Still Livin' the Dream.....

i'm pretty much done.....

2008-02-14T03:23:00.000-08:00

....with this whole blog thing. it was just a phase, and, honestly, i'm quite bored with it. you can check out updates on my myspace (www.myspace.com/afwifeandmon) and bailey's myspace (www.myspace.com/baileybetz) and leave comment there for us. i will periodically be posting interesting news and new pics there.

Naked Irbing

2008-02-02T18:04:00.000-08:00

Caden: "No, call me Naked Irbing."

me: "What?"

Caden: "My name is Naked Irbing."

me: "Who?"

Caden: "Naked Irbing."

Cam: "Yankee Irving, mommy."

Caden: "Ya, Nakee Irbing from my baseball movie."

Caden's all-time favorite movie is Everyone's Hero. It's about a little boy named Yankee Irving who follows the Yankees to take Babe Ruth his baseball bat. It's totally cute, and Caden wants to be him! The bad guy in the movie (a pitcher from another team) has his famous "booger ball" he throws. Caden even named his hampster "Booger Ball."

He now insists we call him "Nakee Irbing" throughout the day :o) Very appropriate for the kid who loves to show everyone his "nakee" parts :o)

cheers....have a good day!

given up

2008-01-19T16:17:00.000-08:00

i hate to admit it, but i've pretty much given up this whole blogging thing. it is way to time-consuming, and to be honest with you, i really hate the idea of re-living every day. believe me, some days i wish never would have happened to begin with.....like the day caden told me to eat his "fucking food"....yes, i know, my own fault. i told him to eat his fucking food (after asking him nicely at least 25 times) and he preceeded to tell me, "No, you eat my fucking food!" that is just one example.

my days are so full. bennett now goes to pre-school with caden and cam on mon, wed, and fri. that leaves me going to the gym, taking tennis lessons, and having coffee/lunch with my girlfriends. i lead a rough life....what can i say? tues and thurs are my days to hang out and play with bennett....we always get a nap together also. again, rough life :o) let me add i STILL get up at 4:00 am every morning to get my early-morning workout also. THAT is why i still take naps!
todd usually gets home from work around 6.....we give the boys baths and throw them in bed by 7:30. i'm usually asleep on the couch by 8 or 8:30. todd goes back to work for a couple more hours or studies. we are boring :o) we manage to have date night once a week and hit the club a few times a month though :o)

enough of me, let me add some pics of the boys.....

here they are dressed up for their christmas program at school

cam with his prize possession! the ladies at the photo lab loved this so much, they are using it at the bx as a demo picture :o)

little boo is getting so big. he is going poopy and peepee in the potty every day now. he is still in diapers, but he wakes up dry from nap and goes straight into the potty room :o)

more to come later today :o) todd is golfing, and i've got to get these little monsters outside before they drive me nutso!

I'm finally back

2007-12-04T03:41:00.000-08:00

Blogs came two or three times a week, then once a week, then once every two weeks, once a month.......now hardly ever! Once I get behind, I get SO far behind. I hate playing catch-up, and I hate to skip anything. Well, I have to skip now that it's been 6 weeks!

Things have been so busy! The kids are growing so quickly, I can hardly keep up with them. The twins teach Bennett everything, good and bad. He is so smart (and devilish) for his age. I can't believe he will be 18 months old next week. His dimples are so big, they are like craters in his cheeks when he smiles :o) He is working on potty training and doing very well. He doesn't tell me when he has to go, but when I sit him down he pushes and will usually do something in the potty :o) He is well on his way and should be diaper-free well before his second birthday! Can't wait!!!!

Caden is turning into my little love bug. He is such a great buddy when Cam is not around. He is so helpful and well-behaved. He is a great big brother to Bennett and just an all-around sweet boy when he's solo.

Cam is my charmer. He knows what to say, when to say it, and how to say it. It's hard to tell that little cutie pie "no" for anything. He just opens those baby blues really wide and stares innocently into your eyes. Speaking of Cam, I got to go on a trip with him to Nagasaki last week. He had a modeling job for Maclaren strollers, and I had to go with him since he's only three. It was fun to spend time with him alone. Todd took leave to hang with the other kiddos! Bailey also had a modeling job last week. He shot for two days with Nike for their spring line. We found out he had the cover shot, so we are very excited to see the catalog :o) Aside from missing two days of school to model, Bailey has been hitting the books hard. He always has lots of algebra and Japanese homework, but those are his favorite subjects, so he doesn't complain too much. He might get his first B this year.....he has a teacher who's out to get him! She even told me during parent/teacher conferences, "I'm afraid he defines himself by that A. What's going to happen when he doesn't get an A?" I felt like saying, "Well, Bitch, let's not find out!" I just smiled instead. I know she wants to "break" him so badly. She's a B-I-T-C-H, and I'm just waiting for the day for the big battle between momma and teacher! Oh, I will SO win!

On a happier note, next week is the promotion listing. We are very excited to see Todd's name on it!!!! Of course, it will still be at least another year before he is actually promoted, but we'll know he's been selected :o) Whoo hoo.....pay raise for momma!!!!!

The boys are super spun up for Christmas. They are ALL about Santa Clause and the presents under the tree! They want to go see him EVERY day to remind him that they want a transformer movie. The little weirdos don't even know what transformers are......they hear Tristan (a friend at school) talk about his transformer movie, and they want one too. Santa will bring it though, because SHE is a good Santa and loves to see them smile and get so excited, but she also knows it will scare the pee right out of them! Live and learn, right?

Still hittin' the gym hard.....no buns of steel yet, but I feel good :o) I'm really addicted to it, actually. If I miss a day, I totally freak out about it and beat myself up. If my muscles aren't sore somewhere on my body, then I know I've been slacking and need to step it up :o)

Well, I'm going to go for now, but here are a couple of pics for you to enjoy!

Here's Cam with his "model" mommy. I took this during one of the shoots. He really liked Megan :o)

Here he is showing off his "press" pass he had to wear all day when he wasn't shooting. He thought that was pretty cool.

Should've known I couldn't get all three of them happy at once. Bennett walked right up to Santa, but as soon as he leaned towards him to pick him up, he lost it!

mmm, mmm, mmm......my little mini-me. He is my little darlin', sugar booger, honey bunny, cutie patootie!!!!!

......last but not least, Shaggy, I mean Bailey. His tennis coach tells me ALL THE TIME (he's my tennis coach also) to please get his hair cut. I want to SO badly! Bailey had to rub it in my face that Nike likes it long and he wouldn't have got the job if he got it cut short. So, now it will take some real bargaining to get him to cut it!

toodles for now :o)

cocktails

2007-10-25T00:24:00.000-07:00

It's been rather uneventful around here, aside from the standard black eyes and bloody noses. Last night something blog-worthy happened though......hang on!

Todd has been working 15-16 hour days/nights this week, so the evening ritual is a little off you could say. Well, the baby finished dinner first, so he got thrown in the tub. Caden finished moments later and headed into the bathroom. He stripped and jumped in with Bennett. I left the room for less than 30 seconds (just enough time to take their dirty clothes to the laundry room). Sounds like a traumatic drowning or near-drowning story is about to happen, right? In some ways, I wish it was....but it's not. Okay. I walk back into the bathroom to find Caden still standing there....the baby staring at him, him staring at me. I stopped and asked, "What's wrong?" He started coughing and throwing up immediately after I asked him what was wrong. I thought, "Oh my gosh....poor kid....what happened?" When he was done puking he looked at me and smiled. I asked, "Are you okay?" as I preceeded to drain the tub with "chunks" of dinner (chili, of all things!!!!) in it, as the baby started fishing for pieces. Caden started laughing hysterically and said, "I ate pee!" I thought I misunderstood him and gave him my puzzled look. He said it again. "I ate pee!" By now, Bailey was in the bathroom laughing so hard I thought he was going to pee himself. I asked him how he ate pee and he showed me. He stood there and showed me how he peed in the cup I use to rinse out his hair......"then I drink it" he says to me. I asked him if it tasted good (trying not to throw up myself). He said, "No, it make me puke."

As I tucked him in bed later that night, he hugged and kissed me (anybody else out there ever kissed someone who puked pee??????) and said, "I'm sorry I ate pee, Mommy."

Have a good week, y'all.........I hope I survive mine!

a few last pics before i go to bed.....

2007-09-23T06:00:00.000-07:00

We are finally getting into coloring. It took a while, actually mommy didn't think we'd ever be able to sit still long enough to color a picture, but we're coming around.

