Easter Pictures

Sunday afternoon this was what I was doing making us late for church- taking pictures. If you have ever seen my children post-church you know why the 'before' picture was imperative. Earlier we had skyped (web cam) with Papa John and Papa Dixie so they could get a preview of the Easter clothes. Kohen was told many times that morning how handsome he was- and though he was looking pretty dapper it was more of an attempt to get him to keep it all on, as far as Nathan and I were concerned.

At church we sat next to a cute 16 yr old girl named Lauren. Kohen, apparently feeling confident in his stylish vest and tie, was talking in his man-voice to Lauren at one point saying all casually, "You can come to my house and watch a movie and we can have pizza, how 'bout that?" Everyone on the row with us busted up. A few minutes later, still using his man-voice he says, "My Dad has a Dad, his name is Norm. Don't worry, you'll meet him someday." Where does this stuff come from? I guess a little confidence goes a long way. After Sacrament meeting Lauren even took Kohen to Sunday school class- He wasn't acting all shy or smitten- he was totally casual and like it happens every day...what a boy.

The Easter Bunny Visits!

Trying to distinguish between the traditions of Easter (bunnies, eggs, candy, etc.) vs. the true meaning of Easter (Christ's Resurrection) we have started doing the traditions on the Saturday before Easter Sunday. So Saturday morning the children were so excited to come downstairs and hunt for where the Easter bunny had hidden their baskets. When it comes to Easter Baskets the bunny who visits our home keeps it under $10 per basket, and she is totally chintzy on the candy. One Peep, one Reeses egg (leaving 3 from the 6 pack for me) and two plastic eggs with jelly beans in them. I have no idea why I am so stingy with the candy except for that I hate having it around cuz they are always asking for it, crying for it, and causing me irritation. It wasn't much of a problem though this time because they had all eaten their candy in a matter of moments and it was done...phew. It's not like they don't get candy from 'Papa's' and teachers and friends so don't even try and make me feel guilty. Love how Aly is frantic to tear open her treat...those Eggs are my favorite too.

Old Habits

Man. This post is a bit embarrassing to share. I have to apologize to my Dad in advance. He has disliked this habit of mine since as long as I can remember. And I so wish I could say that I had kicked it but to be honest, since I've had children it has only gotten worse. So often I will think of something I need to do or buy and the only way to ensure it might happen is to write it on my hand. Papers get lost, planners aren't always readily available, sticky notes get misplaced...you get the idea... I'm making excuses. I know. I feel sheepish every time I am somewhere with other adults and my juvenile compulsion is exposed or discovered. Anyway, I'm not just sharing this to humiliate myself. I was wondering if any of you have any ideas for me that might work as efficiently and be a bit more discreet???
Speaking of putting writing where it doesn't belong...Kohen found a pen and out of no where did a little drawing on the wall. He then proceeded to draw a line as he walked all the way upstairs and into the kitchen...Nathan and I estimate it is about 30-35 foot line. Arghhh! He was set to the task of scrubbing the wall but it is quite a large job and I fear you will always be able to see where the wall was scrubbed in certain lights...Is it me or does he look proud of his handy work in the first pic? Nothing a bit of elbow grease couldn't fix. :)

Are Sisters the Crabgrass in the Lawn of Life?

My my, how times don't change. I took the picture of Kennedy working on Kohen's hair and the look on his face was total dejavu to about 3 years ago. Poor kid. Kennedy somehow talked him into letting her do his hair and when I came into the bathroom I found that about every hair product we own was now being generously applied to Kohen's head. Kennedy was super serious about her work. Like an artist in creative anguish she would get frustrated when he moved his head and when his hair wouldn't 'stand up' in front like how Dad does it. Notice how in the last pic she is holding Kohen's face so his hair can be properly seen by the camera and Kohen is giving his best fake smile and just hoping the torture is almost over and he has earned some sort of special sibling points with Kenna.

Okay, I had to include the video so you could see Kennedy in action. Don't miss how she tells Kohen to turn the other way at the end, lol, she cracks me up. PS- please excuse Kennedy's post-braid scraggly hair.

