Disneyland...

Jehu got to do Jedi Training - which was the highlight of his trip!

We met Cinderella's fairy godmother

And, of course we did Splash Mountain! Noah is in this pic too - he's just covered up by his grandpa. You can see his little hand holding on (sitting next to Aaron in the back seat). One of my personal FAVORITE rides!

This was taken right after the incredible fireworks show & they made it SNOW in the end! It was truly magical & wonderful!!

Allen family pic :-)

Tinkerbell & Terrance

In line for Pirates of the Caribbean

Had to get a picture with Minnie in front of her cute house in Toon Town.

It's a magical place!

In 2 days...

Disneyland, here we come! Yay! We can't wait!

My Insanity

So, last night I got home from our awesome thanksgiving celebration, got into my jammies and started make a small plan for black Friday shopping. I've never done it, but saw some deals that were tough to pass up.

Then I notice that Toys R Us is actually openning at midnight (which just happens to be in about 30 minutes). So on a spur of the moment, I decided to go to it. Of course, I was thinking it's not gonna be that busy. Most people are probably going in the morning, right? Wow is all I can say. When I get there, people are lined up all the way down the whole strip of stores! I decided to give it a shot anyways - maybe the line will move quickly. It was raining and I don't know what got into me, but I waited for 2 hours! Standing in the rain outside of toys r us for TWO hours. I don't know what got I to me.

When I finally get in there, I (of course) can only find one thing that I wanted to buy - ONE $20 item. Dear LORD! I go to get in line (vowing to myself to never do this again) and find that the line weaves all the way around the store. It will likely be a 2 hour wait here too. Finally, I come to m senses (sort of) and realize how ridiculous it is. I put my one item down and make a run for it. As I'm walki g to my car (totally pissed off), I start to realize that it's now 2:45 am. Walmart is right next store & had most of the same things on sale. If I go home, I am not going to come back out, but I do NOT want to go ho e empty handed after all of this. So, I decided to sleep in my car for a couple of hours then hit the Walmart black Friday sale. Yes, I am an idiot. I was not thinking in my right mind.

So, I sleep for about an hour & realize that walmart is letting people inside already. So, I get up & go into the store to realize that people are grabbing all of the sale stuff up NOW, but just won't check out until 5. At this point I'm commited to this. I have already done ridiculous things. I. Will. Come. Home. With. Something!

I got my few things and sucked another couple of hours doing it. I saved a total of $36. Wow. Reality is smacking me in the face. I am not made for this shit. And $36 is not worth 5 1/2 hours! However, at least I came home with something. I got home around 5:30 am and went directly to bed. I slept til 12:30 and can now see all of my ridiculousness clearly.

What's new, what's new

I always feel like I'm catching up on here. Maybe it's because I'm too busy living. Maybe it's because I'm lazy or uninspired. Maybe it's because I just plain forget. Yeah, it's probably a little bit of all of them. Oh well. Here goes:

I have been making a 2010 calendar for my family in the midwest for christmas. On a purely physical level - it's been kind of wild to see how far Aaron & I have come! I mean, just look at this.

It was shocking to see this picture. I didn't see myself like that before. It really is like looking with new eyes. I guess we've had our own 'Biggest Loser' going on around here this year. Except it's taken us 10 months rather than 10 weeks on the show ;-)

In other news, we are headed to Disneyland in less than 2 weeks! Yahoo! I will be sharing TONS of pics when we get back! We have been planning this for a year and a half, and it's finally sinking in that we're actually GOING!

In an effort to save money, we decided to take care of our gargantuan piles of leaves ourselves this year. We've gotten the back yard done, but apologize sincerely to our neighbors for our front yard. Hopefully, this will be the week we get it done.

We sent our good friends, Steve & Morgan, off to Nashville last week. It was terribly sad (for us). Of course, we sent them off in style with a couple of parties and then we helped them pack all of their stuff into a truck. I am excited for them too. I know that this is what they really need to do for themselves. No 'what ifs' and all of that. But, I'm sad for me. I'm sad that after the years of prayer, tears, and utter joys that we have shared over their beautiful little girl that is FINALLY here we will miss out on seeing her grow in the next who-knows-how-long. I KNOW what moving does. I've done it several times. It doesn't mean you don't love them, but it does change things. We all change and grow, which is good. Distance just makes it harder to 'get it'. So, for me it's been a little bit of a mourning period too. I am excited for them, but I'm sad for me. It's okay - it's life. But these are the times, I wish 'tele-porting' was a real thing!

That's all for now, I've got to get my kids to preschool!

31 and stuff

I am officially 31. My mom came to visit me too, which was so fun! We drank tons of coffee, and gabbed 'til we could gab no longer. We shopped and shopped. We even went bra shopping and ended up buying the same one, just in different colors! Isn't that funny? I guess the apple doesn't fall far or something - HA! THEN, I found out that my mom suggested the same bra to my mother in law, and SHE ended up buying the same bra too! How funny! I went to tell my husband this funny fact, and he didn't seem to appreciate it's humor. Instead, he plugged his ears & yelled "GAH". I guess it was TMI. :-)

For the rest of the time my mom was here, she would smile & say 'sit up straight & boobs out. They look so good after all'. Hehehe. I just love my mom! She's hilarious!

So, I'm 31 - which I am indifferent about. Just another year. Isn't it funny how some years are a bigger deal than others?!

The count down to disneyland has begun though - less than a month to go! YAY! Now, if only we could get a big influx of cash. It'd be SO helpful! :-)

Old Lady

I need to dye my hair once a month. Now need is of course not accurate. I don't need to dye my hair to save my life. I guess I mean I want to dye my hair once a month.

I am probably about 30 to 40 % grey. I am only 30! Okay I turn 31 in 11 days, but still, that is too young to be so grey...isn't it? I guess not, because I AM!

Anyways, I am so grey that I cannot even use the 'cool' hair dye. Nope, no Feria for me. I held on as long as I could, but that dang dye doesn't color the grey! So, now I get to use old lady 'special for grey coverage' dye. Awesome.

So insulting!

We have a few friends that are really into 'The Secret'. I would like to just say plainly that I think that it's kind of crap. Not the being positive part or having dreams part, but the part that claims that all you need to do is be positive & you'll get anything & everything you so desire.

We were talking with one of our friends about life and he started talking about how all you need is to visualize your life & all the things you really want, blah blah blah. Then he started using Aaron (and our family) as the perfect example of positive thinking. "You wanted to be a teacher. You visualized your life & now you're a teacher!"

