Been tagged

I've been blogging for a couple of years now and I have been able to avoid being "tagged" but my friend, Heather, cursed me. I was going to ignore it but then I started to feel bad so here it goes:

How To Play This Game of Tag:

Post these rules on your blog.List:3 joys, 3 fears, 3 goals, 3 current obsessions/collections, 3 random surprising facts about yourself. Tag 5 people at the end of your post by leaving their names. Let them know they are tagged by leaving a comment on their blog!

My Joys: (in no particular order)
1. My family
2. My religion
3. My friends

My Fears:
1. My husband and/or children dying
2. getting skin cancer (I laid out in the sun WAY to much without sunscreen when I was younger)
3. being a victim of a home invader

My Goals:
1. Be a good Mom (ongoing goal!)
2. Be a good wife
3. lose weight (never ending goal!)

My Obsessions/Collections:
1. Craft supplies
2. Making sure my kids (and husbands) clothes match. I roll their pants and shirts together so they can pull them right out of their drawer.
3. I clean my kids ears at least once a week!

My Random/Surprising facts about myself:
1. I have a tattoo of a rose on the left side of my chest!
2. I'm a gamer that's not ready to come out of the closet (it's a secret!).
3. I would rather wear guys clothes then girls clothes!

Special pajamas

Laundry is one of the worst jobs I think. I love clean clothes but I hate folding them and putting them away. Well, because of this attitude I am often known to procrastinate doing the job. The kids never run out of underwear because they have about 50 pair each but pajamas is something they do seem to run out of first. The first time that happened here at my Mom's house, I told Jaed to go ask Grams for an old t-shirt to wear which she gave him. Since that night, Jaed has felt free to go into my Mom's room and find a "shirt" to wear to bed. He graduated from t-shirts and started picking out clothes that were hung up in her closet.

I think this one was the best choice of all! My first thought was, "Thayne would die!". Jaed walked around like nothing was wrong and even commented on how comfortable it was. I couldn't quite stifle a laugh so I followed it up by telling him how glad I was that he felt comfortable. No more t-shirts for this boy!

Way LATE!

Ok, so I'm slacking as a wife and blogger! I had this huge plan to blog several times a week so
that Thayne knew what was going on here but I have failed to do so. I even had huge plans for my Father's Day blog but never put it up. I'll be the first to say, "I'm LAME!!". I guess being late is better than not doing it at all.....right?

This is the best picture out of eight taken. Pretty sad! Indi looks like she just woke up with that crazy hair, and what's up with Josie? Who knows! Oh well......It was the effort that needs to count.



I asked the kids why they loved their Dad and this was there response:

Jaed:
Because he's my best buddy!
Because he makes dinner for me. (um....when?)
Because he loves me.
Because he always plays with me.
Because he was so happy when I was born.
Because he does stuff with me that Mommy won't do.

Josie:
Because he loves me!
Daddy plays with me and helps me play games!
Because he thinks that he's my boyfriend.
Because he plays play-doh with me.
Because he reads me "Jack in the Beanstalk" story and I love it!

Indi:
I love Daddy so much!
Because he kisses me all the time.
Because he lets me play his guys on his puter (computer)!
Because he tells me I'm pretty.
Because loves me so much and has a special puter and he shares it.

Kai:
Daddy!! (she says "Daddy" over and over!)


Now it's my turn. Why I love the Father of my children:

Because he teaches the kids to respect me
Because he puts up with my pregnancies (I can be quite ornery in my first trimester)
Because he treats me like the Queen of the house
Because he tells me that I'm a good Mom when I feel like I'm failing
Because he understands my postpartum and holds me when I feel extra crazy
Because he's the best father a child can have!!!


WE LOVE YOU!!!

In to everything!

