McDonald's Car Seat Inspector

Did you know that McDonald's now employs a car seat inspector? No? Me neither! Last Monday Jason and I (and the little girls, Kori was at my parents) decided to go to the store. We needed some necessities before my surgery in case we didn't get out for a few days. Afterward we hit McDonald's for some lunch to take home since it was that time and the girls needed to get down for a nap. Jason got some Chinese from the little place at the grocery store so the girls and I were on our own. There was a McDonald's right there and although it's not the healthiest, it was convenient and the key is moderation right?

Well it's about 95 degrees, not counting the humidity. We order, pull around and pay and I roll the window back up to keep my precious cool A/C air from escaping. Jason and I are talking amongst ourselves with the drive-thru guy taps on my window again. Now I should mention this is a 2-window set-up where you pay at window #1 and then proceed to window #2 to pick up your food. They were running a bit slow so we were waiting to move on to window #2. Well window #1 guy taps on my window. I roll it back down and he gives me this strange, apologetic, sheepish kind of look. He then proceeds with "I notice you have your kids in your car". Uh, yep that's right I inform him. Geesh, these McDonald's people ARE observant aren't they. He then proceeds to tell me that my girls would be MUCH safer in the middle row instead of in the back row, in case we are rear ended. Huh? Is he giving me safety advice? Does he even have kids of his own? I assure him that my children are properly restrained utilizing the LATCH system for car seat restraints, I am confident in the safety features of my vehicle, at which time I roll up my window and finally proceed to window #2 to get my food.

I was in shock a bit. I guess I should be thankful he cares enough about children across America to mention it, but that did little to make me feel better. I don't think working the drive-thru window at the local McDonald's makes you the authority on car seat safety, just because you can observe the kids in said car seats as they pass through for their Happy Meals. Shouldn't he be more concerned that I'm feeding my kids the crap they pass off as a healthy meal? That would make more sense to me huh?

In hindsight I should have just looked at him and smiled, saying NOTHING, as I rolled my window back up. Several degrees of my nice cool air escaped as I tried to assure him that my kids are safe.

We left to go to the bank today and Jason asked me if we needed to hit McDonald's for a car seat safety inspection. Funny guy I'm married to. I passed, I think we're okay.

Allow Me To...

Ramble. I feel so out of touch with everyone and everything. I am feeling somewhat better and if the congestion would leave it would make the pressure in my face and head go away, I would feel so much better.

The "walk in the park" surgery that I had, was everything but a walk in the park. It was very painful and I was not prepared for that. My dad had the same surgery last year and he bounced right back. Well he had the slightly abbreviated version of what I had. He only had a couple procedures done at once, I had five. Maybe I shouldn't have listened to him so much when he assured me that it was a piece of cake.

The first 24 hours was horrendous. The packing and shunts in my nose made life unbearable, to say the least. Thank goodness for Darvocet. Foreign objects should never be shoved into your nasal passages, it's just not normal. Once they were out, it was somewhat better in that I didn't have anything shoved up my nose. The congestion though. I mean, total and complete congestion. No breathing at all. Not fun.

I called the doctor today and his nurse said I could use some Afrin to relieve some of it, and while it hasn't helped a whole lot, a little is better than nothing. I go back to see the doctor on Thursday to see how things are going.

On to other things.

We learned on Saturday that the brother of a friend of ours passed away as the result of injuries received in an ATV accident. He was only 38 and leaves behind a wife and two small children. Very sad.

We also learned the brother of a former co-worker of both Jason and I had passed away after a brief, but brave battle with cancer. It was a very rare kind and was Stage 4 when it was discovered. He was only 32 years old and also leaves behind a wife and two small children.

So to the Meyer and Selock families, know that you are in our thoughts and prayers. I know the loss of a sibling and it is rough! Somedays it's hard to imagine putting one foot in front of the other, but you must, they would want you to.

Jason is gearing up for a "guys weekend at the lake" this weekend. He will leave on Friday morning and return on Sunday afternoon. Probably good for him to get away. He's done a good job in extra help this week with the girls since I've been feeling so cruddy. He also works hard so he deserves a break. I'm taking a weekend in October and going to Chicago so I will get mine too!