My 28th Birthday

I swear I just did a post like this for myself...I can't believe I have had two birthdays here in VA. It was a bit of an odd one in that Nathan was at work all day and so I was doing all of my regular Mom duties. But my phone rang off the hook with birthday well-wishes and my email too, was full and made me feel loved. As I said my morning prayers I found myself thanking Heavenly Father for allowing me 28 years and unexpectedly I started thanking Him for gifts I've been given, a wonderful husband, 3 healthy children and the list went on and on until my legs started cramping. Taking a hind sight view of my life all I could see were the blessings and there were literally too many to count. Even the trials I have had are really just hard-earned blessings. When you overcome an obstacle in life you usually gain an amazing amount of knowledge (that by then seems like, 'duh. why didn't I realize that before,' for me) and strength, patience and who knows what else. After my prayer I just sat there amazed at all that I have been given and even more amazed at how little I recognize it. Birthday spankings? I'm thinking I need all 28! I hope that I can be better this year in appreciating blessings as they come, in whatever form.
Anyway, thanks for indulging my little rant there. Nathan made dinner and had even gotten and ice cream cake -cake batter ice cream, my fave- and I opened a couple of gifts and cards when Kohen suddenly decided that I didn't have enough and was trying to get Nathan to take him to the store so he could get me 'some-ping' else. I eventually convinced him that one of his colored pictures would be great and so he and Kennedy sat right down to color me birthday pictures which was sweet. The best treat of all was when I got to for go putting the kids to bed with Nathan and head out for some relaxation at Target...by myself...Happy Birthday to me.

Van Metre 5 mile

This morning Nathan ran a 5 mile race put on right in the heart of our community. We got up and walked down the street to see Nathan at the beginning of the race. The above picture doesn't show our kid's enthusiasm very well. Aly is staring at me like "I don't know these people." Kennedy is trying to oblige but has the sunrise in her sensitive eyes and Kohen is looking like a goob making a cheezy smile but obviously distracted by something other than his crazy mom in the middle of the street with a camera who was sporting her signature 'just rolled out of bed' look (created by rolling out of bed and walking out the door). I was channeling Scary Spice which is why you won't see me in any of these little pics this post...trust me, your welcome.

And the race is on! There he goes. Those are our townhouses in the background- how convenient is this race? Nathan is all smiles as he heads up quite the hill. He does his first mile up the hill in 5min 34 sec.

And when we saw him at almost mile 3 he looked a bit like he'd run a mile up hill in about 5 minutes. :) No, he had paced himself by then and was doing fine.

Nathan finished in 34 minutes and 16 seconds and came in 47th out of the men- woo hoo! Stay tuned for Nathan's 2nd annual National Marathon in 2 weeks. In a random side note: Check out this guy juggling as he runs the race. This is the second time he and Nathan have been in a race together and as I have started to become desensitised to his little show (which by all accounts is impressive) I have started wondering, what's his deal? Running in a race just isn't enough satisfaction? Or maybe he needs the extra attention? Or maybe it is to cover up that he is a really slow runner? Or maybe he really likes to have a kink in his neck and a dried out mouth from looking up while jogging with his mouth open? I'm so curious as to why. I would ask him myself but I'm afraid he would just answer, "Why not?" and then I'd have to slap him. I think this is where I am supposed to say, 'each to their own'.

Jumping

It was a beautiful day yesterday and though Nathan didn't get home until 7pm we decided dinner could wait and we all went out and jumped on the trampoline. My sinus infection has come raging back so every bounce hurt my head but I wasn't about to be left out- and, you caught me, I wanted to snag some pics for the blog. The above 2 pictures are my favorite cuz everything but Kennedy and Kohen's faces are blurred from jumping. Kennedy wanted to know why the pictures were 'washing away' so she got a lesson on blurry pictures (which, with me as the family photographer she should be very familiar with) and then we let her take a few pictures. Considering she was on a moving trampoline I thought she did pretty good.

