Kes sees Santa

Check out Kes sitting on "Santa's" lap at the library party. She is on the library website. Go to http://bicentennial.library.googlepages.com

Bailey the beautician

I wasn't a bad kid growing up. I didn't make my parents worry too much. The one thing I did do, was cut my siblings hair. I remember when I was like 12 I cut my little sister's hair (she was eight) anyways I had her convinced it was darling until she walked out of the bathroom and greeted my family. The first words out of my mother's mouth where, "what did you do to your hair?" Apparently, it is payback time. Bailey cut Kes's hair last Thursday night. I can't find my camera--so I couldn't even take a picture but it is short...earlength! I took her to the beauty shop to fix it the next day and she got a short bob. The lady fixing her hair said--"you know your daughter actually did a pretty good job cutting her hair--she might have a future as a beautician!" Of course I didn't tell Bailey that--or we might have a repeat performance! Anyways, she turns out she didn't need any additional encouragement--when we were at church Sunday--people where complimenting Kes on her haircut, and Bailey spoke up and said, "I did that haircut!"

My thanksgiving Angel

Yesterday I was driving to a doctor's appointment in Miles City. The day was going smoothly. I had gotten the kids off to school and Kes and I were headed down the road. I was actually running 15 minutes early. Gasp! Anyways, all was going swimmingly and we were 30 miles down the road when Kes (who hadn't eaten much breakfast) got car sick and threw up large quantities of curdled milk (she loves milk and that and three bites of beagle where all she ate for breakfast). Anyways, I was completely unprepared that. Fortunately, we where almost to the Forsyth turn off (which is the only town between Colstrip and Miles City). I pulled into the Town Pump gas station and assessed the situation. No extra clothes. No wipes. Just two towels and a damp swim suit which had not been brought in from the car from swimming lessons the night before. Kes had taken off her coat in the car, so that was not barfed on. But her shirt, sweater, pants, and undies where all saturated with vomit. I took her inside to bathroom and sponged her off as well as I could. She didn't have chunks anymore but she was still soaking wet. I took off her shirt and sweater and put her coat on her. still her pants where very wet. And we have snow on the ground here--so it wasn't like she could just go in her coat. I went to the front and asked the cashier for a bag and if there were any stores that sold kids clothes in town. I got the bag, but there was no luck on the clothes situation. I was about to give up and leave her in her wet stunky duds when a lady who worked there overheard our conversation. She said she had a daughter who lived five miles out of town who had a three year old son and could probably help. She called her daughter (who was in town dropping off her son at preschool) and got her to bring some clothes. Then she gave me a bucket of warm soapy water and a rag to wash out the car seat. (which might I add, was a most unpleasant job--as it was all over the car seat and had even leaked on the seat). I was starting to stress because the daughter hadn't arrived and my appointment was in fifteen minutes forty miles away! I told her that I would just have to go--and explained my predicament. This wonderful woman--pulled out her cell phone dialed the doctor and gave it to me. Hence I was able to reschedule for later in the day. Then the daughter came (after driving 15 miles out of her way and brought me clean clothes). So she had a 7 year old daughter and brought me a dress she had outgrown as well as some boy clothes. Kes (being super girly) chose the dress. It came to her ankles and I had to roll up the sleeves but Kes loved it. The lady told me to keep the dress because her daughter had outgrown it so she was getting rid of it anyways. (On a side note, I tried to replace it with something that actually fit her when we went to Walmart but she said "no, I love my beautiful dress."so she wore a huge dress all day that smelled slightly like barf.) I just have to say there are wonderful people out there! On another side note...my doctor's appointment went well...my due date is June 21st!

Do I really have any secrets?

I was telling my sisters about the latest "adventure" with the kids, and they both suggested I blog about it. I at first didn't want to as it is embarrassing but the more I thought about it the more I realized that I blogged about drinking urine...can't get any worse than that really. So all five of you who follow my blog, here is another good story.
Friday evening our kids where playing in the office while Levi and I where vegging in front of the TV (as is our exciting Friday night ritual...get a movie and watch it---we are too tired to do anything else). We heard a lot of giggling but again the tired factor kicked in and we didn't check on them. That is until Bailey came waddling out. She had peed her pants. What the heck! This is my six year old daughter mind you....and then the story came out.
Bridger had gotten the "brilliant" idea to copy his bum on our printer/copier. So he sat down (all fifty pounds of him) mooning the copier and produced a replica of his bum. Bailey was giggling hysterically beside him (and always one to wait till the last minute to go potty) lost control and peed her pants (also on the printer). Our printer--not meant to have 80 lbs resting on it or to be used as a urinal-- stopped working. I was furious. I still don't see the humor in it--but everyone else I tell seems to think it is funny.
You decide...funny or horrific?