Can you believe the audacity of that? I mean, hello?? Where were you the 6 years it took to get there? Aaron was in college. It wasn't just positive thinking or visualizations. It was a hell of a lot of work!

I mean, was it just thinking happy thoughts that got all those papers written at 3 am? Good LORD! It is just so insulting!! And, really it's not just about us...I find it so insulting to anyone that has EVER worked hard to get somewhere in life. It's insulting to the people that show up to their jobs everyday to provide for their families!

Be positive, remind yourself of what you want, let that drive you to work hard or make the choices you need to make to get where you want to be. BUT, you don't get to minimize what others have done & sacrificed, just to delude yourself into declaring that it was just happy thoughts to make yourself feel better.

Dear Diet Pepsi

How I love your 0 calories.

I love your taste and flavor too.

(so much better than Dt. Coke)

You give me a boost when I need it.

Thank you for always being there.

Did I mention your 0 calories?

Love.

Has anyone noticed...

the increase of door to door salesmen, lately? Well, I HAVE and I am ready to punch the next one square in the face!

This is not without reason, mind you. A couple of weeks ago I had one guy claiming to work for a carpet cleaning service, who wanted to clean one area for free so we'd recommend him to friends. At the time, I was excited because my family room carpet was in great need of being cleaned, and what's better than FREE?

So, about 20 minutes later the man shows up...with other people & boxes. 20 minutes later...the man is putting together a kirby vacuum & carpet cleaner. This man was selling a friggin' vacuum! No ordinary vacuum, mind you, a $2500.00 vacuum!! Of course we could make payments of $25 or $50/ month payments if we wanted to (for the next 5 years). Two and a half hours later this man was still in my house! His entire sales pitch was to vacuum up dirt, and ask me 'how I could let my children live in this kind of filth', 'don't you care about your children & their health?' 'You must NOT care about your children', etc. After two hours, I started agreeing with him, 'I must not care.' 'If caring equals paying a bunch of money that I don't have...I guess I don't', etc. Once we passed the hour & a half point, I didn't really care what I had to say...I was gonna get my carpet cleaned! By the end, the guy realizes I'm not buying his crap, and he says 'well, if you're not gonna buy the vacuum, can you give me some of the dinner you made for your family?' I was so desperate to get this guy OUT OF MY HOUSE...I DID it! I made up a plate of food for this guy - just to get him out!

Oh, and I forgot to mention the best part of this story...while I am putting up with the guy that would never shut up & leave my house - my dad was sending suicide texts to me & my brothers. Yes, in the middle of all of this, I am running in & out of the room, so that I can deal with my verbally abusive & CRAZY father, my brothers who are freaking out, and my husband & myself!! It was truly a HELL of a night!

Seriously, the whole sales tactic of manipulating a person into buying the thing one is selling, makes me CRAZY! I had a home security system guy try to sell me security alarms & crap in the same way: 'you must not care about your children's safety', 'Are you just going to wait for something bad to happen before you protect yourself?'. I was LITERALLY answering 'YES' to all of his questions. 'You must not care about your children's safety' (yeah I guess I don't...seriously??) Thankfully, the guy gave up a lot quicker than the first guy.

I get that it's a tough economy, and you gotta do what you gotta do, but seriously - it'd be more effective just hitting your head against a wall!

A sad blog

I was talking to my mom today. I told her that I'd love to have my aunt Diane come out for a visit in the fall with her (my mom), just for fun. We spent a couple of days with her in Iowa when we were there a month ago, and it was so fun! She LOVES the kids, and they love her.

A little background on my Aunt: she no longer has kids of her own. She & her husband had a son named Dustin. He was the joy of their life! They were also pregnant, but lost their other baby boy just short of him being born. It was such a terrible time. They were great parents. Eventually, they were at peace with things, knowing that they had Dustin was such a comfort.

Dustin was 7 years old when they were driving on a dirt road in the middle of nowhere in the midwest. The 3 of them were all together, and had no idea there was a tornado warning in effect. The tornado ran right into them & destroyed the van and their life as they knew it. Dustin was killed in that terrible storm. It was the worst thing I have ever experienced. I won't go into further details, because they are truly what nightmares are made of for any parent. Dustin would have just graduated from High School in June.

All of that background, is to preface this conversation that my mom was relaying to me. She was telling me that in her last conversation with my Aunt Diane, she was crying and talking about how fun it was to be with my kids. She then went on to say how desperately she wished she could have kids of her own to experience that with. As soon as my mom said that I burst into tears...my heart aches for my aunt. I SO wish that she could have that. It's these types of things that I just don't understand. I don't understand WHY. Why this happened, where God is in all of it, and just how deeply unfair it is.

It also makes me want to be there for her even more, for her to know how important she is to me & my kids. I'm just so damn far away! I hate these parts of living so far away.

So, I cry, and I pray. I don't know what else to do.

Wow, wow, wow

It has been WAY too long! It's summer & we have been busy.

Quick update stuff:

I took a major road trip with the kids to Iowa & MN for a visit with my family. It consists of 2 days of driving each way. It. was. a. lot! I was so happy to have fit it in, because I was able to see my family, and many of my great friends from way-back!

On the way there we almost ran out of gas in the middle of Wyoming at 11pm. SCARY! Thankfully, we avoided all of the deer along the way too...there are SO many! At one point, late at night, I turned on my brights & instantly saw 5 deer right on the side of the road by my car! I about had a heart attack! The more midwest you get, the more deer there are too (or so it seems). My mom was known as the 'deer hunter' with her car for a period of years. Seriously, she hit SO many deer! Thankfully, that gift was NOT passed down. Phew!

On the way home, I missed one of my very best friend's birth of her first baby. It was so sad. I was only 5 hours away too. I cried on & off for a few hours, then got over it since there was NOTHING I could do about it. I was kicking myself that I didn't drive all night, but then reality set in that it's better that we took our time & are still alive. :-)

The baby is beautiful! We went home to hug Aaron & then we all set off for the hospital!

We took a while to recover from our big trip, and have YET to clean out the car from it...yikes!

It's wonderful to be home, we all really missed Aaron, and I'm happy to report that he was a miserable mess while we were gone too ;-). Is it terrible that it makes me happy that he had such a hard time? Oh well. He did some fun things though, so don't feel too bad for him.

Aaron taught summer school this summer (hence the not coming with us part). We tried to remind him that he was doing it for Mickey! We are saving the money he made, and funding our Disneyland trip with it in December...yay!! Thankfully, he is done now, and we can do a few fun things in the area!