I can only assume they spend a lot of time coloring at school. They went from never coloring at home (maybe a scribble here and there on some scratch paper) to coloring IN THE LINES! Cam is so very careful when he colors (Caden, not so much) that he takes forever to color something....it has to be perfect! I love it! Caden tries hard but doesn't have half the attention span that Cam does.
Caden is trying to open his eyes for the camera here. Every time I grab the camera, he smiles so big that his eyes close. I keep saying, "open your eyes", byt then he opens his eyes and stops smiling. Here he's trying to do both. You can see by the forced look on his face that he can't do two things fully at once.
I got these cute little racing helmets for the three LITTLE ones, but Bailey has more fun "racing" around the house with them than Bennett does.
Cam and Bennett taking a ride on the carpet roll :o)
Cam loves to sit on the counter and eat "pup cakes"..........they are really just muffins :o)

my munchkins

2007-09-23T05:25:00.000-07:00

Little boys in such a big world. When we go to the aquarium, they get "lost" in amazement. They love seeing all the wonders of the ocean up so close. Seeing that excitement and curiosity in their eyes makes we wonder what is going on in their little minds. Anytime I watch them experience something that requires so much of their senses, it makes me feel so lucky and blessed to have healthy children. It breaks my heart to think of children who are either unable (physical or mental disability or handicap) to experience or just not afforded the opportunity (for whatever reason) to experience that sensory overload that is so important for little creatures :o)

Japanese people (especially teenage girls) love American kids.....especially blonde hair, blue eye kids. I think blonde hair is lucky or something. They love getting their picture taken with them.....wish I could say the same for my kids. I think they are used to it, because they do it everywhere we go. I don't think they understand why strangers take their pictures all the time though. Caden took the time to humor these girls though. They must have taken 20 different poses!
Now that the boys are in the 3-year-old room, they don't nap anymore. It's crazy, because Bailey was still taking naps in Kindergarten in the states. Not here.....at three is when they really start learning in school.....no time for naps. They fall asleep in the car on the way home from school every day when I pick them up at 3:00. They are still easily transportable from the car to the couch.....never wake up! They usually wake up just before dinner at 5:00 and still go to bed at 7:00. If only I could get them to sleep past 5:30 in the morning!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Skipping naps and going to bed later doesn't make a difference.....whether they go to bed at 7:00 or 10:00, they are still up EVERY morning at 5:30......it sucks!

a few of my favorites

2007-09-23T04:57:00.000-07:00

Not many things can stand up to an Oreo grin :o) As much as I hate messes, I can't help but smile when I see something yummy "left-over." The funniest is when they've "found" (aka - stolen) something and tried to "deny" (aka - lie) eating it when there is evidence from nostrils to chins. That wasn't the case here though :o)

Bennett loves to go to the aquarium. There is one place that is a huge tunnel.....thousands of fish and sharks (including an enormous whale shark) swim all around and over you. You can see from the million dollar smile that he's probably peeing himself he's so excited!

Crayons are for coloring, Bennett, not eating! You'd think they taste pretty yummy though, judging how often I find him eating them. It's so hard to correct him when he flirts with me like that :o)
Oh my gosh, we love bathtime. It is by FAR his favorite activity at home.We like it in the morning, the mid-morning, the early afternoon, the late afternoon, and at night. I find him in the bathtub all day long begging me (grunting and pointing) to "fill 'er up!" He likes at least one bath by himself every day when the brothers are at school and then again with them at night. We have so many animals in there that love to be washed! We line them all up, then knock them down into the water.....over and over again :o)

brotherly love

2007-09-23T04:34:00.000-07:00

Every once in a while, I'll catch them being nice to each other :o) They are usually competing for EVERYTHING, but sometimes they're caught just being friends. That makes all the stress worth it. They were actually all three sitting down on the couch watching tv, and Caden reached over to put his arm around his baby brother.
Bennett was begging for cereal, and Caden actually fed him HIS cereal. It almost brought tears to my eyes. Seems like something all siblings do, right? Not my Caden.....this was notable behavior for him :o)
Somebody got into the winter drawer and decided to dress up the baby! They were all laughing, so I didn't care. They could be drowning each other, but all long as they are all happy, it's all good!
Bennett loves loves loves to hang on his biggest brother :o) He thinks Bailey is the best buddy in this world.

I couldn't imagine being one of four brothers. I bet in some ways it would totally suck but in other ways it would so much fun. Even though Bailey is so much older than the midgets, I hope they are all close when they grow up. The three little ones have the opportunity to be best friends all through school and life, and I hope Bailey doesn't "grow out" of them when he gets into high school and college. I know they will look up to him so much and look forward to his visits home. Right now, I think they think of him more of another parent than a brother, but I hope that will come later :o)

first day of school

2007-09-23T04:06:00.000-07:00

Here's my little heart-breaker on the first day of school. I'm glad he looks younger than he is, because once the girls start flocking I won't be able to keep them off him. I'd like to postpone that as long as possible! I don't think any girl is good enough for my Bailey. He's truly awesome:o) He's very bored in school. He has over 100% in most of his classes, and it just isn't challenging. Even algebra is easy for him. At open house, his algebra teacher was telling me how Bailey is his "go to" man. He said if anyone important (ex. principal) comes in the room, he always calls on Bailey to answer questions because he's always right. He'll ask kids to answer questions, and after a few of them have answered incorrectly, someone shout out, "Why don't you just ask Bailey?" The eigth graders give him gum and candy to borrow his notes :o) That is funny to me......not that he is the nerdy 7th grader in the class full of "advanced" 8th graders, but that people give him stuff. Bailey bargains with them too.........."What's in it for me?"

He asked me today if he should go to an Ivy League school or the Air Force Academy. What 7th grader worries about that kind of stuff???????????????????????????? I told him the AF Academy is free if he is accepted, and he informed me that he planned on getting a scholarship to Princeton. hahahahahahahaha......smart, but still naive :o) gotta love him....he's a doll!

the girl behind the blog.....

2007-09-23T03:21:00.000-07:00

Me and the three oldest kiddos. Bennett is not in the picture because he is on daddy's back as daddy is playing photographer. I had to post this picture first as "proof".....read on......

I was sitting in damp, semi-muddy grass at the botanical gardens when Todd said, "You know, you're going to have to wash those shorts now...." Big, funny (not really so funny) joke he likes to make just about every day is how I wear these same shorts every day of the week.....except on Thursday, because that's when my mamasan comes and does laundry :o) Okay, so I'm pretty simple and predictable when it comes to clothing. In my defense, I don't wear these shorts every day though.....I have two pairs that look VERY similar. Okay, yes they are both camo shorts.....and I always wear them with a t-shirt and my hair in either a ponytail or a baseball hat. Sometimes I change it up a bit and wear gym clothes with my ponytail.....that throws him off! On occassion, I'll even put on denim shorts and wear my hair down.....brushed too!!!!! That's why I posted the picture above:o) Makeup? Maybe powder and lip gloss.....if I think about it. I really like the idea of dressing up and "painting" my face.....it's just too much work if I'm just going to get toddler and baby "goo" all over me. What's the point? Well, I actually did get dressed up TWICE this month.....twice is a record I think.

This was just a warm up. I brushed my hair AND got the frizz out with a straightener.....that's rare! There is a touch of makeup (not much) and a little jewelry. See? I can look like a girl when I try......

You can't see it in this picture because of the lighting (I look so pale because of the big window directly behind me), but I have alot of makeup on.....my face actually felt nasty. Anyway, I did my makeup (well, the best I could, since I never wear it) and Caden asked why I had "clown eyes." Nice....right? About a half hour later and put my hair up, and Caden looked at me like he just sucked on a lemon and asked, "Why your hair like that, mommy? take it off!" Again....that's my little angel. When I put on the dress just before we left, Cam said, "You look pretty, mommy!" Caden just kept looking at my hair and said, "No mommy don't, Cam."

I even went out and bought some new bling for our big night out :o) Yes, there was a fight involved, but it was worth it.....I got a great deal! Anyone who knows me knows how I can't pass up a great deal :o) Too bad you can't really see it in the picture. Again, it's the lighting. It really is pretty though, and I got MANY compliments on it that night. It's a diamond pendant with 85 diamonds (they are small though) in it......it's pretty!!!!!!

Okay, enough of me. We've been over here for 2+ years now, and I think I've posted one picture of me when I was pregnant with Bennett and one since he was born......that's it. Mom keeps asking me, "How long is your hair? How much do you weigh?" Stuff like that....so, here you go, mom. By the way, my hip is off to side in the bottom picture....I know it makes me look fat, but it's just the way I am standing.

Now I've got to post some of the kidlets :o)

way behind

2007-09-20T19:03:00.000-07:00

i will post news this weekend :o) i've been bugging todd for weeks now to download the hundreds of pictures, so i finally just did it myself. i have tons to do today, and the air force ball is tomorrow.....i'll get something on here before the end of the weekend!
toodles for now.....

Bay

2007-08-10T20:44:00.001-07:00

Bailey does his own thing these days. He is hard to figure out. One day he doesn't want anything to do with our family.....the next, he's so far up my butt I can't breathe. He must be going through those pre-teen identity issues....I don't know. I don't even think he can figure himself out. Regardless, he's a good kid....a very good kid.

Trying to get some direction from Dad....or is he just floating? I don't know....I'm only the camera lady.

Whatever he was doing, he's done now.

Yes, I have to take your picture Bailey.....stop looking so happy already!

Taking the boys to the park is fun for everone....even big brother! I think I remember hopping on this for a quick ride also :o)

Bailey even spent the day at "school" with the boys on their birthday. He was the best show-and-tell toy of all of them! ALL of the kids loved having his there! What a great big brother.

Caden....Dots

2007-08-10T19:51:00.000-07:00

"Dots, Mommy....I have dots!" is how is answers when I ask what he has on his nose. He has the cutest little freckles :o) He is such a mommy's boy. "Me no share my mommy" when Cam or Bennett get near me :o)

Not nearly as cooperative as Cam "the ham" when it comes to picture time. He'd be perfectly happy if I never held a camera in front of his face again.

Fire....hee hee....I can hear the Bevis and Butthead voices in his head now :o)

When it was time to hand out cupcakes, nobody wanted Caden's......all the pokes in the frosting weren't very appetizing!

Fearless........down the slide, face first :o) Gotta love how adventurous he is.....he must've got that from his momma :o)

"Where am I supposed to be? What am I supposed to be doing?" Caden was doing his "own thing" during soccer practice.....could care less what Coach Deanna was saying......gee, did he get that from his momma too?

Cam.....nugget

2007-08-10T19:36:00.000-07:00

Cam has a big nugget (head) just like his daddy....he sure is a cute little guy though. He always has something hilarious to say and a big smile for the camera!

