Great Christmas Present!

It's been great having Thayne home but my routine has gotten a little off. I usually blog while the kids are having "quiet time" but Thayne and I are using that time to play games or just hanging out so my blogs have been put on the back burner. The kids have been counting down the days until christmas. We didn't do a christmas tree this year for several reasons: first, we're not going to be here for christmas; Second, I don't need another thing to keep the kids away from; Third, I wasn't going to do it by myself and Thayne didn't have time during finals; and Fourth, we just didn't feel like it! I know...we're scrooges...but the kids didn't complain. We just kept telling them that Grandma and Grandpa have a tree up at their house just for them. So, we're heading to their house for about three days over Christmas. I'm a little nervous about it because Thayne's parents house is full of antiques and other fragile stuff and I know my kids well enough to know that they can't keep their hands to themselves. I hope I don't have anything broken to report when we get back!

Our HUGE Christmas present this year is.........THAYNE GOT A JOB!!!!! Yep, he got a call a couple of days ago with an offer. Right when Thayne told me that they offered him a job a HUGE cloud of stress dissappeared from above my head. I could tell that Thayne was stress free as well. It's a law firm in Terre Haute, which is about 50 miles away from where we are. Thayne really liked the firm when he was interviewing for them but felt like the interview didn't go as well as it could. Fortunately, they thought differently! The firm does tons of litigation (arguing cases in court) which is exactly what Thayne wants to specialize in. He loves being in front of a court room and judge arguing about cases. It's a twelve week internship so he'll be working the whole summer. They don't want him to work anymore than 4o hours a week so it shouldn't be that bad. We'll still see tons more of him then we would if he was in school.

So now I get to start planning my summer vacation :). I'm going to take the kids to Utah for a week or two and then we'll head to Washington to spend a week or two with my sister. I'm a little nervous about being away from Thayne for that long with FOUR kids so we'll see how things plan out as time gets closer. I've never been away from Thayne for more than two or three days since we've been married. He might have to fly out and meet us for a weekend or two while we're traveling.

We mailed out our Christmas cards out only three days ago, so hopefully you'll get them soon. We hope you all have a safe and Merry Christmas and that the new year is full of blessings for you and your family!

Happy Family

Thayne finished his last final today and he's home with us for several weeks. He had an 8 hour final today. He was telling me that the final consisted of 3 questions. Can you imagine spending 8 hours on three questions? I don't know how he does it but after the final he said he felt like it went very well. I think I would have given up after the first two hours. I have no patience for that kind of stuff. I'm so proud of how hard he has worked this semester. He was studying non-stop, it seemed. The kids are so excited that "Daddy" doesn't have any school for a while. They each gave him HUGE hugs when he got home tonight. Thayne has been so stressed, anxious, and distracted lately because of finals that, when he came home tonight, he almost seemed like a different person. He was relaxed, happy, laughing, and truly enjoying himself with the kids. I left him to "party" with the kids while I went to "party" with my friends at BUNCO. Life is bliss at the moment!

A Cheerleader for both sides!

Jaed got into quite a bit of trouble this morning and at one point he turned and ran from Thayne. As he was running away, Indi yelled, "Go Jaed, Go!". Thayne got up to chase after him and this time Indi stood up with her hands in the air and yelled, "Go Daddy, Go!". Thayne stopped, turned around, came back into the room and started laughing. He tried to tell Indi that we didn't need her help but couldn't quite get it out. Indi shrugged her shoulders and started watching cartoons again.
I was at the store yesterday with all three of the kids and Indi was in the cart. Josie and Jaed were taking their own sweet time to catch up to Indi and me. Indi finally got her finger out, pointed right at the two of them and then at the ground where we were and yelled (very loud), "Get here RIGHT NOW!". Of course, they ignored her. I can't imagine where she heard or saw that same thing being done. If she hears you tell Josie or Jaed that they are doing something naughty or that they are being stinkers she speaks right up and says, "You naughty" or "You a stinker".