tooth fairy....guilt

So Bailey lost her second front tooth a few days ago. That is three teeth she has lost in like three weeks! The going rate for a tooth around her is a dollar usually. Anyways, I don't ever have cash in my wallet, and lately, Bridger has been big on earning money for a toy he wants so I've been using the quarters in my change jar to pay him. Also, I should add, that once my children fall asleep for the night--I am pretty much done for for the day too. So, I rarely remember small (but important) things like a little tooth waiting under a pillow! Levi does however--and usually has a couple bucks in his wallet to boot. Hence, he has become this home's "tooth fairy." But this particular night, he forgot as well. Bailey woke up the next morning and was frantically searching under her pillow--which only resulted in finding her tooth! Whoops! Tears. Heartbreak. The tooth fairy forgot! I hugged her up the best I could and then promptly forgot all about it. But our real "tooth fairy" found out about it and apparently felt very guilty. The next morning Bailey got an envelope from the tooth fairy--in tiny fairy script a little note read, "Sorry I didn't make it last night. It was a very busy night for collecting teeth. To make up for it is a little extra money. Love, the tooth fairy" In the envelope was FOUR DOLLARS! I exclaimed, "holy cow, four dollars!" I was thinking great this just set a new precedent for late tooth fairy money. Bridger apparently was thinking that too because he said, "wow, I hope the tooth fairy forgets my tooth next time!"

Wasp nest....

My life holds few distinctions. So when we found an enormous yellow jacket hive in our back yard, Of course I am going to blog about it! Ironically, this summer had not been bad for wasps--then they came out in a blaze in about September. I kept walking around the house looking in the eves for nests, but never did find one. One day I was outside when I happened to look up and watch a yellow jacket's flight path. It flew straight into a huge nest at the top of our hedges. I hadn't seen it before because the leaves blocked the view. But with the leaves falling, we could see it. I would like to go on the record saying that I wanted to just leave it for a few weeks till we had a good cold snap and they died on their own. Levi felt we should be a little more proactive about it. He read that they can't fly if it is below 50 degrees outside. So last Saturday morning, when the temperature was about 30 degrees he and Bridger went out cut it down, saturated it in lighter fluid and torched the dang thing. I refused to join in the "fun" as I figured once the nest started burning, it would quickly warm up to past 50 degrees and I envisioned a swarm of wasps coming out to get me. The boys came in elated. Two of their favorite things...danger and fire.

Fall frenzie

So it has literally been a month since I posted anything new. It has been a little busy around here. I have been coaching Bailey's soccer team and just started being a den leader for Bridger's scouting den. So here is a few of the fun things that happened in September (with a couple of pictures too)! Levi had his birthday and got his CMA and got a promotion--yeah! Bridger is LOVING Mrs. Fay and has recently informed me that he will be going as "Boss" this year--next year I will be able to call him Bridger again. Bailey is loving kindergarten, friends, etc. She just lost her front tooth! Kes is loving having my undivided attention (when I am not babysitting) and playing with Wally when I am watching him. She has recently also informed me that she is too busy to take a nap. (Sorry--she'll have to push Barbies back till after nap). :) I have been busy with canning and raking leaves and who knows what else--definitely not blogging!

I threw away my scale this morning...

I threw away my scale. It is broken. It is weighing 10 lbs heavy (Levi agrees with me--I'm not just in denial about my weight). And of course, weighing someone ten pounds heavy is not to be tolerated! Of course, if it was broken the other way and weighing 10 lbs light. I would keep it forever and cherish it! You see then if you went to the doctor and got weighed you could say..."hmmm...this can't be right. My scale at home says...." Yes, if I had a scale that weighed me ten pounds light I would cherish it. If we ever had a house fire it would be the children...the family pictures...and the scale! (I would of course conveniently forget that it isn't telling me an accurate number!) But--sigh--my scale is broken the other way. So after getting on this morning, being shocked and depressed before remembering that it was broken--I decided that I didn't to put myself through this once a month (when I get brave enough to weigh myself). So I just picked it up and threw it away. I must say very refreshing! And bonus, I found my lost good eyeliner! All in all, a good way to start the day!

The fickle affections of a two year old...

A few weeks ago when I was putting Kes to bed, she turned to me and said, "Mom, I love Jesus." Aaahhh. I must be doing something right, she loves Jesus. Proud parent moment. Only it lasted for about five seconds, then she added, "mommy, I love Barney too." Somehow putting a purple televised dinosaur in the same category as Jesus diminished her previous statement a little bit. Skip forward to today.
I am putting Kes down for her daily nap. We have just finished reading our story and I give her a kiss and tell her I love her. She responds with..."I love....my pull up!"
Well...it does keep you from wetting the bed while you are sleeping...I guess I love your pull up too!

Faith like Peter....

Bailey was in the bathtub a few nights ago. We had the following dialogue. "Mom, you know that guy that had a testimony?" I responded with , "uuuuhhhhhh?" In a slightly annoyed tone Bailey continues, "You know. The one that walked on the water and didn't even get wet."
"Oh. Yeah. Peter." I say. Bailey says, "Yes Peter. Well......I have a testimony too. You want to know why? Because can put my ear in the water and the inside DOESN'T GET WET!!! Isn't that great?"

This morning Kes woke up and was not a happy camper. She was bent out of shape over the color of her cup at breakfast. Bridger was trying to pacifier her, when she turned to him and said, "Just don't talk to me...I'm grumpy!"
Some days I can relate!

First Day of School

Last week the kids started school. Bridger is in the second grade and Bailey is in Kindergarten. They both have good teachers and are loving school. Bridger loves his teacher because she doesn't send home homework and Bailey loves her teacher because "she has pretty hair". I was a little sad about sending them off to school but after taking an afternoon nap with Kes on the first day, decided I could get used to it! Here is there first day of school pictures. Kes thought she was going too and was very disappointed to find out she had to stay at home with boring old mom.

