Christmas Morning at Our House

We had our first at home Christmas today. Tony and I woke the kids up a little after 7 am. Koen and Eades sprang out of bed once we reminded them it was Christmas but Dougan and Brandis were still a little tired. We carried them downstairs and once Dougan opened his eyes and saw the presents he was wide away. Brandis woke up but he looked like he wasn't all there. Koen handed out the presents and then we started with the youngest to the oldest. Brandis went first and he took some warming up. He liked his toys a lot and they were both things that he really likes to play with. We got him a shape sorter and an Aqua-Doodle. Dougan got two games that he really liked from the hospital, Candy Land and Memory. We also got him some blocks. Eades got Batman Legos for the PS2. He's been wanting this for a long time so he was way excited. He also wanted an Iron Man so we got him one of those. We got Koen an awesome robot and some walkie-talkies. I got Tony The Christmas Sweater book and a book called My First Tagalog words that he can read to the Children. I also got him a vintage ND shirt. Tony got me the Wheel of Fortune boardgame and a surprise that is still coming in the mail. He also got the boardgame Sorry for the whole family.

It was so much fun and everybody was surprised with what they got. Tony made us a big breakfast of eggs, biscuits and gravy, bacon, and orange juice. We stuffed ourselves and then followed up with some candy. The rest of the morning we spent playing a lot. Tony works tonight so he and Brandis our sleeping and the older boys are still into playing so I am writing my Christmas blog.

Here are just some random photos.

Here's Koen looking dazed. I think he's camera shy and he knew dad was taking a picture.

I forgot to write about what we did last night. We read Luke 2 as usual and then we let the kids stay up to watch some Christmas movies on tv, as if they haven't seen enough this season already. We sent them to bed which wasn't too difficult and then we put the presents out and stuffed the stockings. This was also the first time we did stockings, and that was a lot of fun too. The boys got a lot of candy and I also got them each one piece of candy that was just for them. Brandis got a rice krispie treat, Dougan got candy bracelets, Eades got bubble gum, Koen got airheads, Tony got caramelo and I of course got myself twizzlers. It made it kind of special and fun.

I'm kind of sad that Tony has to work tonight but I know he has to. At least we have all day tomorrow to spend together. On Saturday we'll head over to Tony's mom's house to visit with his whole family. I'm kind of looking forward to it because I get to bake a pie to take. I love to make pies. It looks like it's time for me to start getting leftovers from this morning out for the boys to eat. I'm hoping they'll take naps afterward because they've had a lot of excitement today and so have I. Yes, a nap for me would be great too.

Christmas at the Bullock's

We are all in the Christmas spirit over here. We've decorated the sugar cookies, we've made the candy, we've carolled, we've drank the cocoa, and we decorated the Christmas tree. I love this season. One of my sisters wrote about their tree and I wanted to do the same. First we got the tree last year for free from a friend who is a Christmas fanatic. She heard we had high ceilings and she couldn't use it, plus she already had two trees up at her house. So we ended up with a beautiful 9' tree. I got some LED lights on clearance at a going out of business sale. So those go on first. I put them on sparingly and I would love to have twice as many, but for now, it's great. Then we wrapped it in a red beaded garland, resembling cranberries, and a silver one for fun. Then we put on some pine cone ornaments we picked up at a dollar store a few years ago. Next we added some cheap bows we picked up at Walmart. To top it off "literally" we put a big bow that we got from Aunt Rachel. That's it. I think it's wonderful. We just recently went to a friends house and theirs is covered in decorations. It was very nice. On the way home the boys asked why ours didn't look like that. Suddenly I realized our tree would not win any competitions but I like it just the same.

So far none of the boys have tried to pull it down on themselves. YEA!!! Sometimes Brandis

likes to take a bow or a pine cone off and walk around with it but they aren't breakable and we can just put them right back up. We did have candy canes on it before we put the bows, cones, and beads up but the boys ate the bottom half of the decorations so we took them off and went to non-edible ornaments. It seems to be a much better idea. So I don't have a picture of the whole family in matching outfits or anything to send out a family Christmas card but maybe I'll post pictures of us on Christmas morning. We got our kids presents this year, not because of any chastisements made from my earlier blog where I said we never did and got back some great feedback, but because the kids know that Santa doesn't give the presents and that we were just being cheapies. So we decided to start a new tradition and give them presents and we're even going to fill the stockings. Whoo hoo!

So Merry Christmas from us. I hope yours is joyful and full of peace.

Tag Ala Bookworm

1. Open the book closest to you, not your favorite or most intellectual book, but the book closest to you at the moment.
2. Turn to page 56...
3. Write out the fifth sentence, as well as the two to five sentences following.

The closest book to me is "The Christmas Sweater" by Glenn Beck.
"Try to sleep, and don't get up before daylight." She winked. "Christmas morning doesn't start until it's morning. She turned out the light as she left the room, and my night-light lit up brightly, reminding me that I wasn't quite a man just yet.

I was tired alright!!

So I just reread my blog and I saw some misspellings like weather instead of whether. But I was still really really tired. Oh, and I did make something yummy. We had taco soup. It was great!

Finals are kicking my butt!