It's amazing that I had one bossy child, then a quiet (not bossy) child, and then another bossy child. Hopefully our next one takes after Josie. We are getting way to many chiefs in our family and not enough indians.

Embarrassing moment!

I am really surprised that I don't have more embarrassing moments to blog. Well me and the kids were shopping yesterday afternoon and I stopped by JoAnn's (fabric store) to pick up a couple of items. Once we entered the store I smelled poop and my eyes went right to Indi. Yep, it was her. I decided to stick it out and grab the two things I needed and then change her when we got back out to the car (I should have known better!). Halfway through the store Jaed yells, "MOM, Indi is poopy!". I immediately tell him to not be so loud and that I am aware she is poopy. Jaed was constantly looking at her bum with huge eyes. I was afraid to look, so I didn't.

After I got the things we needed we headed to the cash register where there were 10 people in line and one cashier. It was obviously going to be a long wait. The whole time in line I'm telling Jaed to calm down and quit being so loud with his shooting sounds (he was aiming at everything with his finger gun and shooting it), I was telling Josie to stop touching stuff which didn't help because she knocked down two big displays, and Indi was whining non stop because I wouldn't let her out of the cart. I finally made the two older kids come and hold the cart because it was more than a little wild but as soon as Jaed grabbed the cart he looked at Indi's bum and yelled "MOM, Indi's poop is coming out of her pants and it's going to fall on the floor!". We were still number six in line and there were atleast 4 more people behind us. All eyes went right to Indi who yelled, "I NOT POOPY!". I wanted to cry and then scream but instead I just started to laugh. I looked behind Indi and sure enough poop was bubbling over her pants. I shoved her shirt down in her pants because I had no wipes on hand. I know everyone was disgusted around me but I just kept giggling and shaking my head. We finally got up to the register, I paid for my things, and we made it out to the car without loosing any poop on the ground. I had to strip Indi naked, change her diaper and she rode home in her carseat with just a diaper on. All the way home Jaed kept saying, "It stinks like poop in here Mom.". He said it about 4 times with absolutely no response from me. We all were suffering with the smell, except Indi. Even Josie said to Indi, "You're naughty for pooping your pants, Indi!". Which resulted in a very loud scream from Indi followed by, "I NOT POOPY!".
When we got home, I turned cartoons on for the kids and laid down on the couch to rest!

No party on Sunday

Jaed was invited to a birthday party for his friend at school, but it is on Sunday. When I picked him from school he asked all the way home if he could go and I just kept saying, "we'll have to talk about it.". I knew that he wasn't going to be able to go but I didn't want to tell him without Thayne and I talking to him first about why we he can't go. We decided before we had children that Sundays were for church and family time which meant no parties, no play-dates, etc.. So, when Thayne got home we sat down with him and told him that the party was on Sunday and asked him what we usually do on Sunday. He answered, "go to church", but he wasn't very happy about it. We told him that Jesus would really want us to go to church and spend the day with our family and he said, "Well...Jesus wants me to be happy and the party would make me happy!". Thayne and I just sat there for a few seconds trying not to laugh at how cute he was. Finally Thayne said, "Jaed, Jesus wants us to go to church so we can learn about him and you can't do that at the party. Also, mommy and I have a rule that Sunday's are for spending time as a family after church so that's why you can't go to the party.". Jaed was so sad. I almost just wanted to say, "Ok, you can go!" but I knew I couldn't. Jaed cried in his room for quite a while. Thayne and I decided to tell him that he could go to the store and pick out a present for his friend even though he wasn't going to the party and Jaed turned his frown into a huge smile and said, "That will be great!". So, we all took a trip to the store and Jaed could hardly stand it. Everything he saw he said, "I know Ritchie would love this!". Thayne had to help Jaed pick out a gift while I tried to keep the girls from grabbing stuff and throwing it in our cart. They couldn't quite believe that they weren't going to get anything. We did leave the store with Indi crying because she saw a princess that we had to pry out of her hands but by the time we got home everything was fine.
Jaed took the gift to school with him this morning and he went right up to Ritchie and said, "I can't come to your party because we go to church on Sunday but here's a present for you." We were so proud of him.

