled up in Matt's arms. I wish I had a camera, it was priceless.
That's it for now. Gotta go be with the boys.

It is a very good feeling

When you realize your child can read. And that YOU taught them. Dillon is reading much better at this age than Matthew was. Which is strange because Matthew started out way more advanced. Before this year started, Dillon couldn't even recognize his letters. If you'll recall, I was certain he must have some learning disability, because no matter how hard I tried, he just wasn't getting it. And now...he's a reader!!! How awesome!
Now to get to work on Collin!

Multi-tasking has never been my strong point

I just realized that I have way too much stuff going on in this head of mine!
While I'm not actually physically doing a lot of stuff I am constantly thinking about the following things
~what curriculum we are using for the kids next year (this is a huge issue for me every year)
~VBS!!! Everything about it, will we have enough money? enough helpers? am I doing enough? Will it all get done in time? What do I need to be doing today?
~being a slacker family member....must get to the post office
~finishing this years school work
~what do I need to get before my kids head to camp? will Dillon wet the bed at camp? if so, will he be teased? Will Matthew be ok with out Dillon? (he originally said he didn't want to be with him, but once I sent the stuff in, he panicked a little when he realized he won't be able to be with Dillon, at all)
~I have to schedule Zachy's cardiologist appt, but they aren't scheduling in June yet...must remember to call back next week.
~how am I going to get back on the weight loss track?
~how am I going to afford a new camera?
~how are we going to swing starting Adventurers AND Pathfinders? Is it possible? If not, which do we do?
Those are just some thoughts I have going on right now. And I know, much of it is trivial, and it isn't like I'm worrying about it(like the camp thing, totally not worried about it, they will be fine) it is just a thought floating in my head.
I am so ready for this school year to be over. And VBS. It is so much more stressful than it would be if we had some money in the budget for it! This will be the first time this church has had VBS in this building. It is across the street from a huge housing complex. We will blanket it with flyers. Which adds more stress, how many kids to plan for?? Next year will be easier, we will have VBS in the budget, and we will have an idea of how many people will show up. Although, I could screw this up royally and they could easily say that there is no way they will ever let me lead VBS again. Matt noted last night, that I am not leading any of the classes. I personally, don't think that is my job. I have to take care of making sure everyone knows HOW to lead their classes, and I have to recruit all the workers, and I have to do all the behind the scenes stuff, like getting it on the radio, and getting these flyers out, etc. I think that is fair. I have to make sure things run smoothly whilst VBS is actually happening. Am I wrong? Should I be teaching a class? There are enough leaders to do them, but did I do bad? *Sigh*
What was I thinking when I agreed to do this??? UGH!!!! OK, just this one time, then I will feel empowered, and I'll be able to do it next year. It's just this first time is a killer!!!

More Dillon funnies

We taught the kids how to play Clue this weekend. It is really great reading practice for Dillon and they really have to think.
Anyway, at one point, Dillon was looking at something on his pad, and it was taking him forever. We asked what was wrong and if he needed help. He said, "I just can't find Mrs Cluck" We all laughed and told him her name was Mrs Peacock, not Mrs Cluck.
He also can never remeber Miss Scarlet's name. He calls her Miss Garlic. And you have to picture him saying it in a totally snobbish voice, he'll go, "I'd like to make a discussion(that's funny too,cause it is supposed to be suggestion), I think it is Miss Garlic, in the conservatory...with the POISON!!" He is so dramatic when he says it all, and he sounds so funny. I wish you could hear it, but alas, that's the internet.

Phooey

We went to Sea World today(and boy was it HOT). Had a good time. But as we were loading the car, our camera got dropped. Now it isn't working. :-( I am so so sad.
It is our digital. We have a regular one, but that one doesn't work either, so we've been relying on our digital. Now, we have no working camera. Which, isn't a good thing in this family. We have some big expenses coming up too, so it isn't like I can just go buy a new one. Start clicking those ads up top, help my get a camera!! LOL

These things must only happen in my house

or not....
the other day I opened my sock drawer...to find 5 cheetos. I don't know when the last time we had cheetos in the house was. Which tells you how long it's been since I wore socks.
~*~*~*~*
Yesterday, I worked my tail off, and cleaned my house, top to bottom, I even mopped. I hate mopping.
Shortly after I was done, Zach got in the fridge and broke all the eggs on the floor. Guess it wasn't clean enough!
~*~*~*~*~
We also had an entire Icee dumped over in the freezer today, while it was being put in by little hands. Such fun to clean up!

Dillon, my boy, cracks me up

Conversation between Dill and me
Dill~I wish I didn't have freckles
Me~Why is that? I love your freckles.
Him~Because all of the girls like me, because of my freckles. (SO SERIOUSLY)
Me~yep, some day you will like that
Dill~well, I don't, and I wish I didn't have them so that they didn't like me. ALL the girls like me!
Me~trust me on this, someday you'll be glad
Dill~ (grumbling)no I won't, I hate my freckles!

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Learning the books of the Bible, he cannot figure out that Lamentations is LAMEN-tations, and not Lemon-tations

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

In the car, the boys have taken to reading their Bibles. They say, "tell me a verse, and I'll read it to you"

So, John 3:16 it was. Dill says, "I know that one! For God so loved the world, that he gave his only FORGOTTEN son....."

I'm stuck in the 90s

I started scrapbooking in 1998.
Back then, you were quite limited to stickers. There weren't all the fun embellishments there are today.
I want to scrap our Disney trip...badly. Yet, I'm so stuck. I want to do these new techniques, but I don't know how.
There's all sorts of fun stuff these days, and yet I'm stuck with STICKERS! So sad. For one thing, all the new stuff is $$$$$...but still, I like it.
My best friend is coming here in June. She started scrapping when she came to visit me after Z was born. She had never scrapped before. Now she teaches classes. She does absolutely awesome work, and I'm a bit envious.
She knows when she comes, that she must bring all her scrapping supplies so she can teach me...and yank me out of the 90s!!

Mercyme

I added Mercyme's new song "so long self"...it takes awhile to load, but I love love LOVE this song. I love the line, "this life is not about me apparently"
So true! Enjoy!

Random pictures

The weekend before my surgery, we went to the zoo. We'd never been to this zoo. It's alright. Definitely not the best we've been to, but better than none I guess.
These are just some random pictures we took

This is my adorable Collin. The kid is so funny. I love him so much. He is always acting so silly. I told him I wanted to take his picture and to say cheese!



This is one of our guinea pigs. Illustrating the fact that we saw capyburas at the zoo, you know...the giant guinea pigs. LOL



I always have thought this is a type of spanish moss. I could be wrong though. But it is funny stuff. It falls off the trees looking just like this. Matthew is absolutely terrified of it, and Dillon carries it and chases him with it. It's quite funny, because hello...it's moss. Matthew is just sure it is something gross though.



