Monday, April 21, 2008

Out of Town

I wanted to take a minute to tell you all that I will probably not be posting much this week. I am in TX, Paul's great Aunt (more like a grandmother) is in the hospital, and is doing very poorly. I will be home when she pulls through surgery and all is well again.

Paul and the older two boys are home for work and school. Caleb has a science fair project do tomorrow. I am upset that I am not there to do pictures for the blog, but I think Paul is taking some and I will post them when I get home and have them available to me.

The younger two are in TX with my parents. THANK YOU to Mom and Dad for taking care of them for me.

Thursday, April 17, 2008

The Elementary School Drama

SO, I talked to the principal today. I asked Caleb yesterday if he had talked to the principal. He said he had, but we kept getting interrupted and then we had church so I never really got much of an explanation. I was kind of irritated that the principal did not bother to call me or send a note home or anything. I called this morning and left a message for him to call me back.

Here is what I got:

He said that the boy Caleb was playing with was telling Caleb to rough house with this boys sister. I still don't know how a big group of fifth graders got involved, but Caleb was apparently on the ground grabbing someones foot and they were trying to get away, that is how he got kicked.

The principal said that he still needed to talk to some of the fifth grade boys, because it does sound like he was being teased and called names.

Caleb was fine with everything yesterday afternoon, so I am assuming this really is how it happened. I am fine with the outcome of THIS part of the issue.

The main issue here is not that Caleb got hurt (as long as he was not bullied). I told the principal that the bigger issue was NOT the elementary school drama, but the fact that a couple of students told me (and they were not together when I talked to them) that there are only two or three teachers standing outside during recess and that they are usually standing at the building talking to each other. The students have apparently been told that if there is a problem or someone is doing something they are not supposed to be doing to come tell a teacher.

WHY ARE THE KIDS RESPONSIBLE FOR BABYSITTING EACH OTHER?

I told him I was upset because during all of this taking place none of the teachers saw anything. He said there was an adult that witnessed some of it (this, by the way, would not be the best thing to tell me at this point!!!).

IF AN "ADULT" WITNESSED PART OF IT - WHY WAS IT NOT STOPPED BEFORE IT GOT OUT OF HAND?

He said he was unaware of the lack of supervision outside during recess. I told him that I knew that playground and if teachers were not seeing THAT happen, then a student could be taken EASILY without anyone even noticing!

He said I had a valid concern and as a parent, he too is concerned about that and will look into the problem.

He ended the conversation by telling me that he was very proud of Caleb. He said yesterday when Caleb was having to go to the office to talk to the principal he was pretty nervous to start with, but he relaxed after a few minutes and was very "mature" about the issues and talking to the principal. He said he did a great job and he actually enjoyed talking to Caleb. I know, a lot of that is probably him trying to make me less upset with the school - but it is still nice to hear (and I am not any less upset with the issue at hand).

I went into this saying that I did not know that I was getting the whole story and that if it came out Caleb had something to do with it, he would have to suffer the consequences at school AND at home. At this time, there have been no consequences other than speaking with the principal (he used to be a coach, so he is big and can be intimidating to the kids). I do not disagree with what happened because Caleb was fine with the outcome yesterday, but I am not fine with the supervision issue. We will see what comes of this.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DADDY!!!!

A day late!
I made him wear this work:

But let's be realistic about it, he took it off as soon as he got in the car! He did hang it on his office door though.

Only one more year of being a "twenty-something!"

He had an orange cake with butter cream whipped icing and Superman candies on it. It was YUMMY!!!

Hard to believe that we have been together since we were SIXTEEN!!! My how time flies! I guess "growing old together" is happening quicker than we thought it would!

Time to Move?

I just found out that Little Rock is in the top 10 worst places for allergies. In our family - that is BAD!

Explains a lot!

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

Beware: Raging Lion Ahead

Mama Lion, that is...

A protective, unhappy Mama Lion.