Fire alarm = dinner's ready

The apartment we lived in, before we moved in the house, had a VERY sensitive fire alarm. I could make toast and the alarm would go off. The kids, well Jaed and Josie at least, soon learned to grab a book or paper, run over to the alarm, and wave it as fast as they could to get it to shut off while Indi ran around screaming. Thayne taught the kids to say, "Moms burnin' down the house" so they would chant that as they waved the papers or books at the alarm. This little scene occured several times a week as I cooked dinner so I assume the kids associated the fire alarm with dinner being done. Since we've been in the new house, this has not happened which should tell you that I am a pretty good chef and don't burn everything I cook. It was the sensitive fire alarm not me! Well, Thayne asked if he could help me make dinner last night and I assigned him the garlic bread. He had to butter the bread and broil it in the oven. I knew it wasn't going to work very well when I saw him running up to his computer every 30 seconds to check on football scores. I was busy cooking the rest of the dinner and started smelling something burning. I yelled for Thayne and he came running down, swung open the oven, and a cloud of smoke burst out. There was the bread, black and very crunchy looking. And then the fire alarm went off. All three kids came running up the stairs chanting, "Mom's burnin' down the house", and then sat at the table where Josie announced, "Dinner's ready!". I was not amused but Thayne certainly was. He even had the gull to chant "Mom's burnin down the house!" with them with a huge grin on his face. I was going to protest and make sure my children knew that it was not me who set the alarm off but I turned the other cheek and let them have their fun. It's amazing that I can be in a house full of stinkers and not be one myself!

A Visit to Santa

I took the kids to see Santa no Saturday. We had to explain several times to Jaed and Josie that they would not be recieving gifts on Saturday, but would be telling Santa exactly what they want him to bring them on Christmas day. I was so worried that Josie would get there and wonder where her gifts were and it would be me dragging her to the car after seeing Santa. Fortunately, it went so much better than that. Last year, Indi didn't want anything to do with Santa. She screamed and cried everytime we got her close to him. This year we were there waiting for Santa to show up and when he sat down he said, "Who wants to be first to sit on Santa's lap?", Indi was the only child who ran right to him. I was shocked. Josie, of course, was right behind her ready to be the next one in line. Indi told Santa that she wanted "pwincesses and a plute (princesses and a flute)" and Josie told him she wanted "ponies and a plute". Now Jaed, well...his list was a bit more detailed and a little longer. He wanted a blue and purple lightsaber, a new lego-starwars game, and more. I could see Santa wanting to move on but Jaed wasn't getting off his lap until his list was completed. I think the best part about it was when he tried to lift Jaed on his lap....hehehe... Santa gave a little grunt but got Jaed up on the second try.
The kids talked about seeing Santa all the way home and then again when Thayne got home from studying. It feels good to know that we got them the things they mentioned to Santa. I know that we won't be able to do that every year but it will be nice for this year.

Pregnancy brain..

I’m in the seventh month of my fourth pregnancy, and I have “pregnancy brain”. Yes, this extremely scientific-sounding disease, is just another way of saying I’ve become forgetful. Really, really forgetful. I have noticed that it gets worse with every pregnancy. I went to the grocery store the other day and had to sit in the parking lot for over 10 minutes because I couldn't remember the one specific item I needed to get. Thayne sent me to the store another day with a request for me to get two different things. I went over and over the list in my head all the way to the store but by the time I got home I only had one item.

I have been thinking about my lack of memory and wondering, why does this happen? I know it’s hormones, yada, yada, yada, but why? Supposedly it affects about half of pregnant women. What a weird side effect of pregnancy!