Here he is with his "Coosie Monster" cupcake cake while everyone sings Happy Birthday to him. He loved every second of it :o)

"Look, Mommy. I lay like Daddy on the floor."

BIG Cheese for the camera!

My first soccer practice. "I made a goal, Mommy!"

Ben....."Buddy"

2007-08-10T19:18:00.000-07:00

We've renamed Bennett....we always call him little buddy now. He really is a little buddy. He's so much fun and just loves being a part of everything. Here are some recent pictures of Buddy....

Here he is on the floor (should have changed his shirt....he's an Oklahoma fan....before I took the picture) eating his "trough" of blueberries :o)

Caden and Cam were screaming in the bathtub.................Bennett had an oops. Didn't bother him any :o)

Bennett thought all those new toys were for him.....those were Caden and Cam's birthday presents :o) He's the baby of the family, so, of course, he gets to play with anything he wants!

He was leading the way on the local beer (Orion) factory tour. Nope, he didn't get any samples at the end.....although the car trip home would have been nicer.

july has come to an end

2007-07-30T23:36:00.000-07:00

gosh, it's been forever since i blogged. i always check everyone else's blog in the morning when i first get up but never post myself. let's see, i'm going to have to grab a calendar to see what we've done the past month. july is so crazy with 3 birthdays and our anniversary.

my dh celebrated his 37th birthday and we celebrated our 9th anniversary. we went out and had a nice dinner without the kidlets, but that's about it.

the twins had a birthday party at their school on july 18th, and i had a clown show up to surprise them. it was really cute, and the kids had a lot of fun. my friend made little clown cupcakes, the kids made clown hats, and wore cute little clown noses. they had fun :o)

we had the twins' real birthday party last friday night at the base pool. they had a blast with about 20 friends coming to celebrate their birthday. we didn't even bother opening all the presents at the pool that night. first of all, they would have been fighting over who got to open which presents. then they would have wanted to open everything all the way and play with all of them. lastly, we only had the pool for 2 hours and didn't want to pull the kids out of the pool to have them watch the boys open presents. PLUS, parenting magazine says it's okay to not open the gifts at the actual party. some may consider it tacky, but parenting magazine says it's appropriate.....there, you have it.....credible source :o) the next morning they had so much fun opening gifts. they are so spoiled rotten. they have so much stuff, we have nothing to get them for christmas....nothing. i don't know what we're going to do!!!!! i haven't downloaded all those pictures yet. they are on a different camera.......i'll get to it eventually.

caden and cam's teachers gave them these darling little japanese outfits for their birthday. cam doesn't like to wear his.....bennett loves to though! the pants are too long for him, so he just wears the robed shirt :o) he really hams it up for the camera these days!

that's all for now. i have to go feed these kids. bailey has a baseball game in 45 minutes, and i don't think my dh will be home in time to take him. speaking of sports.....caden and cam start soccer next monday, they will also start gymnastics next month. bennett will start mommy & me gymnastics next month too :o) bailey is still doing tennis. i am taking tennis with him right now too. my sore elbow and shoulder reminded me too add that to the blog.

my bootcamp is sucking! i work my ass off every day and am only getting minimal results! i know i've lost body fat and inches (all of my clothes are loose), but i've actually gained 2 pounds. i'm not happy about that.....oh well. i have 4 more weeks to go, then i'll do my own thing! i know i'll stick with it though, because i am addicted to going to the gym and getting a good workout :o)

sayonara for now!

momma's cubs

2007-07-07T22:34:00.000-07:00

There has been so much going on with momma's cubs, momma can't even keep up herself.

Let me try to break it all down for ya :o)

First of all, Bailey has sport injuries. He got hit in the eye with a baseball during practice one night.....the very next day he was surfing and got sliced by the fin. One of Todd's very few days off, and he spent it in the ER with Bailey.
Bailey is also becoming girl crazy! He has several girls he likes. He is now even stealing girls from his friends.....not a good idea if he likes to have friends! There is a "new" Kailee (I guess you can't call them the wrong name if they all have the same name, right?) he is after. His best friend likes her and introduced them. Bailey has decided he wants her :o) I asked him, "How do you know she likes you more?" He responded, "Why wouldn't she?" with a roll of the eyes (yes, boys apparently do that too) and inflection in the voice that suggests I am stupid.

Caden and Camden have new best friends.....Booger Ball and Cookie Monster. They are the cutest little hampsters ever! They, of course, got to name their own and had no troubles doing so. I suggested Bert and Ernie, and Cam immediately insisted on "Cookie Monster" for his hampster.....whatever. Hey, with Caden's foul vocabularly, I'm thankful "Booger Ball" is what he wanted to name his. I was scared he'd want to name him "Fart" or "Eat my Butt Crack"......we keep telling ourselves he'll someday find a place in society.....it may be prision, but we'll see. We keep our expectations low and our goals small for him.....we're hoping he'll "surprise" us and exceed them all :o)
Speaking of Caden, we were very concerned about him a couple of months ago. To make a LONG story short, he looks like a combat soldier returning from Iraq. He has more bruises on him than any of you have ever seen.....no joke. He also gets bloody noses (bad ones) amost every day). The doctor told me he's seen abused kids with fewer bruises than Caden has!!!!! That's never a good comment to hear from a doctor! Every day we were expecting the police to show up and accuse us of abuse. Well, after many blood tests and a long wait, the doctor finally called with the results. I guess Caden has some weird (supposedly it's genetic....Todd or I must have it and not know it) blood disease. He said he has to run more tests that have to been sent back to the states to a pediatric hematologist before we know more. There is no treatment, really, and will live a normal life.....he probably just needs to wear a little medical bracelet. The only time it would be a problem is in a car accident or surgery or something like that. So, that's that.

Camden and Bennett are, for the most part, uneventful in terms of injuries and weird crap. Cam is just your normal 3-year-old (only 3 more weeks until the big birthday).....full of smart-ass comments and learning how to learn adult words in context almost daily! Bennett wants to be just like Caden, Cam, and Daddy. He repeats and copies everything they do.....good and bad. He is a funny little baby. He tries to talk so much.....he looks at us and just makes all these noises and then sort of throws on a question mark sound at the end like he is waiting for us to respond to what he just "said" somehow. It is very cute :o)

I am getting ready to sign my two little monsters up for First Steps Soccer. The last day of registration is ON their 3rd birthday.....boy, did I luck out there! I just pray Caden doesn't hurt someone....I mean really hurt someone!

Grumpy Pants just had another birthday :o) He's getting old...37 :o) I am so glad I will always be younger than he is.....it is a beautiful thing! "We" are also getting old....another anniversary coming up next week. I don't have anything to look forward to, because I already got my present. Last month I went out and bought some new furniture. After the purchase he said happy anniversary......that was kind of a trick.....wouldn't you agree, ladies??????

I am still in "boot camp" training. I've only offically done 4 weeks.....this last week was our trainers vacation. I still got up every morning at 4:15 to go to the gym though, so I feel like I've done 5 weeks. Getting up that early is starting to get to me....it's not fun. I feel good though. I have not lost any weight (which is frustrating), but my clothes are looser. So, I guess I'm gaining muscle (which I didn't want) as I lose body fat. I just want to be a stick again! All of these lame words like "tone" and "lean muscle mass" are crap to me. I want to be skinny! I want to loose weight. I want to be a size 2 again. Anyway, I'll stick it out the full 12 weeks and then evaluate what I need to do to get where I need to be.

I think that is a pretty thorough update. If I think of anything else, I'll add it later. Hello to everyone I never hear from anymore! I know, I'm bad about writing these days, but I think of you ALL often. Many times, thinking of all my family, friends, and friends that are like family put the sunshine back in an otherwise-crappy day :o) Cheers to all :o) If you ever feel like you're going mental, think of me :o)

update

2007-06-16T16:53:00.000-07:00

School is out (finally) and we are getting ready to start our busy, busy summer :o) The twins will stay in "school" so Bailey and I (with Bennett in tow) can go to the pool, beach, arcade, etc. and finally have some time together this summer.

Bailey will be starting 7th grade....I can't believe it. He tested for math placement and is one of only 20 seventh graders (out of 500) to be in Algebra. We are very proud of him. He will be taking 2 high school classes....Algebra and Japanese I. By the time he starts high school he'll have 4 credits already....Algebra, Geometry, and both years of foreign language (Japanese, of course). So, of course, we are very proud of him :o)

He is full-swing into tennis (private and group lessons every week) and loving it!!!! He is hoping to be on the high school tennis team this year. They accept middle school kids if they have room on the team. He is excited :o)

Bennett is just a joy....such a smart, happy baby. He can hold his own with his brothers! He is quite the daddy's boy. He wants daddy first thing in the morning and always has tons of kisses for him. He gets very happy in the evening when daddy comes home from work also. Todd loves having a daddy's boy.....finally :o)

The twins are monsters....as usual :o) Every day of our lives will be a test......

Daddy's been working long hours, but will get a little break this week. We are taking the kids to Okuma (the island resort) to spend a few days. Hopefully, the weather will cooperate and we won't get fried the very first day. It should be relaxing (maybe....) and fun for all :o) (On a side note, Todd just walked in the room and told me Caden should be put in a home. He said he's not kidding and he needs help. At just 3 years old he can tell Caden is going to seriously hurt himself or someone else.....I can only laugh it off and pray it passes).

I've started a 12-week "bootcamp" training.....now that my baby is a year old, the baby fat should be gone :o) I'll give overall numbers at the END of the program.....I'm excited and doing well!!!!!! My trainer is HARD CORE and I work my butt off.....hopefully, I will literally work my butt off.....and thighs and gut!!!!!!

Here are a few blogs of just pics to update y'all.......cheers! hugs! kisses! love! friendship! happy thoughs! warm wishes!