One of the boys took this picture of the grizzly bear. Doesn't he look so sad? Like he's saying, "please....let me out!"



My favorite guys!!

A jar of what?

I was just collecting my little ones from the neighbor, and as I was taking mine out, their little girl came out too. So I asked the dad if he wanted me to keep the door open, or close it. He said to leave it ajar.
This took me straight back to my childhood.
We owned a fancy schmancy Chrysler New Yorker. It talked to you in a robotic voice. We named the voice James, and would always talk back to him.
Well, having children, the most common phrases he ever said were, "please, fasten your seat belt" and "a door is ajar"
My sister and I would always say, "a jar of what? peanut butter?"
We were such goofballs, and it made us laugh.
So when he said, 'leave it ajar' I wanted to say, 'a jar of what? peanut butter?'

How will she survive??

That's what you will be asking yourself in a minute.
Yesterday's high was 98. Not sure what it was with the heat index.
Currently, it is 85, but it feels like 98. The actual high is supposed to be 99 today, so with the heat index already so high...how will it feel?
And so the question is...how will I survive?? Thank goodness for A/C!!
I don't like extreme heat (really I don't like the 90s) and I think it is a cruel joke that I live in Texas!!

I should not have been so hard on the military

In my panic, I was awfully hard on the military medical docs. And the reality is...a civilian doc screwed me up, a military doc fixed me. I was so wrong to doubt them.
I have also been thinking about the fact that God's timing is perfect. If this was discovered while we were on the outside, we would be facing a hefty medical bill right about now. Instead, you the faithful taxpayers, paid for my surgery. Thanks! :-) And while I'm thanking you, thank you also for my house, and my food, and everything we use every single day to live, and even the things we play with! We couldn't survive without you!! :-)

The numbers

I had Matthew almost 10 years ago.
In those 10 years I have been pregnant for 3 years and 8 months.
I have breastfed for 5 years and 7 months. In the past 10 years I've been breastfeeding more than not. Wild.
I've gained 160 pounds (wow that sounds so bad!! but it was while pg) and lost 110 pounds.
OK, I can't think of any other strange numbers that are absolutely meaningless!!

And since the water still isn't boiling...

I will write to say that I am feeling MUCH better. I am off all pain meds and so am not nearly as tired.
One week makes a big difference.
Now I do have a question. Could I take a sleep aid? I mean, just for one night. I hear the ads about waking up refreshed! Since Zachy isn't in our bed anymore, and waking me up all throughout the night, I'm having a hard time sleeping. Isn't that just crazy? My body is just used to waking up. But now, everyone is sleeping through the night, and I would like to also.
I crave just one full night sleep, so that I can wake up nice and refreshed....like I haven't in oh...about 10 years!!
What do you all think??

Disconnected

I have so many thoughts rolling around in my head that I want to get down, and yet, I never feel like writing. Nothing of great importance, just stuff I feel like blogging about.
But this topic has been floating for awhile, and while I wait for the water to boil, I figure I'd write it down.
It is amazing to me, just how quickly we become disconnected from other people.
For awhile, when we moved here, I didn't think I could handle being alone. And yet, here we are, almost a year later, and we are fine.
However, in that year, our familial relationships have slipped further and further away. It is sad, really.
It isn't uncommon for weeks to pass in between talks with my in-laws, and by in-laws I mean mother and father. I think the last time I talked to one of my sisters-in-law was back when her mom passed in January. How can that be? But it is true. The other one, I talked to last weekend, but that is because she had a question for us. Before that, it had been weeks, maybe even months.
I honestly have no idea when the last time I talked to my dad was. It's been months and months. He is a traveler, and so I have no idea if he is even in the country right now, or not. Probably so, I'm just saying, it's been awhile.
My sister says I can't go a day without talking to her, but she is going back to work soon, so that will all change. We will go back to months passing in between talking. I have only seen a few pictures of my new niece.
Speaking of nieces, I have only seen a few of my other niece who was born in August.
I do talk to my mom. Probably because she doesn't have a job, so it is easy to time calls to her.
Distance does that to people. And part of me thinks I have a big part to do with the distance, by having this blog. Everyone in our family, knows all the details of what is going on in our lives, and yet I couldn't tell you a single thing that is going on in theirs.
Am I blaming anyone? Heck no. We are all to blame.
I mean, even though I talk to my mom, I completely forgot her birthday this year. And I have my nephew's birthday present sitting here waiting to mail. His birthday was in April.
But even though our families read my blog, you will only see the occasional comment from them. My grandma is faithful in emailing me after every time she reads. That is nice. At least I know I'm not boring her to tears!
I realize that this is sounding like a guilt trip, and I so don't mean it that way. Like I said, I am as much to blame as everyone else. I could certainly do a better job of shooting out the occasional email or calling everyone.
Yet, life gets in the way. We get busy, and the little things go by the wayside.
We are alone here. Thank goodness we have our family to keep us busy. And I am becoming very aware of the importance of a church family.
At any rate, I don't know why I'm rambling on about this, it is just interesting to me, just how quickly you become totally disconnected from people you once used to know current details about.
I must do better.

*yawn*

I feel pretty good today. My head is foggy. I can't, for the life of me, remember if I took an ibuprofen this morning, but I don't think I did. I remember thinking that I was going to, but I don't think I actually did.
I wish my head wasn't foggy. I wish my eyes could focus on something without the rest of my line of vision being blurry. I just feel odd.
I'm not in much pain at all. Every once in a while the boys will somehow push on my belly, and that hurts, but that's about it.
I'm just so so tired. Physically drained.
I can't wait for this to pass. I'm itchin to get a full days worth of housework done, and not be so drawn to the couch for a little rest. Maybe by next week.
Maybe I'll just sleep the weekend away.
Matt leaves on Monday for Denver, so I guess I will be forced to do all the care taking, that could be very very good for me.
But for now...*yawn*

The rest of the crew

Everyone else is doing well. We had some sickies last week, but no more.
We had a good time at the zoo on Saturday and Sea World on Sunday.
Matthew was supposed to have a tooth pulled yesterday, but freaked out too badly. Now they will have to do it under general anesthesia. Poor thing!!