I can't believe how much Kai has grown since we've been with my Mom. She is saying so many words and has the "in charge"personality like the rest of her siblings. She's not afraid to scream at them if they get in her way or take something she wants and she's even resorted to bopping them on the head on occasion. She is as daring and curious as her sister, Josie, but loves the affection and cuddles like her sister, Indi. She goes to bed smiling and she wakes up smiling. Kai is a true delight to have around. I can't believe that in 5 months she won't be my little baby anymore. She'll be a big sister! She has turned in to quite a Momma's girl, though, which is not something I strive for. I like my kids to be able to be comforted by others (Dad, Grandma's and Grandpa's) but as of now she strictly wants me when she's upset. I'm sure things will change once Thayne gets back and settles back into the family. Until then, I'll enjoy the cuddles she saves for me.


Kai watched Indi pull the piano bench up to the sink to get a drink and now she does it all by herself. Unfortunately, it's not to get a drink, it's to make a mess!


I was cleaning my room one day and Jaed thought it would be funny to stick Kai in the dresser. Now she climbs in there all by herself and laughs!

It's been past on!

When I was growing up my mom had these really dry cracked heals that I just loved to pick. She would let me until it hurt to much then she would say "Ok, go find something else to do now.", which my response was always "But I need to get it!". She'd put up with it for a few more minutes and then shew me away. Well.....one of my daughters has taken on this obsession/feddish. My little Indi is the culprit. Unfortunately, my heals have turned out a lot like my Moms so I have been on the receiving in of the picking since Indi was about 2 1/2 years old. I find myself telling her exactly what my Mom told me and her responding quite the same as I did. It's a little eerie! Since we've been living with my Mom, Indi is in heaven with two sets of heals to pick. Fortunately for me, my Mom has the better heals to pick! I decided to catch some pictures of Indi at work:

Indi always starts out by saying, "Leave your foot right here so I can get em' ". She obviously doesn't understand that it's not effortless to keep your foot in the air for a long period of time. (I can remember saying the exact same thing!)



She's moved on to the next foot and when she's done with that foot she goes right back to the first one to see what she missed.



Even while posing for the photo she can't stop picking!

In need of friends......!!!

Ok, I've been here at my Mom's for three weeks without Thayne and I'm dying for some friends. I know that there are several of you, that read my blog, that live by my Mom (and you know who you are!) so if you want to get together POST HERE OR EMAIL ME!!

I think I've been hesitant to call or email anyone because we're not going to be here very long (at least I don't think so) but I have realized that I can't make it through this summer without friends, especially ones I haven't seen for a while. Alright, I also have been hesitant because I have a LOT of kids that have to tag along and not everyone is okay with that or ready for the crowd :). I'd like to say that they are perfect angels and wouldn't do anything wrong but most of you have read my blog enough to know that I would be telling a HUGE lie!

A day at the fountain!

There is a HUGE water fountain not to far from my Mom's house that I have take the kids to a couple of times, since we've been here. I think it is one of there favorite places to go so far. It's nice for me too, because I get to sit on a shaded bench and just watch them run around in front of me. We usually spend, at least, two hours there. The last time we were there we saw a semi-famous person and I just had to get a picture of him and Jaed together. Jaed didn't think it was that cool but I did :). Here's some pics of our great day at the fountain:

Jaed and Mit Romney!!


What a beauty!! She makes me chuckle every time I see her in that swimsuit.


Here's the bikini sisters!


Kai was not being left behind when her siblings were running through the water. She was right behind them with her arms extended in front of her like she was going to block any water coming her way! She would come over for a towel snuggle every few minutes and then off she was again. She finally sat down when I pulled out the lunch. Here she is with her bag of chips!

New Do

I'm feeling OLD and wanted to do something drastic to feel a little younger so I got my hair done. I decided to wait until I got to my Mom's house because then I wouldn't have to hear "Wow, you change your hair!" about a million times. Anyways, I had the hairdresser lady give me strips. Black and blonde strips!! Unfortunately, I don't think the picture does it justice, but I LOVE IT, and that's all that really counts.......and Thayne likes it!! It does make me feel younger and I don't feel like an old lady that will have 5 kids soon!!

Got it together.....I think!