We all went to greenbluff to pick raspberries too! I then made tons of jam that is so super delicious! Love it!

My brother & his girlfriend came for a visit, which was fun! We enjoyed getting to know her and just spend time with them. We had some adventures along the way as well! We attempted to float down the river. I say attempted, because it was a LOT of work! The floating part was GREAT! It just took so darn long to get ready for the floating, that we ended up skipping a step (parking a car at the end destination). We thought that we could just float a bit & then make our way back to the starting point...easy, right?!

Wrong! We LOVED the floating part. We even bought an inflatable boat for the kids to be in! But between the current, the mossy (slippery) rocks, and not wearing shoes...we were kind of screwed. We tried to walk back on the dry rocks on the sides of the river, but they were BLAZING hot & we burned our feet! I finally ended up pulling the kids in the boat back up to the starting point along the edge of the river...grabbing rocks & pulling us up, finding another rock & pulling us up. Between the current & trying to find the right kind of rocks, it was a bit of an adventure! An hour or so later, I finally made it back, but BOY were my arms & shoulders tired! No workout required after THAT! We DO want to try it again, but the 2 tips I have learned are: wear shoes (not flip flops), and have a car at both the beginning & the end points! It would have been heavenly if we'd have done that! Really!!

Anyways, wow...I'm tired just thinking about all of that, but I'm back, and will hopefully be a little more consistent in the blogging now :-)

We did NOT run out of toilet paper 3 days ago & just decide to use baby wipes because I didn't want to run to the store...Not Me.

I also did not take my youngest son to the ER wearing just his underwear...forgetting to bring him shoes altogether. 

I did not get so caught up talking to friends that came over, that I forgot that my kids were playing outside & let them play out there til 10pm (in the dark for over an hour).

I also would never be on the computer for so long, that I'd forget to get the kids breakfast til 11am...nope, not me! 

Oh what a day!

I watch my 1 ½ year old niece, Lauryn, every Friday. Usually, our Fridays end up being pretty low key because of that. We hang out in our jammies & play. This Friday started out the same – breakfast, get Jehu off to school, play, etc. I was sitting on the couch watching the kids play & planning to paying the bills when the kids all took their naps. Noah and Roz played by the fireplace with their toys, while Lauryn was walking around finding little treasures along the way. That’s when Noah got up to move to Rozalyn’s other side, and tripped over her legs falling into the edge of the fireplace. I saw the whole thing & held my breath waiting to see how bad it was. Noah instantly started screaming & clutching his eye. I got up to see the damage & comfort him. When I saw his eye. I had a little gag reflex moment, and started to panic. This was no run of the mill fall; this was going to require stitches for sure! 

I pulled Noah on the counter to give him a clean towel to try to stop the bleeding (or at least to catch it – it was coming out fast). Noah was screaming. I yelled to Roz ‘we have to go RIGHT NOW…get your shoes on NOW!’ She was hurrying to get her shoes & I ran into the next room & out of it again - unsure of what to do next. I decide that I’d better call Meghan (my sister in law & Lauryn’s mom) to tell her that we’re going to the ER. I also called my husband, Aaron, to tell him what’s going on (I am panicking at this point & out of breath because I was slightly hyperventilating). Neither one of them answered their phones, so I left frantic messages for them both (which in the end sounded like a lot of screaming with no real words). I yelled to Roz to find Noah a pair of shorts – any shorts (because all he had on was underwear). I assessed myself & decided to leave as is (black sweats/jammies) – we didn’t have time for me to change clothes, but at least I had a bra on. Lauryn was dressed but didn’t have any shoes on, so I grabbed her diaper bag & threw her shoes into it. I grabbed my purse & threw in the swim trunks that Roz found for Noah & a random T-shirt that I saw laying close by. I took Lauryn to the car & got her buckled, then had Roz run out there while I carried Noah out & got him buckled. I then ran back to the door & realized that I was locked out of the house! My keys, phone & purse were inside the house while we were outside. I screamed F***. I am crying & sweating too mind you – what with all the running & the panicking. I remembered that Jehu left for school from the front door & hoped that it was still unlocked. I ran for the front door, and thankfully it was unlocked! I ran in to get my bags & we were off. Remember that Noah was still screaming this whole time too.

While I was driving, I decided to call my husband &Meghan back to leave understandable messages with actual information in them (what ER I am going to, WHO was hurt etc). I talked to my husband who was uncharacteristically calm (thank GOD). I also asked Roz to get Lauryn’s shoes on her. I found the ER & went to park & there were NO parking spaces…*#$%@)#*#. I finally found one that was about a block away.  I got out of the car & got Lauryn out first, then Roz & the bags & then Noah who was still only wearing undies. There was no way that I was going to be able to carry Lauryn & Noah & the bags, so I decide to have L walk since she at least had shoes. So there I was carrying Noah who is screaming, & the bags & trying to pull L as fast as she would go with Roz holding L’s other hand. That was not working, so I decided to try Noah walking with no shoes & carrying L, because he can go faster than she can. That works for all of 5 steps before Noah is just beside himself, so I grabbed him too – now holding L in one arm like a sack of potatoes & carrying Noah with my other arm & limping along dragging my purse behind me while Roz carried the other bag. All the while – Noah was screaming & I was sweating & crying at the same time as well as completely out of breath because of the panicking. While all of this was happening, I happened to look up & people were stopping & staring at us! Not helping us at all, but staring for sure! It must have been quite a sight!

I finally got through the doors & set everyone down.They wanted me to fill out a paper asking for his social security number…in exhaustion I said ‘oh my god – I don’t know that right now!’ Thankfully, the lady at the desk took pity on me asking for his name & birth date only. At the same time a very nice older man that worked there brought a wheel chair over – asking me to set my children in there. I was able to set Noah & Lauryn both in there. Then they wheeled us to the children’s ER. I recognized one of the nurses as a mom of one of the kids from Jehu’s baseball team last year (thank god!). They all helped me so much from there. Long story a little bit shorter, Lauryn & Roz were picked up within an hour, so I could focus on Noah. He had to be tied up for the stitches, which sucked, but was better than him moving around & getting a needle in his eye or something. We had a lot of tears throughout the rest of the day, but approximately 30 stitches later (internal & external) we came home. 

I am hoping that we don’t ever have to do this day over again, but part of me expects that we will SOMETIME in the next 18 years. Hopefully, it’s not for a while though.