Something happened in the process

When I went in to surgery they told me I wouldn't be able to nurse Zach for 24 hours.
We decided it was time to actively wean.
I know this is making some lactivists shake their heads in shame. But that's ok.
We nursed for 33 months, that is something to be proud of.
Zach has had no problems. He has asked to nurse just a couple times, and has been content to scamper off and do something else when I tell him I have owwies.
It is a bit sad to see this part of our relationship go. He truly is a big boy now....now to get him out of diapers! ;-)

Sorry if this is a repeat

Apparently, I didn't explain my situation very well, because I've gotten several emails from people asking about the IUD incident. So let me try to clarify it better.
Six weeks after Zach was born, September 2003, I had a Mirena IUD placed. It hurt too bad going in, and I knew something was wrong. However, I figured it was because I truly never wanted it in the first place. It was just something I did. I made a big bad mistake that I regret. It caused me severe abdominal pain and much vaginal bleeding. It was put in on a Thursday.
By that Tuesday, I decided it was time to go to the dr. I could never feel the strings, but thought that due to all the bleeding, maybe they were just hard to find or feel.
When I went to the dr, they confirmed that there were no strings, and did a transvaginal ultra sound to see if it was still in my uterus. They decided it was no longer in my uterus, and had fallen out. The pain, they told me, was because my uterus was infected. They offered to put another one in, which I vehemently declined.
Fast forward to this year. Many problems with ovarian cysts and very irregular menstrual cycles. I went to a dr in September of 2005 who informed me that all my troubles were from nursing, and as soon as I weaned Zach the troubles would go away. I questioned whether it was possible for the IUD to still be in my abdomen. She laughed and said no.
By April, I was having a 7 day period every other week. As you will recall, I was also dealing with another cyst. I finally made an appointment and was seen.
The doc I saw this time decided to fully check me out. She ordered loads of blood work. When I told her that I always felt there was still an IUD floating around in my body, she chuckled, and said it was highly unlikely, but she would order an x-ray to be sure.
The x-ray revealed the IUD, which they suspected was in place, in my uterus. But since x-rays can't see organs, they weren't totally sure. I, however, at this point was certain it was not in my uterus.
On Monday, they sent a scope into my uterus through my cervix to discover it wasn't there. So they proceeded to do a laproscopy to try to find it. This is when they discovered it was embedded in my colon.
We are certain now, that it perforated my uterus when the doc was inserting it, which is why I never felt strings.
This literally, could have killed me. A loose IUD can so some major organ damage. The Mirena IUD is plastic with a vial of progesterone on it. In place, the hormone is supposed to be emitted but stay locally in the uterus. This doesn't make much sense to me, but whatever. The dr told me that I was getting a much higher dose of progesterone due to it flowing through my blood stream. Having it out, should straighten my hormones out. I hope so.
So there you have it, the whole long story. Sorry to bore you!

Still alive

I'm still alive. I feel surprisingly miserable. I figured a few incisions on the belly would be no big deal. But between the pain and being nauseous...ick.
Anyway, the IUD was embedded in the fat the surrounds the colon. Lovely.
Here are a few pics.

They spot it with the camera.



working on getting it out



Almost out.



Everything went fine and I am pleased to report that the stupid thing is out of me...for good. NEVER AGAIN.
I'm off to go lay down...

Feeling a bit better

I had all my pre op work done this morning, and I'm feeling better.
I had to have my blood drawn and it was the worst time ever. They blew two of my veins and said, "your veins just blow too easily" Only they are the only ones who have ever had that problem.
It scared me to think of someone like that starting my IV, so when it was time for me to talk to the anesthesiologist, I made her write in my chart that I wanted an anesthesiologist starting my IV with lidocaine, and not just a nurse with no pain meds. I am thankful for that.
I talked with the drs, and while they still don't know where the IUD is they seem hopeful that it will be an easy out. Of course then they added, "however, if it's adhered tightly we'll have to open you up and work on getting it out" *sigh* Tiny laproscopy holes I can handle, a big incision just seems much more painful.
This has been such a terrible emotional roller coaster. I just hope I make it out alive, with all my organs. I'm not afraid of the anesthetic, I'm afraid of less than skilled hands trying to dissect it away from a major venous organ and causing me to hemorrage (sp).
But what can you really do? Have faith I guess. And rely on my family to be sure to take good care of my babies if I have to go. My mom tried to tell me that I just needed to make sure everyone knew that the boys would go to her. I told her I think Matt would have something to say about that! LOL I'm pretty certain he'd want to keep his own kids! It was kind of funny though.
I am a bit nervous though...Zachy is sick today. And my tummy is upset, but I'm not sure if it is nerves, something I ate, or if I'm getting this illness. I hope it isn't this bug. That would just prolong this roller coaster!!
OK, loads to do today, I just wanted to say that I'm feeling better, just sick to my stomach, with sore arms from the dumb lab people.

Just let them know...

For some reason, I am SO afraid of dying on Monday. It's not the act of dying itself. I am afraid of leaving my 5 boys alone. I'm afraid my little ones will grow up without a memory of me. And that over time, none of them will know just how much I love them and that they are my whole world.
I spoke with Pastor Lynn last night, and he was telling me that I just needed to pray for peace, and then claim that peace, and I would have it. And I did, last night. And this morning, the fears are back. I know it is satan attacking me. GET THEE BEHIND ME, IN THE NAME OF CHRIST. GET BEHIND ME!!!!
I think I am just so scared because I'm doing this here. Our neighbor is an OR nurse and he said I should be glad that it will be at the army hospital, because I would not want it at the AF one. And that's where he works (AF), nice huh? So yeah, I'm scared of them screwing up.
At any rate, I have to go to my pre op in a few minutes. But please...keep me in your prayers...and if it is my time to go...someone...let my boys know how much I love them.

Monday

I go in for surgery Monday.
There is a possibility the IUD is adhered to my uterus. If it is too tightly adhered two things could happen...1)they will leave the IUD in forever or 2)I'll lose my uterus.
This isn't how things are supposed to go....
Please, pray for me that this is an easy fix. Can't we just have something easy in our family? Just once??
I am so. so. scared.