Dad's In Charge

The kids love it when Mom is gone and Dad is in charge. Mainly cuz they can work their Dad over and get away with stuff like this. And apparently Nathan even encourages this type of behavior by video taping and taking pictures- k, does Kohen really need help injuring himself?! I have to admit that they all had such a fun time engaging in play I would probably not permit- and no one got hurt... but seriously, using a belt like an Indiana Jones whip? sheesh.

Kenna Stalls

Whenever we tuck Kennedy in she pulls out all the stops to delay the inevitable. She will start talking really fast and telling you a million stories. Last night as Nathan was tucking her in she had been babbling for a few minutes and was running out of things to stall with. Finally she says to Nathan, "Before I go to sleep let me tell you about my day-" and Nathan replies, "Well hon, I was with you all day so I pretty much know how your day went." Never one to be put off Kenna says all matter of fact, "Okay, how 'bout yesterday then."

Allergic Reaction

We were having pizza the other night- we bought it from the only place we buy it from here (Dominoes cuz it is cheap and close) and as usual all the children had Ranch dressing to dip their pizza in. Towards the end of dinner I look over and realize the red on Aly's face isn't pizza sauce but that she is having an allergic reaction to something. I grab her and hurry up stairs and put her in the tub and Nathan and I start washing her face. We gave her some Benadryl and after what seemed like a long time her face started to look better. She has had an allergic reaction before which involved hives and throwing up. Unfortunately there was no conclusive info after the testing that was done then- they just gave us the Epi Pens and sent us home. And since she was eating a meal she has eaten many times before we really have no idea what caused the reaction and probably never will. I really dislike not knowing. But I love how she is so serious about washing her face in the video :)

Beauty School Dropout

I have been putting off cutting Kohen's hair for a week or so trying to give the cut on his head a chance to heal. Unfortunately Kohen pulled off the super glue I used to seal it up and pulled off some hair as well (ouch!) so I was letting his hair grow over it a bit cuz truly- with the cast and the shaggy hair trying to cover his picked over head wound, I mean seriously! how broke-down-white-trash can we get? Apparently very. Cuz then we throw Aly into the mix with her crusty nose and her hair that has continued growing faster in the back (aka: The baby mullet- and just cuz it's curly doesn't make it okay) and even though her little piggy tails were so cute I knew at some point I needed to even it out.

Looking around at my scruffy little hooligans this morning I decided it was time to put on some 'Beauty School Drop-out' and get down to business. I couldn't believe the furry animal I took off Kohen's head- someone call animal control! It was so good to see my clean cut Kohen again. And though I was so sad to cut off more of Aly's curls, it was either that or put her in some mini-hammer pants and let her rock the mullet. I have to keep telling myself her hair will grow back. And though it is dangerous to pat yourself on the back with scissors in your hand, I have to say I am pretty proud of the mornings handi-work.

Spring Teaser

Today and yesterday we have been having spring teaser days. It was almost 70 degrees yesterday and so I pretty much banished the older two outside in the afternoon. After jumping on the trampoline for a few minutes Kohen abandoned his sister for dirt. He played what felt like forever shoveling the dirt from the garden into buckets and his dump truck, and he actually listened for once and kept his cast clean.

Then taking my cousins suggestion I filled a bin with rice, laid out a vinyl tablecloth and let Kennedy 'cook' to her hearts content. She is so meticulously clean that when she plays not a grain of rice is misplaced. I can tell the rice is going to be a favorite around here.

Nathan had gone running for an hour or so before dinner and so after the kids were down it was my turn to go indulge my addiction. I know it is an addiction because I can feel the anticipation building as I get closer to getting a fix. I round the last corner and there it is in all it's red and white ringed glory...my Target! Just seeing the sign gets my endorphins going. As usual I find a front spot because let's face it, the store is happy to see me too. I am convinced the store somehow saves front spots for it's favorite customers. I practically skip inside and head for the Customer Service counter to do my ritual return- I've always got one. Then I browse the $1 section and see if there is anything that I don't need. This is where I get out impulse buys, it's much safer here. Then the search is on for the little red tag. I don't know why I get such a high off finding stuff that is on sale at this store. But on the tag there is always the 'was' price and the 'now' price just in case I'm too delirious with my find to do the math on 50% off myself. Now that is customer service. I often put several things in my cart as I stroll around enjoying hearing the occasional crying child and though I always feel empathy for the mother, it is pure j-o-y that for once it isn't me and my little ones. Eventually I put 9 out of 10 things back and drive away in a relaxed and fulfilled mood.