Well, we've been on our own (without Thayne) for almost two weeks and I think I've got things, somewhat, under control. I really have missed blogging so I'm here to start again. I need to back track a bit and tell you all about Thayne's Graduation!!

His parents, my parents, and my brother (and his family) came to see Thayne graduate. The day just went by so fast. We all sat by each other at the graduation and when Thayne's name was called we jumped up and screamed!!! Thayne said he didn't really hear us but I'm not sure how he couldn't have. When the graduates were first coming in to the auditorium Josie kept yelling "Daddy, Daddy!". Of course, she was yelling it in the ear of the person in front of her who finally turned around and said very politely, "I don't think your Daddy can hear you, Sweetie." Well to a child that just means that they need to yell louder, which is exactly what Josie did. She yelled as loud as she could right in the person's ear again. I intervened and helped Josie understand that Thayne was not going to be able to hear her. She was extremely disappointed and a little sad, I think. When Thayne was at his seat he looked around until he found us and we made eye contact. I tried to point him out to the kids but they just kept saying, "I don't see him, where is he!". I think Josie did finally see him because she started to wave and Thayne responded with a wave back.

The ceremony was very long but I was very impressed and proud of my kids. They were a little loud and wiggly at times but for the most part they were well behaved. When we met Thayne after the ceremony they each gave him a huge hug. I could tell Thayne was touched! It was a moment I don't think I'll ever forget. We were finally DONE! Our family made it and here Thayne was a graduate of Law School with the honor ropes hanging from his gown. I don't think I could have been more proud of him then I was at the very moment!

Thayne's parents were so proud of him as well. They both hugged Thayne for a long time and I could see them shed a few tears, as well. We never could have made it without them. I think Thayne and I will always be eternally grateful for their generosity and support.


Here's our handsome graduate!!


We made a great team!!


WE DID IT!!!


Here's Thayne with his parents!

We've made it!

Well, I think we're settled in and getting use to our surroundings. Thayne was suppose to go to work on the 12th of May but his boss called and said that he had to make a trip out of state and wouldn't be back until the 20th, and so he told Thayne that he could have a weeks paid vacation and come to work on the 20th! We hurry and changed his flight and we were able to spend a whole week together as a family. It was so wonderful!! We went to an indoor amusement park, the zoo and did other fun things. The week was amazing and worth any extra money we had to pay and to change his plane ticket. Unfortunately, I didn't take any pictures, though!

We took Thayne to the Airport a couple of days ago and it was very difficult to say goodbye. Josie didn't want to look at him and while she was looking away she said, "I'm going to miss Daddy!" and started to cry. Jaed cried most of the way home.....and so did I. I felt like these next nine weeks were going to be forever. We went grocery shopping later that day and by the end of it I was almost in tears. My constant thoughts were, "How am I going to survive without him?". He always knows what to do to calm my nerves or anger, and he knows when to take over with the kids when I've had enough. I am extremely grateful that my Mom is here to help me but nothing can take the place of your better half. I know with a lot of prayer and patience we will make it through. Time to get into survival mode!

I guess I should mention that I'm pregnant. Yes, you read it right. I am pregnant with number 5. Insane, isn't it? We found out right before we left Indiana. I'm feeling pretty good but the nausea peeks at weird times. It doesn't last very long, so that's a blessing. The only major change I can see is that my energy level is about at a "1", especially in the evenings. Hopefully things will change in the second trimester.

It's OVER!!!

Thayne's last final was last night and now we're official done! Now we get to plan the big graduation celebration for this Saturday. My dad flew in today and everyone else is coming tomorrow. I hope that Thayne feels so special and that he can feel how proud we all are of him. What a great accomplishment! It's going to feel so weird to say that my husband is a Lawyer.....because then I'll have to hear all of the lawyer jokes :). My dad is creating a list already!!

Ok, on to some funny stuff. Jaed and the girls were out in the garage riding their bikes when I told them to put the bikes away and come in for dinner. I left the door open and heard Josie ask Jaed to help her put the bike away, and Jaed responded "Look girls, I help you guys way to much. I'm tired of helping you!". I wanted to yell out loud, "Buddy, it's just beginning!". I'm not sure if he helped them put their bikes away or not but someone did it.