Feeling....overwhelmed

I actually feel like I may be on the verge of a panic attack, although I'm not sure I've ever truly had one. What I consider a panic attack is where I just want to be out of my skin. I can't stand to have anything touching me and I just feel very anxious.
I don't know why. Nothing especially huge is going on. Just little stuff, that happens every day.
Dillon is quite ill. He is burning up and has zero energy. So far he hasn't thrown up today, but he hasn't really taken anything in either. He has sipped some gatorade and ate a couple of bites of banana and macaroni. So far so good. But he looks awful, and I Feel so bad for him. He took a bath earlier and when Matt went to go check on him, he was laying on the floor. Matt asked what he was doing and he said, "it's just comfortable" He just doesn't have any energy. He tried sitting at the table to draw, but decided he needed to rest instead. :-(
Zachary is just being a little demoliton ball. He is running around like a wild man destroying everything in his path! Last night, he managed to get a brand new bottle of chocolate syrup, and pour the entire thing on my love seat. I now have an ugly brown love seat. I'm sure, if you've been with me for awhile, that you will remember Dillon dumping chocolate syrup on the floor, five years ago. Well, on the couch is much worse than on the floor!
Collin and Matthew are fine. Nothing major going on with them. Other than the fact that Matthew thinks he needs to be Dillon's nurse. And while it is sweet, it is driving me crazy because he keeps telling Dillon what he needs to be eating, etc. and he himself doesn't have a clue.
The dryer has quit thumping. There is a slight quiet thump, and I'm afraid it will start a fire. The sensor must have gone out as well, because I can no longer do the sensor dry, only the timed dry.
The stupid squirrels are driving Sadie crazy, which in turn makes me crazy. They sit in the front yard chattering away at her, which makes her bark and go nuts. She so badly wants to get them. Occasionally, we let her out to chase them, and they always out run her. You would think that she would learn. Although, today, she actually climbed up a tree! She was in the part where the main branches branch out, it was pretty amazing to see a dog up in a tree like that!
My house is pretty messy right now, and that always makes me more anxious. I need to do some serious cleaning, as soon as I'm done helping Matthew with school. Maybe that will make me feel better.
My allergies must be acting up, because my nose is itching like crazy, and I want to rip my hair out, it keeps tickling my face and making me itch.
Matt looked at my records from the x-ray and ultra sound. It appears my cyst is now gone. Yippee! However, there is an IUD in my pelvic cavity. I can't tell you how mad this makes me. To refresh some memories...when Zachy was 6 weeks old, I was so upset. Everyone was telling me we couldn't or shouldn't have more kids, and that we needed to do something to keep this from happening again. So I said, 'fine, if I can't have anymore kids then I'm not going to worry about it, I'm getting an IUD' Every ounce of me told me not to do it. But all the pressure from everyone was too much for me. I knew when it was inserted that it was the biggest mistake. It hurt so bad going in. I had to stay at the drs for a good long while because I was so crampy, there was no way I could drive. That was a Thursday. By Tuesday I was in such pain, and bleeding so much. I couldn't feel the strings. So they did an u/s and said, 'nope, no more IUD, it must have fallen out' I said, "are you sure? could it be in my abdomen?" They assured me that no, that didn't happen. They would know if it did, and that it just fell out. I was thinking, 'ok, I was paying attention, I never saw it come out, and plus, it hurt so bad going in, wouldn't I at least feel it coming out' Apparently, patients aren't allowed to know their own bodies.
Since then, I have had nothing but problems with my hormones, irregular periods, these dumb cysts, migraines, etc. Finally, a doctor humored me and said she would order the x-ray, even though she knew it wasn't in my abdomen, cause the chances of that are so rare. Please people, don't talk to me about rare. My family is about as rare as it gets, seriously, statistics me squat to me anymore.
At any rate, there it is. There it has been for almost 3 years. I consider myself very fortunate, because from everything I've read, this stupid thing could have migrated anywhere and caused some major damage. Every one of those ailments I mentioned above, are all symptoms of this stupid IUD. You see, it isn't your normal IUD. No, no, it is a new safe IUD. It has a vial filled with hormones. OH JOYS!!
I can't tell you how mad this makes me. I have read that they have discovered that perferations are much more common in nursing mothers and in moms less than 6 months post partum. I met both those things. It was so new at the time, that I think they are just now figuring this out. Shouldn't the company have figured this out before allowing it to be inserted into the public?? And why are drs so reluctant to listen to their patients?? I have mentioned this several times to different drs, all who assured me that was impossible. And from what I've read, this is something that could have killed me. What a nice thought to think that because I went against my instincts, listening to other people, I could have killed myself. UGH.
I've also read that it is highly likely this has rendered me infertile. And while I'm sure that thrills many of you, it devastates me. Of course, I know nothing yet. We'll have to see what the damage was.
Most maddening thing though...I haven't heard a word from my dr. I called and left a message, no response. This thing needs to be removed, and no one is even talking to me about it.
And speaking of being removed, I am terrified to have surgery performed on me by a military doctor. I don't know why. I just don't trust them. Mainly because most of them are residents or med students, and that just doesn't sit right with me.
My hope is that once it's out, I'll return to normal, but even that is apparently, questionable. I just pray I'm not screwed up for life. I'm only 30 and plan on living a long life, I just hope I don't have to deal with these issues for the rest of it!
Well, a poopy diaper is calling my name, so I must go and try not to feel to anxious. I'll be sure to update when I know more.
By the way....all my homeschooling friends, ya let me down. No one gave me any advice. :-(

AH HA!!

I knew eventually, I'd find a good thing about linoleum floors! You see my downstairs only has carpet in the living room, the rest is linoleum. I've hated it since we got here.
But, Dillon got sick last night. We thought he was all better today. But this evening he started vomiting again.
Let me tell you, it is MUCH easier to clean vomit off a linoleum floor than a carpeted one! So, YAY linoleum!!

Would someone please

Go over and visit Michelle at Sunshine n Daisies. She's feeling awfully lonely over there. Although, I'm not sure how many people visit ME, but I figure I could share some of the love with her!

Good

Dillon saw the cardiologist today, and his murmur is indeed just a simple flow murmur.
Very nice to know. :-)

I must be losing my mind

I just tried to put my crock pot away....in the fridge. It fit perfectly too, and then I realized, oops, this goes in the cupboard! Silly me.

The boys are staying up late tonight, I have to go pick up Matt at 10:30. YAY!!

Please keep us in your prayers tomorrow. Dillon has an appointment with the cardiologist. If you remember, when he was diagnosed with asthma the doctor was astounded that he had never been to one, with his murmur and Zachy's history. So just pray that it is indeed a harmless flow murmur and nothing more. We'd appreciate it.

Still no word from my doctor, but I promise I'll update you all when I find something out. And to answer your question, Les, no, I couldn't see anything during the u/s, she made good and sure of that.

I talked with one of my neighbors tonight, for a good long while. Back in November, there was a big issue between my kids and hers and some others. Turns out that she was never upset with us, but the other family. Such wasted time. :-( There is just a huge difference between homeschooled kids and public school kids. The lady I talked to tonight homeschools hers as well. They are getting ready to move in June, which is a shame. That will leave me as the only homeschooler here, and practically only christian. There will be one other christian family, the others are all mormons. Should be fun! Not that I'm putting them down at all, they are just very different from us, and make it hard, if ya know what I mean.

NOOOOOOOOOO

My dryer is making a funky thumping sound. I was so praying it was something that was in the dryer, but no, even empty it goes "thump thump thump"
We've been discussing the fact that we may not have enough money saved to make our trip this summer, and putting it off for awhile. I can say that if we need a new dryer our trip is definitely off.
It is not easy for a family of 6 to live without a dryer. Normally, I would just string up a clothesline, since it is hot and all here, but we aren't allowed to do that here. You know..cause it can be a safety hazard. As if a dryer going nonstop isn't!!