When I get home Nathan plays along as I show him some stunning find with an impressive red tag and I always point out, "look honey! It was this and now it's this!!!" and though he is smiling and nodding proudly and playing his part, I know inside he is thinking, 'yes dear, 30% off an orange and puce Christmas Tree skirt ...this will be very useful for Easter'. He has long since learned he can ruin the night by sharing these thoughts out loud. And it wouldn't be worth the ruffle anyway cuz by now he knows that next time I head to Target the tree skirt will be returned anyway. You can judge my admittedly ridiculous behavior if you want but let's just say this: Some people drink. Some people do drugs. Some people jump off skyscrapers attached to a rubber band. I, do Target.

Boy Time: Keep Out...please

When the boys disappeared the other day I found them in Kohen's room playing 'animals'. Them playing is always fun to observe but this video makes me laugh cuz Kohen full on asks me to leave. Ouch. V.I.P boys time and I was not invited. :) At least he was polite... (ps- listen for the fighting sounds Kohen makes, never heard those in a movie before, lol)

The Face of Influenza

Aly on Tuesday

Aly on Wednesday morning

Nathan left out of town for a few days Wednesday morning and right on cue Aly get's sick. She had a fever and a cough and was really clingy, just wanting to be held constantly (I loved that last part). She and I shared a largely sleepless night Wed. night and by Thursday morning she was a mess. Her left eye was all pink and, her fever was higher, she wouldn't eat and she was so listless I was getting worried. After lunch I was giving her a cool bath and she started to cry. It went on the whole time I was getting her dried, lotioned and dressed and she was repeating over and over "oww, oww, oww" as she cried. That freaked me out. I got her 'blaintee' (blankie) and pacifier and rocked her in the rocking chair and in a matter of seconds she was asleep. Not normal.

After her nap we all headed to the doctor and I am expecting the dr. to say she has a double ear infection or RSV or something but the dr. checks her out and looks at me with this, 'I am so sorry' look and then says, "I hate to tell you this but I think she has the flu, as in influenza." Oh crap. My good friends family dealt with this earlier in the season and it had made enough of an impression on me to vow I would always make the effort to get all of us the vaccine cuz it was awful. The doctor also told me that Aly probably had a really bad headache and body aches and was generally miserable. She said to switch between Motrin and Tylenol and so I take all three kids to the store to get some Motrin (Side note: In the store Kennedy hit her elbow and came whimpering to me and told me she had just hit her "fuzzy bone"- so cute!). For some reason I always thought it was just a more expensive Tylenol and never got it. Realizing it is Ibuprofen (duh) I gave Aly some as soon as we got home and I could certainly tell when it kicked in. Motrin? I'm a believer!

This morning she seems markedly improved, actually walking around and playing a bit. She should be better just in time for Nathan to be home :)

Reason # 1,834,269

Reason #1,834,269 Why I Love My Husband: After a super busy day that included a lot of cooking without time to clean up after myself, we had finished eating dinner and I reluctantly turned toward the ground zero that was my kitchen. As I picked up the brush to dig in Nathan says, "What are you doing? Back-away-from-the-dishes." I turn around to see if he is serious (not wanting to dare hope I would get out of the mess I had made when he had done the dishes the previous 3 nights before) and he picks up a dirty spoon to legitimize his threat as he repeated, "Back-away-from-the-dishes!" I put up a weak protest but quickly gave in to his demand and when I started to thank him (I threw in a few *swack*s for good measure) his reply was, "It's no problem. It is your least favorite job...and it isn't mine." What does it say about me when I find gestures such as this totally romantic?