School Program

2007-06-16T16:34:00.000-07:00

The boys had a cute, little, end-of-year school program. It was adorable to watch them do their little songs and dances. Caden (for some strange reason) gets very shy and won't do anything but stand there. I don't understand how the wild, crazy one just shuts down like that.....weird.

BIG FIRST BIRTHDAY

2007-06-16T16:15:00.000-07:00

I can't believe my baby is a year old. Here are some pics from his party :o) It wasn't really a "party"......every meal is a party with 4 boys!!!!!! Good times.......

my boys

2007-06-16T16:05:00.000-07:00

Here are some pics of all my boys. I swear, they are all so damn cute :o)

need a smile? need a good cry?

2007-05-07T17:37:00.000-07:00

If any of you can watch this entire clip and not feel at least one little tear well up in your eye (most likely, you'll really get choked up like I did), then you must not be human. The girl who made this video is only 15-years-old! Pass it along :o) It is very heart-warming, but also very sad.....

http://www.youtube.com/v/ervaMPt4Ha0&autoplay=3D1

more random pics for Caden and Cam

2007-05-07T03:48:00.000-07:00

practice makes perfect :o)

too cute :o) once we leave here, i never want to see chopsticks again!!!!!!

Here's the picture of the flower "murder"......follow-up from a few posts back :o)

playing on the bunkbeds in the cabin....

Have you EVER seen a cuter cowboy?????....wow, he's going to be a heartbreaker :o)

Caden & Cam random pics

2007-05-07T03:29:00.000-07:00

Caden loves playing at the beach.

they actually play nicely together at times.....

a bit more cautious than Caden :o)

Our first bowling outting was very tiring. Todd was working, so it was just the 5 of us......

Oh, Caden couldn't get enough!!!!! He was bowling in our lane and the lane next to us; if his ball didn't get back quickly enough, he'd steal Bailey's ball; he was running around, jumping around....you name it, he fell on it :o) He was quite the little cartoon character!

Bailey random pics

2007-05-07T03:17:00.000-07:00

The boys went to see a F22 display. Doesn't he look thrilled?

Here he is after his second tennis win :o)

Everybody pile on Bailey.....that is a common game around here. It's only fun until someone gets hurt though....

The water is a wee bit cold for Bailey yet. He's like his momma and likes warm water :o)

Being a good big bro....hand in hand with mini me!

random ben pics

2007-05-06T22:36:00.000-07:00

happy, happy....
still happy.....
stupid me, i didn't bother rotating this....it's so cute though. what do the hula hoop (or, as cam would say "oola oop") have in common? nothing......well, i guess they both belong to someone else....the hoola hoop is cam's and the toothbrush is caden's.....bennett managed to steal something from both of them.

not so happy.......yep, there's a story here....it's long....yes, it hurt!

should i keep this for future blackmale power? the suit may keep the sun out, but it is quite hideous, ya?

it's been a long time.....

2007-05-06T21:44:00.000-07:00

Okay, where in the World do I even begin. I have been such a bad blogger :o) 5 weeks is unacceptable, isn't it???? Oh well, life is grand, and I've been enjoying going to bed early these days! After being pregnant with twins, raising twins, being pregnant while raising twins, having that baby, and spending 18 months working on my degree....I had forgotten what a "full" night of sleep felt like.....it's wonderful! Anyway, I'm going to have to grab my calendar to fill you in on what has happened the last 5-6 weeks.

Bailey - for his spring break we went to White Beach (the name is quite misleading....there was no real beach....only places to walk along the beach. Also, it rained just about the entire time, so we were stuck in a little log cabin watching A Bug's Life over and over and over again!!!! We also went and signed up for modeling (that's big business over here). We know 5 or 6 people who have had a few jobs each. We'll see how that works out. He also has a new "interest" these days....her name is Cailee!!!!! She's 10 and quite the little hottie!!!!! He even passed on surfing one afternoon to go watch her at her gymnastics competition....wow! It helps that her mom and I are friends....he always asks me when we are going to have them over for dinner :o) He also entered another tennis tournament a couple of weeks ago. I can't believe that booger won first place again!!!! I was thinking (hoping) this would be his time to experience defeat, so we can see how he handles it.....nope, that day hasn't come yet. He is such an awesome little athlete!!!! I think that's it for Bailey. We are waiting for baseball season to start in a few weeks and school to end in six weeks!!!!!

Caden & Camden - Cam has managed to break his nose again....it was a very nasty accident on the playground :o( He fell BETWEEN the top stair and the platform and hit is nose on the way down....ouch!!!! Caden has managed to avoid any and all major accidents, although I believe he TRIES to get hurt....I don't get it....I don't know how that kid is still alive. Caden went to the Children's HealthFest with me (I had to work) a few weeks ago and almost had a pediatric heart attack because of Jelly Bean (a clown) who was also working there. My kids are scared to death of clowns. Guess what I won as a door prize at the healthfest?????? You'll never guess :o) Jelly Bean to come do a birthday party.......hahahahahahaha.....of ALL things to win. I think I'm going to have him go to the boys' school for a brief "appearance" when they have their little party at school. I have already ordered a bunch of red clown noses and clown hats for the class to decorate....that should "warm them up" for the arrival of Jelly Bean!!!!!! It may be a very traumatic experience for a whole bunch of little kidlets....we'll see. There is no real "news" with them.....they are still the most evil (but so sweet), bratty (but so lovable), rough/dangerous (but so darling) little fellas you ever met!

Bennett - a month ago he had no teeth (has 3 now), was crawling (walks everywhere now), and was sweet as can be (he's still sweet). He plays so hard with his brothers. He does EVERYTHING they do. He talks back to us (grunts), jumps on his brothers, walks up and loves to give random kisses, climbs up on the couch, "begs" for food, and still eats more than Caden and Cam do. He flirts with everyone who makes eye contact with him and melts everyone's heart! He has that blonde hair, blue eyes, super fat cheeks, and big 'ol dimples.....everyone loves him.

Todd started a new job and we ALL hate it!!!!!! He works long hours.....long, long hours! It sucks!

We were trying to move off base. I found a couple of houses I really like, but they were either too small or already taken. We want to move off base to enjoy the beach more, but we are picky creatures :o) We want it ALL....of course! I'm at the point where I'm not "settling" for much anymore.....there is one more house I want, but the people haven't moved out yet. Our housing lady is working on finding them another house. I told her to hurry, because I want theirs!!!!! NOW!!!!!

Okay, let me go search for a couple of random pictures to post :o)

I knew once I saw all the pictures that I'd realize I forgot a bunch of crap. I remember blogging last year about Bailey's soroban competition (Japanese abacus). He told me he'd do better this year.....he was right! He got 2nd place (actually it was 6th place, because they had one first place and then 9 second place trophies.....so if they would have done first through tenth, he would have gotten 6th)!!!!! I was SSSSOOOOOO proud of him :o)

The weather has been very nice, so we've spent a lot of time at parks. Here's my littlest monkey hanging from a tree at Peace Prayer Park (that's where the Battle of Okinawa museum and suicide cliff is). He was all smiles that day!

Caden found a carnation on the ground (it must have fallen from one of the HUNDRENS of bouquets out there). He carried that flower all over the park.....I'll have to find the picture where he got tired of it and "killed" it :o)

He loved it so much he wanted to "share" it with Cam a little bit!

Here's Cam on the top bunk in our spring break cabin. All Okinawans give the peace sign in pictures. After seeing it so many times, I guess he wanted to try it also.

Okay, yes, I'm off to post more pictures......there are tons......sorry you will see that new post before this one!!!!!!!

Charmed Moments

2007-04-02T19:35:00.000-07:00

Okay, I decided to post this picture here for everyone who was asking about the fundraiser. I didn't realize so many people would really be interested in hearing more details. Since I can't (or if I can, I have no idea how) post pictures on the success story board, it is just easier to do it here. Most of you have no idea what I am talking about, so just skip this post :o) Okay, for all you charmed moments consultants who want more details on the fundraiser I did for Bailey's school, here they are.

First, I made a flier for the school. My suggestion was they make copies and post in heavy traffic areas. The flier looked like this:

KES Student Council Announces Its
Mother’s Day Fundraiser

Happy Mother’s Day BRACELETS
$10.00 each

The bracelet comes with a “Happy Mother’s Day” charm

Additional Charms $5.00 each
“Mom”
“Mommy”
“Greatest mom”
“Super mom”
“Beauty”
“Love”
“We love you mom”
“I love my children”
“I love my family”
“Happy Mother’s Day”

Give mom something she can wear all year long this Mother’s Day!

Orders will be taken during lunch
Next week only - March 26-30
DON’T FORGET YOUR MONEY

It didn't look exactly like this....it had pretty font, looked really "girly", and was just plain cute :o)

Then I provided the school with an order form I created to accomodate several orders to a page. Student name, teacher, room number, and boxes to check how many of which item they wanted.

I made a cute little prop with all the charms that were available to order that was going to be at the table where they took orders. They were going to take orders during lunch all week.

Here is a picture of the prop....you can't really see the stuff in the picture, but you get the idea of what the kids could see. The basic link brancelet shown up top has the "Happy Mother's Day" charm in the center.

Well, the lady in charge of the student council was too "busy" (or lazy) to go collect orders during lunch as we talked about doing. Instead, she made 1000 copies of the fliers and sent them home with all the students. She made her own little order form so kids could just come to school with the orders and send them to her room.

Now, honestly, $2400.00 was NOT my goal....I was really hoping for more like $5000.00, but I don't think it was executed properly. Had she set up in the cafeteria so kids could see the charms, they would have EASILY sold $5000.00

Live and learn.....