Caleb got beat up today at school....BY A GIRL. In fifth grade.

He came home upset. I kept asking what was wrong, he kept saying nothing. When we got home, he came up and told me he got beat up. He explained that some fifth graders came up to him and a friend of his and started making fun of him, calling him small and stupid. They kept grabbing his arms when he tried to walk away. Apparently, one of the times he pulled his arm away and he must have scratched someone and they started bleeding. He got kicked in his face (both sides) and in his "WRONG spot."

I asked if any teachers were told. He said he did not tell any because the fifth graders went and told a teacher lies about him. I told him tomorrow to go talk to HIS teacher and tell her what happened. I was going to see if he would work it out by himself. Then, as I sat there for a few minutes, I got REALLY mad! I am not going to let him get bullied, even if he won't say anything (and he probably wouldn't). He is embarrassed that it was a girl that did it and is upset that lies were being told about him and he was being teased. We went back to the school.

Caleb's teacher saw me walk in. I was telling the secretary's that I needed to speak with the principal. They told me he had left for a drs appt and I explained what was going on. Then the principal walked in. We went into his office and Caleb's teacher came in also. She told us that another teacher told her that some fifth graders said he was trying to kiss a girl and too many kids got involved and it got out of hand.

After she told what she had heard, she left. I told Caleb to tell the principal his side. He did. The principal and I explained that if he is leaving ANYTHING out, he needed to let us know, now. He said he didn't know anything else. He was able to give some names of people involoved and around when it happened. The principal said if he remembered anything else to write it down tonight and give it to him tomorrow.

When we got back home, we were again discussing how important it is that he tells us EVERYTHING. A few minutes later he came in to me and said that one girl might not say the same thing he did. I asked why. He said that this kid named Andrew was telling him to kiss a girl (Caleb's friends sister, who had been playing with Caleb and her little brother). She is in fifth grade. Caleb kept telling Andrew no, but Andrew went and told the other fifth graders that Caleb said he was going to kiss her. That is when the other kids came over.

The girl that beat him up kept pushing or pulling him and making him fall. One of the times he fell she started kicking him in the face. This girl was NOT the girl that the kid was saying Caleb was going to kiss. Just someone who took it upon herself.

This is Caleb's side only, obviously. Caleb knows that I find out the truth one way or the other and he gets in more trouble lying. I have no reason NOT to believe him. Whether he DID say he was going to kiss her or not, NOONE has ANY right to put a hand on anyone - especially a fifth grader on a third grader!

The principal told Caleb that she was definently in the wrong for hitting and kicking him, no matter what happened, but that he would talk to the other kids individually tomorrow, and then talk to Caleb and the other girl together.

IF Caleb did something, I expect him to be punished by the principal. Either way, the other girl needs to be! There is just no reason she should have touched him - especially if she really wasn't involved with the supposed kiss.

They are doing benchmark test this week, so principal said it would be tomorrow afternoon before he could do anything. If this is not straightened out by the end of the week (and that is being generous), I will be up there raising .....

I will let you know as the elementary school drama unfolds!

The pictures are not great - this is just ANOTHER example of why I need a better camera!


Monday, April 14, 2008

Ribs

Daddy made ribs for us last night. He makes the best ribs, so tender, melt-in-your-mouth, yummy good! Andrew LOVED them. He ate a lot last night! He would not eat the beans or potato salad, but I was not allowed to eat MY food. Everytime I would get a bite in his mouth he would start squealing for more!

So, his faves right now:
BANANAS (still can't get enough of them)
spagetti
chicken
these popcorn chips he got started on because there is no milk
and ribs, of course

I am sure I am missing some, but this gives you an idea.

Daddy's New Toy

Who knew. If you want your husband to run errands with you - whatever errands you want, how ever far away the errand - just buy him the vehicle of his dreams!

I don't remember Paul EVER ASKING to run errands. He went everywhere I wanted to go without complaint!