So, every time we take Josie to one of her preschools, we pass a lingerie shop with samples of lingerie in the window. Last week, as we were passing the store, Indi pointed and asked "Daddy, can I get one of those for my birthday!". Thayne and I just chuckled and Thayne responded, "Those are just for Mommies.".

Josie has been saying that she has a boyfriend at her Christian preschool, but when I ask her what his name is she says, "I don't remember.". I even asked her how she knows that he's her boyfriend and she responded, "Cuz I said so!". Well with in the last month or so, she has finally learned his name and chants it all the way to her class when we drop her off. Thayne said he ignores her when she gets in the class, hehehe. Today was Josie's last day at that preschool and when Thayne went in to get her, the little boy couldn't stop hugging her. I guess the feelings WERE mutual. How funny is that!

A learning moment

As I was sweeping the floor, I overheard this conversation that was taking place in the bathroom:

Indi: "Josie, go tell mommy that I have diarrhea."
Josie: "What is diarrhea, Indi?"
Indi: "When your poop comes out really fast!"
Josie: "Well, you farted too, so it is when you fart and poop comes out!"
Indi: "Yeah, I think so."
Josie: "And it really stinks!"
Indi: "Yeah."

At least I don't have to explain what it is now!

Getting closer

I've been thinking a lot about our little adventure we've been on for the last three years. It's amazing that it will be over in only one week. Thayne has his last final in two days, graduation in five, days and then we move in seven days. I was sure it was going to be the longest three years of our lives but as I look back, it has actually gone by fast. I do have to admit that the first year was hard but once I made friends and got into a routine, things really improved. I am so proud of my husband!!! He has been working so hard, and accomplishing so much since we have come here. Even with classes, and studying, Thayne has been a great husband and father! He has been so supportive, loving and attentive through these last three years. Others are always shocked when they find out that he's a law student (doing well, I might add) with four children. He has found a great balance between school and family and I am so appreciative off that.
Here are a few things I will miss about our little town and experience:

My awesome playgroup!!
My wonderful friends who were always there for me when I needed them!
Our beautiful home
The great parks
My son's school (wonderful teachers, programs and family events)
Josie's therapy preschool (she has made so much progress in her speech)
The long vacations Thayne had from school (spring and fall break, summers, etc.)
Our little local library
My rubber stamping club!


Here are a few things I won't miss:

Living like poor students
living so far from my family
Thayne's finals!!


As we come to the end of this great adventure, another one starts. One that I'm scared to begin! Thayne will be heading to the east coast for his summer job while me and the kids stay with my mom. Three months away from Thayne seems so long! I know that the kids will miss him as well but I hope that the time flies by fast so that we can be together as a family again. This will be a great time for Thayne. He is so excited to get started working and putting all of this new knowledge he has to use.

The Cup

(Read at your own risk. This post may cause immediate vomitting!)

When I took Josie to the Doctor for her 5 year old check up they asked her to pee in a cup. She was quite excited to do so. That should have been a hint to me. Well, she has been to the Dr several times since then and every time she wants to pee in a cup and the answer is always "no". This morning, Indi told me in the car, on the way to pick up Josie from school, that Josie peed in the cup that is in the bathroom. I was so disgusted!! When Josie got in the car, I asked her about it and she confessed. I made sure she understood that peeing in a cup was only appropriate at the Doctor's office and ONLY if the Doctor asks her to. Well, when we got home, I made a bottle for Kai and was taking her upstairs for a nap when I looked in the bathroom and saw Indi taking a drink from the CUP!!! AWWWWWWW.......I wanted to throw up. I yelled "Indi put that cup down!". I think I scared her because she threw the cup down and looked completely shocked. After I put Kai down I went in the bathroom and found two cups on the counter. I don't know which one she peed in and I was scared to find out for fear that it was the one Indi was drinking out of. I put both cups in kitchen sink but now I'm thinking about putting them both in the garbage.