Vacation

A couple of weeks ago (okay I am a little slow about posting things) we went on a vacation to St. George/Cedar City by way of Rexburg and Salt Lake. We had a great time and I got to see family I haven't seen for at least five years. So fun!

The little ironies of life....

This morning I was sleeping peacefully when I awoke with a start at 6:00 am to...CROWING! You have got to be kidding me! Is our little Henny Penny a he? No. Levi was up too and we looked it up on the computer. Sometimes hens just crow. Also, during our research on the chicken, we found out it is not the Wyandotte that we thought...oh no...it is an ornamental chicken called a Sebright---which means it isn't good for meat or eggs...and it crows! Already we were trying to slide under the radar as there is an ordinance against chickens in town--so obviously we can't keep a chicken that crows. The irony is of course, that we found all of this out AFTER spending $70 dollars to make a coop and run and to buy 50 lbs of chicken food on our "free" chicken (not to mention hauling it clear across the state). The funny thing is, I am really sad (also ironic, as I was the most opposed to Henny Penny at the beginning). I had my heart set on having a chicken and getting fresh eggs. I don't think Bridger is too heart broken--when I told him we would have to get rid of it--he drummed up a few tears and then said (not 30 seconds later) can I get a parrot then?

technical difficulties

Having trouble with pictures...hopefully this works!

vacation and a new pet!

We spent a week in Polson and at the cabin on Ashley Lake. Despite several injuries, we had a wonderful time! Here are a few pictures to show what fun we had! One of the days, we went to a kiddee Rodeo in Ronan. At the rodeo, Bridger entered in the chicken run and despite overwhelming odds against him, he actually caught a chicken! The prize--he got to keep the chicken. I protested at first, saying there was no way to bring it home across the state (but my darling mother in law lent us a pet carrier--bless her heart!) Bridger seemed pretty attached to it too (he named it Henny Penny) and it turns out I am a wimp at saying no to my kids. Side note--eight hours into our long journey home, our van took on the smell of chicken poop--I don't recommend traveling ten hours with poultry in your vehicle if any of you are considering it! Anyways we did get her home without incident--on the up side, I told the kids we could only have two pets at a time so we got rid of the stupid degu! Yeah! I feel like I traded up in the pet scale. They both poop and have to be taken care of--but unlike the degu--the chicken does not bite us every time it is picked up and it can be kept outside and it can lay up to four eggs a week. Good bye dumb degu...hello Henny Penny!

where did you get hurt....

So the other day, Kes was running around after her bath, and hit some water. Of course down she went landing on her pinkie finger of all things. She immediately began crying and came over to me--I was trying to ascertain where she got hurt at, so I kept asking her. She was obviously getting irritated with me and finally asked herself, "Kessie, are you okay?" and then answered herself, "I okay." I apparently wasn't asking the right question. But I still wanted to know where she had gotten hurt so I could examine it, so I asked her yet again, "Kessie, where did you get hurt?" To which she tearfully replied, "in the house!"

The dog days of summer!

I volunteered to dog sit for a week...that's right...the heat must be affecting my brain because I thought it would actually be fun. We have some acquaintances in town who think we are perfect for dog-sitting their 8 year old golden retriever. This is how it has gone so far. Our family was downstairs watching a movie and eating pizza (weekly tradition) when the doorbell rang. In ran Jake the dog--slobbering and barking everywhere (waking up Kes--who did not return to bed until 10 that night!) Next, he went downstairs and barked at our cat Mouse who literally jumped into (and got tangled in) the blinds. These are the cheapie plastic blinds, so they really can't handle the weight of a cat--hence we now have mangled blinds. After terrorizing the cat, he discovered the degu, Max-and literally was digging at the cage trying to get at it. Max responded like a degu on crack and was running blindly all over it's cage at moch 10. All other pets terrorized--he ran upstairs to mark his territory. I went up to our kitchen about a half hour later and stepped in a puddle. Hun. That's funny. I wondered who spilled this water--as I bent down to wipe it up--the olfactories kicked in and I realized I wasn't wiping up water! GRrrrrr! Next day was Sunday, and we kicked the dog out while we where at church. Big mistake. Came home to find our screen door shredded. Apparently this dog is NOT an inside dog. Oh, did I mention that he is terrified of thunder and has to be put in a room downstairs with no windows when a storm starts. (Of course we had thunderstorms all day yesterday) Might I also add this lovely little side note, that on one of his forays outside to use the facilities (my flowers), he chased the cat up the tree who was then terrified to come down because she thought a dog might be lurking below. So we where outside yesterday in torrential rain, with a ladder trying to coax the cat down--why didn't I just leave it? Because I had a seven year old boy crying because he was worried his cat might get hit by lightning (never mind his parents who where standing on a tall metal ladder!) The cat ran inside and has been living in our box spring ever since. Today, the only major thing was Kes found it mauling her dora doll and was very traumatized! She did take matters into her own hands and ran over pulled the doll out of the dogs mouth banged Jake on the nose with the same said doll and said, "no no! Jake! That's my Dora!" We are still watching it until next Sunday...except here is our loophole. When they dropped Jake off, the people said that if we had plans next weekend, they found another place we could take it. I've been bugging Levi to go on an overnight camping trip...now he is considering it...simply to get rid of the dog. :)

these pictures make me laugh!