I’ve always heard that certain symptons of pregnancy are supposed to prepare the new mom for actually being a mom. One example almost every pregnant woman has heard is that being uncomfortable at night and having trouble sleeping (either because you can’t get into a comfortable position being so huge, or because you have to go to the bathroom 80 times) is a way to get you ready to pull all-nighters with your new baby. Of course, whether I believe all these “preparation” tales, I can’t really say. But, if pregnancy symptoms are stages of mom training, I find it ironic that forgetfulness is one of them. What is it really meant to prepare you for?

Forgetful-preparedness seems especially harsh considering that, when becoming a mom, you have about a zillion things you need to remember, for example:
Who is allergic to what foods, what soaps, detergents, sunscreens and fabric? Who will eat what kind of veggies? Who hates juice? Whose toothbrush is whose? Who needs to be where at what time and when they need to be picked up? Who will only wear one particular kind of dress to church? Who will only eat the purple chewable vitamins and who will only eat the orange? Is there any milk left in the ‘fridge?

Of course, that’s only the “mom” part of life. There are whole other parts of life to remember in areas such as spouses school/work, extended family, friends, bills, clubs and community. The list goes on and on.

When I looked up “pregnancy brain” and “forgetfulness” in my go-to guide for pregnancy (written and published by a top-notch medical institution, I might add) it talks about this being a normal part of pregnancy, due to hormones, etc. It provides a few helpful hints such as “keep lists” and “reduce stress”. It also says that this is the time to “have a sense of humor”. Hmmm. Is that very helpful?

Oh, the joys of pregnancy! There’s the gassiness, constipation, queasiness, and exhaustion, the forgetfulness, crankiness, the frequent mood swings, the crying for no reason, and the constant worry. No woman can avoid all of these symptoms or discomforts and humiliations, but most are too polite to complain or too embarrassed to talk about them. Not me! I have ALL of the above and more!

This is how my kids look at me all the time now. I'm sure they are constantly wondering, "Who is this lady and what did she do with my mommy?". Poor things, they looked so confused and stressed out!

Jaed turns into DarthVader

Jaed came into our room today looking like the picture below. I asked him what he was and he said he was "Darth Vader". I thought his costume was quite creative for a five year old. Those are Thayne's church socks on his hands and feet. What a physeec!!

The holiday is over!

I SURVIVED! I decided on to do much preparation for Thanksgiving dinner until my "guests" got here so they could help out. I figured even if we didn't eat until 6 p.m. it was better than being a crab and exhausted all day. When they showed up my Dad started helping me right away. Him and I put the whole Thanksgiving dinner together within two hours and everyone was smackin their lips. There were several comments about the amount of food there was because I seem to ALWAYS over do it when I cook a meal. Thayne thinks it's a funny idiosyncrasy I have. For example, I made a jello salad and used 10 boxes of jello plus 4 cans of fruit. I wanted to make sure we had enough....well....my dad suggested we invite the nieghbors on the block to eat it with us. I think they should just be thankful there was enough for seconds =). By the end of the day I was exhausted but I felt good about what "we" had accomplished together. My father sure was a life saver!
The kids had so much fun with their cousins and it was nice not to have to check on them every ten minutes. My older nephews kept a good eye on them and let me know when things were getting out of hand. They all loved the new house and said so many times. It felt nice to be able to host that many people and still felt like there was a space in the house you could go if you need a few minutes to yourself and it wasn't the bathroom!
Jaed turned in to some strip-tease boy for most of the time my family was here. I started to worry about him a bit. He thought it was so funny to take his clothes off and run around the house laughing and saying, "Look at my bum crack!". I was pretty embarrassed and smacked his bum a couple of times but it didn't stop him. Now our little Indi is smacking our bums saying, "bum crack, mommy". I know that I"ll have to have a parent-teacher conference with Jaed's teacher because he'll be mooning his class and yelling, "LOOK AT MY BUM CRACK!". I guess humiliation comes with being a parent.
Josie, Indi and their two twin (four year old) cousins played "princess" most of the time they were here. Everytime you turned around they were in a new princess dress. Although the constant dress changing is very typical for Indi. She loves to put a new dress on more than she poops her diaper and she does that at least 4-5 times a day.
My dad stayed with us for several days after my brother and his clan left. It was nice to visit with him and see him get to know my kids again. They all wanted to be by his side constantly which thrilled me. It was sad to see him go because we don't know when we'll see him again. I hope to get to Utah for the summer but without a summer job for Thayne and don't think that will be possible. We'll see what happens, I guess.
I really do miss my family. More now then I have since I moved here. I think it's because I've always been around family when I had my other children and it feels very scary to have a child without that support right at my fingertips. I never had to worry about who would take care of my kids so that Thayne could stay in the hospital with me, or if my kids were driving them crazy because they loved my kids even with their naughtiness. I try not to think about it too much because it stresses me out so we'll see how things unfold as they come our way.