We went to Hot Springs yesterday. Downtown Hot Springs flooded week before last when we were hit with tornadoes and flooding here. We have been downtown several times to the little shops. It was very sad to see many stores closed and empty as they try to fix the damage of the water. We went to a great little place to eat called BubbaLu's. They sale burgers and dogs. It was really good and a cute little place. The older couple that was running it were very sweet and enjoyed talking to the boys.

Paul put over 200 miles on his Jeep this weekend.

I still have not driven it. I would not even move it out of my way in the driveway the other day. I sure don't want to be behind the wheel (or the one that parked it) the first time it gets a scratch or ding! It doesn't matter how good I drive or park - if someone does anything to it under my watch....

Saturday, April 12, 2008

Another Project

Yes, Paul says I am "driven" because I keep doing projects, even though half the time I have a baby on my lap or I am chasing someone, etc.

I am enjoying my sewing machine, although I still have a LOT to learn! For example, this project was I made a belt for Andrew. His pants are ALWAYS falling off (that is what happens when you need 0/3 month in the waist and 12 month in length). So, I decided I would make him a simple little belt that would do the trick. I am measuring his waist and cutting and sewing and Paul asks if I checked to see if the belt would fit through his loops on his jeans. UM, NO! Hadn't even thought about that! That is something a good sewing person would think of!

I CAN make it work on his jeans, although I will probably have to put the belt through the loops BEFORE I put them on him! It is not the most fashionable belt, but I cannot find ANY belts small enough for him, so if it does the job....

Friday, April 11, 2008

First Blanket Complete

I got Andrew's blanket finished - my first big blanket! There are a few things I still need to fix, but it is finished enough that it is on Andrew's bed. He has been continuously trying to pull it off of my lap when I am working on it.

I took it and had his name put on it. I think it turned out cute. The blanket is not perfect and I still have a LOT to learn, but all and all - not too bad. Andrew was happy that it was finished and on is bed. I am glad he wants it.

It is a little 3D. He never sleeps under his blanket. He usually wads it up under him and sleeps on it. So, I decided (after I messed up when sewing the monkey on) to stuff the monkeys face and now he has a built in pillow (in the middle of the blanket). More than anything, it was basically just as a cover for his bed - not necessarily for his to sleep under.



Happy Birthday Andrew (Pictures)





We had Andrew's "birthday party" tonight. We went with some friends out to eat mexican food. Then we came back to the house for cake. The kids played outside for a little while before the cake.

Andrew did not really seem to interested in the cake. He dumped it off the plate and then picked at it for a while. He had to be the cleanest one year old AFTER eating his cake! Here are some pictures and I will get video on as soon as I can.

HAPPY 1ST BIRTHDAY MONKEY!!

That is right, the dreaded day is upon us....Andrew turned one today! :(

More to come later - pictures, etc. But I just wanted to give his stats real quick. We have already seen two drs this morning. His weight is 19 pounds 3 ounces - YAY!!!!
Good weight gain and moved up to SEVENTH PERCENT (not bad since he has been three percent forever)! PROGRESS - FINALLY! His length was 19 3/4 in.

We went and saw Dr. V first (GI dr). She was impressed with his progress. I got lectured because he drinks too much of the Splashers. I explained that I am not going to let him get dehydrated. He won't take his formula very well and he is very picky about his drinks, so I am going to give him what I have to to keep him out of the hospital again!

She also told us to try him back on milk in his food (not milk in a cup yet). We gave him some milk in food last weekend and it was about three days before he had any problems. The only problem he had was his bottom bled after one diaper, but I really think he had sat in his diaper too long! After that one time, his bottom was fine. He never threw up, broke out in a rash or anything. She said she does not have enough evidence to say he definently has a milk problem and since we have now seen what kind of weight gain is possible, she wants to see what will happen over the next month with milk.