While I'm posting pictures...this series of three pictures just makes me smile. Hope it has the same effect on you!

Colstrip Days!

A few pictures of Colstrip Days. We had a great time! The parade theme was "Christmas in July" and Western Energy's float won! You can't tell from the picture, but on the float Levi was on the "nice list" (I think he is nice!)The kids also liked the free inflatables and kids games (they got a quarter for every one they participated in--compliments of city of Colstrip!) I liked the Amish homemade donuts!

My hero

For those of you who don't know I have a complete phobia of snakes. Bugs, spiders...I can handle those, but you put a snake in the picture and I kind of freak out. This morning I was out back watering my flowers, and Kes was with me when suddenly she screamed "Nake! Nake!" I turned around and sure enough, our cat had brought us a little "present" in a dead snake! (The cat has been doing this lately...bringing me little "gifts" and leaving them at the base of the stairs outside--I don't know what her thought process is...Hmmm, Riki seems a little down, I am sure this half eaten bird will cheer her right up!) Anyways...gross! And of course the snake was the kicker--dead or not, it still struck fear into my heart, and I scooped Kes up and ran into the house. Unfortunately, Levi is in Texas for the week, and I was NOT going to leave that thing decorating my patio for a week. So I was forced to...make Bridger take care of it. (For those of you think this was cowardly of me--which it was--Bridger likes snakes and had no problem compiling to my demands) I walked all the way around the house (to avoid going by it) and got him a shovel out of the shed. He didn't want my shovel, however, and picked the nasty slimy thing up with his BARE HANDS--that's right, his BARE HANDS! Lets go take that to the garbage (thank heavens Monday is garbage pick up day!) Wew! Disaster adverted--I can go outside this week! On my way back around to put the shovel away, I noticed our cat playing with something in my tall flowers--I leaned over to see yet another snake slithering around. I responded by dropping the shovel, screaming, and running for the house at a full on run (good thing no kids where in my path because they would have gotten leveled!) When I got inside Bridger informed me in a matter of fact voice that he would take care of it after Mouse (the cat) killed it! Sure enough two minutes later, Mouse deposited it at her shrine and Bridger went and threw yet another snake in the trash! As Bailey and Kes are as deeply afraid of snakes as I am, we all hailed the cat and Bridger as Heroes! Later, when I asked Bridger (who was making a snake patrol outside) to come in and clean his room, Bailey quickly spoke up on his behalf--"But mom, he is a Hero which means he can do whatever he wants! And I don't think he wants to clean his room. Sorry." The day progressed and I forgot about my traumatic snake morning. Some friends came over and we had a little play group-and we where having a great time chatting and the kids where playing-when I looked over to see Mouse pounce on something...that's right another snake! In his eagerness to be the "hero" again--Bridger picked it up and threw it away (mind you the garbage truck had already been to my house that day) before it was dead. I felt that I remained very calm on the exterior, but I was envisioning throwing something away only to have a snake slither out at me. So what does this mean? My garbage is going to overflow till the garbage truck comes again.

how we came to have a degu...

Yesterday was the Relay for Life Rummage Sale (and you know me, I can't pass up a good yard sale). However, this one was a little unusual because they where selling a degu there (for those of you who don't know what that is, it looks like a hamster but with a tail--I actually think it is most closely related to the prairie dog). Of course my children fixated on that. After asking like ten times if they could have it and me saying no, I finally said (just to get them out of there) lets ask dad what he thinks. I don't know about you,but I get sick of being the "bad guy" so I like to spread it around a little bit. After we came home, I got busy getting ready for an Relief Society meeting and forgot about it...of course Bridger did not. He asked his dad and told him how much he wanted it. Might I remind you from previous blog that Bridger recently had his tonsils out and so he has been working that angle :) Anyways, Levi apparently didn't want to be the bad guy either because before I knew it he had loaded all the kids up and taken them down to see it...and ten dollars later, they where unloading it in the drive way. "What! Why didn't you say no!" was my response--to which he replied, "why didn't you?" Dang. He had me there. So the lesson I learned is, better just to be a bad guy or you might end up with another pet. The kids named him Max and he seems to be pretty tame. The cat wants to eat him, so that should be interesting!

tonsils...no more!