Dear Period & stuff

Oh how I hate that you add an extra 5 (or more) lbs to the scale when you come around. How I want to eat chocolate morning, noon & night, and how I feel like a crazy person in regards to my kids & husband. Thank you for leaving & taking that extra weight with you. 

I was feeling like such a failure in the workout department, because I wasn't loosing any weight in the last 2 weeks, but alas it was my period (the pre, during & post) weight. Now, after all of that has left - I am 3 lbs lighter than I was before all of the monthly junk...yay! That means I have lost 33lbs & I am feeling good! It's really not just about the weight, it's about feeling good (& feeling good about me in my own skin)...and the working out makes me feel good, so that's the point. I will keep going to the exercise class once a week at our gym - even though I think the gal is trying to kill me. ;-) I will where sleeveless shirts - even though I have the mother of all arm flab, because at a certain point I am who I am, I am doing the best I can & I am tired of feeling insecure. I even bought this super cute summer dress that is sleeveless & I will be wearing it this summer! 

This is my first 'Not Me Monday' :-) 

I did not have an hour long conversation with my husband about how we need to be tightening the financial belt & then go shopping for clothes (for me) an hour later...Not Me.

I also would never be unsure of how long my kids had been watching TV in the morning, because I was asleep, and I would NEVER say that cartoons don't count as TV time until after 8am...nope Not me.

I never wait all day to take care of the house cleaning (until an hour before my husband comes home)...Not Me - I'd never do that! 

I would also never go to move toys off the lawn in my backyard while still in my jammies, (without a bra on). And while doing that, I would not unknowingly flash "the girls" at the onlooking  neighbor while bending over to pick up toys...Nope, not me! 

Saving Money

Alright - it's about that time again to tighten the belt & figure out new ways to save some $$ in our everyday living. The obvious is not going out as much & all of that, shopping the sales food wise, etc. I already do most of that, but need to do something else. 

Tomorrow I am planning on calling Senske to cancel the 4 times a year spider spray that we get from them. This is a VERY big deal to us though - we HATE spiders & cannot live with them in our house, so I am only canceling, if I can buy spider/insect spray & rodent repellant to apply myself. This may sound extreme (especially the rodent repellant part), but I am DEATHLY afraid of mice. We have never had any trouble with them in this house (THANKFULLY), but don't really want that to start either & since that is all included in Senske's spray, I must find some! 

I actually DID find some repellant online (thank goodness for the internet in this case), and there is an insect spray that is sold all over too, so for the cost of one application of Senske's spray, I think I can get at least a year's worth of spray for the house. Hopefully, it is just as effective! I would really like to save almost $300 a year this way. 

I am also planning on calling Comcast to see if I can't haggle a lower payment out of them for us...fingers crossed!! 

We are also in the middle of a refi on our home mortgage, which will save us $150 a month, once it is final.

My hubby is dying for an iphone & I have to admit, I'd like one too, but I absolutely can't justify the expense right now! 

Does anyone else have any ideas of ways to save $$...I'm sure I could let my yard die by not watering it ;-) but we aren't insane water-ers anyways, so I don't see that as a 'huge' savings. 

Here's hoping for ideas to just come to me :-)

It's been too long!

Sorry - things have been busy in the real world, so I've been a slacker in the blog department.

Life has been full of party planning (FUN!), building a shed, & some family drama (my dad & I). The long & short of it - my parents divorced a year ago = traumatic & sucky. blah blah blah...it's better now, but it was a hell of a few weeks.

So, now more party planning is on the agenda! My friend Morgan is having her first baby (after 5 years of trying & finally going through IVF to get pregnant). So, needless to say, this mama & baby are getting a big ole party! I took pictures of her & her hubby too a few weeks ago  SO fun! 

Then of course there was the shed raising that we had over a series of 3 different days.

The shed is FABULOUS! The guys all worked really hard on it while the moms watched the kids run through the sprinklers & fed everyone. God bless our incredible friends who love us enough to invest so much time & effort. THANK YOU!! My heart is full of gratitude! 

Dear Craigslist sellers,

Labeling your old junk 'antique' is not going to make me want to buy it. Especially when your 'antique' is broken & peeling & disgusting. 

Though, I am a firm believer in buying good quality stuff 2nd hand, I am not interested in people's crap-tastic stuff. Calling something 'shabby chic' is inaccurate - it's just shabby lady. And, why waste your time putting up the add if you're not going to add a picture...I assume that what you are selling is total garbage if you won't even put a picture up...come on people! 

I have been looking for a shed on craigslist (since ours was victim to the snow this winter). I have seen SO many that are completely dilapidated & outrageously priced. One guy was trying to sell his shed for $800. Then he goes on to state that he used it for a chicken coup. It wasn't very big to start with, but he USED IT FOR A CHICKEN COUP! Have you ever smelled chicken poop?? I have & let me tell you it's AWFUL! As if I'm going to pay someone $800 for all of my storage stuff to smell like chicken poop...seriously?! 

I get that people want to make some money by getting rid of some of their stuff, but just because you bought said item how many years ago (possibly in 1989) for $500, does not mean that I am going to pay you $400 now. I will not be paying you the over-inflated sense of worth you are placing on the crap you are trying to get rid of thanks. 

That said...I actually have come into some really great finds on craigslist too, but boy do you have to sort through the junk! 

Loving the weather

I am absolutely LOVING the nice weather that we are having right now! I don't think my house is though...yikes! It is looking so neglected these days, and don't even get me started on the laundry & the laundry ROOM...AHHH! You'd think that I'd stop today to deal with it all, but I'm not. I am going to go out again today. :-)  I guess that funky smell that I can't quite track down in my kitchen, family room or office (???) will have to wait. :-) 

What has happened to my lovely 3 year old son??

We had a brunch yesterday at our house. It was so much fun - an Allen gathering :-) It was Toto's birthday & we celebrated with chewies (breakfast burritos - Othello style...YUM!) & cake later on. 

It was not without event either...toward the end, all the guys got to change a flat tire. Too bad they wasted an hour by not heeding the wives' advice right away. Eventually, they did in deed make a call (as suggested by said wives) and they got the solution to the problem they were having. 10 minutes later - the tire was changed & everyone was off. BUT, not before my 3 year old son came in with a head injury that looked like something out of a movie...blood running down from his head to his face and onto his neck. Thankfully, it looked a lot worse than it was. As any mom knows, head & mouth injuries are the WORST bleeders. After getting him cleaned up & neosporin-ing up the injury, people headed out. I made sure said son, stayed awake (just in case of a concussion & about an hour later we headed off for church. Now, because of all of the activity of the day & NO NAPS, my son of course fell asleep in the car on the way to church. Since it had been long enough, I wasn't worried & knew it was coming. We arrive at church & he has to wake up. I get a pit in my stomach that tells me this could be a rough night....LORD help me. Aaron was already at church since he was playing the drums for the worship service. 