I never really minded finals so much when I was younger, but this time around I'm totally stressed. I stayed up all night last night studying for my math final. I used to be able to pull all-nighters all the time in my younger days just like that. So by the time I was done studying, I had just enough time to get in the shower and wake the kids up for school, I didn't even have enough time for breakfast. Well, I did take a little munchy break at about 3 am for refueling so I was still good to go. I somehow managed to muddle through the exam and I hope I didn't screw up too bad. I at least had an answer down for everything, weather it was right or not, I'll have to wait to find out. Now I just have my computer class left. I don't have a final in there but I can retake all my labs to get 100%s on them. So, I'll go in for the next couple of days to work in the lab a little bit more. Then I'll be done for the semester. I know I'm taking a break this next semester to regroup and get ready for our new little bundle of joy.
Oh that's right, incase any don't already know, we are expecting our fifth in June. I don't know yet if we'll be blessed with another boy or if it's time for a girl. I think I'll post when I find out, and I really hope I can find out this time. I have up to this point lived through the suspense for 9 months with each of them.
So back to finals, when I got home, I had enough energy left to give the kids a bath, out on some lunch, and get Eades off the bus. After a bite to eat I snuggled up on the couch for a much needed nap. Apparently I didn't sleep long enough because my eyes are still burning, but Tony is sleeping before he goes to work tonight so I need to be up and bright eyed. I should start getting things ready to go to school tomorrow but I think I'll finish this blog up and then make something yummy for dinner and try to get the boys to go to bed early so I can go to bed early. If I can just hold on until Friday then all this finals business will be over. I am kind of afraid to see what kind of grades I'll get this semester. I wanted to get straight A's and I was doing pretty good up until half-way through the semester. Then I got really sick and then Dougan was in the hospital and the grades just went on a nice steady decline. So I hope I worked hard enough at the beginning to still come out decently. I really don't want B's but I guess I'll take them and if I have to take a C, fine, at least I made it to the end of the semester. So that's it, my first semester back in seven years, and I already need a break.

Enquiring Minds Want to Know

So we are home from the hospital. As I was waiting for the final dose of antibiotic and packing everything up I just couldn't believe that we had been at the hospital for three weeks. Everything is fine now and Dougan is doing great. In case there was any confusion about all this I will explain EVERYTHING. It all started on a Wed. night at church. We had just finished an awesome activity with the YW. I was cleaning up some of the mess when I heard Dougan crying. I ran to find him with the other leaders and the YW. They said he had fallen off a chair. So I hugged and kissed him and then he felt better. He acted as if nothing was wrong. We went home and got ready for bed and I didn't notice anything out of the ordinary.
The next morning I got the kids ready for school and the baby-sitters. Dougan was limping so I figured he must have fallen worse than I thought. After I picked him up from the baby-sitters he was still limping. I kept checking him all day for swelling or bruising but there just wasn't any. On Friday morning Dougan was not able to walk as his knee was very swollen. Tony had just gotten home from work so we put Dougan on the couch with some ice packs and towels to help with swelling. I went to school as usual. When I got home the swelling had not gone down at all. We discussed what to do because we no longer had a family doctor as she had just moved to another state. So I called Mom and Dad to get their professional opinions. Dad said take him in, so I did.
At the ER we sat and sat for a very long time. Dougan got some x-rays and all the other things like weight, blood pressure and such. Finally it was our turn to see a doctor. It probably took 4 hours to see a doctor. I don't know exactly because they don't have clocks anywhere. So the x-ray showed no damage to bones or ligaments. They took a culture from his knee to do some lab work. The doctor was surprised that the sample they took was so clear. He expected it to be cloudy. Anyway after a couple of hours the labs were back and the doctor came in to tell us that the results were very strange. Dougan's white blood cell count was elevated but not nearly at the level it should have been for an infection. He said it was a mystery. He wanted to confer with a bone doctor before he sent us home. At 11:15 a nurse came in an told us Dougan could get dressed and the doctor would be in shortly to give us a prescription. I asked her what time it was and if I could use the phone to call my husband in case he was waiting up. I left a message of what I knew and that we would be home soon.
A couple of hours later the nurse came back in and said she was sorry but Dougan had to get undressed again because our doctor had gone home and the doctor on duty now wanted to look at Dougan. He came in a little while later and checked him out and told us to just sit tight. An hour or so later he came in and told us we were being admitted and going into surgery at 5:30 am. They came to take us to the pediatric unit and I think the one taking us saw how exhausted I was. He asked me to sit on a wheel chair and hold Dougan so we could go up to peds. I had no problem with that. Once at peds they put an iv in Dougan and took us to his room. I looked at the clock and it was a little after 3 am. I couldn't believe it. We finally got to sleep at about 3:30 after the nurses gave us a rundown of what that morning would hold for us. I called Tony and left a message of what was happening at this point.
At 5 am we were woken up to head down to surgery. I sat in the physician's lounge until they were done and one of the doctors came and told me how well it went. Then I was told Dougan was awake and I could go see him. They wanted him to wake up so they kept taking to him. He was just crying because he was so tired. They took us back up to his room. There they wanted him to drink. Finally he woke up enough to drink and then they let us rest. We were woken up whenever a doctor or nurse had info for us. That day we pretty much just slept and waited for the results of the cultures they took from his knee.
From that point all the doctors were meeting together to decide what to do. They still could not find out exactly what started the infection but they knew it was something that was already in his body and because he had hurt his knee it just settled there. They all agreed to put him on antibiotics and one said he needed to stay in the hospital for four weeks. Of course we freaked out a little. It was really hard that first week trying to figure out who would stay at the hospital with Dougan and who would stay with the other kids at home and pick Koen and Eades up from school. Luckily family and friends were helpful and we somehow managed to juggled things for a week. Then the Barclays (some close friends of ours) came and picked up Koen, Eades, and Brandis and took them home with them. From then on the daily stress of bus schedules and someone having to be home nights with them was gone. I was able to just be with Dougan at the hospital.
It was hard to be away from the other three children but I knew they would be fine and I knew Dougan needed me. We were prepared for the remainder of the four weeks. Then a doctor joined in and said that in her and her colleague from Riley's opinions Dougan would only have to be there for three weeks. So that was it. The day before Thanksgiving Tony went and picked up the boys from the Barclay's and they were able to come to the hospital to spend Thanksgiving with us. It was great to all be together. I was so happy to see the boys that morning as it had been two weeks since I had last seen them. I could tell how happy they were to be together. That Saturday we were discharged and we got to come home. It was great too because my parents came from Nevada to celebrate a Thanksgiving/Christmas with us. It was a real home-coming party. And Dougan literally partied like a rock star because his present from Gram and Granddad was this awesome guitar that he just loves.
I know this will be a Thanksgiving that I will never forget. How grateful I was to be with my family, and to have Dougan be alright. It turns out that if Dougan had not fallen off that chair and hurt his knee a little we would have never known that he had an infection in his little body. He had no fever, no diarrhea, nothing that would have given us a clue. The doctors told Tony that if the infection did not attack his knee it would have attacked something else and we probably would have never known until the damage had been done. The infection could have destroyed a bone, a joint, or even an organ. So we saw what a blessing it was and now Dougan can make a 100% recovery. So that's it. That's the story. Dougan has a check-up on Friday and he'll meet with the surgeon in three months. We hope that all will be well. And if there is something still wrong that they will find it so we can fix it. But for now he's running and dancing around as usual. We thank you all for your thoughts and prayers and we thank our Heavenly Father for the blessings he continuously showers upon us.