The student council made $540.....I did my own number-crunching game with the orders that included the shopping spree and free hostess items to get the school the most cash possible for their $2400.00 in orders.

They were happy with that ;o) I think I'm going to be doing more next year ;o) Okay, Trish, Jen, and all you other Charmed Moments consultants here on island better not step on my toes now that I told you my business plan.....because next year I will be approaching ALL the schools here on Kadena :o)

Okay, sorry the rest of you who have no idea what I'm talking about just read all of that!

For everyone else.....I am FINALLY done with school!!!!!!!!!!!!! It is such a great feeling!!!!! I kind of feel like it was a waste of my time and money getting my Master's, because I really don't think I'll ever use it....I don't know. I guess now I can say I did it, right? As if having 4 children (three of them under three years old) wasn't enough to deal with during the day....I spent the last 18 months taking graduate courses also.....so I'm a lunatic :o) It's all done though :o)

I'll post pictures of the kids this week. They are crazy and busy! Bennett got his first tooth this week :o) He also started giving kisses and standing without holding on to anything :o) He just stands in the middle of the floor and smiles....too darling :o)

By for now.....

flawless driving skills

2007-03-28T06:19:00.000-07:00

I have always considered myself a "good" driver. I am very critical as a passenger. I always giggle or release a sigh of disgust as Todd bumps a curb during a turn, isn't centered and straight in a parking place, or does his "jerky" acceleration/breaking crap that makes us all car sick. I think he's a terrible driver, but I think everybody is a terrible driver. I am always yelling at people to speed up, slow down, get the hell out of my way, pay attention to the road, turn off your "I'm a dumb-ass blinker" (turn signal on when they aren't turning), and any other obvious act of stupidity that I see. Really, when I'm on the road, I am the only one who matters.
The streets here are very narrow. There is limited parking space, so people park on the main road in front of the houses. Only one car can fit down the road at one time. Being the courteous, kind driver that I am, tonight I moved over so someone else could use the road. S/he was stopped so I could go, so I went a little but needed to turn in front of her to get on my street. So, I moved over so she could go before I turned. I swear....that stupid-ass car just magically appeared on the side of the road as I took it out!!!! It was a short little thing (compared to my beastly SUV I need a step-up to get in) and I didn't even see it :o) Connie was with me and we both just thought, "Holy shit" at the same time.....I can't even type the noise that it made as it scraped all down the entire length of my car! Then, I got out and looked at the other car first. I giggled a little (what else could I do at that point?) and thought the other car lost the fight. It was dark, and I saw the lights on in the house, but nobody saw me :o) I drove home :o) Connie and I tossed around the idea of not even telling Todd to see how long it would take him to notice.....nah, that wasn't going to work. So, I told him (as I was laughing about it). He didn't find it humorous.....what a stick in the mud! I asked him about our insurance....I guess nobody gets "that kind" of insurance here.....I don't know any of that stuff. So, I was just going to call it a night and get ready for bed. Can you believe he made me go knock on that door???? The moral compass of the family put his foot down :o) He said it was my duty to set the example for Bailey.....ya ya ya, I see his point. Honestly, I probably would have done it after I saw the cars in the daylight. I'm not dishonest, and it's probably only a few hundred dollars, I just didn't want to go knock and say, "Hey, I ran into your PARKED car." Duh! But I did. I won't go into the whole conversation, but, let's just say....they were cool. We talked about how we all graduated from OU :o) They are from Oklahoma. Their son (that's whose car I hit) is getting ready to go to OU this next year. They don't even want me to pay for it. We just stood out there and chatted for a while :o)
Anyway, Bailey wanted to know how much it is going to cost to get our car fixed. I told him we're not going to.....it's just scratched (from bumper to bumper...hehehehe) a little. He told me I am so redneck and he doesn't want to be seen in the car if I'm not getting it fixed. I think he'll change his mind during rainy season :o) Believe me, it's not my car that makes that kid look redneck.
I really do have impeckable driving skills. I am blaming this on 1) driving on the left side of the road is just stupid 2) people shouldn't be able to have such tiny cars and 3) I just came back from having a pedicure and my feet were still very relaxed.
Please don't ever be afraid to ride in the car with me.....I've never been in a "real" accident :o)

dude......

2007-03-27T00:43:00.000-07:00

Todd bought a couple of surf boards.....Bailey was SO excited.....he thought he was going to just hop up and catch a wave his first try. I only heard about the adventure, as it was father/son bonding time :o) Well, he's excited to try again....he can only get better :o)

Mr. Caden Potato Head
Mr. Camden Potato Head

playful brothers

2007-03-27T00:33:00.000-07:00

I remember making silly little crafts at school. I wonder if my mom liked them as much as I do. It is so cute when they come home with things from school. They are so proud and love to show off their little creations.
Bennett likes them also :o)

It was such a nice Sunday, so we decided to go down to the beach during low tide. It's fun to just let the kids run wild....nobody fell in the water this time.....wow!

T-1 week

2007-03-27T00:16:00.000-07:00

Only 1 week to go, and I'm a free woman!!! Well, at least free from late-night homework dates with the computer. Sure, I'll still have "work" stuff, mom stuff, wife stuff, etc.....but I can handle those :o)

Had a VERY stressful day today. It rained all day, and as soon as Bailey came home from school, Caden escaped!!! He bolted outside in his undies and t-shirt. Of course, Brainless followed.....they immediately ran to the largest puddle they could find. Hell no, I wasn't going out in the rain after them. So, I grabbed my camera and let them have a little fun before I kicked their little asses :o)

If they weren't go damn cute, I might kill myself.....they drive me nuts :o) I hate hearing, "you heard me, mommy" when I ask them to repeat something they said. I hate it when Caden looks at me to make sure I'm watching him as he does something he knows he's not supposed to do (like hit Cam or take a toy away from Bennett and throw it) and then comes over to me, pulls his pants down, and says, "spank me" with a big grin on his face. I never believed in ADHD until I had Caden :o) Oh, Lordy!!!!!! Good thing I'm off to the spa as soon as Todd gets home.....I need some pampering :o)

Ever had one of these days?

2007-03-27T00:10:00.000-07:00

more kimono pictures

2007-03-24T18:18:00.000-07:00

It sure it funny to see my little blonde-headed buckaroo (another one of my favorite words) in the whole Japanese get-up!!!!!!!!!

And the whole red-headed Japanese look is just TOO odd :o) These will be such great blackmail pictures 10-15 years from now :o) I can't wait to get more pictures done when the twins are 4 and Bennett is 2.....those will be hilarious!

school pics

2007-03-19T03:18:00.000-07:00

Here is a preview of school pictures :o) Okay, warning you....the "real" school pictures are absolutely hilarious!!!! I'll start posting a couple every day. They are worth multiple days of laughter.....really.....it would be a waste of laughter to post them all in one day. We bought the CD, so we have all the good and bad poses......we'll post all of them :o)

Here they are in their school uniforms.....I guess a t-shirt is a uniform?????? These shots definitely capture their individual personalities :o)

And now for the preview of the laughter you will soon experience!!!!!

silly hats

2007-03-13T04:32:00.000-07:00

We still like to dress up in our silly hats. I have one picture with Bailey wearing Charlie Brown, Caden wearing Curious George, Cam wearing Dr. Seuss, and Bennett was wearing Curious George. It is really cute, but Todd is wearing Nascar.....he won't let me put it up!!!!! He won't let me put a good picture of him on here. He'd kill me if I posted one with him wearing a Nascar surgical hat! Oh well, Bailey lucked out of getting his picture on here too! Of course I was wearing one also....I'm the picture taker though....I like it that way.

monkey see, monkey do

2007-03-13T04:21:00.000-07:00

Grant and Clark.....here's the cute monkey shirt you sent Bennett. "Monkey get in trouble too" definitely fits the sibling dynamics around here. He's quite the chunky monkey, isn't he?????? When we go out to eat, I order a grilled cheese sandwich and fries for Caden and Cam to share, and another grilled cheese sandwich just for Bennett......he's a pig. He'll eat it, crust and all. Caden and Camden may finish their half on occassion. Forget the college fund for this one....we're praying we can feed him without going broke!

Thanks so much for all the goodies you sent us! The boys love their Curious George stuff. I love my bath stuff (I don't get to take a bath alone very often...."Mommy, I take bath too?") and Bailey always welcomes OU shirts!!!!!

these are a few of my favorite things......

2007-03-13T04:08:00.000-07:00

"Peanut butter jelly, peanut butter jelly, peanut butter jelly with a baseball bat" is one of Caden's new favorite phrases. He doesn't just say it, he yells it and laughs hysterically. If you've seen the real thing, it's funny. If you have no idea what I'm talking about, you probably think Caden is retarded. I can assure you he's not (Cam is another story though).

Cam's new favorite thing to say is, "shut up, Caden" when Caden's yelling from his bedroom. Again, he yells it at the top of his lungs. They have no volume control at all.

Bennett's favorite things are waving bye bye, shaking his head no, playing peek-a-boo, knocking down anything the twins build, and putting his arms above his head when I ask, "how big is bennett?" He wants to walk badly. He'll be standing up next to something and all of a sudden let go and lean out.....crash! He's tough though. He can take a spill and just get back up without crying.

Bailey's favorite thing to do is to talk about how cool Bailey is.....enough said! His mouth is growing faster than his body. His mosquito ass better catch up to his alligator mouth really soon, or he's going to feel the wrath of dad's fist pretty soon!

Dad's favorite thing to do is go to work. I can understand why he likes work so much when he gets to take Australian "vacations" courtesy of Uncle Sam. Oh, my job changing diapers and keeping the kids from killing each other is so much more fun than going to Australia (I'll keep telling myself that).

