Makin' Me Proud.......................

I just had to post about how proud I am of Myshel and Vance, so that someday when they're driving me crazy, I'll have this reminder that they're not always that way......

Yesterday I was talking with my neighbor and she told me that housing had given her a notice to rake up all the leaves out of her yard and several other things needed to be done around her house. She had 2 days to get it done. She was pretty upset and frustrated about it. Her yard did need some work, but she has 5 kids, 2 of them are toddlers, and 2 infants (twins) and her husband is deployed. So when Myshel and Vance got home from school, I explained her situation and, expecting grumbling, asked them to go help clean her yard. To my surprise, they didn't complain, they just said, "ok" and went out and did it, by themselves. It was a big job and the neighbor's kids kept getting in their way making it hard to work. It took them quite awhile to finish. I knew that they didn't want to do it, but they finished with a smile on their face and not one complaint. I told them how proud I was that they were willing to help some one else and that they should be proud of themselves, too. I want my kids to know the value of service to others and maybe, just maybe, they're learning that lesson. They're good kids. I need to remember that when things are frustrating!

My Mother's Day........................

I had a nice quiet Mother's Day this year. Chad gave me some scrapbooking stuff, that he let me pick out. Noah gave me a little pot with daisies in it that he planted at school, McKaylie made me a bookmark and a little picture frame with a picture of her in it, Myshel told me happy mother's day (teenagers!?!) and Vance made me this origami tulip. I loved all my presents!

In the afternoon, we went for a walk with the kids and the dogs. It was really nice and we stopped by a little pond and let the kids catch tadpoles. What wasn't so nice was, after we got home, we found 2 ticks on the dogs, 2 in the house and one on Chad's ear the next morning. YUCK!!!!! I hate ticks. I really, really hate ticks. They give me the creepy crawlies just thinking about them. They're really bad this year. Even the schools are having trouble with them after recesses. There's one school that has "tick-buddies". All the students are assigned a buddy before they go out for recess and when they come back in, they check each other's hair for ticks. Now, is that nasty or what!!!!! Noah had one crawling on him at school after playing outside and another girl in his class had one in her hair. It's like a tick plague.......so not cool!

Red Carpet Treatment...........................

Our stake had a dance for the youth a few weeks ago. It's theme was "Walk the Red Carpet". It was a semi-formal dance. When they arrived, there was a limo out front that they could get in and then come out the other side, as if they had arrived by limo. On the other side was the red carpet that led into the dance, lined with photographers and the press. It was such a fun idea.The girls were encouraged to to wear formal dresses that they had or go to a second hand store and find a formal dress there. Since we know that most formal dresses these days are completely immodest, the girls were told to make them modest. In other words, wear a t-shirt under the dress or a sweater/swag over it. They could do whatever they wanted as long as it would be a completely modest dress when they were done. Another idea that I thought was totally cool! We took Myshel to a consignment shop here that one of her young women leaders works at and let her choose what she wanted. She was really excited. I thought that she looked great and the black shirt under it looked great, too!

There was also a contest to see which ward/branch could bring the most friends. Myshel brought Cody and Jessie. They had a great time and really enjoyed seeing how the other girls "fixed" their dresses.

Bubbles......................

Noah just always makes me laugh, so as soon as I heard this I knew I'd have to blog about it.

I used to tell my kids that "they're in my bubble", meaning, that they are invading my personal space. I actually got it from my sister. It's just a joke and usually makes them get even more in my face, so I stopped saying it as much as I used to. I've noticed, however, that Myshel has taken up saying this. The other day, Myshel was sitting on the floor trying to watch TV and Noah kept talking to her, trying to sit on her lap and just generally being an annoying 5 year old brother. Here's how their conversation went:

Myshel: "Noah, get off me, you're really starting to bother me."
Noah: "No, I'm not."
Myshel: "Go away, I mean it!"
Noah, smiling: "I just want to sit here."
Myshel: "Noah, you're in my bubble!"
Noah, completely confused gets right up in her face and says: "You have a bubble?" "Where is it?" "I don't see it."

I started laughing, Chad started laughing, and Vance and McKaylie started laughing..................

Myshel trying really hard not to laugh: "It's not funny, so stop it, Mom!"


A few hours later, Noah climbed on Myshel's lap and asked, "Do you really have a bubble?"

Grandma & Grandpa

These are pictures of Chad's parents. I hope I'm not in trouble for posting them. They sent them to us for McKaylie's baptism book and they were just such great pictures that I couldn't help myself.
They're just so cute and we love them so much! So, I thought they should be included in my blog!

A Great Surprise!