Then we went to see Dr S (the pediatrician). While we were there, we were looking at a book with animals in it. On each page was several animals. Every time we turned the page he would find the dog, point to it and say dog. He did this right as Dr. S was asking how many words he could say. To answer that further, he has around ten words in his vocabulary. He tries to copy everything we say though. If he cannot copy what we say, he just responds with a "yeah".

He is running around everywhere! He is also still climbing on everything. He is still offered about 3 bottles a day, although I am going to TRY to get him to take the formula out of a cup. We will stay on the hypoallergenic formula for at least the rest of the month to see how he does with milk back in his diet. Formula out of the cup will probably be one of our biggest challanges. My fear is that he will stop taking a cup. Right now he knows the cup has GOOD stuff in it, he doesn't really like the taste of the formula, so I don't know how he will do!

His thumb is all dry and rough. I showed it to the dr. He said as long as he sucks his thumb, it will stay like that. He told us we could put hydrocortisone on it. Maybe the taste will make him stop sucking it (before we have to pull out tabasco sauce)!

He is wearing size 12 month (except shorts which he wears a 0/3 month). I am in the process of making him a belt because I can't find one that fits his tiny waist! His shoe size is a 4 (got big feet!)

I will post pictures later today.

Thursday, April 10, 2008

HAPPY BIRTHDAY.....

And 10th Anniversary, Father's Day and Merry Christmas (and whatever holidays I normally buy you gifts for) Daddy. Hope you enjoy your birthday present for YEARS to come.


Yes, that is right, THE Jeep finally arrived. After SIX WEEKS of waiting for his (almost) dream Jeep to get made - it is here. It even arrived with a window sticker that said "This vehicle was built especially for Paul Barton."

It came in Tuesday morning - and he was, of course, out of town! Luckily, he had a short week of being out of town and was able to sit through the tornado warnings (actually he was test driving his new Jeep DURING the tornado sirens going off today) at the dealership getting it.

He has already gone off-roading with it (with the entire family in it). It already has mud on it! He had to "test out" the 4 wheel drive on it. Of course there are things he would like to add/change eventually. He says things like "When I get to get gifts again for my birthday, it would be cool if..."

I tried to tell him he had to wait until next week - when it was actually HIS birthday (not Andrew's), but let a man go build his dream vehicle and then have to wait six weeks for it to come in and then make him let it sit at a dealership for two days before he can go get it - there was NO way I was getting the keys from him. I haven't even got to drive it yet!

I love you sweetie, and I really do hope you enjoy your Jeep!

Wednesday, April 09, 2008

New Messes - ALWAYS

I got the kitchen cleaned up a few minutes ago. I went to change out some laundry and I heard a crash (but no screams).

I go to see what the noise was...

Andrew pulled ALL of the kitchen storage containers out of the cabinet.

It will be there for a while!

We Need a Boat!

I fear we will VERY soon need a boat. Does anyone have one?

The entrance to our neighborhood was closed last night. It flooded again. The houses (which have spent the last week moving everything out of their house and pulling up carpet) have sandbags at their doors. The police closed that area with police tape and signs. It was reopened this morning when it stopped raining quite so hard and the water went down some, but the tape is still there and so are the signs. They are obviously staying prepared to close it again.

It has rained steadily all night. The news says there are many places in the area that got over 3 inches - just last night. We have not even had time to dry out from a week ago! We are out of places for this water to go!

Luckily, we live at the high end of the neighborhood and our house actually sits higher than our road, so we will be fine, but I REALLY feel for our neighbors that are not fairing as well!

Tomorrow they are saying more severe storms, probably following the same path as last weeks. That puts us in the line of fire again. We will pray and hope for the best. Daddy will be here with us this time, though.

Tuesday, April 08, 2008

Not a Good Afternoon

It is raining and thundering.

The dog is running around barking.

The boys are asking continuosly if our house will flood or get hit by a tornado (which, by the way, we have chances of severe weather today thru Thursday).

Isaac has homework.

Bryce did not take a nap, and it shows.

Isaac....homework!