I am carrying him in, but set him down just before we get into church, because he is fully awake. This is when the first fit was thrown. I finally get him inside & we get find our seats that my hubby saved for us...except that there are people behind us too (yikes!...our church is NOT a big group of people, so loud & spazzing children are very obvious...which is why we like to be in the BACK...easy access to the door & the potty). Anyways, we get through the first song okay since it's kind of a louder song & the kids are sort of playing & talking. I ask the kids to be quiet for the next song, and tell them that they can stand up or sit down, but no more talking...we're here to sing & all of that. Well, everyone was really good about it, except my 3 year old. He just looked at me in defiance & started shaking his head no. Then as I got closer to him, he began spazzing out and saying no. At this point I picked him up to have a 'talk' (which usually includes some sort of a spank). This was utterly pointless. He was just beside himself & crying no, no, no...Then my 4 yr old daughter ran to me declaring that she had to go pee. As I turned to talk to her, my 3 yr old ran back into the sanctuary & to our seats in an attempt to get back to the people where he is pretty sure he can get away with his fits & defiance (all the while still whining  'No, no, no', etc). This made my blood boil. So, then I was torn...run after my naughty 3 yr old & let my daughter pee her pants OR help her & let my son stay in the service with my 7 yr old. This is the point that in the middle of our worship service I really wanted to scream 'SHIT!' at the top of my lungs. I refrained & asked a friend to keep an eye on the boys while I took my daughter to pee. Thankfully, as soon as she was done, it was time for the kids to go to kids church, so the only one left was my youngest & now my hubby was done with the drums, so he could take care of the boy, so I didn't kill him. I was still seething & declared in an angry whisper to my husband that our son is lucky to still be alive. They went to have a talk about how we treat mom & all of that. They stayed at the back of the sanctuary for the rest of the service (thank GOD for my husband!). When we left, my youngest finally fell asleep for the rest of the night. 

All I can say, is dear LORD - help me not to kill this child! I hope this isn't a fun new phase for the 3 year old. 

Bad Hair Day

Okay not really...this is my hair in it's all natural state...yikes is all I can say. Isn't my hubby a saint for loving me & even dare I say thinking that I am sexy?? Wow...

Well thank GOD for straighteners, hair products & makeup :-) 

The big party...a recap :-)

It's taken me a while to do this, because we've all been sick & busy. No matter, I have time now, so here goes. 

So, as a reminder of what I'm talking about I threw my hubby, Aaron, a big surprise 30th birthday bash. It was fabulous and a LOT of work. We had a big mongolian hot pot sit down dinner with rented table settings ta boot! I got Aaron out the door at around noon, off to his dad's to watch sports all day. Before he leaves though, he declares that he'll probably just stay for a little while & come home because he's just not 'feeling it'. I stopped in my tracks, and tried to come up with something to say without spilling the beans, but under NO circumstances can he come home early damn it! My response was 'NO, you know you'll have a great time once you get there...guy time, no kids, sports, laying - what's not to love?!' As he stepped out the door, I gave a call to his dad to warn him about Aaron's attitude in hopes that he could be really convincing. MY cover was that I was going to be cleaning carpets all day (hence the couch that I needed help moving before he left). 

So, Aaron left & I began to set up...first cleaning up a little bit. I couldn't be too obvious after all. Earlier I had done some cleaning, but normal cleaning is usually a few rooms at a time, where as party clean is everything at the same time. My mother in law came by to help & we got started with the actual party set up. We had 3 big tables to set, and 6 big hot pots to prepare. It took us all afternoon, but by 6, we were ready...with a few power outages under our belts too. (6 hot pots all plugged in at the same time, is a lot! We played around with it though & finally found enough plugs that were spread out enough that we made it work.)

Wine - check, food - check...now we just waited for people, and I changed my clothes (thank god). I didn't look great, but I was clean so I thought that was pretty good. ;-)

People started to arrive & finally I got to call Aaron home.

Aaron came home, we all shouted surprise & the party began. He said he wondered if something was up, by the time 4pm rolled around & he called to check in & I emphatically encouraged him to stay. Though, under NO circumstances did he have ANY clue that I was doing a huge hot pot thing with so many friends at our house.

We all ate and ate and ate. It was super yummy & so fun to see everyone enjoying it. Hours later, we had cake too, with wine all along the way. It was fantastic and a great success. I looked like total crap by the end because I was sweating so much running around trying to keep everything working (with a few more power outages scattered throughout the evening) - my bangs were all kinky & matted, but oh well. People didn't really start to head home til 10:30pm, and a few stayed til 2:30am. 

Here are the only pictures I got from the evening, but sadly the birthday boy wasn't in any of them: 

 

A rant for women everywhere (or at least in the USA)

My daughter is 4 years old. She is beautiful & not overweight or obese or inactive. She is a healthy, active little girl that loves to dress up and play in the dirt...preferably at the same time! And, I am having the HARDEST time finding jeans that fit her. She has a butt - it runs in the family. It's more than that though - I can't find any jeans for her that actually cover her butt. Since when should little girls be wearing low cut jeans? Since when should they have no other options? On top of that...said low cut jeans are also quite tight in the legs...so what little girl can actually play comfortably on the playsets - climbing, crawling and having a great time? And at the very same time, her fanny is hanging out & getting cold. Good lord! This is NOT okay. And we wonder why the women in America have such bad body images/issues. They are made to feel bad about their bodies from practically birth by the clothing industry. It is so frustrating! I am going out in a desperate attempt to find suitable jeans for her today. She shouldn't have to buy jeans 3 sizes too big just to be able to move in them - to still have her fanny hanging out! Grrr...

The saddest example of the inequality is that my youngest son is at least 1 or 2 sizes smaller than her, and his jeans fit her just fine (fanny covering & room to bend, crawl & play hard) ...with the exception of them being too short. If that doesn't say something, I don't know what does! 

It's a new day

Well, I worked out last night and feel a lot better about the cake eating incident. ;-) Now, onto the rest of life...

Confessions

I feel like I could throw up right now...not because I have caught some sickness that is going around. I ate too much cake this whole weekend & this morning.