One holiday down and one to go!! I might have been a little harsh to say that I would NEVER host again but it will be a very long time before I offer.

(My Dad, my brother's six kids, and my kids)

Hosting...

Ok, I'm hosting Thanksgiving dinner for the first time in my life, I'm seven months pregnant, I have zero energy, and I'm emotionally unstable. Do you see a problem here? Um....yeah! I WILL NEVER HOST THANKSGIVING DINNER AGAIN!!!!! My brother,his wife, their six kids, and my dad will not be here until Thanksgiving day around noon so I"m left to do all the prep work. I'm not a happy camper and when I'm not a happy camper neither is my little family. Poor Thayne, every little thing he does wrong I point it out. My kids have had tons more time outs than normal only because my patiences is very thin and their all riding on my very last nerve. I'm a wreck. Maybe I'll wake up sick, really sick....like the flu or something and I'll have to stay in bed all day. Wow, that would be bliss. Can you pray for things like that? My luck, I'd pray for it and then I'd come down with walking pneumonia with bronchitis on the side. It's a toss up which would be worse at the moment. I hope I have more positive things to say tomorrow night AFTER the "party" is over.

Housekeeping stinks!

I am so tired of cleaning my house. If I miss one day of cleaning it's a TOTAL disaster. I feel like going on strike as the house keeper but my husband isn't around enough to care, my kids love messes, so in the end I"m the only one that would suffer. I did find these rules of housekeeping that I might start living by:

Ten Rules of Housekeeping

1. Vacuuming too often weakens the carpet fibers. Say this with a serious face, and shudder delicately whenever anyone mentions Carpet Fresh.

2. Dust bunnies cannot evolve into dust rhinos when disturbed. Rename the area under the couch "The Galapagos Islands" and claim an ecological exemption.

3. Layers of dirty film on windows and screens provide a helpful filter against harmful and aging rays from the sun. Call it an SPF factor of 5 and leave it alone.

4. Cobwebs artfully draped over lampshades reduces the glare from the bulb, thereby creating a romantic atmosphere. If your husband points out that the light fixtures need dusting, simply look affronted and exclaim, "What? And spoil the mood?"

5. In a pinch, you can always claim that the haphazard tower of unread magazines and newspapers next to your chair provides the valuable Feng Shui aspect of a tiger, thereby reducing your vulnerability. Roll your eyes when you say this.

6. Explain the mound of pet hair brushed up against the doorways by claiming you are collecting it there to use for stuffing handsewn play animals for underprivileged children.

7. If unexpected company is coming, pile everything unsightly into one room and close the door. As you show your guests through your tidy home, rattle the door knob vigorously, fake a growl and say, "I'd love you to see our Den, but Fluffy hates to be disturbed and the shots are SO expensive."

8. If dusting is REALLY out of control, simply place a showy urn on the coffee table and insist that "THIS is where Grandma wanted us to scatter her ashes..."

9. Don't bother repainting. Simply scribble lightly over a dirty wall with an assortment of crayons, and try to muster a glint of tears as you say, "Junior did this the week before that unspeakable accident... I haven't had the heart to clean it..."