I am tired of being a single parent - when I am NOT a single parent.

I am ready for my boys Daddy, and my husband, to be home.

He has been out of town eight out of the last 10 weeks. Only one of those weeks was NOT to Louisiana. I am at my wits end with it. I am tired of no breaks. I am warn down. I need a vacation.

Isaac is having trouble at school still. He does great AT SCHOOL! For some reason, he cannot carry this stuff over to home. He is supposed to be working on his word wall words this week (sight words) and then write a story using the words. He (according to the teacher and his grades) does fine at doing this at school. He can read every single word without thinking about it. For some reason, he gets home and he can't do many of the words. He will look at here and say it is come, even though he just said the word come correctly a few words before.

It makes it even more frustrating because when he gets to a word he does not know, he just stares at me. I keep trying to explain to him that the word is not written on my forehead, so if he is looking at me he is not attempting to figure out the word. After a few times of me telling him to look at his paper, he gets mad and starts crying. Then we are both flustered and frustrated.

This would be a REALLY nice time to have Daddy home to give some fresh help! I know it is not Daddy's fault he is gone and I know that he HATES being gone. I am just feeling really frustrated right now. Since January, he is only supposed to be out of town in Louisiana two weeks a month. I did not know that meant he would be out of town somewhere else the other two. And actually, out of the past eight weeks he was out of town, only two of those weeks have been for something other than this Louisiana project. And, he was actually home ONE of those weeks!

Honestly, I am ready to call his office and quit for him! It is not as though we are seeing some huge financial benefit of him being gone (or ANY!!). It kind of makes it hard to swallow the fact that he never gets to be home with us and we are getting NOTHING out of it!

OKAY (deep breath), I think I am ready to go back to working on homework now.

Easter 2008

The boys hunted Easter eggs in the dark this year. We were leaving early Easter Sunday to go to Louisiana, so we did it Saturday evening.

Hide and Seek

I am not sure if he was playing hide and seek or hiding "easter eggs" or what, but this is what I found Andrew doing this morning. He was headed back this way with more small toys from his bedroom, I assume to put in the blinds also, but he got mad that I found his toys and he took them.

A Job at Four

We went to our favorite coffee shop this morning. The owners always come and talk to Bryce and Andrew. Today, Andrew was walking around and he went and put his hands on the glass that has the muffins and scones and pigs in a blanket(Bryce's favorite), etc. I have to get on to Bryce frequently about touching the glass and getting hand prints all over it (even though the owners always tell me not to worry about it).

Bryce kept telling Andrew to stop touching the glass and trying to move him. Then he uses his shirt to try and clean the glass. The owner went and got him some glass cleaner (safe glass cleaner) and asked if he wanted to clean it. The next 30 minutes or so - Bryce was cleaning the coffee shop. He cleaned the glass door, the tables...

I was giving her a bad time about child labor laws. Then the sherriff walked in. He is also a frequent visitor of the coffee shop and also talks to the boys a lot. The first thing he said to her was a comment about child labor laws.

Bryce was QUITE excited when she paid him 50 cents for his work. He immediately went out and tried to buy a newspaper.

HE CAN'T READ!

I tried to explain that he should not spend his money on a newspaper, he got mad. He stuck his money in anyway and then wanted it back. Luckily, he had not opened the machine, so I was able to get him money. I guess he expected the newspaper to drop out like the toys do in the toy machines.

Monkey Cages Himself

Isaac just came in to my bathroom while I was getting dressed. "Mom, did you like the new ribbon I made?"

"Ribbon?"

"Yes, ribbon. You know (whistle, whistle)."

"RHYTHM?"

"YES, my new ribbon."

It is funny and interesting to hear what they hear sometimes!

Monday, April 07, 2008

Punishments, Hugs, Kisses and Raspberries

The last couple of weeks, Andrew has really been getting into everything. We have been letting him test his boundaries, but at the same time telling him no. We usually have to "swat" him (we just tap his hand with one finger) several times on the hand before he gets it.