I think while he's one Becky, Mallory and my girls are going to drive to see my brother-in-law Jason's grandmother. She is a fabulous lady and was recently diagnosed with lung cancer. It's unlikely she'll make it back to KC anytime soon in good health, so we're going to visit her. She loves my girls and we thought it would be nice for her to see them again. She hasn't seen them in person since they were very young. So I think that's our plans, as long as I am feeling okay. It's a couple hour drive there so we'll go up, visit, have some lunch and head back. Not bad hopefully.

Well I suppose I've rambled on enough, I should go find something to do. Right after I find somemore Tylenol for this darn headache.

Like Crap!

That's how I feel. Crappy! Ugh! I was NOT prepared for how bad this was going to feel. My head feels like it is full on cement. I can't breathe out my nose at all. When I swallow I feel like I am drowning because I can't breathe since my nose is so stuffed up.

The packing and shunts came out yesterday. OH MY GOODNESS did that ever hurt! I seriously thought I was going to pass out. The girl before me (she was like 17) came out carrying her packing and shunts in two little plastic jars. She told me I should to. Uh no thanks. NO ONE wants to see that. Apparently she's taking her to show her biology teacher. Bet he's gonna love that! Anyhow getting them out was extremely painful but I did feel somewhat better once they were out. Having hard plastic pieces wedged up your nose is no walk in the park.

I apparently will be congested for a while until the swelling in my sinuses goes down. Oh goody!

My husband went back to work tonight so it's just the girls and I. I am trudging along but it's not easy. It's an effort for one foot in front of the other. He's off this weekend, so I think I can survive.

I'm off in search of more darvocet and my bed. I am tired and miserable. **Sigh**

Surgery Break

Due to sinus surger tomorrow (Yikes! I am nervous!) I will probably not post for a couple of days.

Know that while I am down I will be trying to remember anything import with which to entertain you upon my return.

I will save my post about the safety conscious McDonald's employee for my return. It's a doozy!

Unusual

Today is Friday, hooray! No work for Jason, no off-duty either, can it be? Whatever will we do?

Well Kori decided that she was going to my parents for some spoiling and a break from her sisters. My dad had a doctor's appointment so her and I headed to the library before she left so we could get her some more books. One more list to complete and she's fulfilled the maximum level in the summer reading program! She's like her mommy, she loves to read!

Jason dropped her off and ended up helping my dad with a couple things around the house. When he got back and the trio got up from their nap we headed to Walmart. I needed to get Kori's school supplies (already, can it be???) and Jason needed a few things as well.

Afterwards we decided we'd head to Longhorn for some dinner. The girls were well rested and in good moods so heck why not! There was a short wait but they kept themselves happy with their little containers of Goldfish crackers. We waited in the vestibule area because the inside was full and neither Jason or I felt like wrangling two year olds for 15-25 minutes to keep them from running into oncoming traffic in the parking lot. The vestibule it was. Jason could watch the baseball game on TV and the girls were happy as can be. They turned the heater that is used in the winter into seats and there they sat, happily munching their Goldfish. Oblivious to the fact that they were on display for everyone who entered and exited to see.

The comments started right away. The standard: Uh oh, triple trouble. Wow, you've got your hands full! TRIPLETS? (Said in a LOUD shrieking tone). WOW! Oh man!

We also had the dumb ones: Are they twins? (Uh no, that would be TWO not THREE). All girls? (Yes they are all wearing earrings and lavender shirts, not to mention the sandals with big flowers on them). Do you sleep? (No but it's because I have insomnia not triplets). Jason's favorite was the lady who walked by and said, "Oh my goodness you have TWINS???" He replied, "Nope, triplets, that's why there's three of them".