I came home one day after taking Noah to speech and was so amazingly surprised to find this at my house! Chad snuck them in while I was gone and didn't tell me anything about them! He was very sneaky, but I'm not complaining. It was such a great surprise. I was so happy. I mentioned a while ago that my clothes dryer died and it took us awhile to replace it. My wonderful husband not only found me a dryer, but a matching washer as well. There was someone he works with that was getting rid of them because they were moving and so he snatched them up. They're a few years old, but I don't care! They work! and that's all that matters to me. They're actually very nice and much fancier than I would have paid for myself. Thank you, Chad! I knew I loved you!


(I won't mention that when Chad plugged the dryer in, it blew the main fuse to our house and our neighbor's house and we had to call housing at 7PM to come and fix it.----they keep the door to that maintenance room locked--stupid, I know--- I also won't mention that it messed up our internet connection, which took us a long time to get back. I won't mention any of that, because I'm sooooo happy that he surprised me and brought me a washer and dryer and I love him so much for it!)

May is Winding Down..............Thank Goodness!

In my last post I mentioned how crazy and insane the month of May was/is. Well, it only got worse as the month went along. There were more appointments added, some schedules changed, church things, school things, family drama. It's been crazy with a capital C! There were times really that I felt like my head was spinning a bit. There were even a few days that Chad took off work so that we could divide and conquer. I don't like having my schedule that crazy. I don't see how people do it on a regular basis and keep from going insane. It hasn't all been bad, we've had some fun along the way, but it's just not for me. I am a much more laid back, easy going person and the hustle & bustle just isn't for me. I'm hoping that things will start to wind down now as the month is coming to an end. My kids still have 3 weeks of school left, so, there will be all the end of the year stuff, but I don't think it will be too bad. I'll keep my fingers crossed. So, now, I'll do my best to catch up on all the highlights of the month and post some pictures, too. And slowly try to catch up on reading your blogs that I love and have missed so much! It feels good to be back!

Mary Engelbreit Monday

I hope you have a great Memorial Day!

My Crazy - Life - Family - Kids

Ok, life is crazier than usual around here. Unfortunately, my blog is the first thing that has to go, not to mention the internet is absent at our house right now, too. So here are a few updates on what's going on around here.

Myshel: Has a "boyfriend" named Cody. A 6'4" nerdy little farm boy that she thinks is soooo hot! Need I say more????

Vance: During his yearly physical I asked the doctor about Vance's seasonal allergies. We ended up giving him a crude (her words, not mine) blood test to check for some common allergies. He came up positive on so many that the doctor suggested that he see an allergist. So that appointment is in 2 weeks. He's not happy about doing it at all. I can't say that I really blame him. His dad was tested for allergies when he was younger and found that he was allergic to 75 of the 81 things that they tested him for. That led to Chad getting an allergy shot every week for 5 years. Some of the things that he is VERY allergic to from the blood test) are dust--bye, bye carpets, curtains, and extra pillows in his bedroom--timothy grass and birch pollen, 2 things that are extremely abundant in Maine. Poor Vance, I do feel sorry for him, but he has his dad to thank for that!

McKaylie: Besides the fact that Mckaylie will be turning 8 on the 19th and we're getting ready for her baptism (with a brand new bishop-no less) she also had a yearly physical. when I was there we discussed the fact that she seems to hang on to coughs longer than she should. The doctor told me some things I could do to help and sent us on our way. She had mentioned having a peak flow test done on her, but it wasn't ever done and I didn't think about it again until we were home. It nagged at me, so when i was at the doctor's office the next week again with Vance I asked her about it. She agreed that we should have her come back in. So the doctor sat down and talked to us, listened to McKaylie breathe and I don't think was very convinced that there was much of a problem to worry about. She was very nice, though. Then they did the peak flow test and it wasn't great. Mckaylie should be able to blow around 250 and her best was 175. McKaylie now has an inhaler that she has to use at least 3 times a day unless she needs it more. We'll be back at the doctor's office with her in 3 weeks. She can also thank her dad.

McKaylie also has an appointment with the orthodontist. The evaluation is free, but to start her record will cost $300. We already know that they're going to have to do work on her teeth. She doesn't have enough room for all her permanent teeth to come in, in her mouth. I think my hubby should have become an orthodontist.

By the last week in May, I will have spent 5 of the 6 previous Tuesdays at the doctor's office with either Vance or McKaylie! I'm going to thank military insurance coverage for making that possible!!!!!

Noah: We filled out the registration paperwork for kingertargen for Noah. On it, the doctor's office said that his vision test showed he had blurred vision. Which is interesting that no one said anything to me about it....grumble grumble. So, we're going to take Noah to the optomotrist to see if it's really his eyes, or just his stubborness! We're hoping for stubborness because if he has to wear glasses.........it'll be a fight from the word, GO! I hear that if he has poor eyesight then he can thank me for that "bad trait". I suppose that would be true! I think I'd take bad eyesight over asthma, though! (hee hee)

So, I added them all up and for the month of May, we have 27 additional appointments. That's not counting all the every day running around and the regular appointments, like speech, young women's and scouts, etc. And I wonder why I don't have time to blog............