I'm Absolutely Brilliant!

Bobby is off on a Sunday. How wonderful! I am so brilliant that we slept in because I thought it was General Conference. I feel like a huge dork.

I guess I'm just eager for conference.

It Was That Kind of Party!

He wears the lampshade all the time. I just thought it was fitting with his Kung Foo Panda shirt. This is the funniest age and the most frustrating (so far).

Should I feel bad?

Am I a lousy mother because my (almost) 2 year old son is eating Cheez-its out of the trash? To be clear, the crackers are not exactly in the trash. The bag holding the crackers is in the trash. Thus, the crackers are touching no trash. And the bag is right on top. I threw them away because they were stale. Apparently Ayden does not care. Should I?

I realize he is not holding Cheez-it's but Gerber puffs. He decided that since the crackers were in the trash and still so tasty that the puffs should be in there too. What he neglected to realize is that the crackers were okay to eat as they were still bagged. He poured the puffs directly in. At this point - I do care. This is a good life lesson. Do not throw away food you may later want.

Happy Birthday Grammy!

You came into our lives when we needed a Grandma the most. Your love was unconditional and meant the world to us. We had never had a Grandma so close by that we could remember and you were the perfect Grandma. What we love the most and remember are the games you play, fun food you make, movies you watch and the music we danced to. From water guns to Halloween decorations. From late night movies to a trip to Utah. You have filled our lives with your love and your time, which can not be measured or repaid. We all want to wish you a happy birthday. We wrote you letters today and mom said she'd get them in the mail tomorrow. We miss you so much!

Love,
Brooklyn, Caleb, Seth and Ayden (with some editing by mom)

I'm In the Home Stretch!

I am so happy that I'm in my 30th week; I thought I'd celebrate by actually posting a belly shot. (Brook if you see this it is your shirt! I'm so sorry, it missed the bag when I gave you back your clothes) Bobby was at work so I had to take it. Forgive the spots on the mirror, guess I need to wipe it down! Whoops. Ten weeks is still quite a while but it doesn't sound bad at all compared to how long I've already waited. I'm to the point that I can't eat much because Dillon is squishing my belly.Bobby yells hello to Dillon through my belly and asks for a kick, to which Dillon readily complies with a kick on the cheek for Bobby. That's okay though, he thinks it's funny. It's just what he wants.The baby is getting so big that at night he decides to stretch out and I can't breath unless I go lay down in bed. Then, instead of reading like I want, I promptly fall asleep. I guess being on my feet all day at work then coming home to help kids with homework and get dinner on table has me wiped out. I celebrate silly chores I accomplish like sweeping and laundry. My children are so tired of my mood swings too, I'm sure. I tell Ayden that there is a baby in mommy's belly and try to get him to touch my belly. Or, when we see a picture of a baby, I say, "We're going to have a baby too". Ayden ignores me completely. Is he in for a shock! Oh well, I tried. We went to Toys R' Us one day so Seth could spend birthday money and Ayden flipped out wanting to hold the baby dolls so I'm going to get him one (wearing boy colors of course) when Dillon arrives to see if that helps. This should be interesting.

I Hate Homework

Yes, you read that right. That's me saying that, not the kids. I am not speaking of my student's homework. Of course it's never good news when, out of 25 kids, eight or more don't turn in an assignment. I can get over that though, I'm pretty used to it. What I can't get over is my kid's reaction to homework! They act like they've never heard this information before. I found the funniest thing on a website. I thought I'd share it here because I know how true it is in my home! (Sorry Dad, I know some of this is going to sound very familiar)

Here is an explanation of our homework policy :
Students should not spend more than 90 minutes per night. The time should be budgeted in the following manner:
15 minutes looking for assignment
11 minutes calling a friend for the assignment
23 minutes explaining to parents why the teacher is mean and just does not like children
8 minutes in the bathroom
10 minutes getting a snack
7 minutes checking the TV Guide
6 minutes telling parents that the teacher never explained the homework
10 minutes sitting at the kitchen table waiting for Mom or Dad to do the assignment

LONG TERM ASSIGNMENTS:
These are given the night before they are due. This explains the name "long term." It is a long term commitment to time that begins at 9:30 PM and ends at 11:50 PM - or later. It is important that the whole family is involved in the project. It is imperative that at least one family member race to Walmart/KMart for posterboard, and that at least one family member ends up in tears (does not have to be the student).

One parent needs to stay up and complete the project. The other parent needs to call the school and leave a message that the student is out sick.

It is not necessary to have the student's name on the assignment.

http://www.webenglishteacher.com/text/homework.txt

The first... well the second day of school

The first morning of school did not go very smoothly. It started off well enough. Caleb and Brooklyn packed their own lunch. I packed one for Seth. The boys each have lunchboxes that attach to their backpacks. Caleb attached Seth's lunchbox to his backpack. What a helper! I watched him and helped him do this so I know it was there. The children left a minute before me and walked down to the bus stop. I drove over in the van so I could leave for work as soon as the bus came. I pulled up and looked over at my grinning children and all I could see was Seth's backpack with nothing attached! Leave it to Seth to lose his lunchbox in five minutes, I thought. I sped home, ran inside and hunted frantically for the lunchbox but it could not be found. I grabbed my black one with the turquoise flowers and just threw in random stuff: two slices of cheese, a package of potato chips, a bag of cheeze-its, and applesauce (which he doesn't even like but I forgot). I made it back to the stop just as the bus was pulling up. I apologized to Seth for giving him a girly lunchbox and a crummy lunch. Oh well, at least he didn't starve. I am explaining all of this as my reason for not getting a picture of them on their first day. I had the camera in the car, ready to go. I just didn't have my kids ready to go. The rest of the day seemed to go the same way for me. Buses were late and I left school almost 30 minutes later than I was supposed to. The kids said their bus ran late too in the afternoon. Our lunches ran late so, at least I wasn't the only one with a crazy morning/day.

Here the kids pose before they left for school on their second day, which went much better...


On another note...
Ayden did do well at his new sitter's. He only cried thirty minutes. Those of you that know Ayden know that this was not too bad at all. Bobby hated leaving him though. The day before though I gave Ayden a hot dog for lunch. I went into the kitchen to fix something for myself and when I walked over to the table this is what he was doing, he's so funny!

A HOT DOG TOWER!

Getting ready for the First Day!

First thing, I signed the kids up for school too late for transportation to put a stop near our house. They have to walk across and down the street a block. Not a big deal really, they walked just as far last year to the front of the apartments but they wanted to practice. I explained to Seth that he HAS to hold Brooklyn's hand. He doesn't always look both ways. I wish I had a picture of the first crossing, they looked both ways like five times. In total sinc, it was so funny. They look so far away! They have to wait at the silver fire hydrant. Well, that is my guess. I don't know what direction the bus is coming from but that will be good enough for the first morning. I'll be watching them from my car so I can drive off to work as soon as they're gone.


I had the kids try on some of their new clothes too. The boys mostly just got jeans because that is all they really needed. Being a girl, Brooklyn got a lot of new clothes, of course. New shoes too but she is not modeling those. Seth insisted on me taking a picture in each pair of jeans. I'm missing one... hmmm. I don't know why. Caleb had three new pair too. But, they're jeans. Know what I mean? :D

So, with backpacks full of supplies, Capri Suns in the fridge and new clothes, shoes and a knowledge of the bus stop I guess they're as ready as I can get them. The rest is up to them. I'm so excited to hear about their first day back!