There was a lady that came out with her son. She quickly told us that little Sebastian was one. She then crouched next to the heater/seat the girls were occupying started talking to Sebastian about how he was looking at THREE girlfriends! "Not ONE, not TWO, but THREE!" She was loud and slightly strange. Alexis was a bit uneasy but she stuck it out, for now. She went on and on about how she could have used the girls as a distraction an hour ago. Apparently little S wasn't being so cooperative during dinner. She then said, "Look Sebastian, this is Sabrina (she taps Alexis on her head), Lilly (taps Kamryn) and Tabitha (taps Morgan) aren't they sweet!" Jason and I are now looking at each other as if to say, huh? Anyway, we clarify their real names and Alexis has had enough of S's mom invading her personal space. She bolts across the vestibule and hides behind my leg. I can't blame her, I was about to do the same to Jason and hide behind his leg. This woman was getting weirder by the minute. S had lost interest in the girls and was wandering in circles. Thankfully her friends/family came out and they were on their way. On her way out the door she hollers "Oh, by the way, GOOD LUCK!" Uh, ok. Thank you? Did she mean good luck with dinner? With the kids behaving? With the service? The weather? Aliens invading from Mars? Weird!

We're pretty used to it, so no big deal. Until out came an older lady and her husband. She commented to the girls that her grandson just LOVES Goldfish crackers. So do 2,335,081,993,720 other kids in America and probably worldwide but whatever. She then proceeds to say, "Triplets, OH MY GOD! Oh honey, I feel sorry for you!!!" My reply, "Please don't it's not necessary, my children are healthy and beautiful, and well behaved as you can see, we really don't need your pity". Jason stifled a giggle as I looked at him and rolled my eyes. Did that stop her? Nope, as she's leaving she says, "Well at least you don't have to have anymore since you have enough?" Enough what? Kids? Heck she doesn't know that I was missing one. Who is to say three kids is enough? I can have as many kids as I want (I don't want more but I hate people implying they know what is right for me and my family). I mean I have four kids, not 18 or however many that Duggar family are up to now.

I just get soooo frustrated sometimes when people open their mouths without thinking.

Anyway thankfully we were beckoned to our table via the vibrating light-up coaster/pager thing. The girls were awesome and ate so great! We got LOTS of compliments on how well behaved they were so it was fine. Even better I didn't have to cook!

Can't wait to see what Saturday brings!

G-L-A-M-O-R-O-U-S

If anyone were to associate a single word with my life, that one should NEVER be associated anywhere near it, ever. Rewarding yes! Satisfying, most of the time! Insane, you got it! Glamorous, not so much!

Tonight the girls and I were outside playing since the humidity wasn't 1,000% for a change.

The neighbor lady came down because her little girl wanted to see the "triple-lips", apparently that's what she calls them. Very funny! She also wanted to talk to me about school. Her little boy will start Kindergarten next month, and like me she is totally clueless about it all.

So we talked for a bit. Shared our experiences etc. I offered to take and pick up little "L" since they only live about 4 houses down from us if she didn't want him to ride the bus etc. Well we're chatting and they are about to head home and I mention we're heading in for baths.

About that time Kamryn, who had been clinging to my leg as if the neighbor lady was a masked murderer (she wasn't crying, just clinging and peeking at said neighbor) all of a sudden hands me something.

"Okay, good talking to you!" I say to the neighbor. I look down and Kamryn has handed me a bit of smooshy poop. Yep, you read that right, P-O-O-P! Is that why the neighbor scurried off, or was that my imagination? Wow! That's fantastic, I know have a bit of poo in my hand, not a huge amount, but in my eyes, ANY poo in your hand is NOT a good thing.

I am trying to quietly tell Kori that we have to get in side, NOW! She's trying to persuade me to look at one of the side walk chalk drawings Morgan did previously. She's swearing to me that Morgan wrote her name.

Kori: Mom, come look, I swear, she wrote it.
Me: (Whispering!) Not now Kori I have poop in my hand.
Kori: Huh? Come on mom, real quick, it'll only take a second!
Me: No Kori, poop is in my hand? (STILL trying to whisper)
Kori: Why are you whispering, I can't hear you?
Me: BECAUSE I HAVE POOP IN MY HANDS AND I DON'T NEED THE WHOLE NEIGHBORHOOD TO KNOW THIS LITTLE NOT SO GREAT FACT!
Kori: Okay, don't freak out, I'm coming.

**Sigh** **Sigh** **Sigh**

Did I mention that Morgan decided after stepping into our garage that it would be a GREAT and opprotune time to remove her diaper. A diaper that was also full of poop. Thankfully it was contained and not everywhere, but I had to hurry and herd her inside without touching anyone with my yucky, poo-y hand.