A recap of my day...and, as usual...a question!!

Oh my, what a day we've had. Been running everywhere.
This morning at 11, Matthew had an orthodontist appt. He now has yellow braces and goes back in 6 weeks. He will be getting them off sometime this summer. May 3, he is scheduled to have a tooth pulled. :-(
Anyway, the orthodontist is clear up on the north side of town.
On our way home, we stopped at wally world for a few things. It was a really good time. Mainly because there were several people who were like, "whoa...are they all yours?" or "FOUR boys? wow your hands are pretty full" And then as they are saying that I can almost SEE them calculating what time it is, and then the question that always follows, "is today a holiday?" Nope, we just homeschool! LOL
So we get home and I realize that tomorrow is yard inspection day, and the lawn needs mowing. Since Zachy was sleeping, I set the boys up with school work and went to town mowing. At one point, Dillon came out to ask me a question. But then he was yelling. Of course the lawn mower was going, so I couldn't hear him.
When I turned it off though, he was yelling about a baby bird, that was still breathing. So I went to go check it out, worried that it was dead. But alas, he was alive. The poor thing had a hole in the top of his head with some blood trickling out. We put him in an easter basket and came in to find the wildlife refuge in town. Well, they were worried because of his head so asked me to bring him in.
Guess where it was? Yep, all the way back up north. We hopped in the car and head out. We get there, hand over the bird, give them a donation and leave. I found myself wondering what my own parents would have done. Would they have paid to drop off a bird that could potentially die? I just couldn't allow my kids to think we didn't do all we could. They so badly wanted to keep him and nurse him back to health. I'll admit, he was pretty cute...and hungry...he was chirping away like mad!
So now we're home, and have eaten dinner, and in about 10 minutes, we'll be heading out to church. What a day!
~*~*~*~*~*
Question time.
For all my homeschool readers....
We are currently using ACE paces for the boys. And I'm satisfied to continue on with them for Dillon (starting 2nd grade next year) but Matthew will be starting 5th grade, and I'm not sure I want to continue on with them. Mainly because they are workbooks where he reads and fills in the blanks. I'm not entirely sure he's retaining anything! Although, when I do placement tests, he tests right where he should be. The other thing is, I'm concerned about it getting boring. He also said today that he wishes he could see REAL pictures of things instead of drawings.
So, after 6 years of homeschooling, I think I may be ready to "Switch it up" and create my own curriculum.
Which leads me to my question. What are some great things out there for 5th graders? I would really appreciate any feedback I can get!
Thanks so much

Remember that watermelon...

Remember the watermelon I talked about in the fruit fly post? Well, I had a piece, Matt had a piece, Matthew, Dillon, and Collin had 2 pieces....Zachary polished the rest of it off.
The boy kept sneaking it. He'd go into the kitchen and open the fridge and use his fingers to grab some. Goof ball. I suspect we'll have a full diaper tonight!!

Stolen poem

I stole this poem from over at God's Many Blessings. Her little guy has the same heart defect as my baby. I love it. For all my babies, I love you.

you are who you are for a reason.
you're part of an intricate plan
you're a precious and perfect unique design,
called God's special woman or man.

you look like you look for a reason.
our God made no mistake.
He knit you together within the womb,
you're just what he wanted to make.

the parents you had were the ones he chose,
and no matter how you may feel,
they were custom-designed with God's plan in mind,
and they bear the Master's seal.

No, that trauma you faced was not easy.
and God wept what it hurt you so;
but it was allowed to shape your heart
so that into his likeness you'd grow.

you are who you are for a reason,
you've been formed by the Master's rod.
you are who you are, beloved,
because there is a God!

He's gone

Well, Matt is off again. This time he is in Minnesota. Minnetonka to be exact. I think that's how you spell it anyway. Where ever the Mall of America is.
He'll be gone for only a few days, but I still don't enjoy it! :-(

12 reasons

I got in trouble the other day on a message board for talking (I was answering a question) about circumcision. Then I came across this article today, and it sums it up perfectly.
I figure they can shut me up on a public site, but not on my own blog! HA!!

12 reasons to say "no" to circumcision

Fruit Flies and VBS

What a combination for a post, eh?
I have a question.
Where in the world do fruit flies come from? I mean, how do they know the precise moment my bananas are getting a little too ripe? Or that there are grapes on my counter? Or that we just bought a watermelon?
Surely they don't live in my house just waiting some yummy fruit, do they??
What I really want to know is...does all fruit have little fruit fly maggots that only turn into flies when the fruit gets ripe? Are we eating fruit fly larvae everyday??
Does anyone know?? Because it really has me perplexed!

We got the "stuff" for VBS today. It is just a CD rom with all the materials on it and ready to be printed out. I was unsure at first, how well it would work, but I'm hoping we can swing it. I'm disappointed with the music(or lack thereof, there are only 2 songs!!!) and the fact that everything says VBS 2003. No where did it mention the fact that the materials would have 2003 on them!! Since it is all printable, we are working on seeing if we can photoshop that out of there. Please pray that it works, otherwise it could be a royal pain.
Other than that, I really think it is doable. Of course, VBS is always doable, it's just a matter of whether or not I am able to be a director! This is all new territory for me....so wish me luck!!

Yep

My baby is growing up so fast.
As you'll recall, he used to always say, "mmmm-hmmmm" when his answer was yes.
Now he says, 'yep" And it is so funny, he says it so nonchalantly.
The boy cracks me up every day.

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Collin was just telling me he wanted some juice. When I went to get it he said, "I can pour my own, I'm good at that. Hmmmm maybe I need a stool. Let me get a stool. Ok, I can pour it by myself"
It was too cute. My mom said that everything Zachy does, he does so passionately, but this time it was Collin so was so emphatic. He was practically yelling that he could do it himself.

~*~*~*~*~*
I had my u/s and x-ray last night. Who knows when I'll hear anything. Matt says the reports aren't in the computer yet so I'm sure it will be awhile. The u/s hurt like crazy though. I just wish this cyst would go away! I'll be sure to let you all know how it goes.

~*~*~*~*
Today's job is to clean like a mad woman. I have felt pretty crummy this week, so haven't gotten it done. It should be fun! HA!

Where have I been??

