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.

Playing dress-up

Jaed was trying to scare Kai with his spiderman mask but she wasn't even effected by it. He then decided to try it on her and she let him! Although, once it was on she wanted to take it right off. After I took the picture she took it off and then tried to put it on herself and when she couldn't figure it out she threw it down on the ground and pointed to it while saying something.

Nighttime Fairy

The last week or so I have been pushed out of my bed, several times, by little kids and had to sleep their bed or the couch. It was getting ridiculous. Either someone told me or I read about a nighttime fairy that would live a small treat for any kids that stayed in their bad all night, so we decided to give this a try. The first two nights it was a hit. We had no kids in our bed and they were so excited to check their little boxes for a treat from the fairy. Well, last night was the real test! Indi slept in Jaed's bed most of the night and Thayne got up in the middle of the night and found Josie watching t.v. downstairs in the playroom. He made her go to bed and within an hour or so she was in our bed. When it was time to get up and check their boxes, Indi and Josie were so excited.......like they were actually going to get something. I pulled their boxes down and showed them that they were empty and the crying started. Josie went running to her bed crying and Indi just fell on the floor (very dramatic like) and started crying. Jaed, of course, got a piece of candy from the fairy and was thrilled to be the only one! We explained to the girls that the fairy only leaves a treat for children who sleep in their bed and that they could try again tonight. They were not happy but at least they stopped crying but walked around with huge potty faces most of the morning.

When we first told the kids about the fairy, Jaed wanted to know how we talk to the fairy. I explained that parents had special ways that they spoke with the fairies, Easter bunnies, Santa, etc. and when he was a parent we would let him know how to do it. He was so excited!! He was still curious how we made contact with them and asked if we used the phone. When I said no, he then asked if we pray to them. Thayne and I both laughed and Thayne was quick to reply that we only pray to God and not anyone else. That whole conversation was quite humorous!

Dentist

The girls went to the dentist last week and Indi's teeth were perfect but Josie had some cavities. I thought it would be the other way around because Josie is not my candy eater but Indi could live off candy. Well, today was the day to get the cavities filled and crowned. She was so excited to go back to the Dentist that I didn't have the heart to tell her that it wouldn't be very pleasant. I heard her screaming when they gave her the injection to numb the area. The dentist came out to the waiting room and said she was fine and relaxing now. When it was finished and she came out she looked so miserable. The dentist said that everything went well but Josie didn't think so. She didn't say more than 5 words for at least 2 hours after the appointment and she just laid on our bed and watched a princess movie without moving. I don't think the dentist is on the top of her "Fun" list anymore.

Happy Easter!!

I hope everyone had a great Easter!! Our kids seem to have a great time thanks to the Easter Bunny!! The night before, Jaed was trying to tell Thayne and me exactly what the Easter Bunny does, such as: "The easter bunny needs to hide our baskets in the front room and make sure he leaves a note telling us how many eggs we can find!". He is such a "bossy boots" and I'm sure he gets it from his dad. We were down looking for baskets at about 8:00 a.m.. That was as long as we could put them off.

(Jaed has been in to superheros lately so he got a couple of superheros and the Bee Movie...plus candy! Thayne and I don't limit there candy intake on holidays so later at church his teacher came to find us and said that Jaed was complaining that he was going to throw up. Thayne and I looked at each other and laughed. He never threw up but he did have a stomach ache!)


(Josie has had this obsession with Dora the Explorer for some time now so she was thrilled to see a Dora mermaid in her basket along with an easter ring and candy!)


(We've tried getting the girls different gifts but they always want what the other one has so we quit doing it. Indi was thrilled to see the ballerina Dora in her basket.)


(We explained to the kids, the night before, that the Easter Bunny only brings baskets for children who are 2 and older so Kai wouldn't not be getting a basket. Each one of them said they would share their basket with her but when the morning came the only thing they would share was an empty egg but she didn't care.)


I was so excited to find matching dresses for the girls and they were quite inexpensive! I also was able to put Kai's hair in pigtails!! She hated every minute of it but I loved it. Thayne felt so sorry for her because her head was beet red when I got done putting them in. I just used my mom's saying and said, "It hurts to be beautiful!", and he rolled his eyes at me but didn't say another word. The redness did go away....after a bit :)>.



(Don't forget that you can click on the pictures to make them bigger!)

Basketball

Today we had a morning full of basketball games. We talked to Indi last night about not being able to play basketball because of her leg and she was very upset. She even cried herself to sleep. Thayne and I talked about what we could do and he said he was going to talk to the coach and see if he could help Indi play one quarter so she feels like she participated. Well, the next morning Thayne spoke with the coach and he was so supportive of Thayne helping Indi play at least one quarter. At the beginning of the each game the announcer introduces each team, player by player, and the players run out to the middle of the court. When he introduced Indi, she got out of her chair and walked/shuffled out to the middle of the court as fast as she could with a HUGE smile on her face. You could hear a unanimous "Ahhhhhhh" from everyone in the bleachers. They even clapped extra hard for her. It was so cool!! When it was her turn to play and she went out on the court, I heard lots of parents around me say things like, "That is so great that they're going to let that little girl play!", "I hope she doesn't fall!", "What a cute brave little girl!" and my favorite "What if she breaks her other leg?". I don't think they knew that I was her mom! At one point, during the quarter, the coach had one of the kids pass the ball to Indi so she could take it down the court. This caused an out pour of support from the bleachers. Several people got up, clapped and cheered her on, while others just clapped loud. I was so touched that they would do such a thing for a little 3 year old. She didn't make a basket but she was grinning the whole time. I was so proud of her and very thankful for the support from the parents around me! What great examples they were to me. I'm also grateful to Thayne for being willing to make his daughter happy and run her up and down the court! What a great dad he is!

(This is how the quarter started when Indi was playing. She walked as fast as she could from one basket and then back to the other basket. Thayne held her hand so she wouldn't fall!)

(Indi was getting tired but still wanted to be out on the court so Thayne was would pick her up and take her from one basket to the other. When they got to the basket, Thayne would put her down right in front. Indi would automatically put her arms up to block any shot and then she was not try very hard to go after the ball when it was shot!)


Ok, now let me tell you about Josie. She has no idea what's going on around her! The most important thing is that everyone is watching her! She ran up and down the court like she was in some kind of pageant, waving and smiling! Two different times she was running and watching people in the bleachers that she tripped and fell, but she just jumped right back up and started her prance to the basket. Once she got to the basket she put her hands up but then turned her head over to where the audience was. The ball hit her in the head, stomach and rolled over her feet but she never broke her stance! Thayne and I were laughing so hard. At one point, several kids were on the ground wrestling over the ball so she decided to plop herself on the ground as well but wasn't going after the ball. I think she just thought, "Oh, everyone else is on the ground I better get down there too!". So, basically, the basketball games are a chance for her to have as many eyes on her as possible and nothing to do with why she's actually there. It's all about how she looks and how much attention she's getting. Is this a bad sign for the future? I'll try and get pictures of her little "show" next week!

(Here they are waiting for their turn to play!)



(Waiting patiently!)

Crawling to walking

Thayne was pretty persistent in making Indi try and walk these last couple of days and it has paid off. She is wobbling around everywhere. She pretty much has to walk on her tippy toes (on the broken leg) but doesn't complain at all. She is actually pretty excited that she can walk and get around. She can even get to the bathroom and up on the toilet all by herself! YIPPPEEEE!!!! This morning she even dressed herself without whining for help. Her true independence is starting to come out.