Bridger had his tonsils and adenoids out on Monday. Since a picture is worth a thousand words, here are a few!This is the before picture...he had just been given a sediative that made him feel like a "drunken boy" he was giggling a lot!
The second picture is after surgery--he is trying to eat a popsicle. He didn't come out of anesthesia very well...but I guess that is pretty common.
The third is a picture of his tonsils the doctor took. (We opted for the picture rather than keeping them!) The Doctor said they were "big and bad" but you can judge for yourselves!

vacation Bible School

The kids got invited to Vacation Bible School again and I thought, "heck yeah! A vacation for four days from bored and fighting kids (and we have only been out of school for a week!) So I signed up Bailey and Bridger. It has been an interesting experience. Bridger came home after the first day and said, "mom, I don't think we should go anymore because it isn't The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints!" I assured him that we would still retain our membership in our church and this was just to learn some Bible stories. That seemed to pacify him (after all they do play games, eat snacks and make crafts--all things Bridger loves). The next night he came home and told me that they learned about John 6:29--and he asked to look it up and read it. We read it together and he was again confused because it sounded different than the one they read--so I explained that we used the King James Version and they probably have a different version of the Bible. Bridger has been reading his Book of Mormon nightly--the irony is that it took going to a Lutheran Bible school to interest him in that particular pursuit, but hey I will take it! For scripture study in the morning, the kids told us stories they had learned at school. Then Bailey was at a baseball game and she was talking to her friend and telling her, "ummm, our church is the true church! Sorry your church isn't true." So we had to have a discussion about how that isn't a nice thing to say to other people. But I guess her testimony was not shaken during VBS. :)

batterd' up!

Last winter when Bridger asked me if he could do wrestling, I grimaced (envisioning me having to watch him twisted into a pretzel) and told him--sorry, it is just to violent--why don't you try baseball in the spring. However, Wednesday night's game gave me second thoughts about the "saftey" of baseball! First, when Bridger was batting, he got pelted on the finger. Now, for those of you who know Bridger know that he has the pain tolerance of a flea--but to his credit, he did not cry just took his base. Two minutes later, when the next kid actually hit the ball, Bridger was on his way to second...unfortunately, he got about two steps when the first base player accidentally tripped him. Also, unfortunately, Bridger was wearing shorts so he got his knees all bloodied up. The umpire deemed him "safe" on second even though he had been tagged out because he was tripped by the first baseman. Finally, to add insult to injury--Bridger got tagged out on his way to home plate. The evening went on fairly uneventfully after that until about ten minutes till the end of the game. Bridger and some of his friends where goofing off in the dug out when Bridger got sand thrown in his eyes. He of course did begin crying at that point because he couldn't see. As I loaded up Bridger into the van I looked at him. His knees where bloody, his finger bruised and swollen, his eyes blood-shot and full of tears--I thought...yep...much safer than wrestling...I think...

my reader's digest blog

So I haven't written in my blog for about a month. Here is my reader's digest list of the happenings in our lives.
1. painted my upstairs living room and hallway.
2. Bridger started baseball
3. Bailey finished preschool and I made her a new blankie since her old one is so worn it is see through. (She now has two blankies as she won't give up her old one still)
4. Kes is potty trained! (I'm throwing a party to celebrate!) We started about half way through May and this is how it went. Day 1--ten accidents. No toilet use. Stopped when I ran out of clean underwear. Day 2--eight accidents. One toilet use! And so it went...I actually put her in underwear on Sunday but then chickened out and changed her to a pull up.
5. My mom and dad came to visit! I wish I had a picture to post here, but my camera battery was dead the entire weekend. We had a fabulous time! Thanks for making the trip mom and dad.
6. Put new flooring in my dinning room-will finish the hallway and living room and stairs in coming weekends. (will have camera up and working by then so I can take pictures of it.)

So there you have it. Just another day in paradise! I am making a new resolution to blog at least once a week from now on.

Anger management...

Apparently I have angry children.

A few days ago...
"Mom, please rock me to sleep" says Bailey. I respond with "I'm already rocking Kes to sleep." She quips, "But mom! I am grumpier than Kes!" Good point.

At church we are doing a service tree in Primary and every time a kid does a good deed they get to put a leaf or a blossom on the tree. Bridger always wants to put a blossom on the tree but rarely does anything extra to serve others (as that would cut into his play time!)
Here is his attempt to get a leaf a few weeks ago.
"Ummmm.....my mom made me clean the downstairs." The nice other counselor was still trying to salvage it and make it service so she asked "how did you feel when you helped your mom clean?" to which he responded, "angry and bored."

Bridger was starting to cry about doing homework after school, so instead of getting mad at him I tried positive reinforcement...I said, "Bridger, your teacher said how mature you have been acting at school lately. How you don't let little things bother you. Don't you think you could try acting that way at home?" He responded with, "I don't want to act mature at home, I just want to be angry." Lucky me!

Snow, snow go away...come again...just not in May!

I am so bitter! I was planning on planting a garden on Saturday. Unfortunately, we are getting dumped on with snow and it is 37 degrees outside. This is so wrong! It is May! Time for tulips and baseball--not time to shovel the sidewalk!

