Kacy's Kindergarten Graduation

Kindergarten graduation at Kacy's school is a big deal. I wasn't aware of how important it was until I got there! Aunts, uncles, friends of the family... the cafeteria was packed. It was well organized and well done. Once the kids put on the caps and gowns, they all looked like they were 18. Talk about aging a mom in a hurry. I thought my heart was going to have a spasm as I quickly imagined what she will look like when she's 18. Aack! (I hope I look exactly the same. Here's to wishful thinking and make-up!) She got an award from her teacher for Academic Excellence, I think. I had a hard time hearing and seeing everything; her teacher said something about her leadership skills and being a good student. The certificate didn't print out well, so she will mail it. There was a reception in room 1 with cakes and punch. I have a DVD of the slide show they put together- it is very well done.
Me and my first born- Kacy says she either wants to be a Veterinarian or a teacher when she grows up. She has had a great time with Kindergarten. She can't wait to be a first grader next year. (Seriously- I'm having a hard time looking at her in a cap and gown. It makes me sad that she looks so old! I look forward to seeing her grow up, but I'd like the experience of it all. Even the teen years... oh wait, she is still just six. Whew! We've got some time. But not much. Again, long are the days, short are the years.)

I Hate it When...

I drive an hour and 15 minutes to Costco at 6:30pm on a school night, only to discover I left my wallet at home.

No identification, no money. A complete waste of 2 1/2 hours.

Yippee, You're Three! (NOT Five)

Dear Ed,
First, I'm sorry about the picture above- it's the most recent I have of you. It's not a great picture of you- you look slightly annoyed with me for stopping you from playing so I could take this of you. Okay, you were annoyed and said, "No Mom! I wanna go down the slide!" Look how dirty you are... it's a chronic thing. But, we live in the dirt, so it's to be expected. I consider it a miracle and a blessing you made it to the ripe old age of three. You have given me a really hard time this last year, what with you be yourself and all. A little recap of the more stressful events: coyote chasing, hiding in the bushes and not coming back when we called you, tipping over shopping carts with you and Jessie (and Will, twice) in them, escaping from the shopping cart in the grocery store and then running up and down the isles while I'm chasing you, and then...potty training. I get a lot of strangers saying things like, "Oh, he's a handful." and "Boy, he's gotta lot of personality." and "He's the one you have to chase the most, right?" and my personal favorite, "I can see how you stay so thin, chasing him around all the time." (Thin? Yes!) You hate the nursery in church. You escape constantly and try to convince me you are big enough for primary. But for all the grief you cause my heart (I'm surprised my blood pressure isn't higher-) you make me laugh just as hard. You say some of the funniest things. And that dimple- don't even get me started on your smile and dimple. You were an early talker compared to Kacy and Will, and you've been using that to your advantage. Everyone thinks you are older than you are because you can talk well and because you are big. Most of the time that's to your disadvantage. You love to sing. "So What" by Pink is your current favorite, along with "We Will Rock You" by Queen, and "One of the Boys" by Katy Perry. You have also memorized a few primary songs already. You still insist that you are five years old, and will argue with anyone who says you are not. Your favorite book is "Transformers, Robot Roll Call" and your favorite movies are "Cars" and "Transformers." You have a thing for red shirts with graphics on them. The shirt in the picture was your favorite all winter long, and now you have a short sleeved tee that is red with white writing on it that you ask to wear every day. You hate to drink water. You still don't use a fork or spoon well. I know you can, but apparently it's faster not to. Yes, I call you a caveman. You are a kid who likes to be outside naked. You squish bugs. You love animals, dogs, especially. I have a few pictures of you kissing horses... You are like a Tarzan or Mowgli. You could survive in the wilderness without humans... I sincerely believe that. Just in the last few months you have matured nicely so that we can go to the park and enjoy it- me knowing that you are not trying to leave or anything. That, along with you being potty trained, has made my life sweet. I'm grateful I haven't lost you yet (almost, on many occasions) and that you have made it this far with only some chipped teeth, a few stitches, and minimal blood loss. You are very tough, and you love me very much. I'm your favorite right now... I think that makes you one smart cookie! Happy Third Birthday, Ed! (No matter what you say, you are only three. It's gonna be a long two years before you start school...you already want to go!)
Love,
Mom

P.S.- Your birthday wish list includes a car from the hardware store, new red shirts with graphics, a Transformers shirt, and Transformers, the movie. I'm taking you to the hardware store today, and then to the candy store for your favorite- jelly beans, the smoothie blend. Yum!