Thanks neighbor lady for causing my kids colons to release all at one!

Thanks Kamryn for the little gift you gave me!

Thanks Morgan for waiting until we were in the garage before removing your poopie diaper.

I can only imagine what our neighbors see and what they must TRULY think of us.

G-L-A-M-O-R-O-U-S! Yep, that's my life!

Coming Soon To A Network Near You!

CSI:Kansas City While playing outside this evening I thought this would be fun! The last thing I told Kori as she was doing mine, was don't make me look fatter than I already am. She assured me she wouldn't. She's not always so truthful. I could tell as she was tracing me that it wasn't going well since she was about 6-8 inches away from my acutal body. So now I look like a really large tree trunk, with a head. Anyhow enjoy! (P.S. - Don't mind the extra blue scribbles that Kamryn decorated my chalk outline with!)

Kori:


Alexis:


Morgan:


Kamryn:


Mommy:

THANK YOU!

AUNT BECKY! Big thanks to my little sis for giving us her tickets to Starlight Theater (it's a great outdoor theater here in KC) to see High School Musical. Not only did she give us her tickets, parking pass and discount card for the gift shop, she came over and kept the little girls so that Kori and I could go since daddy had to work (did I mention how O-V-E-R the night shift I am recently? If not I am soooooo O-V-E-R the night shift!)

Anyhow Kori and I had a blast! The show was great! Kori got some one on one time with Mommy, the girls got to drive Aunt Becky crazy, everyone wins!

So thanks again Becky! I am appreciative that I have you not only in my life, but the lives of my little girls. They love you and so do I! Mwah!

Happy Birthday!

To my dear friend Liz!!!! (For me it's still Monday,but technically since it's 1:40 a.m., it's Tuesday so Happy Birthday! She is an amazing, mother and friend and I am so thankful to have had her in my life for the last 17 years...(YIKES is that even possible???), with MANY more to come! She is Kori's god mother, and a wonderful "family" member for my little girls too!

A little background, she trained me when I first started on the P.D. a looooong time ago. I learned so much from her and am so grateful that she was such a wonderful teacher! It helped me be a better employee when I was on the P.D.

She always listens to me whine, gripe, moan, complain etc. etc. etc. and she never complains. If I need her I know that she is only a phone call away, for that I am TRULY grateful! There aren't many people in my life that I can truly count on, especially outside of my family, but I know that she is one of them. She is always so supportive and encouraging in everything I do, and it keeps me going on some of those days when I want to give up!

So to my 2nd mom, Happy Birthday! I love ya!!!!

Cinderella

Today I cleaned. Not just semi-cleaned, or halfway cleaned. I got down into it, hands and knees, elbow grease, down to the baseboards, like I was working for the evil step mother type of cleaning.

With summer here, Kori home for summer break, vacation, three two year olds, a non-stop sinus infection since April, it was in need of some TLC. The extras that I do had been forgotten and needed help so I jumped in. I was actually in the mood so that helped.

I wiped down all the railings and spindles in the kitchen. Removed the boosters and cleaned them. (Man those kids can be messy!) Wiped down the sides and legs of the kitchen table and chairs. (Did I mention the messy eaters I have?) Dusted all the bird houses on the tops of my cabinets.

I scrubbed, dusted, fluffed, degreased, spot removed, crawled, swept, mopped, vaccumed, you name it, I did it.

All the floors that are moppable (that is NOT a word, I know, but I'm using it anyway) have been hand mopped. Thankfully it's only three bathrooms, the kitchen and the entry way tile. I did windows, ceiling fans, baseboards. I'm sure there are some unhappy homeless spiders around here.

I started around 11:30 this morning and finished at 10:15 tonight. Now mind you I had to stop to help tend to the kiddos and such, but I worked like a dog to get everything done and spotless.

I know that it will only last a short amount of time before it is wrecked, but for now, my inner Zen has been restored and I am happy. The windows and floors are gleaming. It smells nice. What more can I ask for?

So today I played Cinderella and I am okay with that. Kori even remarked over how nice everything looked before she went to bed.

I still have a bit of laundry to finish up and I think tomorrow night I'll do some ironing so I don't have to stand there for 3-hours in a couple of weeks ironing and cursing to myself for getting behind.