Koen's Turn

So we're just going to do this even if he gives me a hard time. This is Koen and he is six.
Me: What's your favorite thing to do?
Koen: I don't know. Can we do this tomorrow?
Me: No, everybody's waiting so we're just doing it.

Me: Do you like school?
Koen: No.

Me: Why not?
Koen: Because it's boring.

Me: So do you like to do anything?
Koen: Yeah, skateboarding. But not at the skatepark. Cause I get hurt on my butt there.

Me: So, I see you lost a tooth. How was that?
Koen: Bad, because it hurt when I pulled it out.

Me: But it was kind of cool too huh?
Koen: Yeah.

Me: Are we done with the interview?
Koen: Yeah, (giggles).

Me: Thank you sir.
Koen: Sir?

Well, we got through it without him saying poop. Alright!

Ooops!

I forgot as part of being tagged I was supposed to go to the fourth folder in my pictures and post the fourth photo. So here it is. It's not very exciting I know, some of you have some really funny random pictures.

Tagged!

I got tagged by my neice. I'll post the rules but I'm not going to follow them. If you want to play then just follow the rules on your blog.

Here are the rules:
1. Link your tagger and list these rules on your blog.
2. Share seven facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird.
3. Tag seven people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs.
4. Let them know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

So here are my seven facts.
1. My ears have never been pierced.
2. I have TMJ and Scoliosis
3. I'm 5'6" tall.
4. My alter ego's name is Olivia.
5. I've never watched Jurassic Park.
6. I don't eat Oreos.
7. I'm the only person in my family with an older brother, an older sister, a younger brother, and a younger sister.

If you want to be tagged then you know what to do.

Here's My Dougan

This is Dougan. He's three and my third son.
Me: Do you want to be interviewed?
Dougan: Yes

Me: What do you like to do?
Dougan: Puzzles

Me: What's your favorite puzzle?
Dougan: Care Bears and Dinosaurs And I like animal games

Me: Do you like to sing?
Dougan: Yes, I want to sing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and the Itsy Bitsy Spider

Me: Are those your favorite songs?
Dougan: And ABC's Do you want to sing the Itsy Bitsy Spider?

singing break we sing all three songs and I get a high five afterwards

Me: Do you like your brothers?
Dougan: Yeah. (giggles)

Me: What is your favorite food?
Dougan: I don't know, soup. Yes, I do like soup. Mom, can we sing again?

singing break

Me: So, are we done with the interview?
Dougan: Uh mom, yes.

Me: Thank you Dougan.
Dougan: Aaah Welcome. Mom you sing Twinkle Twinkle and I sing ABC's.

That's the Dougan.

My little Eades

I liked the interviews that my sister did with her kids so much that I decided to try some of my own. This is Eades. He is 5 yrs. old and he is my second boy.
Me: What is your favorite thing to do?
Eades: I like to throw a ball at a target and make the person sitting up there fall in the water.

Me: Have you ever done that before?
Eades: No. I wish I did.

Me: Can I have a bite of your apple?
Eades: Yeah. If you squeeze the juice out, then you will have apple juice, right Mom?

Me: yep. yummy. Do you like school?
Eades: Uh. (long pause) Yes.

Me: Why do you like to go to school?
Eades: Cause you get to play at the park.

Me: What else should I ask you?
Eades: Uh, I love you.

Me: That's not a question. But thanks. I love you too.
Eades: What did we do at the hotel?

Me: Okay, what did we do at the hotel?
Eades: Swim at the pool. I wish we could go there again.

Me: You must have really had a great time there.
Eades: I did. I did have a great time.

Me: Well, Eades. I think I have enough for the interview. Thank you for your time.
Eades: Okay, your welcome.

So that is Eades.

Why do I do that?