More memories of this last week

• I was reminded of the wonderful thing that is a soaking bathtub- bubbles and all. I think it's the cleanest my feet have been in a long time. And, a real shower! Nice.
• Not having TV/Internet- what a nice break. After the twitching was done, our house was a bit more peaceful.
  
• I watched Jessie sitting on the lawn on Sunday evening. She was just enjoying life, looking at the kids play. It was one of those "I love being a mother" moments. (That was just before the boys got all gross...)
• The kids and I took a hike down to the creek, where they played for longer than I wanted to. But, I let them, because they were having such a good time. It was fun to watch them. I tend to observe my children often, taking mental notes of their development. It's a habit from college.
• I got to visit with my grandma and cousin Jennifer. Jennifer made Kacy's day by giving her some jewelry.
• Watching my kids in the pool yesterday was actually... fun. Besides the wailing and gnashing of teeth for our little "lesson" portion, they had a great time. Ed's new favorite song is "So What" by Pink. Will likes to stick his face in the water, and with his HUGE smile, he sometimes swallows water. He has a hard time NOT smiling. Ed loves to sing and walk around, and of course, splash. Kacy is a lounger. She was so excited to see her girl cousins. Not that her boy cousins are chopped liver or anything, she just loves Alyssa, who is the same age, and Gracie, who is 18 months younger. The difference? They are GIRLS.
  
• While bbq-ing and swimming yesterday, Ryan was busy in the mountains working. We were eating hamburgers and working on our tans, and he was arresting a murder suspect at gunpoint. Fun story, sort of, and you'll have to ask him about it if you are interested. I'm sure it'll be on the news and in the paper, but I'll leave that for them to get all wrong.
  
• I've got a new, sure fire way of helping Will and Kacy make the decision to stop fighting- it involves them holding hands and singing "Kindness Begins With Me." They hate even the idea of it, so it totally works. They mostly get along just fine, but the car seems to be the trouble spot where they argue constantly.
• I've had to BBQ 75% of the meet that was in our freezer because it defrosted during the power outage. I'm going to freeze the cooked meat now, and I should just be able to defrost and warm up. I hope.
  

It's a week-

...boy oh boy has it been a week. Some things I remember, in no particular order:

• We were without electricity for 58 hours when a crow's nest caught on fire and burn up a transformer on the side of a steep hill (something like that) and it took awhile for it to be repaired. It effected several thousand houses, and school was let out early on Wednesday, canceled on Thursday, and apparently NOT on Friday. Not that I would know that the elementary school had electricity as we did not, nor did we have phone for over a day. Dany said something about the phones being on back-up batteries, an old system... and we don't have cell reception out here. Also, no electricity means no water being pumped from the well... we went to Ryan's parents house and slept there (they were in Utah) for the first night. We ran errands and visited family on Thursday until Kacy's art lesson and Maryellen's baby shower. Then we went home with some bottled water because sleeping over somewhere else was NOT fun. My kids are maniacs and I slept horribly.
• I told the choir director that I cannot play the piano if the baby sitters in the Nursery watching the kids can't keep Ed safe- he was in the parking lot because "he escaped." Out of three weeks, it was the second time he wasn't in there when I went to get him. The choir director told my I "should spank little Eddy harder" and "little Eddy needs a good swat on the behind" (oh, yes- two different occasions) for escaping. What do you say to that? I said something like "Oh, spanking doesn't hurt on him, he has no pain receptors..." which sounds lame. (But SO TRUE!) I wanted to say "Please don't call him Eddy, as that is NOT his name." Seriously, it totally bugs me when people call him Eddy. He already goes by Ed, which is not his name. Can we not give him a nickname for his nickname? Plus it reminds of of Eddy Munster and Eddy Haskell (form The Munsters and Leave it To Beaver). Then she told me on Sunday that I need to be sure and practice the song "because it just sounds better when you hit the right notes." To which I replied, "Well, I've told you I have no piano at home, and I will not be doing this again. Don't ask me until after I have a house with a piano in it. I have to drive 20 minutes one way to the nearest piano, with my kids." I wanted to say, "I have ears on my head and can hear all my mistakes. Do you think I like to be bad?" with my eyes rolling to the heavens. The regular pianist is there and I'm not sure why she's not playing the song now. Something about wanting a break. My filter is breaking and I'm going to end up saying something mean. It could be a trial of my patience/goodwill, but I'm not sure if it counts if you say something halfway tolerable, but in your head you are wanting to swear at people.
• Sunday was a fun-day- not. It was hectic, and after the horrible, no fun choir practice and almost forgetting the bread until the last minute, and having Ryan asleep at home because of the holiday weekend/late, late arrival home (it was so late, it could be called "early"), I'm grateful that my Primary responsibilties were minimal, we went to Ryan's parent's house as is our tradition. The kids were on one- they were all SO NOISY. But that wasn't the bad part. The bad part was that Ed decided to poop in his pants outside. Too busy playing, I guess. I get him cleaned up and then Kacy and Nathan come in calling for Uncle Ryan to come see what Will did. Ryan had left, so it was all me... Will decided to use the bathroom outside. Like, he shouldn't have done what he did unless he had dug a hole and was in the mountains without three perfectly operable toilets 100 feet away. It was traumatic for me. I'm not sure why. I've been changing diapers for six years straight. I've had many nasty diaper/undies experiences. But this? This made me want to throw-up. I cleaned it up (with lots of dirt and a shovel and an empty field)...so gross. Jessie has had diaper problems since Sunday- the kind where I'm surprised she has any skin left on her little butt because it looks and smells toxic.
• The kids dissected a snake with nippers and screwdrivers from one of Ryan's tool stashes. The snake originally met it's demise thanks to our trusty cat, Steve. It was a baby. It is now is pieces scattered around the yard, all dried up.
  
• There is a BIG garter snake under our new house. Steve tried to get it, but I think he got bit. That was good watching for a whole 30 minutes. I think the snake is still in there, but I'm not crawling in there to go check.
• I've been running, and can now comfortably run for 30 minutes straight. I have a three mile route, so that puts me at 10 minute miles. I feel like I could keep this pace for awhile, but I think I'll start working on my speed. I'm going to do a triathlon, I'll post a link for whoever wants to do it with me. The more people who show up, the more fun it can be. Plus, it's a sprint distance, so it's a great "I'm outta shape and need something to motivate me and all I want to do is finish it!"
  
• I went to my parent's house where they are remodeling their house, and they have a pool. I had to threaten my kids that if they would not let me work with them in the pool, they would need to throw their swimsuits away and not swim the rest of the summer. My mom's pool is huge and has a beach entrance, so they have this idea of swimming that leads them to false confidence in the pool. My goal is to get them to be able to jump in the deep end and swim to the edge by summer end. They are all spastic about the water; it drives me nuts. As soon as their feet leave the ground they freak out. And I think the worst part is that they don't trust me. Like I'm going to let them get hurt... It almost hurts my feelings. Almost... I had to get all creative and cheer and clap... it was ridiculous. But I will win this battle, because it's a matter of safety. They want to be in a pool, but they need to learn to swim. On a positive note, they started to relax a bit after a couple of hours. And Jessie LOVED the pool. She's going to be my swimming buddy. AND as I was trying to show the kids that the pool is FUN, even under water, I was diving off the edge, and off the waterfall (I'm a terrible diver. My legs kept slapping the water.) I did somersaults, and hand stands. The handstands is what they loved the most- I came up after the first one and Kacy shouts, "Mom! They need to put you on the news! That was awesome!" She was serious.
• I played on the swing set with my kids for a bit, and I can't do the things I used to do. I grabbed the rings (which are now no longer rings as they have a bar holding them together- something about safety? Aack!) and I tried flipping myself up so that my feet were near the top bar, my hands were on the rings, and I was hanging upside down. But I couldn't go it. But I will by summer's end. I want to be able to keep up and play with my kids, and they are only going to get stronger and faster, and if I don't do anything, I'm only going to get slower and weaker. It was a reminder for me of why I want to get/stay in shape. Or, it could be that I'm just really immature and want to play on the bars like when I was 8.
  