I'm here!

I've gotten a couple of emails from some of you wondering why I haven't blogged for a week so I thought I'd better post something so no one else worries. It's a frantic time for us right now because Thayne is in the middle of studying for finals and I'm packing and and trying to be a decent mom most of the time. Thayne's last day of school was last week and even though he has finals it was good to see that part of the adventure over! I know that he can't feel any relief yet, since finals are still ahead of him but those will be over in a week and a half and then the celebration begins! We rented a storage unit here in town and are going to leave our stuff here because we don't know where we are going after the summer. We felt like it was more economical to rent a storage shed then to move our stuff twice. I've started to pack up the kid's toys which has been an interesting situation for them. They're excited to go to Gram's house for the summer but not excited to leave most of their toys here. I'm also packing up their winter and fall clothes and Josie is always asking me if we are going to save the clothes or throw them away. I don't think she quite understands what is going on. I hear Indi trying to explain it to her but even Indi is confused :).

Thayne's parents, my Mom, my Dad, and my brother and his kids are coming to join in Thayne's graduation celebration! We're going to have a FULL house but it will be fun. Thayne's parents will be staying in a hotel but everyone else will be piled on our floor :). I love crowds of people but Thayne always has to prepare himself for it and then is still overwhelmed when they all come. He's the oldest in his family and I'm the youngest so that should explain the reason for our feelings of crowds. The more the merrier for me!

I had to take the kids to church by myself, yesterday, and so I thought I'd take a couple of pictures of them before we left. They didn't turn out like I wanted but...oh well!


(I took about 6 pictures and Josie wasn't looking at me in any of them. This is the only decent one of all of them but Josie. Can you imagine what would happen if we added another kid to this clan?)



(My youngest and my oldest!)

Keep going..

I've been watching my blog, like a hawk, this last week and haven't seen any questionable visitors. Thayne and I have discussed it and have decided that I'll continue to blog and be more careful about the pictures I put up.

Anyways, this last week I've been feeling like nothing I own is really mine. It all belongs to my kids, so they think. I remember getting lectures from my mom, when I was younger (well most of my life as a child and adolescent), that I was not allowed to touch other people's stuff. She told me more than once that their stuff was not my stuff. So it's only fitting that I have children that are just like me. So am I wasting my time to even attempt to teach them to respect other people's things? Probably not because who knows how worse I would have been if my mom had given up on lecturing me. This is not a fun thing about parenting. I feel like I should call my parents and siblings and tell them I'm sorry for making their things mine and for breaking, wrecking, or losing everything that I touched that belonged to them.

Even Thayne said, a couple of weeks ago "I can't have anything nice with all these kids around!". It's sad but very true!

Explanation

Many of you have asked how we know that sickos are visiting our blog. I'll do my best to try and explain it. I have recently added a new tracker that is very detailed (notice it on the left hand side of the blog). It tells me where the person is living (not exactly but close) and where they came from and what the last thing they looked at on my blog.

Within the last couple of weeks I have noticed that many individuals have googled the words "B a t h i n g B e a u t y" and one of the results was a post on my blog about my three girls taking a bath. Then after I saw a lot of people coming to that post I changed the name of the post and deleted those words in the body of the post but that didn't stop them. The picture of the girls must have been shared because I started to get a lot of people coming directly to the post without googling it which means that the link of the post was being shared and they came to the direct link to see the pictures. THEN...I noticed that they were coming to my site to see the picture only and not the post where the picture is found. SCARY!! That's when I started to get nervous and very freaked out. I went and deleted the pictures completely but that doesn't stop those nasty people who already have the picture and are (I'm sure) distributing it.

So, if you have a blog I STRONGLY suggest that you get the tracker I am using and keep a very close eye on who is coming to visit your site, where they are coming from and what the last thing they look at before they leave. If it says that they arrived from Google.com then you can click on that part and it will show you what words they put in the search engine to get to your site.

I hope that all makes sense. It's really hard to explain it in writing! Thanks for all your kind words and letting me know that I'll still have an audience if I end up password protecting my site.