I'm a knuckle cracker. I also believe in equal opportunity for my joints. If I crack one finger I have to crack them all. If I need to crack one twice I have to give it's mate at least a chance to crack again. If I crack one wrist I have to crack the other. I have a routine that gets every joint so nobody feels left out.
I am a knee bouncer. I don't bounce my knees all the time, but if they have to bounce, they have to bounce. One time I was in front of a congregation in a choir. I was bouncing those knees like there was no tomorrow. The woman next to me asked if I could stop because she was an epileptic and she thought I was going to give her a seizure. I had to stop. I did, but the effect was huge. I began to itch as if I had poison ivy. I spent the next hour and 10 min. itching and scratching. It was awful. I laugh when I think of it now, but then I thought I was going to die.
I step on the cracks but only with my right foot. It's a marching band habit, and I can't break it.
After pouring a bowl of cereal I have to make sure every morsel has been dunked before I can take a bite. I have to continue dunking the whole bowl before each bite. This drives my husband nuts. I also separate everything I eat. I eat the outside of the sandwich first. Then when I have just the middle left I eat the vegetables, then the bread, then the meat, then the cheese. Pizza is toppings, crust, cheese. Ho-Hos are outside coating, then scoop out the filling, eat the cake, and then eat the filling. I eat M&Ms, skittles, fruit snacks and cereals one color at a time. First yellow, then green, then orange, then brown, then red, then purple, then pink. Well with M&Ms greens are last but the rest is in their proper order.
I don't string my string cheese. I just eat it like I would eat a carrot.
Why do I do these things and what would happen if I stopped? I'm afraid to find out after what happened with the knees. The thing that bothers me about this, is that I can do all these things with exactness. I never let these habits down. But there are important things that really matter that I want to make into habits. I try and I try, but I still haven't mastered them. Why do I have needs of things that don't matter, that don't make a difference, and that are totally useless, and I can't manage to read to my child everyday for 15 min. That would be a great thing to have to do everyday or else itch like crazy. Why can't organizing my desk be like cracking my knuckles where I just have to do it, or I can't do or think about anything else? How do I make my goals into my needs, my have-tos? I'm serious. I want answers, tips, and suggestions.

Hello!

Okay, I realize I haven't done posts for awhile and even though I just finished a new one, I decided to write a second one as well, for my loyal fans who have been deprived for about two weeks.
I'm going to school right now. It takes me about 30 min. to get to school. So I have that time to think to myself, and occasionally talk to myself. Sometimes I'll just crank up the radio to my favorite stations and sing along, but other times I'm just thinking, pondering, and imagining. I actually enjoy it.
Today I was thinking about the fears I had as a child. Of course I was afraid of death like I think most children are. I remember being grateful for living across the street from the EMS and the fire department. I remember feeling bad for people who lived out in the country because they would probably die before anyone could get to them, yet I thought, that's too bad for them but I'm lucky because I'll be rescued before I die. This is what I thought about today because I saw a fire truck and some police drive past me.
Other times I think about projects I can do. I plan things and get excited. If only I could write things down while I was driving.
Other times a song will remind me of something. I'll start daydreaming about whatever and then next thing you know I just went through an intersection. I look in the mirror to make sure it was a green light. Luckily it always has been so my auto pilot is still working. Usually when I am thinking about a memory I decide I need to call the person the memory was with. That's when I start daydreaming about the conversation I'm going to have with that person when I get home. Then the next thing you know, I'm pulling in the drive-way.
It so much fun driving by myself. So what do you do when you're driving somewhere all alone?

Married with Children

So this summer I celebrated my seventh anniversary with my wonderful Husband Phat Tony. The other day I was reading in a magazine about having a seventh year itch anniversary party. Too bad I didn't read this earlier. I thought it was a cute idea. Anyway, it start me thinking about how long I have been married and all the things that have happened in the past seven years. The most important is the addition of our four boys. Just thinking about how many diapers I've changed, how many hugs I've given, and how many times I had to clean up vomit, I realize how much they have become my identity. I think if I was asked to introduce myself in a room of people it would be, HI, my name is Sarah and I'm the mom of four boys. That pretty much somes it up.
Okay and then there's the fact the I've been married for seven years. After seeing the article I thought, do I have the seven year itch. I actually don't. Tony is the man of my dreams so why would I get itchy feet over that. Besides who else would deal with me and I wouldn't want to raise the boys by myself. So that felt good realizing that I don't have the itch.
Then I started thinking about how I have changed. I'm going to be 31 in a couple of weeks. I was 23 when I got married. I have matured. I handle things a little better. I'm a little smarter. I think I'm a bit more organized. So even though my curves aren't as kickin' anymore, and my hair and make-up are rarely up to par, I think I might be a better housewife than I was at the beginning.
Now as a family things have changed. I think it took us awhile to figure things out but I like to think we finally have. We used to be like, A budget, whadget? Now I think we've become more financially responsible and we can see the light at the end of the tunnel. So we are at the point where we can keep up with maybe not the Jone's but the Johnson's lets say.
So we've got kids, wonderful husband, better self, and moving up in the world. Wow, when people say that marriage only gets better it looks like it could possibly be true.
Alright, as I re-read that I realized how cheesy it is. So I don't want it to sound like everything is totally wonderful and perfect. Sometimes I do tend to look at things with rose-colored glasses, but I think I truly like where we're at right now. I also have hope for the years to come. I know I have more maturing and growing to go and I hope I can see some progress in the next seven years.

Things I really like

So it's not that I didn't like the list that google came up with for me, but I decided to make a legitimate list of things I like.