Ed Sings

I found Ed in his bed singing to himself Saturday morning. He chose Katy Perry's "One of the Boys":

"I wanna be a flower, not a dirty weed. I wanna mell like roses, not a babeball team. Cuz I don't wanna be one of the boys."

Forest in a box, take 2

Last year we ordered a "Forest in the Box" off the Internet. It failed. Miserably. A combination of kids, pets, rodents, and heat killed all 100 cuttings. We also figured out it was too warm when we started them, and they bloomed out before they got good roots established and then withered. Ryan wanted to give it another go, so he ordered more this year. Instead of the black bags (they are somehow special...) that we tried last year, this time he put the cuttings into seed starter peat pots. Then, after some research on the Internet, he decided to try this method of growing the trees. These are cinder blocks on top of plastic. Each tree gets it's own cell. The cement is porous and holds water "just right." The plastic liner on the bottom is to keep run off available so that the trees can soak it up on hot days. The bees love this new source of water. The trees are doing much better than last year, and they are very reasonably priced (if they live...). We have 200+ trees (202?204? I can't remember.) Most are hybrid poplars. There are some black willows that we want to use for perimeter screening, and also seven quaking aspens.

She's Walking!

Jessie started walking! On Thursday, May 7th in the wheel chair stall at the bathroom in Winco, she stood up and took two steps. She didn't really do much in the way of walking, only a step here and there. Sunday she walked a whole 10 feet when she didn't think anyone was looking. She is getting more and more brave, and she can walk! Not for very long- but the effort is there. Go Jessie! (Why my camera is focused on the shampoo bottles in the background is beyond me---) For the record, all the rest of the kids walked right at their first birthdays. None of them was great at it, but they were capable. Jessie is our late bloomer- she's 14 1/2 months. Funny- she was my earliest teether... shows you just can't expect your kids to be all the same.

Happy Birthday, Kacy!

Dear Kacy,
Yesterday you had your sixth birthday. We went to granny J's funeral- you weren't exactly thrilled with that, because it wasn't "fun", you were a good sport. Okay, woman- here's the deal: you are NOT a princess. We had to have a little talk (again) after you strolled by great Uncle Loren and said, "It's my birthday, you should have got me something!" You were also kinda a lot bossy with the family. Here is what has been happening in your life:

• You love school.
• You love art/drawing/writing. Your favorite toys are paper and pens/pencils. Seriously.
• Sunday you changed your name to "Jazzy"- it went like this: Will says, "Hey Mom, I wanna change my name to Jack." I am trying to park the car, so I say "Whatever." You join in by saying, "Me too! I want my name to be Jazzy!" I think I just rolled my eyes, thinking you'd forget about it. You didn't. You corrected everyone who called you Kacy, and you practiced writing it. Aunt Jocelyn tried to convince you to use it as a middle name, but I don't think that worked so well.
  
• Today you lost your first tooth at school. You were hoping you would lose it there because they have little treasure boxes for lost teeth. You pulled it out yourself during PE.
• You are a good big sister- a good example to the boys, and you just love Jessie. You are a pretty good helper for me, too.
• You are determined to learn how to swim this summer and you want me to teach you.
• Favorites: pink, bean burritos, music to sing to, riding your bike, your friends, writing, "Waiting for Wings" by Lois Ehlert, visiting your grandparents and cousins, babies, and fashion accessories.

We love you Kacy!
Love,
Mom and Dad

The best fruit salad, EVER!

No pictures, because I'm too busy eating the BEST fruit salad I've ever had.
Ingredients:
4 granny smith apples.
4 oz cool whip
2 ground up Snickers candy bars

Cut up apples into bite size pieces. Whack up 2 Snickers until ground. (I bet a food processor would be the best tool, but sometimes we trailer people have to improvise.) Fold all ingredients together and enjoy this HEALTHY fruit salad.