why I will never look at orange juice in the same way again

Warning--this story is not for the weak of stomach--

A few days ago the kids and I had been inside (because it has been yucky and rainy outside) watching Man vs. Wild. For those of you who haven't seen this show, this guy gets dropped in different places around the world and has to survive without food or water on his own for about three days. It is a pretty interesting show. Anyways, we had been watching this when Bridger did something to offend Bailey and she called him a "meanie". Bridger was not happy at earning this name (he felt unduly) and went upstairs to pout. He came back about five minutes later with a cup of orange juice for Bailey. I thought, way to go Bridger, you are really proving her wrong with your kindness! (that should have been my first warning--Bridger rarely does that sort of thing without being asked). Anyways, he hands her the cup--meanwhile I am saying--"See how nice Bridger is, he brought you this glass of orange juice--you should say your sorry for calling him a meanie." Bailey took the glass and took a drink of it and said, "mom this tastes funny." I assumed that he had put lemon juice in it as a joke and so said, "here let me taste it." I took a big swallow...hmmmm...not lemony...warm...and it tastes kinda of watered down. I looked over at Bridger who was grinning from ear to ear...warning bells dinging louder in my head! "Bridger what did you put in this--if there is a harmful chemical I need to know." He responded with, "If I tell the truth I won't get in trouble, right?" (always an omission of guilt). And followed it up with, "there are no harmful chemicals in pee right?" Still it took my brain a minute to register that I had just swallowed a mouthful of pee. Bailey was actually quicker on the uptake than I was and began sobbing hysterically. I called in Levi for reinforcements--because all I could think was I just swallowed a mouthful of pee! Bridger of course started crying at this point too saying, "but I told the truth, why am I still in trouble"! Levi followed Bridger upstairs with the cup of offending punch. He told Bridger as his punishment he too would have to take a swallow of the pee cocktail. Bridger refused. Levi came back downstairs to confer with me about an appropriate punishment. We decided that he would clean his sister's room for a week. When Levi went back upstairs to deliver our verdict--Bridger began crying again and said now he would rather drink the juice than have to clean Bailey's room for a week. You might be asking yourself how he even got such an idea in his head--but we had just seen the guy do it on Man Vs. Wild. I can just imagine Bridger's thought process--"wow, I didn't know you can drink your own pee. That will be a good thing to try on Bailey." I was the innocent victim of his conspiracy. Lesson learned: never share a drink with your kids. Forget backwash--watch out for urine! Later that day I went upstairs and saw a nice tall glass of OJ I had poured for myself earlier that day...guess where it went? Right down the drain. Yes, I will never look at orange juice again in the same way!

Reflections on turning another year older...

My birthday was yesterday and it was very nice. Thanks so much to all the well wishers and my family who made it a special day for me! I got lots of great stuff but my favorite was from my little six year old daughter who was so excited to give me a dandelion and a penny! Yes--I am blessed! It is okay to be another year older.

discipline of the cat...

I overheard Bailey talking to our cat yesterday.
She said, "Look at me...look at my eyes! Now Mouse, I still love you, but you can not scratch me. That isn't okay. Please say your sorry. SAY YOUR SORRY!!!" Good luck getting that apology!

My identity crisis!

It seems an unwritten rule in my life that when ever I judge something or make an absolute in my mind--that thing happens to me. For example, my sister's son sometimes calls her by her first name. She doesn't mind at all. I thought in my head, "Oh I do not like that--my kids better always call me mom." So of course, Kes has begun calling me Riki. I think it is because Wally, the little boy I watch, calls me that as do all of the neighborhood kids and Levi (on occasion will call me that too). So what do I hear from my two year old daughter? "Riki, I'm talkin to you!" or "Riki, I''m thirsty!" I've tried several strategies for correction. I say, "I'm not Riki, I'm momma." to which she replies, "No. Riki." Aaahhh. I've tried ignoring her until she calls me mom. This usually just causes her to say my name at a much louder decimal. I think we are making progress though...she only calls me Riki about 50 percent of the time. She is so different from Bailey who when she was three was asked what her mom and dad's names where and told them "mom, and dad." I work hard to earn that special title mom (i.e. kissing booboohs, giving hugs, making meals, struggling through homework and science fair projects, doing copeous loads of laundry, playing barbies and GI Joe) and dang it they are going to call me that! I will take mom, mommy, momma, madre, mother, and even momma seta--but dang it not Riki. I feel quite strongly about this as you can see. Mother's day is coming up and all I want is for my two year old to call me mom!

Easter enthusists!

We had a lovely Easter! Conference watching, candy eating, egg hunting...all the things that make Easter wonderful. It obviously impressed Kes enough that she decided the toilet looked like a great big easter basket. I was grateful to find it before it got any "chocolate covered eggs" in it too! Speaking of eggs--I've eaten my weight in deviled eggs and egg salad sandwiches--as Levi and I are the only ones who seem to like them. Although Bridger does like them better than tuna fish sandwiches which he claims make him seasick!

Dentist day...

Yesterday I took Bailey and Bridger in to the dentist. Each one had to get a cavity filled. Bailey has really deep grooves in her baby moles (which is were the cavity occurred) and so they sealed her baby molars too. Bridger had a small piece chip out of his tooth that they were afraid a cavity would come so they just treated it like one and filled it. Bailey was feeling a great deal of anxiety about the whole thing and on the way over asked me if it was two oclock yet? I said yes it is. She said, "Oh I hate two oclock!" I inquired why and she replied,"because that is when I have to get my cavity filled." Makes sense. But when they called her name, she jumped up and ran back like she didn't have a care in the world--and came out delighted because she got to pick out three prizes. I was delighted too because the dentist told me he was only going to charge me for three teeth even though he sealed six and give me a discount on the three--because baby teeth aren't covered by insurance--I don't know why he did that--just because he is a good guy and likes our family--but hey, I will take it--I felt like I got to pick a prize too! Bridger was a little more subdued when he came out of the back (even though he got to pick out three prizes too). We he got out into the parking lot he looked at me very seriously and said, "Mom do I have a metal tooth now?" I replied "no." He let out a sigh of relief and said, "thats good! I was afraid of that they gave me a metal tooth." His fears revealed, he was able to concentrate on the three prizes he got too. Oh, while we are talking about things that people dread--I will post a little update on potty training. Yesterday, Kes brought me a her potty insert and told me she needed to go poop. I was reading and didn't want to stop to put her on the potty besides I thought to myself--yeah right, you have NEVER pooped in the potty. One minute later she pooped in her diaper. Dang! Chalk on up to my laziness!