Robo-Kohen

No. I'm not joking. Kohen has done it again. I am shocked Child Protective Services haven't converged on our home, I mean this can't all be just typical boy stuff...can it???

Sunday morning Kohen stood up on the seat of his kitchen chair and somehow fell. I was standing with my back turned to him and I turn to find him splayed out face down on the floor. Thinking he must have whacked his head I hurry and pick him up. He cried for a minute and then stopped and pointed to his foot. Already swelling and bruising a bit I got some ice for him. But in typical Kohen fashion pretty soon he is up limping around but otherwise back to normal. The only other sign of pain was that he wouldn't put his left shoe on for church because it hurt. By Monday I had made an appointment with the Dr. who saw him when he broke his wrist about this time last year, but actually cancelled it because Kohen was running around the house like normal. If I pressed on the area he would pull his foot away but that was it. So, embarassed I called back and said, "Just kidding about that last cancel, we are still coming in." Kohen actually has a high pain tolerance - unless Kennedy has done something to him, then he has zero tolerance- and so it can be hard to tell how bad an injury is.

So we get to the appointment and Kohen turns into the chattiest boy ever. At times it was funny and other parts I wanted to crawl into a hole somewhere. Like when he told the Dr. that he had broken his arm, and he had a big scratch on his head, and his foot hurts when his mom "squishes it all day"- I was totally blushing at that point so I said, "Excuse me, Kohen?" (I totally had to interupt him) he said, 'yeah?' so I said, "how is that apple you got there?" he says 'good' as he looks down at the one bite out of it. Hoping to curb the tidal wave of less than flattering information I suggested, "why don't you go ahead and eat your apple."

Anyway, obviously, he has broken his foot. They gave him a walking cast and it is just like a miniature of what I had this summer- except it is cute because it is little. Who knew they made them that small? But it is so heavy- he has already bruised my shin while I was lifting him, and stepped on Aly's foot accidentally. He is like Robo-cop around here with this big clunky thing on his foot. At least now I can tell anywhere he walking in the house. I just listen for the 'Thunk! silence. Thunk! silence. Thunk! silence. Thunk!'

And as I was trying to get a picture of his boot he treated us to an example of the kind of behavior that keeps our insurance company in business:

The Answer

So I have realized that after making such a woop-de-doo about it whatever I say is probably going to be disappointing. Lot's of good guesses actually, lot's of creativity. But no one got it quite right though a few of you were close. So I have decided that anyone who left a comment will get their name entered in at Random.org and whichever name it picks, they will get the mullah. First though- Kennedy went and put the hood on to keep her hair out of her face while she leaned over brushing her teeth. It cracked me up because though it was clever and funny, it was also kind of like using a gallon of water to put out a match- a little bit of overkill. But then I shouldn't judge because I haven't tried it. Thanks for playing along!!!
And now, according to Random.org, Kristin is the winner!

Aly Ventura

So Nathan has a cousin named Peter who is quite possibly Aly's favorite person ever. The other day he commented that when Aly struts around with her tutu on over her clothes (so pretty much always) she has a bit of a resemblance to a certain pet detective named Ace Ventura. I was still laughing at the thought the next day when Alyssa insisted I put on her knee high boots and I realized that when combined with her crazy sleep hair and tutu that more than ever she looked ready to be committed. Blue 42! Blue 42!...... It's true she looks a bit silly in this picture but usually it's not quite this bad and honestly, it brings a smile to my face every time she comes running to me with a tutu in hand for me to put on her. *Sigh* whenever this phase ends it will be too soon.

Problem Solving

I'll give 5 bucks to anyone who can correctly guess why Kennedy went and put on her winter coat hood (as pictured above) when I asked her to go get ready for bed.

A More 'Restricted' Dance By Aly

I happened to have my camera with me in the car when a song came on that tickled AlyCat's fancy. I taped it and drove at the same time, aren't I amazing?! Okay, so Nathan drove but I'm still amazing. And no, we don't always listen to R&B with our little ones in the car, but sometimes we feel like getting down while we're going along!