But for now, it's clean, and I am happy, tired, but still happy.

Lesson Learned?

We've had a drippy faucet in our master bathroom shower for a while. It started out just dripping as you were showering, then it started dripping for a few seconds after you'd turn the shower off. For a while now it's been dripping pretty much all the time. A couple weeks ago Jason got a new faucet on one of his MANY trips to Lowe's.

Today he decided, since it was raining and he couldn't work on his shed, that he would replace it. My husband HATES plumbing things. They never go right, he gets frustrated and it usually results in a call to the plumber which usually means $$$.

Anyway, today was the day! He came down after about 30-minuted and passed me hand mopping the kitchen floor (that's a whole nother post after this one) and I gave my best "how's it going?". His reply "Not good, I can't get the stupid old one off!" Oh goody.

After some more time I went to see if I could render any assistance. It appeared to be his pliers weren't getting a great grip on the ring he was trying to twist and remove. I asked him if he'd tried putting a towel over it and twisting with the towel on it. His reponse you ask? Nothing! Silence! It was as if he was ignoring me. I took that to mean that it was a stupid idea, as that's how he usually reacts when he doesn't agree with my rationale. I then suggested some WD-40. He figured he'd tried everything else so why not.

I returned to my role as "Cinderella" and was cleaning the living room when he jubilantly popped out of our master bedroom holding the old piece and proclaimed, "Haaaaa, I finally got it off!" Giving thanks quiety to myself because we could call the plumber, who was coming later, on a Saturday, which would mean lots of $$$ and cancel, I asked him how he got it off. His reply you ask? "I used a towel to get a better grip!" I then informed him that I told him that about 1 1/2 hours ago. Incredulous he didn't believe me. I finally got him convinced and his reply? "You need to be more assertive and make sure I hear you, I'm sure I didn't hear you." Whatever! If I get more assertive then I'm being bossy, less assertive and I'm a pain.

So maybe he learned a lesson? After 12-years together, and almost 10-years married, maybe now he will learn that sometimes I do have good ideas and occasionally I might even know what I'm talking about?

Naaaaaah, not gonna happen.

Baseball!

Daddy and Kori:


Our fountains in the stadium -- it really is a beautiful place:


The new HD scoreboard -- it's HUGE!


Every girl needs a pink bat!


Jason, Kori and I went to a KC Royals game last night. It's no secret that Jason is a huge Chicago White Sox fan and he's trying to convert our oldest daughter over to his side of the tracks. Well the Sox were in town and he tries to get to at least one game a year when they are in town. Originally it was just going to be him and Kori but she decided the other day that "it would be really great if you could go to mom". So I called Amber. She house/pet sat for us while we were on vacation and she works at Mallory's day care so she was a good choice, and even better, last minute she was available!

We plied her and the little girls with pizza and we headed out. It was a bit warm but once the sun went down it was nice. Dang if it isn't expensive though! Goodness me! I did a food run which consisted of a hot dog, nachos for Kori and I to share, a Diet Pepsi for me and a beer for Jason. (Disclaimer: In case you are worried, Kori's beverage needs were met by the $4.00 snow cone that turned her mouth a lovely shade of greenish blue -- I can only imagine what it did to her insides!) Anyway, those four thing set us back $23.75! WHAT!!! The beer itself was $6.75! For a liquid that tastes like dirty sock water? NO WAY and NO THANKS! My Diet Pepsi was $6.00 so I guess I shouldn't complain too much.

Anyway, the Royals were off to a good start, ahead by five when things took a turn for the worse. I excused myself a couple of times to go to the little girls room and Jason was so excited because each time the same guy would hit a home run. I was beginning to get a bit annoyed when he kept suggesting I leave when the Sox came up to bat. Then I realized he thought my trips to the potty were good luck for his team. I stayed firmly planted in my seat for the next round of Sox batters and they came up empty. My hubby was less than thrilled with my bladder and it's performance during that inning.

The game was fun, the girls were good for Amber and Kori had a great time with her mommy and daddy! So how about this:

Three tickets to the Royals/White Sox game: $75.00
Refreshments: $100 (There were more beers, cotton candy etc. later)
Mini Baseball and Bat: $15.08
Babysitter: $50.00
Making Memories With Kori: PRICELESS!!!!