1. Strawberry Licorice I don't really care for any other flavor. Twizzlers are the best but I'll eat red vines if I "have" to
2. Rain I actually just like the smell of it and how everything looks after it rains. Well, sometimes it's nice to be outside in it too. If I'm not going somewhere, but just playing in it.
3. Autumn I love the smells and the sights of fall. This is definitely my favorite season. Not too hot and not too cold. It's perfect.
4. Newborns You can't get any sweeter than this. I even love their cry. But the best thing about newborns is when you pick them up and they start to arch their backs. It is the cutest thing ever.
5. Campfires Just picture everyone around the fire calm and relaxed. It's dark out but everybody has a flickering light on their face. It smells perfect and you can sing songs, toast marshmallows, or just stare into the flames.
6. A certain green fruit often stuffed with pimento I had to put it on the list.
7. Road trips I love to go very far or just drive around for an hour. It doesn't matter, I just like it.
8. Taco Bell Have you ever had a chicken mexi-melt? Get one today. You won't regret it.
9. Game night I mostly enjoy doing this with my family, but if someones playing I want to be there too.
10. The color white This is my favorite color. I could go on about why I like white but I think it will suffice to say it's my favorite.
11. Chicken poop Ha ha ha (BTW, this is not really on the list)
12. Singing harmony I love doing this and I wish I could do it more often then just at church.
13. Silver white winters that melt into spring It just kind of felt a little "favorite things"ish
14. The number 14 This has been my favorite number for a long time. I can't remember why but I used to want 14 kids. Yeah, that's not going to happen.

Sarah Loves...

Here are the results of my google search, sarah loves.


Sarah loves pop culture. Sure I guess I'm a fan.
Sarah loves teletubbies. Who doesn't?
Sarah loves chicken poop. Yep, that's right, can't get enough.
Sarah loves her thumb. True, but only one of them.
Sarah loves you(in your dreams) This one sounds scary.
Sarah loves her autumn mascara. I also love my spring blush.
Sarah loves her chicken. Of course, it poops!
Sarah loves Zac. I'm assuming Efron. Yep that's right.
Sarah loves Ruth long distance. Wow, scarily accurate.
Sarah loves oysters. Whoever told you that is a liar and a fink.
Sarah loves ponies. Uh huh. Wait, ponies poop right?
Sarah loves Jonas brothers. How do they know this? My secret is out.
Sarah loves Momo and Momo loves spoons. Right, and spoons love me, we get it.
Sarah loves paper clips. I love the way that they hold paper together. Yeah, they're cool.

Alright so google what you love and blog it.

Math

I was so nervous about going back to school after all these years. Math class especially freaked me out. I've only gone to class four days now, but I'm doing surprisingly well. I thought I would be lost from the beginning and pulling my hair out. I enjoy doing my homework so much that I do extra. I have more fun doing math homework than I do crosswords and logic puzzles. I'm really happy about my major and I think I'll do really well.
Well there were two times that I made a fool out of myself in class already. On the second day the teacher asked me for the range of a function. I gave the correct answer but I added in some unneccessary information that she told me to leave out. It made sense once she said it and I was so disappointed in myself for not figuring it out before she had to tell me. The other time happened today when another student gave her a different formula than what was in the book. He also got the answer wrong so I assumed it was his incorrect formula. So she asked me what answer I got and I told her the correct answer and said I believed the formula on the board to be incorrect and I said what it should be. She said I made a good point and showed the difference between the formulas. Even though they go about it differently they end up with the same answer. Again, it was something that made so much sense and I was kicking myself for not figuring it out before I opened my mouth. At least I got the right answer though.
So on Monday we are going to be put into groups. I'm way excited. I don't really know what we're going to do in the groups, like are they study groups or are we going to be doing assignments together. But I can't wait to talk about math and do math and I also want to gage where I am in the group. I mean, am I at the front of the class or do I have some catching up to do? I just want to see where I'm at. I know it doesn't really matter as long as I get my good grades but I just want to know. Curious.
So anyway, I promise I won't blog about math all the time. I think this is probably a one time thing. I'm not even expecting comments. Really. I just wanted to talk about my previous anxiety that has now turned to excitement.

My Very Prestigious Award

Alright! I got my first blog award. Now I have chosen some of my favorite blogs. And the winners are....drum roll please.....

Just wait..... http://okeydokeyifine.blogspot.com

Puphi's Postings http://puphigirl.blogspot.com

Musings of the Mindless Banterer http://emmacmiller.blogspot.com

a Hoosier in Nevada http://ruthykins.blogspot.com

Now the winners can choose some of their favorites and post them so we can go visit those great blogs as well. A thank you very much.

Okay, I'll tell some of my secrets too.

To follow after my two sisters here are some of my confessions that I'm willing to admit to.
1. I love to people watch. I like to figure out what the story could be behind what I see. I could probably do this all day if I didn't mind offending people by staring at them. Seriously, this is one of my favorite things to do.

2. I can get myself scared very easily. I freak myself out by playing scenarios in my mind. It could be anything from being alone at night, to taking a class at school. I get myself so worked up that I have nightmares for weeks about what I thought up.

3. I love green olives. I could eat them all day. I only buy them on special occasions though because I view them as a treat. My boys love them too and when we order pizza we always get green olive and ham. Or sometimes just green olive. I'm a green olive freak. I would gladly except them as a birthday or Christmas gift. But only get me the Mario brand. I'm very particular. Just a little plug there.

4. I love to camp. I love the fires, I love the food, I love the air, the sounds, the smells, the stars. I love that I don't have a phone and there are no appointments.

5. I love to dress up. I don't get many opportunities to do this but I wish I had more. I don't just mean fancy dress, dress up. I mean costumes. Seventies, eighties, witch, anything. I love it.