I do not know. Just in la la land, I guess.
Today, I have my ultra sound and the xray of my belly. Should be loads of fun. HA!!
It is really nice though, because I was able to get a 5 o'clock appt. and able to make it at the same hospital where Matt works. He is done at 4:30 so I'll just run in and leave the kids with him. Here in San Antonio we either go to the Air Force hospital or the Army hospital, so I was thankful to get it at the Air Force one!
Last night, or about 1 this morning, I felt a major migraine coming on. I thought I might be able to sleep it away. Wrongo. I woke up this morning so very sick and with my head in so much pain. I took some excedrin migraine and waited. Of course, that stuff makes me sick too. I stayed in bed till about 12. I just couldn't handle the light or noise. Thank goodness my kids are getting older! Matthew and Dillon took care of Collin and Zachy for me. For awhile Collin and Zach came and played on the bed with me, so it was all good.
My head still hurts, and I am totally shakey, but I think I'm getting better. Well, I know I am. The kids are outside playing because it has finally cooled down. It is only supposed to be in the upper 80s today. Thank goodness. This 100 degree weather is not my thing. No school for them today, lucky guys. Tomorrow though, we'll be back at it. Only a month and a half to go before summer break! Time flies!

My poor baby!

The other night, I was out watering, and at some point I walked into a fire ant mound. I ended up with 4 bites on my foot. It hurt like the dickens...for a long while. It just made me feel so bad for poor Zachy, he had over 30 bites and it must have hurt so bad. Poor punkin. His foot is still all scarred from it.

This is something new!

Yesterday it was 102 degrees. On the way to church last night, we went through several intersections with the lights not on. We didn't think anything of it. When we got to church though, the pastor's wife asked if we had been affected by the rolling blackouts.
I had no idea the electric companies could force you to conserve energy by shutting off your power at any given time for 2 hours! Crazy!
It never did get here, but today is supposed to be just as hot. If they are going in a specific direction I'd say that it could affect us today, because those intersections were just right outside our housing.
Strange strange strange! Who knew what things I'd learn living in Texas!!!

We had ice cream and NO HAM???

If you haven't figured it out by now, we have quite a few ice cream challenges going on at any given time here.
One challenge for Matthew was to be able to do 30 multiplication facts, correctly, in less than 3 minutes. He has worked so hard to do that and finally accomplished it yesterday at 2 and a half minutes. Hooray Matthew!
Also yesterday, Dillon finished all his math for the year. Yay Dillon!
So we had a double whammy! So off to ice cream we trotted last night.
Matt teaches the older boy's sabbath school class and is working on all the kids learning the books of their Bible. He just started this last week and told them to learn the first 5 and they would get a prize. Matthew already knows all the books but most of the kids don't know any of them. So, we've been working with Dillon. For awhile he was saying, "Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomies" LOL So we finally got him to figure out that it is Deuteronomy, and not mies. After that Matthew said, "what comes next Dillon?" Dill says, "Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy,....ummmm Noham...." We all started cracking up! We had to tell him there was no Noham book in the Bible, but there is a Nahem, but not after Deuteronomy. It was just so funny. He was so serious when he said it, he was sure he had finally gotten it right!

My kids are so cute!

We were coloring our easter eggs this evening. Zachy kept dropping the eggs in the cup and then going, "where egg go mommy??" It was so cute.
The video is a bit long, but worth it. Turn your volume up so you can hear how cute they are! ;-)
Edited to add...I forgot to mention what he is doing with the paper towel. Every time he'd take an egg out, instead of drying the egg off, he'd pat the table with it, then drop the egg back in. It was hilarious


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Fun in the sun, turned to fun in the mud!

Yesterday, a few neighbor kids were over playing in the slip and slide. Eventually, as usual, they had to get in to the mud.

Dillon had this caveman look going on.



Here's everyone that was over.



Zach was more happy with wearing spy glasses!



Collin was a king!



Zachy started out in a cape, then ditched it for the glasses.



Matthew was a mud warrior.

GRRR

OK, so it appears that the ActiveX thing is a forced issue from microsoft now. Which means that unless I can figure out how to override that message....I get no music. Huge bummer!

ActiveX

Am I the only one who keeps getting an ActiveX message at my blog? If so, what do I do about it? I have no idea what it even is!! Help, please, someone....

Only my kids!

We were cleaning and dancing to the songs of Disneyland (of course!) and all the neighbor kids started coming over. Apparently, they don't have school because it is Good Friday.
They would skip the slow songs because you can't dance well to them! The song from Splash Mountain came on and Carly said, "SKIP!" Matthew told her no. To which she replied, "but it's boring" Dillon piped up, "don't worry Carly, it won't be so boring once you go to Disneyland"
I was dying. He said it as if it were a right of passage and she just hadn't gone yet. Because I'm sure EVERYONE goes to Disneyland!!
Now to fund a trip for us! Have I asked for donations before? It would only cost us roughly $3,000 (ok that may be a bit much) and I'm sure that you could all pull together to get that money for us. Right? Right? Good. Such faithful readers I have! LOL

I see the moon

I am sure you are all familiar with the rhyme, "I see the moon and the moon sees me. God bless the moon and God bless me"
Well, last night on our way home from the show we were looking at the moon.
Collin said, "I see the moon and the moon sees me. God loves me and I love him"
It was so cute!

In the spirit..

of Disneyland...I had to put up my Haunted Mansion song. It may be a bit too dark for my blog, and I may take it down soon, but it is one of my favorite rides!!
I may just change it to an upbeat Disneyland song...we'll see!

The Incredibles!!!

As I mentioned yesterday, we took the kids to The Incredibles on ice last night. It was really quite a bummer because it was them at Disneyland, and it was so good that we all (ok everyone but Matt, but I'm sure he was with us, he'd just never admit it!!) were aching to go back to Disneyland when we left!!
It really was good. We had pretty crummy seats, but the place wasn't full, so once it started we were able to move closer, and it was pretty good.
They had all the great stuff from Disneyland. From It's a Small World (with dolls that moved EXACTLY like the ride!!) to the Haunted Mansion (totally cool effects!) to the Pirates of the Caribbean (complete with jail scene AND the cannon ball fight!)to the Jungle Cruise to the Electric Parade to the spinning tea cups to space mountain and Buzz Lightyear...it was so neat!
Of course Syndrome was there and we all had to help the Incredibles defeat him.
OK, for those of you unfamiliar with the story, here it is in a nut shell:
The Incredible's are a family of super heroes who have retired and live as normal people (yeah right!), there are five of them. Mr Incredible is very strong, His wife is Elastigirl, their daughter is Violet. She has the ability to create force fields and she is also able to become invisible. Dash is their son who has super fast speed. They also have a baby who can turn into fire, but in this show he was just carried in a baby carrier the whole time.
Frozone is their old friend and he can freeze everything.
Then there is Syndrome. Mr Incredible's arch nemesis. In the movie, they were able to destroy him, so in this show he was a robot version of Syndrome. Kind of wierd, but whatever. Syndrome's goal is to take over the world, rid the world of super heroes because "if there are no supers then we'll all be super!"
So in this show he kidnapped Mickey and Minnie and was going to take over the magic kingdom, where the Incredible's were trying to have a normal family vacation.
It was pretty funny because, of course, once they changed into their super hero costumes everyone went wild, but everytime Frozone showed up the crowd went even more wild!
They gave all the kids wristbands that had a light on them. At one point all the kids had to push their buttons to control Syndrome's army. That was really cool because they turned out all the lights and you could see all these red flashing lights.
OK, so in the end, Frozone froze Syndrome and saved Mickey and Minnie, and thank goodness too...can you imagine a world with out those two?? Yikes!
So here are some pictures! We bought popcorn and cotton candy, which had these masks with them.
This is Collin with the Dash mask on. Pretty cute I think! ;-)



Here's a side view of that mask, I thought it was funny how they made the hair go back like that!