I'll end with this tid bit which Jason and I found to be funny and yet sad. Jason and Kori were in line at the gift shop paying for Kori's mini pink Louisville slugger bat and mini-baseball while I browsed through some more WAY overpriced stuff. I came up at the last minute as she said "your total is $15.08. Jason gave her a $20.00 bill. I said, "Oh I have the eight cents". I had it to Jason and he goes to hand it to the girl. She was young, maybe 16 or 17, and she gives him this strange look and says in a very apologetic tone, "Uh, I'm sorry, I already punched it in as $20.00." Huh? Jason and I looked at each other. Now I don't know if she didn't know how to make change for the $20.08 instead of reading when the cash register told her she should do or what, but I found it VERY odd. I worry about what we're teaching our children in school these days. Do we learn to actually make change or do we just rely on cash registers or adding machines and calculators? Would it have been too hard to figure out that instead of $4.92, we needed a flat $5.00 bill back? **Sigh** I will make sure my kids can do simple math and make change without relying on electronic help.

Well I'm going to try anyway. In between reminding them that crime does NOT pay, drugs ARE bad, have morals and values and don't fart while sitting in close proximity to others when out in public, among many other things. Dang that's quite a to-do list!

A Picture

My sister sent this to me tonight and it's too good not to share. It's from the 4th of July.

From left to right it's Morgan, Kori, Mallory, Alexis (love her piggy tails!) and Kamryn.

Dang if these aren't some cute kids! Love them all sooooo much!

Swimming Lessons

Kori started them today and didn't drown. That's always a plus right??? She was checking out all the instructors when we got there and was deciding which one(s) would be for her group. Wouldn't you know it, her two, weren't any of the 8-10 pretty young girls, nope, she got the two late-teen guys. Figures. I personally have nothing against them, but Kori was less than thrilled to have Evan and John and not one of the other pretty "girls that look really nice" as her instructors. I encouraged her to give them a chance before shoving her in their direction and fleeing the pool area.

I was looking forward to 45-minutes of uninterrupted reading. Oh the joy! That never happens! Well not during daylight hours anyway. I take my book, Kori's bag with clothes, flip flops etc. in it, and my water and head for the very uncomfortable aluminum bleachers that would be my home for the next 43 minutes by now. I take my spot. Give Kori an encouraging smile through the glass and assume the position, with book in hand.

Things are going good. I periodically look up and see my girl floating and kicking right along with everyone else. I silently pray she has her mothers water abilities and not her "swims like a rock" father. (Some day I'll recount his near drowning in the ocean in San Diego...I kid you NOT!) Any way, back to my book.

After about 15 minutes or so a lady and her two kids, say 5 and 10-11 sit down in the row in front of me, slightly to the right. Okay no problem. No quite as quiet as I was looking for, but it's a good book and I think I can tune them out easily enough.

I take a quick break, scan the pool, spot my kiddo, grab a drink of my water and prepare for more reading, when out of the blue, the oldest kid, uh, what's the correct wording I'm looking for...oh hell, you know me, I'm the most un "PC" person around. He let one rip! Yep that's right, cut the cheese, dusted the crops, tooted, passed gas, whatever you want to call it, he did it. Thankfully I had swallowed my water or it might have come shooting out my mouth, nose etc.

I'm not naive, I know this is a regular body function. I know that kids, well, kids are kids. I have four of them. They find "tooting" to be quite entertaining and it always elicits LOTS of giggles. I do encourage them to remain civil about it, especially in public. I would hope they'd never just "let it rip" for the whole world to hear. I was just surprised that the mother and younger brother both acted as if nothing had happened. The boy himself, the releaser of said gas, not so much as a chuckle, excuse me, N-O-T-H-I-N-G! AMAZING! Now mind you, we were sitting on aluminum bleachers which do NOTHING to muffle the sound of it. If anything it amplified it and reverberated it even more. Still they said/did nothing and kept on sitting there as if all was right with the world.

Well I managed to not giggle or cause attention to be drawn to me in any way. I waited until I got in the car and called my sister to inform her. She's crude, like me, I knew she'd appreciate it. She did! She informed me I should have done the same in return and challenged him to a nice game of "Fart Tennis". Damn, why didn't I think about that? Wouldn't that have been great!