Mom's favorite thing to do is drink her wine and watch grey's anatomy and desperate housewives. T minus 3 weeks until school is over. Life will change around here :o)

Hope everyone out there is enjoying a few of their favorite things too :o)

85 and sunny

2007-03-05T15:20:00.000-08:00

It was such a pretty day on Sunday, we decided to go to the park to let the kids run wild....they all did. I just sat on my blanket in the grass and watched (and took pictures....about 80 of them)....it was lovely! Here are a few snapshot of the kidlets!

Bennett loves crawling around in (and eating) the grass :o)

Bailey hates to hang out with us anymore, so he brought a friend. They stayed at a "safe" distance from the twins and played with a football. Yes, Caden interfered every chance he got.

With his frustrated look and the wild, wind-blown do, he looks like quite the grump, ya? He was into everything out there.....

Cam, giving his typical camera pose, just had a grand 'ol time.....just a total doll, trying so hard to kick and catch the ball.

pictures....finally

2007-03-03T04:54:00.000-08:00

I was finally able to upload pictures of the broken booger catcher!!!!! I still think he's darling.....he looks abused, but still darling :o)

happy birthday

2007-03-03T04:51:00.000-08:00

I just noticed the date and want to wish Alice a Happy Birthday! I don't have your new email address since you moved to Germany....hopefully, you'll get this birthday wish and have a great one :o)

lost time.....

2007-03-01T20:47:00.000-08:00

It's official....I'm crazy. I have so many things going on, I can't keep them all straight! I can't believe it's been 2 weeks since I blogged already. Well, so much has happened in 2 weeks, I don't know where to start. First things first.....now that I've been here 18 months, I finally found someone I really like to hang out with. I mean, I have friends I go to lunch with and go to bunko with and so on, but I finally found someone I really like! I love Connie to death, but she's so busy....home daycare is a crazy, busy, restricting life. Now, Robin, is crazy! She is so funny and fun to be around. I am so glad I found her!!!! Plus, her husband is a civilian, so we don't talk about military crap all the time.....love it!!!! Anyway, now that I found someone I could hang out with all the time (she's my new Tiffany), I actually work!!!!! What was I thinking? No, really, I love my job! It is ony 3 days a week from 9-1 and I can take the kids with me.....how PERFECT is that????
Speaking of perfect, my perfect angel child broke his nose and doesn't look so perfect anymore :o( We've gone from red and swollen to black and purple to geen and yellow....we're almost back to perfect! Poor baby!!!!! I kept the incident report from school, just in case anyone ever accuses us of abuse!
We've fought with housing maintenance over our broken RADON fan. Well, they came to "fix" it.....Todd figured out they just turned it off and told me it was fixed. When Todd confronted them, they said there is no funding to fix RADON fans this year. Can you imagine my reaction???? If you know me, you can imagine my reaction :o) Well, the claws and teeth came out for this battle.....of course we won :o) I have sure rubbed off onto Todd over the past 9 years. When we first met, he was so nice, patient, understanding, and non-confrontational....now he's a bitch, just like me! hahahaha! Anyway, that is over, and we have a new radon fan!
I'm into the 3rd week of a six week class and I start another 4 week class on Tuesday! The first class end on March 26 and the other on April 2........then I'm officially DONE!!!! I can't believe in only 31 days I'll be done.....that sounds sooooo weird but wonderful! I might actually have some "me" time.....maybe.
I need to send a shout out to Diane.....I am SSSOOOOOOO happy things went well, and I'm so excited to hear about the Palm Springs visit too!!!!! We've got to get Michael on board next, then try to work on Paul :o)
I need to send another shout out to the Cincinnatti Airport.....strange shout out, right? Well, I know Sandy and her co-workers are reading this. I wish I had something funny for you, but right now I don't.
How about some pictures, y'all??????? No, no sorry, they are not of bald Brittney Spears.....they are much cuter than that!!!!! Actually, I've now tried to upload pictures 5 or 6 times throughout the day, so I'm posting without pictures this time.......next time!

Silver Children????

2007-02-17T04:23:00.000-08:00

I don't know.....Bailey is my Golden Child, so are the rest my Silver Children???? I don't know......they sure are darling children though!!!!!! "Darling" is one of my favorite words....does everyone have favorite words, or am I just weird? Actually, it's "darlin'" that I like. Anyway, since I bragged about Bailey so much in my last post, I thought I should put pictures of my other little angels up also :o) Here's Cam just looking like his irresistable self....
Caden....up to his mischievious self :o) I don't remember what he was getting into, but I'm sure I busted something up when I asked him to look over at the camera. Look at that bowl cut!!!! Dad is not a fan of the new haircut. Daddy goes to work and doesn't have to look at his bad hair all day long though.....I took matters into my own hands. I'm entitled to do that as the mommy, you know?????
Bennett has figured out where toys are hidden and can get them now! You can't take your eye off this one.....he's fast.....and he's always on a mission!!!
He doesn't care that the twins attack him and play roughly with him. Just wait.....he's only 4 pounds behind them.....he's going to be kickin' butts and takin' names before long. He might be the "baby" of the family, but he is going to be the "king" of this family....I see it already!
He loves his little bare-bottomed crawling around after bath time! He just takes off and loves the air on his tushy!
Okay, it might be a while before I blog again. I know, I know....call me a loser. School just started again and I'm frazzled already! I decided to double-up on my last two classes to finish faster. Now I will finish on April 2.....that's not too far away. It will be a LLLLOOOONNNGGGG six weeks though, because I start working on March 1 (just what I need, right?) It's only 3 days a week, 4 hours a day.....so, it's no big deal, it's just "something" else to worry about. Once I'm done with school, I will love my job. I've been volunteering at the Children's Waiting Room (it's a service to patients at the hospital funded by the ASYMCA) since last February, and a volunteer coordinator position came open. So, I decided, since I'm there anyway, I should probably just be the volunteer coordinator and get paid instead of just volunteering......I did my time :o) Anyway, I'm excited about it, because, of course, I'm going to go in a mix it up.....I've got lots of changes to implement :o)
I'll try to post something at least once a week (probably without pictures) just to vent, but nothing too crazy. I just have a hard time writing a little old clip of info....I like to ramble! Can you tell? Okay, anyway.....I hope everyone had a wonderful Valentine's Day, anniversary, birthday, etc.....all of those things that have happened the past two weeks!!!!!

Golden Child

2007-02-17T03:18:00.000-08:00

It is amazing that my child isn't the most stuck-up, snobby kid that has ever walked the face of this Earth. Don't get me wrong, he does have his "proud" moments, but, for the most part, he is quite humble. I swear though, that kid can do anything. Maybe it's the only-child syndrome (he really does have those characteristics since he's 9.5 years older than the twins) or even the oldest-child syndrome. Anyway, let me live vicariously through him for a moment and share what an awesome kid he is! Anyone who knows Bailey knows he is the most polite, respectful, trustworthy kid.....really, he is. Okay, ya I know this is a mom's perspective, but humor me :o) Okay...background...straight A's all through school (nothing ever less than an A on a report card), in the gifted education program every year, taking Algebra in 6th grade, just an academic dream......he's done the whole musical instrument thing (piano) and did very well, his passion has been baseball (he does well, certainly not the strongest player on the team...that's okay though), has tried basketball (not a great player), tried football for the first time last year (did very well...surprisingly...actually won MVP for his team at the end of the year over all the other veteran players who had been playing since they were little wee kids.....coach said he's a natural leader and could always count on Bailey to keep the team focused and make sure the plays happened).....then there was the whole student council president thing, again, totally awesome....okay, here's the newest proud mom moment.....Bailey started playing tennis last summer. He did a few week-long group lessons and has been taking weekly group lessons since. He plays/practices 1-2 hours a week....not much. Well, his group coach has been working with him and told him to enter the youth tournament to get some real playing practice. Well, Bailey's the type that doesn't care if he loses (nope, not like his mother at all in that way) and just wants to try. So, we show up to look at the brackets about 30 minutes before the tournament started. He was the only 12 yr old, so they had to bump him up with the older ones or bump him down to the younger ones. Honestly, since he's only been playing 8 months, it would have been much more fair to bump him down. Well, they bumped him up to the 13-14 yr olds....okay, whatever! Well, there were an odd number of kids, so Bailey got the bye for the first match (only 1 set matches....thank God). Well, somebody didn't show up, so that girl won by forfeit. Bailey watched her warm up with her friends, and I thought he was going to cry. She's 14, in 8th grade, and has been playing a couple of years. She's not AWESOME, but she's better than he is, and her serve is much more refined than his is. He still double faults alot. Anyway, she serves first...he breaks her. He serves...she breaks him. I thought, oh Lord, this is going to be a long match. The only good thing I'm thinking at this moment is that there is no tie breaker, it's the first one to six.....Bailey won the first one, so he has the advantage if they keep breaking each other. Well, they didn't....she was winning 4-1 at one point....well, he came back and it was 5-5 and she was serving for the match. I was getting excited. He won! He beat her! He was so psyched!!!! I was so proud of him. So, he went into the winners bracket automatically since he had a by. Everyone else had played 2 games, and he had only played 1. He watched the "champ" play twice and kill her opponents.....it wasn't looking good for Bailey :o( The twins were there with me during the championship game, so I wasn't able to keep an eye on the match like I wanted to do. I saw the beginning, and it was 1-1....okay....good start. I missed the end of the next two games and motioned over to Bailey asking if it was 2-2, he said it was 3-1....I thought oh crap.....I saw him win the next game and I wanted to confirm the 3-2 score....he said, no mom, it's 4-1......I almost screamed. I thought he was losing 3-1 and then went up to 3-2....no, he was ahead 3-1 and jumped to 4-1!!!!!!! WOWWWWW!!!!!! Okay, this is getting long, to make it short, he won the next game to make it 5-1, she won the next 2 games to make it 5-3, and then he beat her! He won the tournament for the 13-14 year old bracket! He just turned 12 less than a month ago and has been playing less time than any of those other chumps :o) Okay, see why I have to brag on my Golden Child???????? The twins and Bennett have some huge shoes to fill.....Bailey has set every bar so high for them. It will be so hard not to compare them.....but, really, I know there is no comparison. It's just amazing. He really is. I'm just so glad that he doesn't expect to win and do well at everything. He was totally expecting to lose his first two games and be done today. When he won the first game, he thought he'd lose the next game and then play in the losers bracket. He was okay with that.....which is good. I could have a real monster on my hands if all of his success went to his head. His newest thing right now is trying to get into Space Camp!!!!! Again, a far-fetched goal, but this is Bailey we're talking about....you never know!!!!!!