This is the wristband everyone got. Poor Zachy had been asleep till right before the show, and he desperately needs a haircut!



Syndrome, as played by my crazy husband!




Matthew as Dash!



Dillon as Syndrome

Becoming vegetarian, and other ramblings

So, we've made a huge step. We are slowly(or quickly as it seems) becoming vegetarians.
As of right now, the only meat we eat is turkey, chicken, and the occasional tuna.
No red meat, pork, or any wierd sea food.
I need to make a disclaimer here though. There are people in our lives who think that I say, "jump" and Matt says, "how high". Really, nothing could be further from the truth, but at any rate, Matt has had a bigger part in this than I have. It hasn't been something that I have said, "listen, we need to do this". Not at all. Matt has successfully eliminated the meats, while I have found the substitutes. But by no means was this something that I decided on my own.
My issue is the milk. What they do to the cows is disgusting. I'm thinking, though, that organic milk is my answer. No hormones or antibiotics or anything like that. We're not to the place where we'll do soy, so right now this could be our best bet!
I have no idea why I'm even writing about this, other than I was looking online for a meatloaf recipe to use with morningstar farms ground "beef". I found one that I think I'm going to try soon, sounds good.
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I'm thinking of taking the kids's mickey mouse ears tonight. I figure since it involves the magic kingdom there is a good chance that they will be selling them. And if we already have them....well that's one less thing the kids will want! ;-)
Matt will probably think I'm cukoo, so we'll see.
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I think I may finally see the bottom of my laundry basket today. Which is really saying something considering that Collin wet the bed last night, and it is diaper day. I'm on my third load so far, and think I have one more to be done. YAY!!!
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Zachy just came in dressed in a bee costume. So cute. I just love that kid to pieces. I watched a show last night on TLC called Guardian Angels MD. The little boy had a heart defect and was undergoing his third open heart surgery at two. I sobbed through the whole thing. So very very sad.
The doctors were talking amongst themselves and said, "you know we tell parents that there is a 5% chance their child won't live. And they think, "well 95% is great" And he then said, "what they don't realize is that if I have 20 patients, one isn't going home"
YIKES!!! We were given the 5% odd as well, I am SO thankful my baby was one of the 19 to come home. I can't imagine life without that little rugrat.
My mom called today and he answered the phone and was chatting away with her. When I started talking to her, Collin came in and was asking me when we can go to Sea World again. I asked why he was asking that. My mom said, "because I just asked him if he was going soon" I said, "uh mom, you talked to Zachy not Collin" LOL She totally thought Collin was the one talking to her. So either Zach's speech is getting really good, or Collin's is bad! Probably a combination of the two!
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OK gotta run, the washer is done!!

Ain't no coolin down now

Apparently, it will only get hotter from here on out. Crazy.
Today's high is supposed to be 93. By Monday it is supposed to be in the 100s for a few days. In APRIL people!!!! Sheesh!
My main irk about this is that apparently no one is fat in Texas! When I first got here last summer, I searched all the stores for shorts. Came up with none. Not just I didn't like any, but NONE in the fat sections. Of course they were still all carrying cute skinny shorts, but I guess when you're fat you're not supposed to show off your dimpled legs! Well phooey in that, I'm hot too!
So now this summer, the 2 pairs of shorts I DID have are falling off(yay) and I cannot find any to replace them. So it results in my looking totally frumpy with these large baggy shorts falling off of me.
Is it so much to ask for a pair of shorts? I may have to start running around those stores naked so that they see how much worse it could be! I'm sure everyone would be racing to try to find me some shorts!
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We are taking the kids to Disney on Ice tonight. I thought it was the Incredibles, but I just realized it is the Incredibles at the Magic Kingdom. So not actually the Incredibles story, but rather their experiences at Disneyland. I hope they like that. I'm sure they will since they love the Magic Kingdom so much!
We used to take Matthew and Dillon to Disney on Ice every year. We may have even taken Collin once, I don't remember. Once we moved to Idaho, though, they didn't have Disney on Ice anywhere close to us. So this will be a treat. Matthew and Dillon used to love it, I hope Collin and Zachy love it just as much!

Have a great day everyone!

WOW!!

I have never ever been tagged! I feel so special!! Belle, over at Belle's blog tagged me...so here goes!!

Top 5 must-haves (ever changing of course!)

in my fridge
1. Milk
2. Tortillas
3. Plums
4. Cantaloupe (much to Matt's dismay!)
5. Pepsi...for my beloved...if the littlest one didn't grab it!!

in my closet
1. Sewing machine
2. t-shirts
3. capri pants
4. shoes
5. Jewlery Box

in my purse
1. wallet
2. Sea World coupon books
3. old receipts
4. spare diaper and wipes
5. lip gloss

in my car
1. reflective window shade thingies
2. Sea World parking pass
3. Tylenol
4. sun glasses
5. GARBAGE!!

on my TiVo (we have to record everything being in the central time zone, we are used to prime time starting at 8, not 7. The kids are still awake at that time!!)
1. american idol (both nights)
2. Survivor
3. George Lopez
4. Amazing Race
5. Desperate Housewives

TAGGING:
1. Michelle
2. Gina (any one of you!!! LOL)
3. Vicki
4. Les
5. Robin

What is wrong with me??

For some reason, since my mom left, I have not been able to get caught up in my laundry. I don't know what my deal is. I have time to go to Sea World, Bible studies, Wally world, etc. I just can't seem to make the time for laundry.
Don't get me wrong, I do laundry every day, so it isn't like we are wearing dirty clothes, it's just that I haven't seen the bottom of the laundry basket in a long time!!
Lazy me!!