Birthday mania...

So last week we celebrated both Bridger and Bailey's birthdays!It was a busy fun week! Bailey had her first slumber party last Friday. It went very well--except Kes came down with the stomach flu in the middle of the night. Then Bailey got it the next day. When she opened her presents, she was excited but didn't have the energy to play with them till the next day. Then this last Friday, Bridger had a slumber party--it was a little more rambunctious! He had a good birthday too though! Here are some pictures of my 6 and 7 year olds (I am getting so old!)

St. Patty's Day--hoorah!

So our St. Patrick's day highlights where as follows...
Bridger,"I think I better wear red and green--so that Taylor will kiss me!"

Bailey "little leprechauns will pinch you like this"--demonstrating on everyone--Kes screaming and running for her life as Bailey attempts to pinch her...this continues all day long!

all the kids, "Mom, you aren't wearing green! Here wear this!"(pulling out something from the bottom of the laundry hamper) No one will dear pinch me--because if the green doesn't warn them off, the smell definately will!

Bailey to Bridger "who is saint Patrick?" Bridger "A guy who lived a long time ago--and was really lucky." I'm glad she asked him and not me because I have no blooming idea!

Where did Bailey go?

So we celebrated Bailey's birthday last weekend because Levi is gone all this week. I will post pictures of her birthday when Levi is home to help me (technical idiot--remember) Anyways, today it is so beautiful out nearly 70 degrees that I took her to the park after preschool to play. The main problem--no bathroom. So after about an hour, I had to go--so we had to go. Bailey was a little put out, wondering why I couldn't just go behind a tree as she had earlier. Anyways, her angry bubbled to the surface and she finally said, "mom, I hope you pee your pants." I responded with, "Bailey! That wasn't very nice. Where did my sweet Bailey go?" To which she replied without skipping a beat--"China. And she is not coming back anytime soon!"

Bailey's tumbling recital

After unsuccessfully trying three times to download video of Bailey on the balance beam--I gave up. Here is a picture of her before her big performance instead.

Why moms are obsessed with pooh...

As a teenager, my sisters and I used to tease my mom that she was obsessed with bowel movements. Today, I was startled by the thought that I am kind of fixated on pooh. Probably because I am in the process of potty training (but I will get to that later) I think all moms have pooh on the brain. Here is why. You bring this beautiful sweet baby home from the hospital only to discover that it poops every time it eats! You became alarmed at the sheer number of diapers you go through daily. And not only that, but the pooh does not stay neatly contained in the diaper--it squirts up the back and out down the legs. After a four months or so you may not have nearly as many diapers, but then they start smelling bad. As mothers, we endure this because we love our children. I remember before I had kids changing a cousin's child's diaper and gagging. Now I can wipe bums with the best of them! Finally, the stinky diapers get to be too much for you (or in Kes's case, she comes to me and tells me that she pooped and wants me to change her diaper) and you think, I can potty train this kid. This is undoubtedly the worst time of your collective lives together. Now I have heard of the "fabled" easy to potty train kid--but I have three kids and none of them have been easy to potty train. Pull ups are a novelty at first but my children have no problem doing their business in them just like a diaper. Nope. I have to just put on the undies and pray for strength! And then come the accidents. For some reason, my kids can pee pretty well, but struggle when it comes to number two. And that is when things really go south on you. You are trying to shimmy a full pair of underwear down the legs without smearing poop all over it and yourself. Swear words are flying around in your head--and maybe one or two accidentally tumbles out on your tongue. My sister just told me she read in a parenting magazine that the average child takes 4-6 months to be fully potty trained. I told her that was the worst news I had heard in a long time! So if you survive potty training you have to deal with streak marks! My daughter manages to avoid this, but Bridger just doesn't seem to care. I had to give him a lesson in proper wiping techniques! After all a mother goes through, it's really no wonder that when a child tells you he/she has a tummy ache, your automatic response is "do you need to go to the bathroom?"

Dinner Disaster!