Sunday morning I let my kids eat a piece of cake right after breakfast. We then continued to eat cake on & off all day long. Damn those Costco cakes - they are super good & friggin' huge. Half of the cake was eaten at the party, but the other half has been eaten by our family alone...ugh! Today I decided to throw the rest away (which in the end wasn't very much at all, because we all ate cake like it was oxygen). I woke up to see that the 2 youngest had eaten all of the frosting off of the top of the remaining cake in the wee hours of the morning. I then took one last bite, folded the cake in on itself with the box & threw it away. Sadly, I reevaluated that decision about a half an hour later & pulled it out of the garbage to eat a few more bites. Only to find that the chocolate cake part had separated from the last bits of frosting, so I ate my favorite part - the cake...only to then stop to realize that I had eated about 2 larger sized pieces of cake out of the garbage. I am disgusted with myself & now am so gorged with cake that I feel like I could throw up. Ugh! What the hell happened to me? In my defense - the garbage was not the typical gross garbage & the cake was all wrapped up & on the very top...but still. I am totally disgusted with myself and my stomach hurts. Serves me right...I am SO going to the gym tonight. 

Today is the day

Today is the day of the big party...yay! Aaron is sick...ugh! We are having the party anyways. He's not throw up sick - he's just tired & regular old cold sick. He came home last night at like 4pm and went to bed...he's been resting & holed up in our room since then. I think that he should be fine & all ready for a celebration by tonight - whether he knows it yet or not :-) 

I have told more lies than I can count to make this whole thing happen. I have had to be a little pushy even to get him out of the house this afternoon. My last resort will be to just tell him that we are doing something special and that he needs to just do what I'm asking him to do. I hope it doesn't come to that, but we shall see. Ya never know with my stubborn hubby :-) 

Well, I better go straighten my hair now, before I run out of time. Eek!  

a secret surprise

My hubby is turning 30 in one week. I am having a surprise party for him this Saturday. As far as I can tell, he has no idea...yahoo! I am currently super excited & totally freaking out right now. I am pretty sure I bit off more than I can chew, and have no idea how I am going to pull this off. The party is actually a sit down dinner for 30 people! Dear GOD help me! Aaron's very favorite meal of the entire YEAR is our Christmas Eve Hot Pot (a fondue-type meal), and that is what we are having for his big surprise birthday celebration. I am not exaggerating - he is a freak for this meal! Every year, someone brings up the idea of doing something different for Christmas Eve & he declares to everyone that if it's changed that he won't be coming. Now, if it was changed, he would still go (of course), but that is how much he loves this meal & this tradition. I am secretly thrilled that he feels that strongly about it, because so do I, but I couldn't be as bull-headed about it, as he is. All of that to say...I hope we can shock his socks off! More than that, I hope I can pull it off! I am a little worried that it will be a huge disaster...or that it will bankrupt us. Dear god, it's not cheap to feed that many people. It's worth it. :-)  

Darkroom

Last year, I bought darkroom equipment. I set it all up in my storage room, blacked out all of the windows, and got all of the chemicals. I love it! Sadly, I haven't used it in the last few months. Probably not since before Thanksgiving actually, which makes me so sad. I don't want it to think I don't love it! I do, I really DO! Granted, it is freezing down there right now, and all of my space has been eaten up by random storage & holiday decorations, but STILL. It's time...this weekend I will clean up the storage room! I will take more pictures & get to work! At some point, I would love to have my house full of my own pictures...my own art. 

I want to do this for more than just me...I want to do it for my kids. I want them to see that their mom has lots of parts to her. I don't want those parts of me to disappear. As a mom, it's easy to forget those things about myself. I have lost myself in the everyday stuff at times, and I think that's normal and okay too. There are lots of different seasons of life.

 I can feel things awakening inside of me though. Like the darkroom stuff. I also want to go to cosmetology school when my kids are all in school full time. I know that it's not the time yet, and I am at peace with that, but it excites me to think about that time too. Not in a fantasy kind of way, because it's scary too, and I know that it's going to be challenging & hard at times. Sometimes, I worry what people will think...if I'm doing it just because of someone else or if they think I'll be good at it. I was having coffee with a friend the other day though, and it was so awesome. She reminded me of a time ten years ago when we were hanging out and she declared that she wanted to cut her hair. My response was okay, let's do it! I marched her downstairs & chopped her hair off! She went from having hair that touched her lower back to having shoulder length hair in the period of a half an hour! It even looked pretty good! I was so glad that she reminded me about that, and maybe it's silly, but it was so encouraging! That chick is still in me...the creativity, the boldness and the confidence (in all arenas, but in the hair arena most importantly to my story) so I don't need to worry about any of that stuff. It's all there...now I just need to find ways to let it out :-)  

working on the workout

Well, I am officially a gym member. I have been since January. We weren't one of the new years resolution people...we just couldn't afford it til then. Anyways, there's something about paying for the gym that adds extra motivation. It's a good thing for us. Looking in the mirror is motivating enough most of the time, but every once in a while we need the added 'pocketbook motivation' to keep going. So far we've both lost close to 20 pounds too! Yay! Now for the other 45 pounds each to go! Most importantly, this is a lifestyle thing & not a 'crash diet' thing. I don't want to be a yo-yo-er. Life happens & somedays I need chocolate & that is okay. So far, so good in that. I still have treats once or twice a week & live life...I just try to make good choices in my day to day & exercise. I'll keep ya posted as things progress. 

Ps...things with the hubby are fine. The documentary thing is gonna happen when it happens & he's going to wait to buy things until we have the money (thank GOD...he's come back down to earth & is being realistic about things again...and nice. Nice is good.) Just didn't want anyone to worry. ;-) 

A Rant

My hubby is a teacher by day. A great guy most of the time & can be a serious pain in the ass some of the times. He really wants to make a documentary. He is in the process of buying a VERY nice & not cheap video camera in order to do this. I am supportive of the desire. He has already spent a good chunk of change on a less expensive camera & equipment to do this, then he realized that it wasn't good enough. He can take some of the equipment & use it with the new camera too, so it's not a waste...thank god. I am just so TIRED of the constant additional needs that he has so he can 'do it right'. Now he has just declared that he NEEDS an $1100 adapter for the new camera. UGH! We are going to Disneyland this year as a family - it's already set. I HAVE to go to Iowa with the kids this summer to visit my family and grandmas, etc. I DON'T want to spend one more DIME on his project - at least not right now. We have debt that needs to be paid off first. I am SO tired of this fight. I am so tired of being the bad guy. AAAAHHHHH! I keep trying to remind him that there will always be things that we want & things that would make things better...there will always be the new latest & greatest things. At some point you have to just be happy & make it happen with what you have, right?! Does anyone else have these kind of issues? 