Him: Riiiiip!
Me: Good one! (Riiiiiip!) Your turn, we're tied 1-1!

Oh man the fun! Too bad I'd NEVER in a million years do that in public.

Okay, I've been uncouth enough, it's late, and I should retire for the evening.

More swimming lessons on Thursday! I cannot wait to see what happens then!

**NOTE** I feel that child protective services might need to be notified. Jason was in charge of dinner for himself and the trio since swimming lessons were right in the middle of dinner. He fed them....Hamburger Helper! GROSS! GROSS! GROSS! Kamryn had seconds even! I call that, Child Abuse in a box!!!!!!!! I will cook before I go on Thursday to spare their intestines of further assault!

Ironing

I did a massive amount last night. Well, let me define massive, in a family of 6. I last ironed about a week before vacation. Now if I weren't completely obsessive about this task, and the fact that I hate to send my family out to face the world wrinkled, it wouldn't be that big of a deal. Unfortunately, this is another one of the OCD traits I picked up from my mom. It can be unbearable at times, but I cannot, I repeat CANNOT send my family (or myself) out in public with the hems of their shirts pointing skyward.

My husband has assured me that there is no need to iron the clothing of my toddlers. I HEAR what he says, unfortunately my brain cannot process WHAT he says. I hear blah, blah, blah. I see wrinkled clothes on them and I start to feel a bit panicked. Unreasonable? Probably, but I deal with it.

So last night about 9:45 or so I started ironing. The littlest girls were finally sleeping after a lot of hopping, bouncing, dancing, etc. Morgan and Alexis led the crew in a few rounds of "Winka Winka Wittle Taaaaaaaaar". For those of you that don't speak "toddler-ese" that's Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. Now my ironing wasn't uninterruped. Kori decided after watching someone on TV eat a sandwich that she had to have one. And some doritos. And some milk. So after all of that I got to the task at hand.

I had to stop and resettle Kamryn after her fussing spell. Then Kori and I had to read our bedtime stories and I got her settled in.

I finally finished at 12:30. I ironed 57 pieces. That's much better than the last time I ironed and I ironed 68 pieces. It doesn't take long to amass all of that in a family of six.

My mom ironed for us when we were young too. She still irons for her and my dad. She goes even further than I do. I don't iron my slop around shirts. I only iron the things that will be worn in public, the things that are super wrinkled for whatever reason, and Jason's uniform shirts (HATE doing those!) I don't think I ever appreciated the countless hours my mom stood down in her laundry room doing our ironing. I get it now, but I soooooo didn't then. Just like Kori doesn't now. I hope she gets it when she's an adult and ironing the clothing of her kids. I feel proud sending them out in the world wrinkle free. Sick I know.

So woo hoo the ironing is done. Unfortunately the hampers are filling up at lightening speed. When is naked week anyway? I'd love to have a week where everything is clean and ironed in our house. Maybe I need to determine when naked week is and celebrate. I better warn the others in advance in case anyone is planning on an impromptu visit. Could be scary and scarring to their eyes!

Summer Is Here!

Well this morning I meandered outside to let the dog out for his morning potty break. Bam! As soon as I opened the door the heat hit me. I was totally unprepared for this. The last few days were so nice and much cooler than it usually is in July. I think I was spoiled. That and the fact that I haven't watched the news in a week or more, so I haven't caught any weather either. My mom mentioned to me a few days ago that it was going to be getting warmer. I think I filed that far away into the back of my tiny pea brain and forgot all about it.

Oh man it was warm! I put the little girls down for what should have been "nap time". Which translates into a lot of giggling, jumping, talking, laughing, singing, clapping and a variety of other noisy activities, none of which involved any sleeping. Well, I take that back, Kamryn fell asleep about 20-minutes before I planned to spring them. Oh well, I figured even if they didn't go to sleep some "quiet time" would be good for us all. I was tired of the bickering and fussing amongst themselves. Kori was ready for a break from her constant harassing of them, it's a tough job you know. So I thought this was a good option for everyone. Jason was oblivious to it all as he was sleeping away upstairs.