6. Little House on the Prairie is my favorite show. Caroline is my favorite. Watch it, you'll love it.

7. I have only bought Christmas presents for my kids once. We do the nativity story and usually some decorations, but no gifts. They get enough from their grandparents anyway. We do buy them each one thing at tax returns though. One of my friends thinks this is awful. Let me know what you think. If the response is overwhelming I might change my ways.

8. I love to eat. I remember events by what I ate. I go to some events just for the food. I love to make food and I love to eat it. I wish I was a better cook so I could make whatever I wanted all the time. Lunch was my favorite subject in school. I still look forward to meal times. I don't really snack much. I guess I just like the meal.

9. I too am a sap. If I see another person crying I start to cry too. If I see another person suffering or scared, I cry. When I was ward chorister I had to make sure I did not look at the other saps during certain hymns because I knew I would just burst out into tears. I hate driving by accidents with ambulances. I imagine up a story and I start to cry. I once saw a father with three young children on the side of the road and the daughter was just bawling and the father was hugging all of them. I mean, how can you not cry when you see that?

10. I'm curious. I like to know what the heck is going on all the time. For example, when my hubby gets off the phone my line of questioning begins. I want to know word for word what was said. I want to know what my kids are doing all day long in school. I want to know how so and so makes her funeral potatoes because they taste better than everybody else's. I want to know how he proposed to her and how she answered back. When I hear news I want details. I can usually stifle my curiosity so it looks like I'm cool, but deep down I want to know everything.

well tens a good number end with and I can't really think of anything else right now. remember, I want your vote on if my kids should get presents this year or not.

I'm not so perfect

Last week I was going crazy not knowing who my kids' teachers were and what time the bus would pick them up. They don't like to tell you till last minute. So I decided to go to the school myself to see if I could get some information. I got myself all ready so I would look like one of those supermoms who always look perfect and of course I must care a lot about my kids if I'm taking the time to come down to the school. Right? I decided to take my two darling school boys down their with me too. We get there and I walk in holding their hands, of course. We go to the office and I ask if they have the teacher assignments yet and if we could take a tour of the school. This will be their first year at this school. The secretary tells me that she's just filling in so she wouldn't know how to look up their teachers but she knows I'll get something in the mail this week. BTW School starts next Tuesday and I still don't know who their teachers are. I don't know why this freaks me out but it does. Anyway back to the story. So we're in the office and the secretary starts talking to the boys assuring them that they will like the school. I look down at my sweet boys and suddenly I feel ill. They both have their faces covered lunch ... jelly sandwiches. I am now officially mortified. I wanted to leave right then but she's still talking to them. Just then she takes a break and I feel like it's a good time to make our exit. Then some young guy comes into the office and the substitute secretary calls him over to make sure she gave me all the correct information about the letters being mailed out. He of course talks to the boys too. Why oh why? Well I'm sure I left quite the impression on them. Obviously not the one that I wanted to. So after he's done we run out of there, get in the car, and take off as quickly as we can. I also give each of them a wipe to clean their faces on the way home. Like it really matters anymore. The only comfort I can gather from the situation is that she was just a substitute. That's what I keep telling myself anyhow.

Ha Ha Funny!!!

Our young women took the personality color test as part of our activity one night. One question had fun-loving as one of the choices. One of the girls thought that was absurd because who wouldn't love fun? I thought that was funny because I had picked another choice and I wondered why I didn't choose fun-loving. I mean, I like to have a good time. It reminded me of one of my sister's blogs where she laughed so hard she almost wet her pants. I never laugh that hard. So me and the other leader explained that to some people fun is not one of their priorities. Some people love other things more than fun and that is why the question made sense.
So this led me to wonder what I love more than fun and why I don't laugh on a regular basis. As far as the laughing goes, I think I'm just lame. I mean, I smile when something funny happens and sometimes I will do a laugh out loud, but I'm not rolling over in an uncontrollable fit.
So what do I love more than fun? I love being in control. I think that includes my emotions. I love my family, so that means I don't get to party party party. I think I love being boring. Well needless to say the young women were very disappointed in me and the other leader for not being fun-loving and the one even went on to say that she will be a very fun-loving mother.
I think that I could do with a little more fun in my life and I know that when I do laugh the most it's when I'm around my family; parents, siblings, neices, nephews, husband and children. Heck, sometimes I even laugh at myself. So if you ever feel the need to amuse an otherwise very dull person give me a call, write a humorous blog, or send me those funny forwards. I promise I'll at least crack a smile.

Memory Game! Come on it's fun!

Let's Play the Memory Game!
1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory of me. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember!2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty fun to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you.

School Details

Okay, so my sister asked where I was going to school so I figured others might be wondering the same. I'm going to IUSB. I'm going in Secondary Education with an emphasis in Physical Science. I was originally going to continue with German Education but I decided I wanted to get a job after graduation. In this area they don't offer that as much. It will be three years of school and then I can start student teaching and then I can get a job.

School

Well I finally did it. I sat down tonight and planned my college courses for the next three years. The sad thing is, I know that was the easy part. Because I have not gone to school while married with four kids, I do not know what to expect. I also have not been in a classroom in seven years. My courses sound tough but I'm hoping I will get back into my school groove and that perhaps the professors will take into consideration that many students have kids and most likely jobs and they shouldn't make things too difficult for us. I'm naive aren't I?
I know that my mom went to school having a family and I know that some of my siblings have done the same. This really does give me comfort and encouragement that I should be able to do it. So if any of you have any wisdom you would like to impart I am willing to glean from your advice and knowledge.

Brandis

Here's a picture of Brandis. Yeah, I wasn't fulling anyone. There's no way this kid could put down that many berries.