After a few times of this, he started using his lips to get his way. The first time you tell him no, he bows his head. Then he slowly trys to do what he was doing - while still bowing his head. The second time, he keeps his head bowed and sticks out his bottom lip ( he can REALLY stick it out there). The third time, he sits down and starts crying a very pathetic forced cry.

It is so cute that we are usually trying not to laugh at him.

He is gives lots of hugs and kisses now. He has a very strong hug - two arms, tight squeeze - I LOVE IT!! His kisses...they are the great big, open mouth, slobbery kisses that would be really gross if it was anyone other than him!

AND RASPBERRIES! He has figured out how to give us raspberries.

THERE IS NOTHING BETTER THAN A BABY GIVING LOVE!!

Softie?

I don't know if it is the fact that he is gone all the time, or that Andrew is so cute, or if he is just getting soft, but Andrew got Daddy this weekend.

Daddy went to put him in his room. Andrew started crying and grabbed his leg.

Guess who Daddy was carrying when he came back out!?

True Love

Paul and I were rough-housing yesterday evening. He went outside to take care of something and while he was out Bryce comes in and ask "Mommy, are you still in true love with Daddy?"

"Of course I am in true love with Daddy. I always will be in true love with Daddy."

"Oh, I didn't know because he was being mean to you."

I explained to him that we were just playing with each other, just like he and his brothers play rough sometimes.

What a sweet way to word it though!

Competitiveness....Sometimes a Good Thing

Isaac, as most people know, is a people pleaser. He loves to make people, anyone, happy. For quite a while now, if his brothers say they don't like something, Isaac loves whatever it is. For example: if we are eating some "strange" vegetable like mushrooms, onions, squash, etc., his brothers will talk about how gross it is - before they even taste it. This makes Isaac at least taste the food - and usually he says he likes it.

Lately, Bryce - who has hated ALL vegetables since he was a baby (too the point of making himself throw-up), suddenly LOVES vegetables - of all kinds. He is ASKING us for vegetables. We went to the grocery store and he kepts asking Paul for peas, but picking up green beans. Paul got the green beans (canned) and when we got to the frozen vegetables he saw snapped peas. He showed them to Bryce and asked if that was what he was wanting. It was and we had snapped peas for dinner. How someone who H-A-T-E-D vegetables can suddenly flip a switch and LOVE them and beg for them, I don't know.

Sometimes a little healthy (literally) competition is a good thing!

Here is a hint: it further helps if you let the one that hates vegetables pick them out and/or help prepare them!

One Perk of Having Five Boys:


Signs of Spring

We were not sure if all of the trees we planted last year would come back. Three of the four were not looking too hot last fall. We talked to someone at the nursery and we were told they were just stressed and to keep them fertilized and they would be back. Here are some pictures of the two flowering trees. The maples are still blooming - I will get pictures of them soon.
Redbud:


Crabapple:


Boys Will Be Boys...No Matter the Age



Friday, April 04, 2008

Tornado Damage Pictures

Since I was in the closet with my kids, I could not go take pictures of the storm last night (haha - like I would have gone out there anyway). Our news stations have people sending pictures to them, so I have put together some pictures of our area. I DID NOT TAKE THESE PICTURES!! Almost all of them have different people taking the photo, I just want to give those of you that have asked an idea of what happened.

They have confirmed three tornados in central Arkansas, so far. The one that hit us (and actually ALL three of them they have confirmed) were EF2's(111-135 mph winds). We drove by the mobile home park where the fire was. A tree fell on a trailer and caused a gas leak, which was then struck by lightening - causing the fire.

In our neighborhood over 25 houses had flooding problems. 2-6 inches of water in their house.




The Day After

The schools are closed today - no electricity. The boys were playing the "what-if" game about the storms, Bryce was still saying he didn't want to die from the storm, so I decided that maybe if I took them to see what the storm did, they would calm down. We went where I knew there was damage, but there were no power lines or anything.