So easy. The above measurements made 4 Cups. I ate this last night at a volunteer appreciation dinner, where Will's teacher for next year brought it. I over heard part of her conversation and got this much info. I made it this way and it's great. There might be more, but Snickers pretty much cover all the bases with the caramel, chocolate, and nuts.

***So, my boys won't even taste it. It does look a little mayonaise-y, but still. I caught Ed eating cat food and offered him a bite of "apples with candy bars." He said "No thank-you. It's yucky. Cat food is better." He's not going to try mine, and I'm certainly not going to try his. Oh well, more for me!

Our house is finished! Just Kidding.

I was going to start telling people that we quit building our house because we love the trailer SO MUCH. And, because it took a month for a framing contractor to get back to us, and he hasn't . He won't return phone calls, nothing has been done... so we are going to call the original guy back and hopefully he can start soon. Will asked Ryan if he was going to work on the house, and Ryan replies "There is nothing to do on the house right now." I chime in, "Ya. We're not going to build the house anymore. We love the trailer SO MUCH that we decided just to live in it forever." Will said, "What?" and Kacy started crying and said "No! I want a bedroom!" and Will starts in, "Ya Mom, we need two bedrooms, one for the girls and one for the boys, not just one little room for all of us." Ryan saved the day by assuring them that although Mom has quit, he will keep on building the house. I said that maybe I'll just stay in the trailer, that way at least it will be clean. Will says, "But Mom, who will do our dishes? Dads don't wash dishes." (This observation from the boy who questions where I'm going after I shower.) They knew I was joking when I told them I would just love to live in the trailer with all the mice. They looked so relieved when they figured out I was lying. I hate mice. I've caught 5 in less than a week. I should be almost done- it's like a nest hatched in the crevices and I've slowly been eradicating them. They gross me out- not because of the fur or beady eyes, or because of their quickness, but because of their droppings on my stuff. On my hair stuff. In my silverware drawer, where I have to wash everything in there everyday. Just the thought of them touching my stuff grosses me out. I'm a bit of a germaphobe when it comes to mice. I saw a special on the Haunta Virus once. Once was enough.

Niece number 5

Kendra had baby number five yesterday. Charlotte Isabella was born yesterday at 6:14pm. She weighed 7 pounds 5 ounces, and was 20 1/2 inches long. Kendra is doing well. Her blood pressure was still really high last night, but that should resolve itself. When I was pregnant with Jessie my blood pressure was a little high, and when I asked the nurse about it she just laughed at me. That's because my grandma, my mom, Kendra and I are lucky to break 100/65 on a normal day for blood pressure. Kendra's was 147/97 last night when we were there, and had been up to 167/something before Charlotte was born. When I thought mine was high, it was 116/something. Now I know why the nurse laughed at me. I took Kacy down to the hospital with me, and she just loved it. She loved holding her. For fear of sounding un-womanly, I just don't get warm fuzzy-happy feelings holding babies, unless they are mine. I looked at her and examined her to see who she looked like, but it was more like, "Yep. There she is!" I was more interested in my sister. I brought her a dinner of champions- Burger King cheeseburgers and fries. The ham sandwich on her tray looked nasty. And, a big thanks to Jocelyn for watching (and bathing) my other three kids.
*Edit: Kendra is not doing "well"- she's doing "okay". She is staying in the hospital for another day because her blood pressure keeps going really high and then really low. She got up to use the bathroom and passed out and threw-up... that would be the low portion. She got really sick when she had Gracie and had to be admitted to the hospital for a week. With this one, she lost a lot of blood (she did with Gracie, too), so we'll see. It's smart to stay in the hospital, and with her history, the doctor is watching her.

Comings and Goings

The Goings: Ryan's grandma J passed away yesterday. She has been in the hospital for two weeks where they discovered a large tumor in her abdomen. She was on her way to Ryan's parents' house to spend the rest of her days under the care of Cherie and hospice, but she passed away in the ambulance in their driveway. The funeral will be next Monday. I'm glad she didn't have to live through a lot of pain- cancer is just so... well, it's lots of things that are not fun. Maybe because I come from camp that says "faster is better" when it comes to dying.