10. Mix one-quarter cup pine-scented household cleaner with four cups of water in a spray bottle. Mist the air lightly. Leave dampened rags in conspicuous locations. Develop an exhausted look, throw yourself onto the couch, and sigh, "I clean and I clean and I still don't get anywhere..."

Josie's big sickness

After I picked Josie up from school today she started to complain that her stomach hurt. I thought she might be hungry so I fed her lunch but the complaining didn't stop. Several times she was bent over in pain almost in tears. I asked her several times if she needed to "poop", but she always answered no. I finally gave her some tylenol but that didn't even help. Josie has a very high tolerance of pain so I knew that it had to be something that really hurt for her to keep saying "It hurts, mom, it hurts!". I called the Dr. and got her an appointment. I started to worry (paranoia) and think the worst. She wanted me to hold her, kiss her, rub her tummy, etc.. These are not typical requests from Josie. Finally we got to the Dr.'s office and they wanted her to pee in a cup so I took her in the bathroom and she pee'd in the cup and then did a HUGE number two. When she got off the toilet she said, "It doesn't hurt anymore, Mom!". WHAT?! That was it? All she needed to do was a HUGE poop and the pain went away? Hello...I'm a mother of almost 4 and I didn't get that? I wanted to leave the bathroom and go directly to my car, but I didn't. I went back to the room with Josie and we waited for the Dr to return while Josie was bouncing off the walls, laughing, talking and giggling. I wanted to tell her to lay down and act sick but I resisted. Finally the Dr came in and all she said was that her urine looked very clean and that she must just have an upset stomach. I agreed and we quickly left.

I was totally bugged with myself all the way home. How lame could I be? That's totally something a first time mom would do, right? When I was telling Thayne all of this he said, "Ally, you are mom that gets her kids into the Dr. when they say something hurts. I think that's great! There are a lot of moms who wait until it's so severe because they think it's nothing or it'll go away. You're a great mom!" AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!! That is exactly what I needed to hear. I guess I would rather be safe then sorry. I'm sure I will have many visits like this to the Dr. in the future and probably be just as embarrassed but I'll know I"m being a great MOM!

Girls Room

I finally got things up on the gir'ls bedroom wall, so I took some pictures. They love their princess comforter set, especially. Sorry some of the pictures aren't great. Our battery is going out so sometimes the pictures come out a little discolored. Notice the wooden letters that spell their names. My sister and I did those while she was here a month ago.

Slips or dresses?

Indi and Josie found some slips that I bought a while back and decided to put them on as dresses. The one that Indi is wearing is actually a size 12 months but she loves it! They dance around and call themselves "Princesses" (of course) and love the way the slip twirls around them. I don't think I'll ever be able to use them as slips since they've been used as dresses, now. Josie put hers on this morning and Indi didn't want to put the other one on because she already had a princess dress on and Josie got so upset. She came crying to me and said, "Put this on Indi, PWEEEEZ!". I tried to convince Indi to wear it so that she could be a princess like Josie but she wasn't going to do it. Josie sat on my lap and just cried. I couldn't believe how upset she was that Indi wouldn't wear the slip. Finally Indi dissappeard in the playroom with the slip and came out dancing with the slip on. When Josie saw her she jumped off my lap and started to dance with Indi. They danced all around the room together. Girls are so funny!

A proud wife

Thayne entered into a huge competition at the beginning of the school year called Moot Court. In the competition the participants (about 200 law students) have to write an appellate brief (around 35 pages) and compete in three rounds of oral arguments. The first round they have to argue their own brief, the second round they argue against their brief and then the third round they find out 24 hours before the argument to see what side they'll be arguing again. They argue their briefs infront of Legal practitioners and judges from around the state who donate their time and lend valuable insight to the Law School by serving as competition judges.