Here's Bailey with the other finalist :o) That's who he beat to win. The shirt should say, "I won a tennis tournament and all I got was this lousy t-shirt" hahahahaha.....that's okay.....it's was a free tournament. You can bet he's hooked now and will enter every youth tournament he can get in!!!!!!

email forwards.....

2007-02-05T19:13:00.000-08:00

Okay, so I've gotten 3 or 4 of these "getting to know your friends" emails just in the past week. I usually fill them out and send them back, but I'm just going to post the answers here to save me some time. Nothing too spectacular.....just the average girl next door :o)

1. What time did you get up this morning? 5:45
2. Diamonds or pearls? Diamonds and more diamonds....pearls are for old ladies
3. Single/married/committed? married
4. What was the last film you saw at the theater? I don't even remember...it must have been a kid movie though....maybe Barnyard
5. What is your favorite TV Show? Grey's Anatomy, Desperate Housewives, The Real Housewives of OC, Top Chef, The Hills, Dr 90210, basically anything on MTV or Bravo
6. What did you have for breakfast? coffee
7. What is your middle name? Lynn
8. What is your favorite cuisine? I'm not too picky.....I like food :o) I like lots of flavor though....my leasy favorite is Asian!
9. What foods do you dislike? hot dogs, chicken still on the bone, spam
10. Favorite Chips? salt and vinegar
11. Favorite CDs? I don't buy CDs anymore....I make my own.....country and top 40
12. What kind of car do you drive? I don't know what the hell it's actually called. It's a piece of crap Japanese van that is just too weird for me.
13. Favorite sandwich? meatball or reuben.....I don't like cold sandwiches
14. What characteristics do you despise in others? stupidness, dishonesty
15. What are your favorite clothes? old t-shirts, maternity panties, and clean socks
16. If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation? Italy
17. What color are your eyes? blue
18. Favorite Fashion Brand? Abercrombie jeans, Banana Republic jackets, Coach purses....anything that looks cute and makes me look skinny will do
19. Where would you want to retire to? someplace that has everything.....beach, mountains, culture, sports, fine shoppng and dining, city life, country life....I want it all
20. Favorite time of day? when the kids first wake up and when they go to bed
21. Where were you born? San Gabriel, CA
22. Favorite sport to watch? college football
23. Coke or Pepsi? coke
24. Any new and exciting news you'd like to share with everyone? can't think of any
25. What did you want to be when you were little? I don't remember.....probably something stupid
26. What is your best childhood memory? playing "BBBZZZZZZZZZZZ" tickle bee with my grandpa
27. Did you ever skip school? all the time
28. Who was your best friend in school? Elementary school - Becky, Jr High - Jamie, High School - Renee
29. Do you have any piercings? ears
30. Ever been to Africa? nope
31. Ever been toilet papering? many times
32. Been in a car accident? once
33. Favorite day of the week? Friday
34. Favorite restaurant? While here on Okinawa - Arin Krin
35. Favorite flower? plain ol' white Daisies
36. Favorite flavor of ice cream? Ben and Jerry's Chubby Hubby, coffee, and PB & chocolate
37. How many times did you fail your driver's license test? Never
38. Before this one, from whom did you get your last e-mail? Todd.....some stupid crap about our renters wanting a new garage door because it closed on their car....not my fault they can't pull in all the way
39. What store would you choose to max out your credit card? Home Depot
40. What is your bedtime? 8:00 if I'm lucky :o) 11:00 if I have homework
41. Last person you went out to dinner with? Oh gosh....Sunday night we went to Sam's By The Sea with Matt & Ali, Sean & Abby, Shack & Danielle, Ashley & Bob, Sean & Courtney, and a couple girls I don't know
42. What are you listening to right now? Cam yelling "I go pee" from bed because he doesn't want to take a nap
43. What are your favorite colors? don't have any
44. How many tattoos do you have? don't know......one (officially), but more, really.....I'm not going to explain :o)
45. Favorite book? Bringing Up Boys by Dr James Dobson

1. What is your occupation? diaper changer, dishwasher, taxi, butt wiper, cook, crisis intervention manager, maid, shoulder to cry on
2. What color are your socks? white
3. What are you listening to right now? nothing but the keys on the keyboard....Cam finally fell asleep
4. What was the last thing that you ate? don't remember
5. Can you drive a stick shift? Yes
6. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? black
7. Last person you spoke to on the phone? Connie
8. Do you like the person who sent this to you? Yes I do.....all four of them
9. How old are you today? 35
10. Favorite drink? coffee and wine
11. What is your favorite sport to watch? college football
12. Have you ever dyed your hair? Yes
13. Pets? nope.....I clean up after enough humans....no time for animals
14. Favorite food? I'm not too picky
15. What was the last movie you watched? Ferris Bueller's Day Off
16. Ever been out of the country? Yes
17. How do you vent anger? yell, curse, drink, eat, use sarcasm......any unhealthy coping mechanism that I can think of at the moment
18. What was your favorite toy as a child? don't remember
19. What is your favorite fall or spring? spring.....I am SSSOOOOO ready for warm weather to come back around after my bones have been chilled. If I'm going to spend money on pedicures every month, I damn sure want to show off my piggies too. Love to shop for shoes in spring!!!!!
20. Hugs or kisses? can't have one without the other :o)
21. Cherries or blueberries? blueberries all the way.....okay, now I remember I can add cherries to my "do not like" list above.....I really don't like any cooked fruit, not even apple pie
22. Living arrangements? Husband and 4 kids
23. When was the last time you cried? probably a few days ago
24. What is on the floor of your closet? laundry basket and dust bunnies
25. What did you do last night? watched Desperate Housewives and then did homework
26. What are you afraid of? snakes, flying, drowning, heights, germs, disease, something terrible happening to my children......pretty phobic, huh??????
27. Plain, cheese or spicy hamburgers? Cheese
28. Favorite dog breed? don't have one.....labs for playing, little lapdogs to snuggle with, none if I have to clean up after them or listen to them bark
29. Number of keys on your key ring? 1 car key on my keychain that I leave in my car....don't carry any keys....I don't lock anything
30. How many years at your current job? 12 years as mom, 9 years as wife.....nope, I didn't mix them up....I did it backwards :o) Thank God it all worked out :o)
31. How many provinces/states have you lived in? 6, I think
32. Favorite Holiday? Christmas
33. Ever driven a Motorcycle or heavy machinery? no, I'm a girl....that stuff is for men (or shemales)
34. Strangest food ever eaten? Ostrich steak

1. How are you today? dandy
2. What is your favorite candy? gummy bears
3. What is a day on the calendar you are looking forward to? gosh, so many....I guess the next one would be Valentine's Day. My husband would probably say 2/12, because he gets to have another vasectomy, and I'm sure he's looking forward to it :o)
4. Do you wish on stars? yep....always
5. How is the weather right now? beautiful....probably 75 or so
6. Favorite smell? grass, clean hair, coffee
7. Plain, buttered, or salted Popcorn? lightly buttered
8. Do you make friends easily? no, I'm a "difficult" person
9. What is the most beautiful place you've ever actually visited? Virgin Islands

OKEY DOKIE....you all know me now!!!!!!!

party time.....we did it!

2007-02-02T16:16:00.000-08:00

We finally had our "Potty Party" and cake!!!!!! We are big boys in undies!!!! We started wearing undies on Sunday. Mommy would put pull-ups on when we left the house, but we wore undies all day at home. On Tuesday she kept us in undies when we went to the park and the store. We both pee-peed in our pee-pee cups she keeps in the car for emergencies....but not our undies :o) We even went to school in underwear on Wednesday......no accidents AT ALL....not even nap time! Cam woke up DRY Thursday morning....not Caden. Friday morning they both woke up dry. This morning they both woke up dry again!!!! They were both up during the night a couple of times and still didn't pee. They both waited until this morning and went straight to the potty!!!! They are such big boys :o)

Here they are "posing" in their undies with their potty cake!!! How cute!!!