The Comings: My sister Kendra is being induced today. Her due date is 11 days away, but she has toxemia. Here comes Charlotte soon! I can't wait to meet her. If she is born at a reasonable time today, I will have to go down and meet her. If not, I'll be going tomorrow. I haven't gotten to really enjoy any of my nieces and nephews as newborns because for the first few, I lived out of town. Then when I lived nearby, I kept having my own babies at the same time as everyone else.

Happy Mother's Day, 2009

Whatever. Next year I'm boycotting Mother's Day. Here is a quick pic of what my day was like: In church they passed out these really pretty single stem white roses. I get mine, and Jessie grabs it out of my unsuspecting hand and beats my over the head with it. Then Kacy grabs it saying, "No, no Jessie!" and proceeds to fight with Will over who gets to hold my flower. Ed was under the pew saying "ka-chow!" repeatedly. Sums it all up, right there.

Ryan did not go to church with us today because he got called out at 2am and didn't return until 6am. That, AFTER he had gotten home at midnight from working all day. So, he slept. And since I knew that church was only going to be an hour long instead of the full block (it's "tradition") so we could enjoy our "Mother's Day", and I thought I could handle it. Ed was practically vibrating with energy. Will kept laying on the floor. I went to choir practice to play the piano for them, and I don't enjoy it. I'm doing it because I was asked by the usual pianist to fill in since her sister was dying. How do you say no to that? But I really should have. I'm not good, and I'm not enjoying it.

After church we went to see Ryan's mom and family, and then we went to my grandma's house where my parents and other grandma were having dinner. I'm grateful for all the moms in my life. It was neat to see the ages of women around me- I had my grandmas, my moms, myself, and my girls. Someday they will be moms. THAT will be a fun time. But for now, I am mostly enjoying my children and being a mom. I say "mostly" because some days are hard, and I recognize that and refuse to color my world perfect. Some of my favorite things about being a mom are:

• being able to eat quesadillas for dinner (often) because "the kids love them."
• teaching them random fun facts and then listening to them tell others... (like when Kacy told her teacher we knew a bear was messing with our bees because of the bear scat...)
• having to look things up on the Internet like "where does the wind come from?" and "what do snake bones look like?" They make me think about the little things.
  
• folding kid undies- seriously the only other bright spot in my world of laundry, besides towels- SO EASY.
• being able to talk aloud to myself in the grocery store and not look crazy because I'm "really talking to the kids."
• my kids think I'm the smartest person in the whole world, that I'm the fastest runner, the best singer, and a great dancer... and that I'm fun. Even if I'm not.
  
• I love little kid laughter and smiles.
• I am enjoying watching them grow up into little people. It's a little sad to see your cute babies grow up, but it is also very exciting to see them reaching their potentials as little people! And then big people!
  

Whiskey Flat Trail Run

This morning I ran the 5k portion of the Whiskey Flat Trail in an organized event. I got a "free" tee-shirt! Whoo-hoo! I went with my training partner, Dany. We train together by shooting each other emails every so often. We've never actually "run" together at the same time- two mommies who live 15 miles apart can be hard pressed for time.

It went something like this:
Announcer: "If you guys would line up back here.... thanks. Okay, there are some water crossings, watch for the bridges. Also, there are two EMT's on bikes that will be riding the trails. If you get hurt and can still walk, find the shortest way back. If you can't move, sit where you are and help will be there shortly. 10k runners will veer to the right at the beginning, and 5k runners will go up to the left. Remember, if you get hurt... Also be on the lookout for stinging nettle and poison oak. The EMT's..."

Okay, TWO things. EMT's? I asked Dany, "I wonder if they've had people get hurt before?" with my crazy look. What, was this dangerous? It's a run, for goodness sake. And then, UP? I could see a short distance of the trail to the right, and it went slightly uphill. Sure we were on the side of a mountain, but...

So I was unprepared for the UP portion of the run, which was at least the first full mile (no joke) and then interspersed the last two miles. The turn around point was S-T-E-E-P and everyone in front of me was walking up the incline; I joined in. I also now know why the emphasis about the rocks and EMT's- you could easily twist an ankle. I did run most of the way. I was d-u-n done at the end. I timed myself, and I was in the 37 minute category. I'm not fast, but I'm very happy with myself because I pushed myself, with minimal walking. I loved the "bridges"- two skinny logs tied together with an overhead guide rope. They were fun! Plus it gave me a chance to slow down just a bit to catch my breath. All in all it was an excellent workout. It was not a "fun run" at all- the trail was single track (for cows probably) 80% of the time and there was no room for walkers.