Sad Day

I'm sitting here trying to decide if I should keep blogging. It's a sad day for me. I enjoy blogging about my life, especially my children but I fear that I am putting us in a dangerous situation. It has come to my attention that there are several perverted individuals who are accessing pictures of my children for their sick addictions. Specifically pictures of my girls taking baths. I have deleted the pictures that have been downloaded by these individuals so that others can't do it but those that already have them are likely to distribute them without my knowledge.

Thayne and I feel like we have done what we can without having to put a password on my blog, but who knows if it's enough. If I put a password on my blog then you won't be able to use "Google Reader" or any other program that notifies you if I published a new post. Which could mean that you'll forget about me and my family if you depend on those programs :(. I can't even begin to comprehend individuals like this and it's horrible that we even have to look out for them.

Worst Pediatrician

When we first moved here I asked a bunch of other moms for a recommendation for a Pediatrician. I don't even remember who recommended her but I went with a recommendation that was HORRIBLE! I cringe every time I have to take one of my kids in and usually ask to see someone else if possible when making the appointment. I know, you're all wondering why I continue to go to her (or her office) and it's out of complete procrastination. I have to make several phone calls to my insurance company and then it takes 30 days to actually change and blah blah blah. I am always happy when I don't have to see her which makes me procrastinate more.
Well, Kai came down with the worst diaper rash I have ever seen and I treated it with everything that I knew and finally decided to take her in. The only doctor available was the Dr. Horrible (that's what I'm going to call her) so I reluctantly agreed to see her. She took one look at the diaper rash and said it was a yeast infection. She prescribed me some cream and sent me on my way. After two days of using the cream the rash was worse and she started to get a rash on her face, stomach arms, back and legs. I took her back and asked for someone else and was granted my request. The new doctor took a culture and said that she had strep in her diaper area but didn't know what the rash on the rest of her body was. She gave me an antibiotic to give Kai and wanted me to come back in three days if it wasn't better. Kai's diaper rash seemed a little better (less red) but the rash everywhere else was getting worse so we went back in. We were able to see the same doctor we saw the very last visit and she took another culture of the rash and said Kai also had a Staph Infection which was caused by the open wounds on her bum. SO, we got another antibiotic and a skin cream. After several days the rash stopped growing but has not completely disappeared. Here is the after affects of her ordeal:

(Notice rash on her arm and armpit, mouth and stomach....poor thing!)



(Different view of her tummy!)


(I guess I should look on the bright side and be glad that her face doesn't look like this anymore :>. This picture is when she was less than a day old!)

Hmmm

I am sitting here trying to think of something to write to update how our lives have been going but I'm struggling. We have had a pretty uneventful last several days (thank goodness). I'm starting to pack our stuff slowly. Every time the kids see me start to pack a box they ask me about a million times if they can pack their stuff now.

I'm trying not to think about being away from Thayne for the whole summer. The thought of it makes me a bit emotional and scared. He's my rock and strength and to think that I won't have that for the summer is frightening. I just hope the time goes by very quickly!

Josie has been thinking a lot about Jesus, lately, I think. Whenever I ask her to go do something (put her clothes on, clean something up, etc.) she often will come back and say, "Mommy, Jesus can't help me put my pants on, so can you help me?". Every time it is her time to pray she always thanks God for Jesus and has even asked that Jesus come and visit. She's so dang cute!! Indi said a prayer, the other day, and asked God to help Jesus have a good day! I am so grateful that they understand (in their own little way) that Jesus is real and is here to help us. I feel like that is one of my duties of a mom is to help them understand our religious beliefs and so far I feel like I am accomplishing it!

We got Jaed's report card from school and he's doing well in everything except P.E.. He's pretty much failing P.E.. Every quarter the teacher puts a mark on 'Needs Improvement' for P.E.. We ask him about it and he just says that he doesn't like it. My guess is that he doesn't like to take orders so he's not participating. Obviously, we need to work on that.......as soon as we find out how.