Bummer

~*~*~*~If you are a male, you won't be interested in this post, just thought I'd warn ya!~*~*~*~*

I finally went to the gynecologist yesterday. It was actually a very good experience. I was very concerned because the last time I went it was a TERRIBLE experience. This time I actually got to see a doctor, and not a resident.
Anyway, I told her all that was going on, and told her I'm just a wonky woman. She then said, "we'll just do the whole wonky woman work up" LOL
At any rate, when she did my pelvic I nearly threw up. I said, "yep, that's where the cyst has been" Turns out the cyst is still there. I don't understand why sometimes it hurts and sometimes it doesn't. But anyway, she ordered an ultra sound to determine if it a different cyst or a dominant cyst. She was quite upset, by the way, that the other doctor told me there was no need to follow up because it would take care of itself.
Based on my symptoms, she is thinking I may have PCOS. I am praying hard that this isn't true. I so do not want PCOS. The other thought is that it is just this one cyst causing all my issues, and if it is the same one, we are probably looking at surgery to remove it.
So she ordered a ton of blood work to check hormone levels and thyroid levels, and other stuff(4 vials worth), an ultrasound, and an abdominal x-ray to check to see if there is an iud floating around in there! After Zach was born, I had one put in, and then it disappeared. They told me it fell out. But I never felt it or saw it. So anyway, she's just going to check that out to be sure.
I should know the results of my blood work by the end of the week. Not sure about the rest of it though, have to make the appointments first, I don't know what to do with the kids...*sigh*

Does it get any better than this??

I have mentioned in my blog that we have been attending Bible Studies.
More like an evangelical series.
It was truly the most awesome experience of my life. OK, giving birth doesn't count, I'm talking more spiritual life here! The speaker was amazing and we became quick friends with him and his wife. He is the one singing the song playing right now.
At any rate, he and the regular pastor came out several times to study with us, and we studied on our own, in addition to attending meeting 5 times a week. At the end, we were both totally convicted to be rebaptized. I've been feeling like I needed to be rebaptized since Zachy was born. That was really my spiritual turn around point. This series was Matt's. Through it, Matthew also decided he would like to be baptized as well. We weren't so sure he was ready, but the pastor's talked with him and decided he knew what he believes and was ready.
So this last Sabbath, along with a group of other folks, I was baptized with my husband and eldest son!
Can I tell you how awesome that is?? I never knew it would move me in such a way. It moved other folks as well, there were quite a few tears shed. :-)
There were 13 people baptized all togehter. Two others were going to be, but got in a car accident and couldn't be there.
I can't tell you how great it feels to be 100% sure of what you believe in.
Life is good. :-)

~~~~~~~
We enlisted the help of a friend to get us some pictures. He's got a real gift I tell ya! A gift for getting everyone at their worst!! Oh my!!

Anyway, here is the whole group or us. The man and woman next to me are the regular pastor and his wife. The man and woman on the other end (the man in the suit standing next to the blonde lady) are the evangelist and his wife. The man not in a suit, was joining the church on profession of faith.



I love this picture and wish I could have been there. But in this particular church there are two sides to the baptistry, one for the ladies, and one for the men. So they were getting ready on the men's side, and since our photographer was a male, he got this.



Matthew went first in our family. I wish we could have gotten a picture of him as he came up. He was grinning from ear to ear. Made my heart swell so big!!



I was next. This picture is horrid. But that is ok. I promise I am not that big, the gown just floated around me. I was so nervous that he would drop me though, so that is why I look worried! LOL No dropage though!!



Matt went last in our family. It was totally awesome. To say I was a wreck is an understatement, thankfully, I was on the ladies side so my guys didn't see me lose it! :-)

Random pics

These were all taken on Saturday after church. They aren't that good, but I figured I better put some up of all the kids!

This one especially, terribly fuzzy. Oh well.



Waiting to eat! The lady behind him took care of the kids while we attended the meetings.



Feeling like a million bucks! The girl behind Matthew was baptized as well. She and Matthew have become good friends and she is such a sweet girl.



Dillon pretending to be sad. Nice try, eh?

BRRRRRRR

We went to Sea World this afternoon. They opened the waterslide part of the park last weekend. By the way, I got my swimsuit and it fit perfectly. I love it.
Anyway, we were busy all last week, so we went today.
While it was close to 90 degrees outside the water was freezing. By about 5 it was finally warming up. But the park closes at 6, so it wasn't that great!
The kids had a great time, despite the fact that they had goosebumps and were shivering all day long!
It must be hard work being cold, because I am absolutely pooped! I have much to do to prepare for the upcoming week, but I have been zapped of all energy.

What did people do before air conditioning??

It is currently 83 degrees. And HUMID. Our A/C keeps freezing up.
I just called maintenance and they will be here shortly to fix it for us. Meanwhile, we are HOT.
We're such wimps. It is supposed to be 95 today. Seriously, what did people do in the days without the good ole A/C?? I'm picturing old steel fans spinning slowly while the folks wipe sweat from their brow. Sipping on ice cold lemonade or iced tea. Even before electricity...what did they do? Now I'm picturing ladies in their BIG HEAVY WOOL dresses, fanning themselves.
Seriously, there must have been a lot of deaths from heat stroke in those days. The ladies didn't even have shorts to wear!! Poor souls.
OK, so I don't have it so bad. And besides...it'll be fixed soon!

How do you like my new song?

I changed my song, in case you didn't notice! ;-)
Do you all like it? Is it too slow?
I love it....so let me know if it ok for everyone else too!

Murphy's Law for cloth dipes

All you cloth diaper users out there...
Have you ever noticed that after you have all the diapers nice and clean, and the diaper pail all emptied and smelling fresh...that is when your baby/toddler makes the biggest messiest poop??
It never ever fails in this household. Cause what do we want sitting the least amount of time? The icky poopy dipes.
Maybe it's just us!

The Challenge

My kids have gotten in a bad habit. Mainly the older two, but I'm sure the younger two will be picking it up soon.
This is what I hear around here.
"aren't I good at such and such a thing?"
"no, you're not"
You get the idea. They do it just to irritate the other one. They could care less if the sibling is telling the truth, they just have to argue it.
Last night I decided enough is enough.
So we issued a challenge.
They cannot say anything bad about the other one until tomorrow night. If they can make it, we will take them out to DQ for some ice cream.
You should hear the compliments flying around here! Maybe it will become a habit. They've said it is much more fun than putting each other down.
One can hope anyway

A boy after my own heart!

The boys were just sitting down eating lunch. Completely out of the blue Matthew says, "when can we go to Disneyland?" LOL As if we could just go tomorrow!
It's funny because I sent an email to Matt today saying it was a sign because I went to Weather.com and an ad for Disney World popped up. I didn't say a word to Matthew, and he wasn't in the room when it happened. He just thinks like me. Now they're arguing over who gets to go on Splash Mountain.
*sigh* To be wealthy......;-)