So, I'm thinking that although I'm not a great runner, I can do it, and I enjoy it. I love how it is social in the aspect of the race, but solitary in how you compete mostly with yourself. The farthest I ever want to run is 10k, because that is the running distance of an Olympic Distance Triathlon. Later this summer I want to do a sprint distance (not to sprint, but to finish).

Caught Ya!

Caught ya with a loose tooth- you found out Sunday evening while eating an apple. It's the center bottom left. You told everyone Monday. It's the first thing you told Mike the bus driver. It's the first thing you told your teacher. Then you told her how many more weeks your birthday is. You even told the office ladies.
Caught ya with a green tongue- it's a sign of summer with Otter Pop stains on everything.
Caught ya playing with shoes (for like 30 minutes) and smiling while showing your top teeth! You have ten teeth right now, but you only show the bottom two most of the time.
Caught ya being yourself. Nothing like licking a mirror for five minutes to brighten your day.

Kid speak

Yesterday my boys entertained me with two lovely, lovely snippets of observation.
1- Will asked me where we were going (for the hundreth time) and I told him, "We are going to grandma Bunting's to visit for awhile, and then we are going to Aunt Karen's housewarming party."
"Oh." pause... "We aren't going to church?"
"No, we are not going to church. It's Saturday." (me)
"So, it's Saturday, and we are not going to church. But Mom, you took a shower!"

That says a lot about my trailer life right now.

2- In the car on the the way home from Karen's house, Kacy did something to annoy Will, so Will put his elbow on her neck, and hurt her. I was so mad at him, I chewed him out to the best of my abilities about how horrible it is to be mean and neck injuries and all of that. I wrap up my tirade with, "I never want to see or hear of you touching anyone's neck again!" and Ed adds, "Ya, Will. Next time just pinch her."

Today was mundane.

I saw a quote once, or maybe it was part of a talk or something, that said something like "When I see pictures of my kids at the park, I wonder what we ate for lunch that day, and what we talked about." I believe it was in regards to journaling or scrapbooking, or maybe even just photography. I will try to find that quote and it's source. It has made me want to write down more of the mundane things. Like today. Nothing exciting happened. We had breakfast burritos in the morning, followed by the boys requested "noodles and olives" for lunch. They took naps. I took a short nap. (Seems like I just HAVE to the last few days...) Jessie had some nasty, nasty diapers- I'm wondering if they are from the antibiotics? Kacy went on a field trip to the high school ag farm. She was most impressed with Smokey the Bear and his dog, Sparky. She told me a cowgirl asked the group why cowboys wore red scarves around their necks, and she was the only one who knew that they wear wild rags (one word, or two?) in case there is a dust storm, or if they need to protect their faces. That's what you get when you have a dad that used to cowboy. The kids ate queseriitos for dinner- quesadillas with beans in them- and I ate pot stickers from Costco. Ling Ling's all natural chicken and vegetable pot stickers, to be exact. We watched "Camp Rock" and I thought it was cute. But, I'm a big Disney movie fan. Kacy liked it. Jessie loves her dad right now- she hung out with him on the couch all morning, poking his face and trying to keep his attention. When he opened the door, she said "Daaa-aaad!" like he was Norm, from "Cheers." I did some laundry, and fed the cat. It was a normal day, and nothing extraordinary happened. I am grateful that Ed is potty trained and marvel at the end of every day that he is still trained and it's not a dream. He did do something that made me do a double-take: we were looking at the guide on TV for a cartoon, and he pointed to the grid on screen and said "That, Mom! That! I want to watch Special Agent Oso!" The weird part is this: that's what it said. Okay... so he can read? He recognizes words... I know that recognizing symbols (like the golden arches or the the jack in the box, etc) is an excellent pre-reading skill/step. But the boy straight read the screen. Unless he just got incredibly lucky, which could happen. It was weird.