"Mom, did you put plastic in our soup?" asked Bailey last night. I had to answer yes. Let me back up. I bought a bag of fresh broccoli at Costco--such a great deal like 3 dollars for 3 lbs. But let me tell you, when you have had steamed broccoli for the fifth night in a row, you start to rethink how great that deal was. I know, I thought to myself, I will make cream of broccoli soup. It will be so nutritious and use up a lot of the bag. Pat myself on the back. I even got online and found a promising recipe that said, "gourmet cream of broccoli soup." Gourmet... bonus points for me! Anyways to make a long story short--I didn't know how to make vegetables sweat, so I skipped that step. After they cooked for awhile, you where supposed to put them in the blender and blend everything up. I did this. However, on the lid of our blender is a hard plastic center piece that is removable. This piece somehow sucked down into the blender! I turned it off immediately after I realized what had happened. Not before the bottom part of this had been chopped up into small bits. I didn't notice this crucial little fact and went about my business preparing dinner. I made home made rolls too (since I was sorta of on a Martha Stewart kick). Anyways, we all sit down and immediately the kids refuse to eat it. Levi says, "look its good" and demonstrates by taking a big bite. Next thing out of his mouth..."what is the hard stuff in the soup?" I respond (a little confused) "Well I guess it could be a patato or onion but I cooked them for like 20 minutes." He responds by saying..."NOooo...this seems more like a bone." Then I realize what has happened. I take a bite--sure enough--a delicious light blend of broccoli,onion, patatoe,cream and glass-like shards of hard plastic. We had delightful dinner of rolls! I suppose I should have felt bad about it (and Levi says I will if any of those plastic shards go through my intestinal track) but I kept giggling to myself as I did the dishes! So tonight for dinner....frozen pizza...minus my secret ingredient...hard plastic!

Not to air my dirty laundry but...

So as anyone who reads my post knows, I do laundry on Mondays...all day long...The reason why I stick to this schedule rigidly is because I own only 8 pairs of garment tops (You do the math). Well, everything was going along swimmingly yesterday. I was on load number 4 when I spontaneously decided to throw in my throw pillows from the downstairs couch--as they had been used as a giant napkin--into the wash. When I went to get my laundry out the pillows had torn open. Grrrr. Throw out throw pillows. Then, as I was pulling out my laundry I noticed it was very wet and then there was about 1/2 inch of water in the bottom. Weird. Continue on to load number 5. Unfortunately, at the end of that cycle, I opened the lid to find that it hadn't drained at all! Now some people would be excited at the excuse to get a new washing machine...I don't fall into that category. Despite the fact that it is the workhorse of the house, I have no desire to spend my hard earned money on something like that. I called Levi and told him I thought the washing machine was broken. Then I really began to think about the ramifications of a broken washing machine and having absolutely no place close by where I could get a new one. Laundry mat for a week. uugghhh. Doing laundry at a friends house, equally inconvenient. Wearing the same dirty pair of underwear for a week. Hmmmm....I might not smell too good, nor would our house having two weeks worth of dirty laundry accumulated in it. Levi told me he would look at it when he got home. I hung up and said a silent little prayer that my washer would be fixed so that I could wear clean underwear tomorrow. Well, after unloading the clothes and then hand dipping out all the water, it was ready to be looked at. (Just as a side note, prepare yourself if you ever move an appliance for grossness underneath it). Levi took the machine apart and found that the pump was clogged with pillow fluff. He said, "you owe me for 2 hours of my life spent fixing that darn thing" I thought to myself, "well how many hours of my life have I spent using that darn thing..." Then he said, never ever wash a throw pillow again. I also thought to myself, "yeah, because it was really fun for me to wring out a load of soaking wet laundry and bail out 50 gallons of water!" Sorry still bitter. I really am glad he was able to fix it (for the above mentioned reasons). This story has sort of a happy ending. Well, I did not get my white load done, as it was about 9:30 when Levi finished with his repair job. This morning I was looking through my drawer hoping against hope to find a clean top and I did! It was a cotton one I had bought shortly after we got married. It was pit stained and had seen me through two pregnancies...but hey it was clean!

The meaning of love...

What does love mean?

I wub you!--Kessie-doodle age 2

It means you give someone kisses and hugs!--Bailey age 5

It means someone is special to you. Like if I was in love with a girl she would be my girlfriend! --Bridger age 6


Sending out our love to everyone! (Since I wasn't on the ball enough to get valentines sent out!)

Sick kids and the school nurse...

Our family has been fighting head colds the last couple weeks (except Kes who has had a cold for a month--and I finally took her in and she had and ear infection and bronchitis--and I thought she was just cranky because the binky was gone). Anyways, Bridger stayed home from school on Wednesday because he wasn't feeling well. This lasted till about 11--when he forgot he was "sick" and started running around playing with Bailey. I do have a rule that if he stays home sick--he has to lay down and take a nap after lunch. He did comply with this. But thirty minutes later he was downstairs asking if he could play computer games. Oh bless his heart! Anyways, I sent him to school the next day and not even a half hour after school started I got a call from the nurse (I think she must have our number on speed dial). Bridger is complaining of a sore throat and we have had strep going around. I told her, I looked at his throat he is fine. I am sure she thought I was a little calloused. But you see Bridger is never one to pass on any opportunity to come home sick--that combined with the fact that he has the pain tolerance of a flea--means he is in the nurses office a lot. For example, Bridger was at school four days this week...I got three calls from the nurse's office. This morning (because Valentines day party is today) he bounced out of bed with (its a miracle) no sore throat! However, before 9 I got a call saying, "this is the nurse, Bridger got hit in the head with a ball, and has a bit of a goose egg and headache." My reply, "he is fine. Give him a tylenol and send him back to class." Does this make me a bad mother? Maybe. I think I can live with it.

Hunting season is over...and the deer know it!

The deer are taking over the yard again. Bridger wanted me to take a picture. This is in our front yard!