They saw some leveled buildings and debris all over. The roads into Little Rock were closed because of flooding, so traffic was horrible that direction. Traffic lights were not working because of no electricity. I am not sure how we were lucky enough to keep our electricity, but we did. The boys have a new understanding of what this weather can do and they have all commented about how lucky we are. There is devastating damage around us. We did not stay out long, but they saw enough to calm them down.

Right now, we are all very thankful!

PS I know that the previous two post are probably hard to understand. I did those while I was sitting in the closet with four boys, need I say more....

Thursday, April 03, 2008

Times Two

We are in the water closet AGAIN! A second cell is taking the same route as the first. The first, by the way, is still causing tornadoes north of us. The boys are just fighting and mad now. AJ did not even wake up for it this time.

HOPEFULLY this will be the last tonight! The boys have been up since 5 (well, we all have) - tomorrow they will be G-R-O-U-C-H-Y!!!

It is just moving into our town. I have a small tv in here this time - a little time to prepare! It is getting loud - hopefully just thunder! Hard to tell for sure what is going on out there.

Caleb is asking if we can skip school to sleep tomorrow since there have been so many tornados. I might consider it, IF I thought they would really sleep!

Sounds like hail now.

There is a third cell coming - still in here with the second.

We were given the clear for now - we are going to camp out in my room with the tv - just in case!


I know there are no times and kind of random, but it is hard to blog and take care of four freaked out kids at the same time! You get the idea. This one was over about a 45 minute period.

Right Now

Right now I am sitting in a "water closet" with four boys. We are under a tornado warning and our sirens are going off. Of course, the boys had just gone to sleep, so it took me 10 minutes to get them up and to my bathroom on the other end of the house.

Isaac is trying to sleep in here, Caleb is giving us the scientifics of how tornadoes are made and the liklihood of us surviving. He is also crying because the dogs are not in the bathroom with us. K, this "water closest" is a normal sized water closet. WE ARE SQUISHED JUST THE FIVE OF US! Bryce is saying he hopes we all survive and don't end up at the hospital and he saying he doesn't want to die yet. Andrew is throwing a temper tantrum because he wants to crawl all over the place and no one wants him on them.

I have the laptop in here because our satellite is out and I knew I could have live view news. We are listening to the weather and it is right over us right now. Our lights are dimming over and over but not going out.

We are out of the closet now - almost an hour in there! There is damage in our town - we are fine, everything around us is fine, but the road 2 blocks away was hit pretty hard it sounds like. It appears to of hit around us. Every place they have named that received damage is VERY close to us. They are saying fires, injuries, HUGE trees down (roots pulled out of the ground) - people stuck in their neighborhoods (due to trees and downed powerlines, mobile homes on fire with flames 20+ feet in the air, Target shopping center is damaged, car dealerships damaged. THIS IS ALL WITHIN ONE MILE OF US!

I can hear emergency vehicles close to us.

This is supposed to be happening all night. There is another cell headed our way - they just issued a severe thunderstorm warning. It appears as though the boys will probably be sleeping in my room with me (if any sleep is gotten tonight) - things are not calming down!

One complaint, when I got online to our local news channel to watch their live feed - I first had to watch COMMERCIALS!! I am sitting in a closet with four scared boys and a dog barking continuously and I have to watch commercials ONLINE before seeing if we are about to get hit by a tornado! ARGGGGHHHHHHH!!!!

Andrew's Tubes

We were there at 6:30 this morning for Andrew's tubes. We were headed home by 7 - that should give you an idea of how it went.

He did great. The dr said he was happy until he fell asleep (they just use gas for tubes, no IV's or anything), which was quick. He woke up cranky, which is normal while the anesthetics wear off. The nurse was holding him to where he could not suck his thumb when they were waiting for me to get to recovery. She said she could not make him happy and he wanted his Mommy. I told her actually he just wants his thumb. She laid him in my arms and he immediately put his thumb in his mouth and held his blankie. Everytime he heard the nurse he would cry a little - more like a "get away from me" warning!