A Blessing

A friend of ours works at H&R Block. She did our taxes last year for us and gave us a friends & family discount. We don't have very complicated taxes, but it's always time consuming & stressful...especially since neither my hubby or I are very numbers oriented. I am, more so than him, but still - that ain't saying much! So, anyways it was such a HUGE blessing to us last year when she did them for us. 

Just today I got a call from her declaring that she had already started entering our tax info for this year (using names & social security numbers from last year's taxes) and that all she needed was our W-2's & papers for this year. I am floored & I could just kiss her! To top it all off, she told me that she got a special at home tax program & could do our taxes this year for free!! She said that she was excited to see how much we would get back and would even come to my house & pick up the papers. How wonderful is she?! I am definitely getting a gift card for her to make sure she knows what a blessing she is to us. I just had to share...

Potty Training continued and other things

Well, we are now entering the bribing/light threatening stage of potty training. Noah is fully aware of how much of an inconvenience it is to go to the bathroom and is tired of it. So, it's either ''if you go potty, then you can watch that cartoon. If not - then no" or "I'll make you hot cocoa if you go potty...don't you want hot cocoa?" Thankfully it's not ALL day that I have to do this, but definitely a couple times a day for sure...oi! It's worth it, it's worth it, it's worth it. (I have to repeat this to myself to keep it up) 

On another note: Jehu had to go to the dentist yesterday to get a baby tooth pulled, because it wasn't falling out fast enough & they didn't want it to mess up his adult teeth coming through. Everything went fine, but he was funny after he got home. He wasn't loopy or anything, but his face was numb on one side. He started feeling his face & said "what is up with this mom? My lips and cheek feel so weird! They are SO squishy." I laughed and asked him "can you feel on your cheek that you are touching them, or only through your fingers?" His eyes got wide & he said in amazement "oh my gosh - it's only through my fingers! This is so cool (pause) and totally weird!" as he keeps squishing his cheek & lips. About a half an hour later he informed me that he did not like it anymore, and had a panic-y sound to his voice. He said that his face was started to feel 'pokey and hurting' and he didn't like it...then he teared up asking if it was going to be like that forever. It was so stinkin' cute! I explained about the numbing stuff wearing off, and that it would feel better once it did. Later at dinner, he said 'Well, my face is back to normal, but (insert dramatic tone) I miss that tooth. I realized that I used that tooth to scratch my lip when it itches, and now it's gone." ;-) Too funny! 

SAHM confession

I am so glad that I get to stay at home with my kids! It is such a blessing not to have to take sick days off of work because of my sick kids...or way worse than that - to feel completely torn between work & sick little ones. That was one of my least favorite things about working and having little ones. I enjoy my slower pace at home. I get to drink my coffee and get Jehu off to school and stay in my sweat pants all morning if I want to. My house is able to be cleaned more regularly (and gets messy more regularly). I long for the spring now, so we can go to the park & let the kids play outside for hours at a time, and I can do that because I am a stay at home mom. I love that.

And it's hard sometimes too. It's hard to feel like a functioning part of society. I have come to dread the question of 'What's new?' because so often I can't think of a darn thing. Especially with me - it's always with Aaron or the kids, but with me?? NOTHING! Same old same old...cooking, cleaning, laundering, keeping kids alive, nearly loosing my mind, wondering if I have a mind...take your pick - sometimes, that's all I've got. :-) 

It seems to be a season where people aren't as available to get together now too, so it's been months since I've had a girl's night out (truly and sadly). My friends are either in a seriously bad way financially, or pregnant, or overwhelmed with life, or their ideas of a girl's night out is going to a dance club - which is fine, but not really my thing. 

I am pretty good about planning play dates in the week - at least one every week, and having people over for dinner or a party, which is good. But sometimes I feel like I am going to lose my mind in these same 4 walls. 

I just made out a schedule for me, so I'm hoping that will help. I have also realized that I need to be reading books...it helps me feel like my brain is working, and is a good way to escape and relax. Listening to worship music helps too. Then I have been exercising which has helped too - getting out to the gym (even if it is at 8pm) and exerting myself has helped a lot! The play dates are a must too. I think a lot of this venting has to do with a bit of cabin fever. I really need spring to come soon! Calgon take me away!

And yet, I am grateful. Sometimes I feel guilty for feeling like it's hard...this is what I asked for. So stupid, I know. 

Potty training

Well, I am starting to see the promise land. I started potty training our youngest son, Noah, two days ago. So far it's been going pretty well. In the two days, we have only had to change one poopy diaper. We are starting to hit a wall though. The newness is wearing off a bit for Noah & he is now not so interested in being inconvenienced. It's hard to stop playing just to go to the bathroom. :-) And it's still so new that I'm asking him to go to the bathroom ever 20 minutes or so. 

There is nothing like potty training to make me feel like I suck at this parenting thing. 

It is pretty cute though when all the kids are lined up to go potty before bed. You can see pride beaming off of Noah's face that he is a big boy now. And when he's finished he declares, ' I'm done. Roz it's your turn now. ' How cute! 

On the phone

What is it about talking on the phone, that makes children turn into little crazys? It's like clockwork at our house...I answer the phone & my kids instantly start fighting or have to talk to me RIGHT now or start bleeding. I mean, come on...can't you wait 5 more minutes to hurt yourself? (kidding)

Seriously though, I can't tell you how many times I end up locking myself in the bathroom, or am in the office - bracing the door closed, just to finish a conversation. :-) It's like a sixth sense that kids all have. Even now, I decided to call a friend really quickly while the kids are upstairs playing & just as the phone is ringing, I hear the pitter patter of little people coming down stairs to ask mom a really important question. How do they do that? 

It's either the interrupting thing, or it's the mischievous thing...it's like they know, 'mom's on the phone - let's get into stuff'. 10 minutes ago, while I was on the phone, I turn around & see Roz on her tip toes desperately trying to reach the thing that I told her was off limits just 2 minutes before. Well, let me tell you...it's never dull around here. Call me, and you'll hear all about it :-)

Random things

There are things that we, as parents, say to our children all the time that we would not even consider saying to another adult. To get the full level of funny - read each of these thinking you are saying them to an adult. The following is a list of a few of those things (in no particular order):

Did you finish your food? No more talking until you eat more of your food. No, I said no...no talking. EAT! (can you imagine saying this to an adult? HA!) 