I'm a pig

I went to a fellowship dinner last night at some people in my ward's house. I was starving. I mean hungry. So I took some spaghetti, some couscous, some chili, brownies, some cream cheesy desert, and some berries. Those were my firsts. I went back for seconds and after that I began my berry breakdown. Someone had brought a huge bowl of mulberries. I could not stop eating them. Tony was a little embarrassed. He's like, "um, people are looking at you". I just couldn't stop. I pretended like I was feeding them to Brandis, but I was chowing down. Well, after like my fifth full plate of berries I started to feel sick. So I just nibbled on them for another HALF HOUR. Why couldn't I stop even after feeling ill? Who knows but I need to find a u-pick because even today I want some more.

So tired

We had a ward picnic today. I like potlucks and picnics and such because I can try new things and not have it go to waste. I mean, even if people don't particularly like it, it's already on their plate so they'll probably eat it anyway, unless it's totally horrible of course. But if I try something new at home and nobody likes it, the leftovers just sit in the fridge until I can either finish them myself or just end up throwing it out. So today I tried two new dishes to fully take advantage of my unsuspecting crowd. I always feel so proud when I see people go up for seconds or when they ask who brought that great dish. Which they did today. Props for me.
So anyway. I started getting my dishes prepared last night with cutting veggies and cooking noodles and such. I stayed up pretty late but I also had to wake up early to bake a cake which needed to be refrigerated after baking. I couldn't bake it last night because the pudding in it probably would have turned it to mush. I digress. Then we got there and I spent my time feeding, chasing, playing with, and counting the heads of my children, for three and a half hours. Then my husband thought it would be fun to go swimming at his mom's. By the way he fished the whole time at the picnic except when he came to eat for ten minutes. While at Gramma's I mowed a lawn, played ball, fed children, performed two wardrobe changes for all the kids, and played with a great big dog. We were there for about five hours. Five hours. Five hours. Five.
Now I'm home and I'm exhausted. I have my feet propped up right now. My kids are worn out too. They are all being so quiet watching Shrek. When you play hard on a hot day this is to be expected. All in all though, today was one of those good days that make life so wonderful. It was beautiful weather and we were outdoors almost all day. I also love to see my kids just running around having fun with all their little friends. It reminds me of when I was little.
You know I just realized why my legs are so unbelievably sore. I went to a kick boxing class yesterday for the first time. I am way out of shape. I guess after being on my feet all day just made it worse. Maybe I'll go soak in the tub or something.
In case you were wondering I made a Greek pasta salad and a pina colada cake. Both were big hits.
Well goodnight. Calgon, take me away!

Vacation

We went on a family vacation last weekend. We just went camping near Lake Michigan. We camped at Weko beach. It was awesome. We got to use our new tent that we've been waiting to use for a long time. I was so glad that it was big enough for the whole family. We also went to a great water-park. The boys loved it. Dougan liked the kiddie play place and the wave pool. Eades liked the lazy river and these two waterslides and the bigger kiddie play place. Koen liked everything. He even went on the funnel slide all by himself. I wasn't even brave enough to do that one. My friends did talk me into going on three huge slides. I'll admit, I was scared stupid, but I had to act cool and do it. We went on the least scary one first and it wasn't that bad, so I went on the medium scary slide. It was okay, so I mustered up my courage and went on the biggest of the three. It had a big drop where you were just floating the whole way down. I screamed heartily but I made it safely. Well after I survived those I was done. There were still two mammoth horrifying slides left across the park but I knew I would wet my already wet bathing suit if I dared go down those. I stuck with the kiddie play place until I fell asleep for about an hour. That is when I got sunburned. Fun, huh?
Oh, I forgot like the best part. We spent our vacation with the Barclay family. The whole gang was here. Jed had just gotten home from his mission, and the married siblings and there spouses all made it too. I love how they interact with my children and how they love them so much. I'm just so glad that we got to know them and have the close relationship that we have. I am a really big Barclay family fan.
It was also so great to be away from home. I didn't have a phone and I didn't have appointments. Life got to be simple and easy for a few days. I mean even at 5:30 in the morning when I was starting a fire, I just got to enjoy hearing the birds and feeling the breeze. It was the break that I needed. I can't wait to do it again.

Must have been a bad dream

Have you ever dreamt something that seemed so real that the next day you think it really happened? I do this regularly. Most of the time it deals with my husband, Tony. Like if in my dream he does something sweet and romantic, I am in a great mood the next day and ready to give him a big kiss. On the other hand, if he does something jerky in my dream, I am upset with him and treat him like he deserves the dog house. I usually figure out that it was all just a dream and that I should get my attitude in check right away.
So yesterday I had a friend call me. I couldn't find the phone so while I'm looking for it she's leaving a message. When I hear her start to talk I get so mad at her. I think, 'how dare she call me after what she did yesterday'. I keep looking for the phone and find it behind a couch cushion. So I answer and act cool like nothing is wrong, but while I'm talking I'm trying to remember exactly what happened. So the conversation ends and I'm still trying to figure it out. Then I realize that I didn't even see or talk to her the day before and that it must have just been a bad dream that put me in such a horrible mood towards her. I felt just awful that I could have such spiteful feelings about someone who really did absolutely nothing to deserve it. I mean what if I would have treated her the way I felt like I wanted to treat her?
The thing that surprised me the most is that I typically don't feel spite or anger towards other people. Well, let's exclude children and spouse from that comment. I mean it takes a lot to get me mad and even then I am still able to separate the person from the act so as not to change my relationship too drastically with that person. I can't remember exactly what I dreamt but I do remember that her and I had a terrible fight. I think in my dreams I must be a lot more passionate because they really do effect me. Usually I am even tempered to where my ups are not much different from my downs. Well, unless I'm tired. Then I'm in a bad mood no matter what and you know it. But in my dreams I get feisty and angry and elated and depressed and all the feelings that when I'm awake I must suppress.
So, lesson learned. I love my dreams. Sometimes I can't wait to go to bed and I even try to pick up where the night before left off, if it was a great dream. But I have to remember that they are just dreams and I can't go around reacting to them in REAL life. It's not fair to REAL people. The important thing is now I know, and knowing is half the battle. And now if you've read this and I ever treat you differently than I should. I most likely dreamt about you. And I apologize.
SEE YOU IN MY DREAMS!!!!!! HA HA HA HA