He has been running around and playing as normal since we got home.

He did not have any ear infections, but DID still have some fluid behind his left ear. They told us to expect blood from his ears, but especially that one.

Wednesday, April 02, 2008

New Toy...First Time

My Sweetie got me a new toy!!



I have been wanting one for a while, and he ordered me one. I just got it yesterday and had to try to actually make something. I had already gotten some fabric because I was going to make Andrew a monkey blanket. I started his blanket, but I am taking it to get his name put on it before I sew it together. Here is my first project completed with the machine:



It is no where near perfect, but AJ won't be staring at my seams too much, I guess. He still likes rubbing a blanket on his cheek while he sucks his thumb and it is a lot easier to carry around a small blanket and keep up with it than a big one. I even put a ring on it so it can be attached to things and hopefully won't get lost!

I will continue to practice and maybe I will figure this machine all out, but not too bad for very little, if any, previous sewing practice!

Still a Monkey

Monkey has probably 5 toys that came with these little balls. These balls, and his stacking cups (not the stacking toys - has to be the cups from the kitchen cabinets) are his favorite toys. When I put him down for nap yesterday, he would not give up the balls, so this is how he went to bed:

Daddy's Fault

Bryce said he needed to talk to Daddy. I told him Daddy was working and asked what he needed. He said he needed to tell Daddy to stop working at the cloud plant. I asked why. He said he was tired of the clouds and rain and wanted them to go away and that he doesn't like that it is his Daddy's fault that it is raining all the time.

I am not sure if he thinks if Daddy stops working the clouds will stop being made OR if he just doesn't want it to be HIS Daddy's fault that the clouds are being made.

No More Walking

Andrew has quit walking. He now RUNS everywhere. It is really funny (and cute) because he is still kind of wobbly and when he starts to fall he overcompensates to correct it, then he has to overcompensate to correct the previous overcompensating, so he looks like the Weeble - weebleing back and forth until he finally gets his balance back.

That is probably why he has a couch burn down his forehead. He weebled and wobbled and DID fall down! He hit the corner of the couch - and it hurt!

Something, Something

This morning as I am getting dressed for the day, Isaac runs into my bathroom and says "Mom something is doing something!"

"Isaac, that makes NO sense."

"Something is doing something in the kitchen!"

"That still makes no sense."

"Mom, something is causing something to do something in the kitchen!"

I GIVE UP! When does the mind-reading kick in with motherhood? I am way past needing it!

New Jeep

Yesterday UPS delivered a box to our house. The boys heard the doorbell and all came running to see who it was. As I was bringing the box into the house and the boys are all asking what it is, Caleb says "It is the parts for the new Jeep!"

Apparently, we are BUILDING the Jeep from scratch.

I think I have FIVE boys OBSESSED with this new Jeep!!

Tuesday, April 01, 2008

Proof of AJ's Temperment

We went over to a friends house for a little while today. We had put Carter (she is nine days older than Andrew - HAPPY 1st BIRTHDAY tomorrow CARTER!) and Andrew in the playpen together for a few minutes. Carter wanted everything that Andrew touched. She was screaming at him and squealing at him and then started grabbing his hair and hitting him. He just sat there and looked at her like "What is your issue?" He never cried when she was beating him, never screamed or yelled at her, just stared at her like she was crazy!

Such a great tempered child!

April Fool's To Me....

Andrew has a fever today.

Oh, wait - that is not an April Fool's joke - that is my LIFE!!

If he has fever Thursday morning that means NO TUBES!

Arghhh!

He has a snotty nose, spitting up thick yellow (I assume mucous) and a little fussy. Other than that - no symptoms.

If he goes tomorrow without a fever, the jokes on me. If he has a fever tomorrow, we are in trouble!