No, no, no...farts are from your butt and burps are from your mouth. 

Where did you put your booger? I saw you picking your nose a second ago...don't act like you didn't. I know better than that, so where did you put it? (please GOD don't say you ate it)

Please don't lick me. I want you to kiss me, not lick me.

Did you flush the toilet? (quickly followed by) Did you wash your hands with soap & water? 

Please get your hands out of my cup...now I'm going to have to dump it all out, because Lord only knows where your hands have been.

Woo hoo - looks at those cute buns! (okay, maybe you would say that to an adult, but if it were to anyone other than my spouse - I would have to be pretty drunk!) 

Why I named my blog Things Only Parents Say

So, I LOVE Bill Cosby. I love his humor from way back all the way through to today! We all repeat his jokes around our house all the time too! 

One of the things he said is how we as parents will say these ridiculous things in the heat of the moment with our kids. In the car, when they are going crazy 'he's touching me', 'stop touching me', 'she touched me first', etc... And we as the parents declare, 'there will be NO touching of anyone or by anyone in this car ever again!' It makes me laugh just thinking about it. And I have made these very same declarations in my car and house! It's when these kinds of things come out of your mouth, that you then stop & smile at the ridiculousness. Ahh, parenthood! These are the things that only parents say...

Things only parents say Pt.1

So, I woke up to Noah being about 2 inches from my face the other morning. 'Mom, I'm Pooooopy'. Well, good morning to you too! 

We walk down the stairs to the family room to get him changed, and he is jabbering to me about transformers and ninja turtles. He is talking at top volume already & hurting my ears at the very moment. I ask him to talk softer because it's just too dang early to be so loud, and doggone it if you wake your brother & sister up - there will be trouble!  Which makes Noah talk in his "whisper talk"...which any parent knows is not really a whisper at all. BUT, it is significantly quieter than the yelling he was doing previously, so I'll take it. 

Onto changing his diaper. I open his diaper - wipes all ready. I then proclaim "hey, your poop looks better than it did yesterday!" And that is something that only parents say...

Vacation Adventures - April 2008

We decided to head to Seattle for a few days...ya know, get out of town, clear your head, just relax. We had a great time - swam in the pool, went to the zoo, the locks, Bell square, etc...all good & fun! We also planned on an adventure day. 

We decided to get up crazy early to catch the first ferry out of Edmonds at 5:45am, so we could drive for 2 hours to explore the tide pools on the coast (well, nearly the coast anyways). SO, we wake up at 5 am and throw on our clothes (that we had, of course, set out the night before...as no decisions can be made at 5AM...yuk!). We then wake the kids & get them dressed...still half asleep as we expected. So, we arrive in Edmonds in time for the ferry (phew). It’s still dark (of course) so the kids are confused...is it morning? Where is the sun? How can it be morning without the sun? We decided to go up to the viewing deck of the ferry...it’s dark, but who knows - maybe we’ll see something anyways. The kids are excited about it - we’re on a boat...it’s the middle of the night...it’s exciting stuff, right?! So, as we are headed up the stairs, Roz falls & is crying...she hurt her finger...then Jehu is crying...what the heck? sympathy tears?? Nope - he tripped too...now there’s blood. He wants me to hold him, but there’s blood starting to almost gush from his mouth & I don’t really want to be covered in blood all day...so I am searching for the few wipes I have in a baggie in my purse. I find them, and start to wipe his hands first because Jehu is getting more freaked out by the second just seeing his own blood on his hands. The wiping is quickly followed by hugs, of course. 

I have my ’super calm’ voice now - trying to calm the situation. By this time we have climbed to the viewing deck to at least sit down & really see the wound, and settle down. Aaron is now starting to freak out a little bit too 'should there be this much blood? I don’t think there should be this much blood...you have to be more careful Jehu...’ So, now I am using my super calm voice on Aaron too...'everything is fine honey - you’re not helping right now...the mouth is a big bleeder - it always looks worse than it is...everything is okay (and so forth).’ Jehu is starting to calm down now - holding the last wipe to his lip, which is starting to slow way down (thank god). A few moments later - Jehu is wimpering again, then suddenly stops & says in a very chipper voice 'hey, can I go play that video game?’ My response was of course 'sure' (relieved...quick recovery, huh?) I get a look at his teeth & both front/top 2 teeth are hanging by a thread now. They were just loose before the blunt force, but the fall just expedited the process. 



Everyone had a juice box & was in pretty good spirits by the time we get off the ferry. We even made a couple of jokes about not tripping on the way back to the car...can’t afford to lose anymore teeth. So, now we’re on the road...it’s getting light out by now & Jehu pulls his teeth all the way out...he thinks it’s pretty cool & starts talking about how he can’t wait to show his friends. He has a fat lip, and is talking with a lisp now with no front teeth...it’s pretty freaking cute. (he can’t wait to th-ow hi-th friend-th).
 


A while later Roz starts wimpering & saying how she doesn’t feel good. Aaron & I both figure it’s just about the early morning & we haven’t really eaten much yet and tell her to try to sleep for a while. Well, after about a half an hour of random warnings from Roz - she infact throws up. Thank goodness we had given her a nearly empty chip bag just moments before. Aaron is driving, and I am turned around trying to help Roz hold the barf bag - anticipating more puking (and I was right), but also starting to feel a bit queasy myself...all the while Noah starts in on wimpering too...oh boy, this could be interesting. 



We finally get to a town for breakfast...which was the entire problem to start with: early rising, acidic juice & nothing else in the stomach + a ferry ride & windy roads = barf central :-) Incidentally, Roz is MUCH more perky after she threw up. We all get out of the car & I spill a little of Roz’s puke on my jeans - yuk! At the very same time, Noah threw up - a little on Aaron’s arm as he was quickly trying to turn Noah from facing Aaron to facing the ground (he must have heard/felt the pre-puke convulsion or something...TMI, sorry). 

Thankfully,  we are laughing at this point...what else can you do really, but laugh. The kids are feeling great now - just hungry while Aaron & I have had our fill of blood & puke for the day & it wasn’t even 8am yet. We all had breakfast & everyone was feeling right as rain when we left the diner. Jehu made sure to eat soft food (or th-oft food as he said), and all was right in the world. We were off for our day of adventure...and adventures we did have. 

It was great to get away, but it’s always wonderful to come home too! Just had to share a bit of our time with you all, as you know - it’s never dull with the Allen’s!