Anyway Kori wanted to swim so I supervised from a lawn chair in my "wife beater" tank top, as my wonderful husband calls it. I wasn't doing it to make a fashion statement, I was just getting some color on my ghostly white skin. I had the book I'm reading with me and I thought I'd take advantage of some "me time". Unfortunately Kori asked me 1,923,682 questions so I think I really only read one paragraph, over and over and over.

Anyway when the little girls' quiet time was over, daddy donned his swimming trunks, they donned swim diapers and their swimming suits and in they all went. I leave you with these pictures of some pool time fun!

Aerial shot from the deck:


Alexis: (She happily just hangs out at the side of the pool)


Kori:


Morgan: (DEEP in thought studying all the foam letter she'd been so busy catching!)


Kamryn: (AKA DIVA!)

ANOTHER Surgery

Counting my c-section in June of 2006, I will be having my 4th surgery on July 22nd. I am OVER having surgeries. (Although my sister is convinced I use them to get a break. Isn't she funny!)

I went to the Ear/Nose/Throat doctor on Tuesday. Apparently I have LOTS of things wrong with my sinuses. The cysts they found during my CT scan on 6/19 were just the tip of the ice berg. So on July 22nd, I will be having nasal septal reconstruction, submucosal resection of the inferior turbinates and partial resection of the middle turbinates. I will also be having a bone spur shaved off. OUCH! Of all the surgeries I have had, I am dreading this one the most. It just sounds sooooo painful.

The recovery isn't too bad. No bending/heavy lifting for a couple of days. If all goes well after a few days I should be feeling better. After having suffered through five sinus infections (including the one I have now that won't go away) and over 30 days of antibiotics since April 10th, I will try just about anything to get some relief and feel better. It's affected my sleeping, my mood, my energy level. I am OVER being sick and feeling miserable all the time.

So that's what's up with that. Blach, I hate surgery!

Happy Fourth of July!

Well I know it's about over, but I'm still up so it's still the 4th to me. It was a nice day today! The weather was so pretty! Nice to have a day where the humidity wasn't 2000%.

Jason worked off-duty at Worlds of Fun for their festivities. So since my brother-in-law was working there too, Becky and Mallory came and hung out with us. Before Jason left we grilled out steaks, chicken and hot dogs. We had corn on the cob, baked potatoes, salad and cottage cheese. For dessert there was strawberries and pound cake and my sister made a cake too, which was yummy!

We did some swimming too. We got our pool up and everyone decided to get in it after eating. That was interesting. The littlest of the girls forget that they have to stand up and remain standing otherwise they will go under water. Becky and I did lots of "water rescues" to keep everyones heads above water. After 30-minutes or so we couldn't handle anymore, well our nerves couldn't anyway so they got out. Not to mention Alexis and Kamryn were a nice shade of purple.

After some nice warm baths we did a few fireworks. Lame, kid friendly ones. Well except for the one that Becky sent flying under the neighbors car. Oops! No harm done though.

We hit Sonic for some drinks and ice creams and then headed to Worlds of Fun to watch their fireworks. They were pretty and the girls all enjoyed them. They enjoyed getting to see their dad too! It's funny to watch their little faces light up when they see them. Mallory was the same way when she spied her daddy. It's so sweet to watch.

Afer a few more fireworks when we got home, everyone was more than ready for bed. Poor Mallory didn't even make it to the end of our street.

It was a nice day. Relaxing, not realy. Not much in my life is relaxing much these days, but that's okay. Plenty of time to relax when my girls are older and less dependant. I must enjoy these days now, while they still "need" me.

Conversations With A Six Year Old

Today Kori and I had to run to the post office and the library. As we were leaving the post office this question was asked of me.

K: Mom do cows eat strawberries to make strawberry milk.
M: (Giggling) Uh no, that's just flavoring that's added in after the fact honey.

K: Oh. I saw that on TV once. They fed a cow strawberries to make strawberry milk but it didn't work. It just made the cow poop more and then they had to figure out what to do with that.

M: (Horrified!!) WHAT in the WORLD were you watching?
K: I don't know, but it was a cartoon.

It was at that point I made a mental note that no matter how closely I felt I was screening the cartoons and such she was watching, I MUST do a better job!