After the three rounds are over the judges take several weeks to decide who will move on to the next part of the competition. Only 32 participants are chosen to move on out of the 200 who signed up to participate. Thayne worked really hard on his brief and I could tell that he was so proud of it. He loved arguing infront of the judges as well. Today he found out that he was one of the 32 participants to be chosen to move on in the competition. He was a finalist!!!! Not only that but his brief got HONORS which is a huge deal. I am so proud of him. His hard work paid off and I know that he is feeling pretty good right now. I think he really needed this ego boost.
Next semester he has to write another brief and argue it just like before. We find the results of that part of the competition in late Febuarary. I know he'll do a great job!!

A night to party

I get to host a party tonight and it's one of those parties that people invited HAVE TO show up to. My kind of party to host!!! I participate in a Bunco group once a month and this month is my turn to host. Bunco is a game we play but in reality it's just an excuse to get together with 11 other girls and gossip, chat, and laugh the whole night. We start out with dinner and then play the game and end with a delicious dessert. I look forward to this "get together" every month. The group will get together one week after I have my baby....do you think I'll go?......hmmm.......if you know me well enough you know the answer to that one! Let's see how many of you know me...

Family coming to town

My dad called me last night and said that he's coming in town for Thanksgiving. I haven't seen him in almost a year so it'll be good to spend some time with him. I'm sure he'll be surprised to see how much the kids have changed too. My brother, wife and their six kids are also coming for Thanksgiving so we'll have a full house for the turkey holiday. I'm so excited for them to see the new house and enjoy it as much as we do. I"m sure it won't seem that big to them, especially with so many people here but it's like a mansion to us! I haven't told the kids that everyone is coming next week. I think I'll wait until the day before because they seem to get so excited when visitors come that they forget the rules around the house and are jumping off walls with excitement and anticipation.

Thayne is starting to get really nervous about finals. He only has two more weeks of class and then it's complete study time. I'm gearing myself up for 'single parent' mode for the next four weeks. He may still come home for dinner (1 hour) but then it's right back up to school. The only thing that will get me through it is knowing that he'll have a whole month off of school and can play Mr. Mom the ENTIRE time. No word on any jobs yet. He hasn't gotten any rejection but no offers either. We just keep praying and trying to have faith!

Jaed has been doing so well in school these last two weeks. He did get into a little trouble a couple of days ago because he picked his nose and wiped it on the carpet. His teacher gave him a "yellow" (warning) for it. Thayne and I had to wait to talk to him about it until that evening because we knew if we did it earlier we would both be laughing during the "talk". So right before bed we talked to him about using a tissue and not the carpet, his clothes, under the table or another person to wipe his boogers on.

Josie has learned the word "hate" now and uses it all the time. I heard her say to Indi "I hate you" and I almost cried. I took her aside and told her sad that it makes me feel to hear her say that to Indi. We talked about "love" and how the word "hate" is a naughty word. I introduced the pepper to her and told her that if I hear her say she hates someone then I'll have to put some pepper on her tongue. My fear is that she'll like the pepper and it won't phase her a bit. What next? Cian pepper? Hmmm...we'll see what happens. Maybe I won't even have to use it at all.

Tooth Fairy came to visit

Well Jaed's tooth finally came out while he was eating some waffles. He was so excited he even danced around the room. Our little boy is growing up, that's for sure.







































I even make Jaed a tooth pillow with a little pocket for his tooth. The Tooth Fairy came that night and took his tooth but left 50 cents in the pillow pocket. The next morning, Jaed yelled, "I feel somethin in my pillow pocket. I think she left me a lot of coins.......SHE DID, MOM, SHE DID!". He carried that pillow around for most of the day and kept checking to make sure his money was in it. He even made Thayne sit down beside him so they both could really look at the money and talk about how wonderful it was.

Pics of kids

Here is pictures of the kids when Thayne's parents were in town. They're sitting on our new window bench in our living room. They love to climb up on it and watch out the window for Thayne to come home in the evenings!