Eades is Choosing the Right

Eades found his old CTR ring yesterday in our kitchen drawer. I adjusted it to his now bigger fingers which he thought was awesome. He thinks I can fix anything. I let him believe it. And he has been wearing it proudly since then. Eades loves bling. He says someday, when he's big, he will give all his money to buy all the diamonds in the world. He says he will give me two. I know, all the diamonds in the world and he can only spare two for his dear old mum. He also likes gold, silver, and money. But he is more of a collector than a spender so I am not too worried about him. So anyway, I figured he only likes the ring because it is jewelry. But then I heard him lecturing Dougan about choosing the right. He was trying to teach him that if they all choose the right they can play together without fighting. Maybe there really is some magic behind those little things. Well, let's hope so, and let's hope that it keeps working.

Koen and his board

This is a picture of Koen with his new skateboard. He is so excited.

If you know Koen then you know he is a bit like myself. He is very shy and stubborn. Sometimes I just have to laugh at how he acts because I understand it and I don't think others do. He had his yearly check up today. He has a new doctor so they wanted to make sure he was at the appropriate levels socially, mentally, and physically. Whenever the doctor or nurse talked to him he would just sit there with no response. I thought it was hilarious. They asked him what grade he would be in next year. He was silent. So I ask him and he squeaks out a "first". She asks him to draw a picture of a person and he just slowly takes the pen and clicks it shut and then back open and then sits there smiling. I ask him to draw a person and he draws a little stick figure. The doctor tries to draw a square and asks him what shape it is. He just looks at her. Then she says, "well let me draw it better". So she draws a better one and he looks at me first for the nod and then mutters, "square". I'm just giggling to myself. So she goes on with the physical and then has him do things like stand on one foot and walk as if on a tight rope. Then she leaves to go make copies of his immunization record. Koen informs me that the first square she drew was more of a rectangle. Then he starts talking about how he likes this new doctor's office. He talks about how they have fish and the other one didn't. He talks about how he likes to go to the dentist better because they let him pick out a toy. And he is just talking, talking, talking. Oh, he is so me. Then she comes back in and he shuts up like a clam. It brings back memories of when I was young.

What am I talking about, I still have my shyness. I was talking about being shy with someone the other day. I said even though I was terribly shy, I was still very much a social person. I loved being around people. I didn't want them to speak to me or look at me, but I wanted to be around them. I played t-ball, I went to gymnastics, I had friends. I did not let my shyness close me off, probably thanks to my mother. I see the same desires from Koen. He doesn't want to just be left alone. He wants to play, and experience things. I have studied how to parent a shy child. I know I'm still not an expert but I have picked up some good advice. The best is to keep giving him opportunities but not to force. So far I think things are going alright. I am interested in seeing how he acts at the skate park. He won't know anybody there, and they will most likely all be older then him. He really wants to do it though and I think this will be a great thing for him to do. I mean, I might even be more excited than he is. Well, I'll write about his experiences there later as they come.

This is Koen and his cake. Yes, he is in his underwear. It's hot today.

Koen's Birthday!

Today Koen turned six. We just had a little party at home today. I wasn't on the ball this time to plan anything bigger. He got a big boy gift this time. Usually he gets a spider-man figurine or something like that. He still likes getting those but this time he wanted a skateboard like his cousin Logan. Tony and I were able to buy the present and get it into the house without Koen noticing, but since it was all too big to wrap we were worried he would find it in Tony's closet. He didn't, it's just a boring old closet anyway. So when it was time to open the gift we sent him up to the closet. He came down with the skateboard. He somehow missed the big red helmet and knee and elbow pads, so we sent him back up to get the rest. It was all spider-man so he loves it. As a matter of fact, he's wearing the helmet right now. I can't wait to take him to the skate park. Koen is good at everything he tries so it will be fun to see him learning new tricks.

I'm a mom of four boys. Help!!!!

I'm thirty years old. I will be married for seven years this month. I have four boys. Koen will be six tomorrow, Eades will be 5 in July, Dougan is 3, and Brandis is 1 yr, old. My boys are very active. They love to run and play and just be boys. Sometimes it gets so crazy at home. Like tonight. The three older boys came running into the dining room each wielding a make shift sword. Two had the sticks from the blinds and the other had a little kid broom stick. I had to stop that party. Luckily they know how to play swords without actually hurting each other, so no e.r. visits were required. The only thing I can do is take one day at a time and enjoy the times good times like when Eades says I'm his best friend, or when Koen asks me a deep question and believes that I'll know the answer. I am grateful that I get to stay home to watch Brandis do all his firsts and develop his personality, and I love Dougan and his knock-knock jokes. Here's a sample; "Knock Knock" "Who's there?" "Monster...Hee hee hee hee...mom, laugh!!"
So I guess even though it's hard to have these small, wild, guys of mine, it's totally worth it when I sit back and see how blessed I am.