We had Landon over to celebrate, because he just started wearing undies this week too!!!!!! Yeah, boys!!!!!!!
They love to look at "choo choo" or "george" or "trucks" on their undies. They don't like it when the design is on the butt though......I guess he was just checking to make sure it was still there. Their little tushes are SSSOOOOOOOO cute in undies too! Their clothes don't fit anymore. They are so skinny.....their diapers helped keep their pants up :o)

ya ya ya....don't comment on the dirty mirror....it's on the floor for Bennett and he runs his slobbery fingers all over it all day long....connie, thanks for making fun of my dust when you were over. i have better things to do than dust!!!!! i do laundry, dishes, and clean bathrooms.....the rest of the house just has to clean itself, or todd does it :o) i found a mamasan to start, but she only has tuesdays open right now....tuesdays are the only days we are home all day, so i need to get someone to switch days with me. my house will be spotless then :o)

We are really into buttons also!!!!!!!!! We don't like mommy or daddy to help us AT ALL with anything anymore. It takes us forever to get our clothes buttoned and unbuttoned (occassionally we give up and ask for help), but we don't like help. We like to do everything all by ourselves :o)

almost a teenager

2007-01-31T00:22:00.000-08:00

Bailey decided he wanted to go play paintball with some friends for his birthday. Of course, that is an activity that is not very family oriented when you have twin two years olds and a seven month old. So, dad was tasked to go on the birthday adventure while mom stayed home with the babies. I sent the camera with dad to take pictures of the fun birthday party the rest of us were going to miss.....he came home with this ONE picture....gotta love dads!!!! So, this is all I have from Bailey's 12th birthday party.

I did manage to get a picture of the paintball cake before it was devoured!!!!! My friend, Trish, makes the BEST cakes :o)

I have an "order" in for another cake!!!! We are having a BIG PARTY on Friday night and a cake is in order. I'm not going to spoil the special news (no, I'm not pregnant....Todd would not be throwing a party....he'd be committing suicide), you'll have to check back this weekend to check out the party pictures and "occassion" for the big party.

twins - part 1

2007-01-30T18:31:00.000-08:00

Caden can't just rock on his rocking fish....he has to dominate both of the fish, just so Cam can't play. He likes to make Cam scream.....

Monkey see, monkey do.....not quite as well though....
Caden has already moved on to something else and really doesn't care. He's done with the fish.

Now, who could resist that smile??? Cam loves to get this cowboy hat. He says "my Woody hat" and thinks he's Woody from Toy Story :o)~

Disgusting....that's all I can really say about this one. Who does things like this...and pays to do it?????? I'd never wrap that nasty thing around my neck!

Our FAVORITE thing to do is play at the parks here!!!!! There are tons and tons of parks that are well-kept, clean, and close to home :o) LOVE 'EM!!!!!!

never a dull moment....

2007-01-30T18:18:00.000-08:00

NEVER never never send one of anything!!!! If you send an empty box, be sure to send two of them.....if not, it WILL cause a fight! Grandma and Grandpa, thanks for the football :o)

It was very quiet in the house (which is quite unusual) for about 5 minutes!!!! Caden came around the corner ALONE, and I swear, with all the blood all over his face, I thought he ate his brothers. Don't worry, we just experienced our first bloody nose and thought it was fun to play with.....

now that's love......
Cam is definitely my little artistic being. Caden thinks blocks are for throwing. Bennett thinks blocks are for eating. Bailey never really had an artistic moment in his life :o) Cam loves to build me houses and draw me pictures....he has a very vivid imagination also!

the baby....

2007-01-29T03:19:00.000-08:00

Bennett loves when the twins are at school, because he plays with all of their toys and doesn't get yelled at :o) He is so happy just crawling around exploring all the big boy toys in the play room.

We went to the park last week. Bennett had his own little area to play at while the boys ran around like monkeys!!!!

Of course, he didn't want to stay in his little area :o) We went to another park the following day, and I brought the playpen to keep him confined. It worked....he was happy just listening the all the other kids play on the jungle gyms.

Connie and I took the kids to MonaKids Jungle a couple of weeks ago. It's like a HUGE indoor play area for little kids. It has 4 or 5 ball pits, lots of tubes and slides, nets, obstacles, junk like that. Well, I managed to work my big butt into one of the ball pits so Bennett could join in on the fun. He loved all the balls!!!!!!

HELP

2007-01-26T04:20:00.000-08:00

Someone please tell me which frickin' Walmart has this mirror!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

koalas

2007-01-23T03:18:00.000-08:00

I've had three little koala bears the past week. I can't even pee without someone hanging off my shoulder or sitting on my lap. Bennett has had RSV....thank God he's getting better, but that poor baby wasn't sleeping very well at all! Poor Caden has had pnemonia....again, thank God he's getting better too.....he's been sleeping VERY WELL though. He begs to go "night night in my bed" at around 5 pm. I have to wake him up around 7:30 am. He just lays on me all day and want to take "nap in my bed" every couple of hours. Oh, I don't want that part of his illness to end!!!! Then, poor Cam is just starving for any mommy attention he can get with the other two so sick. Anytime my lap is free, he hops right up, "my mommy....no Caden's mommy....no baby's mommy!" So, that's what I've been up to the past week. I do see the light at the end of the tunnel as they slowly recover though :o)

This week is also the big, busy birthday week (thanks for all my birthday wishes out there). My birthday is jam packed with crazy, busy-work crap to do (parent-teacher conference, Bailey's tennis lessons, Bailey has to be the announcer at the school talent show, etc), so it will be just like any other day! Saturday is Bailey's birthday party.....well, it's not really a birthday "party".....he, Todd, and two of his friends are going to paintball all day then come back to the house for pizza and cake. It's an all-day thing, and I'll be stuck ("stuck" sounds so bad, but it's true) with the three little ones all day. I may get a chance to break away to go to a friend's baby shower if my sitter can come over. Then, we'll do some family outting on Sunday for Bay's real birthday.

Then, I can't believe it will be February already! Still working on pictures....I'll get them up sometime this week :o)

peace out

more peas, please......

2007-01-15T23:41:00.000-08:00

Well, Todd was not impressed with me sharing the "sperm present" news. So, although he has had further testing and we are aware of what is going on, he doesn't want me to post about it.....what a fun sucker!!!!! Well, I won't post details, but I will post the following. He's the man alright :o) The doctor said, "This is the first time I've seen this happen." and was actually calling him "Dude." I guess some men are armed with hand guns and others have AK-47s!!!!!!! Frozen peas are back on my grocery list.....

and, yes, Amy, I will post pictures soon....sorry!!!!!

el presidente

2007-01-11T19:54:00.000-08:00

I am so proud of Bailey. He was elected to student council from his classmates a few months ago. Each class (4th - 6th grade) nominated and elected two representative for the student council. Bailey was one of them from his class. This past week they had elections for student council officers. Bailey ran for president, even though he knew he wasn't going to win. Nobody ran for secretary or treasurer, so he would have been a shoe-in. He's not interested in either of those positions, so he decided to run against all of the "popular girls" for president. He said he knew Kerry would win, because everybody likes her and she's really popular, but he wasn't afraid to try anyway. Two of the candidates backed out, so it was Bailey against three 6th grade girls. They all ran their campaign, to include putting up posters and gave speeches in front of the student body. He called me from his cell phone (he asked to go to the bathroom, and called me from there) 10 minutes after I dropped him off at school to tell me he won! I am SSOOOO proud of him. He says he only has a few friends and he gets picked on a lot at school (he says the boys make fun of him because he's a "know it all" and "teacher's pet" and the girls always giggle at him). Well, the boys are just jealous, and I try to convince him the girls giggle because they think he's cute. He thinks they are just laughing at him. Poor kid!!!! Well, hopefully, this will be a huge ego boost for him, because he's a winner in my eyes :o) I mean, really, somebody has to like him if he got the most votes, right?????? He is such a perfect son and student :o) Okay, my bragging moment is over!!!!

School House Rocks

2007-01-08T07:06:00.000-08:00

WARNING.....If dirty words bother you....don't read this post!
The past few weeks I've been asleep by 8:30 or 9:00 every night....nope, I'm not kidding. The break was WONDERFUL. Well, it's past midnight, and I'm sitting at the computer!!!! Gosh, that must mean school as started again...yep! I always put every assignment off until the last minute. I've always been like that and always will be. Anyway, I just finished my paper, but I'm wide awake. I had a double latte this afternoon and two more coffees a couple of hours ago. Usually, caffeine doesn't do this to me, but I'm awake, so I should post something :o)
Well, the first thing that comes to mind is the conversation I had with Bailey this afternoon....brace yourself. I was cooking dinner and feeding Bennett on the counter when Bailey walks in the kitchen and asks (so innocently might I add), "Mom, do you know what a c*** is?" I froze....I couldn't even turn to him to make eye contact. Gosh, why couldn't he have waited 15 minutes and asked Todd when he got home from work? My mind went into overdrive....how do I respond? Play stupid or tell him???? Um, if I play stupid, how long will it be before he learns it from someone else? Will he learn the correct meaning? What else does he know? Okay, if I tell him, how many phone calls will I get from other parents???? That is a scary thought....I think of A Christmas Story....Do you know what Ralphie just said? Do you know who he heard it from? Well, I certainly don't want to have that phone call. So, what do I do? I had about a 2-hour conversation (silently) with myself in a matter of 5 seconds. I turned to him and said, "Yes, I know what a * is. Do you?" He said "no" but some girls at school asked him and his friend today. He said he told them "yes" because he thought they asked if he knew what a "cut" was. He looked at them like they were stupid and said, "uh, ya" and walked away. When the girls asked his friend, his friend said no, and the girls laughed at him. That's when Bailey heard the other word. So, it took every muscle in my face to keep from dying from laughter (and embarrassment) when I proceeded to give him a whole laundry list of words (and anatomically correct names/explanations) he'll likely be hearing in the next couple of years. He's already told me there are "prostitutes" in Jr High (that's less than a year away) and on the walls in the boys' bathrooms are names and "their rates", as he put it! It truly disgusts me to think that my little boy is learning this crap at school (I don't remember how old I was when I started hearing these things), but I guess I can be grateful he feels like he can come to us to ask us things without being embarrassed or getting into trouble. It's so hard raising kids....wish me luck....Lord, help me! As School House Rocks claims, KNOWLEDGE IS POWER!

"sperm present"

2007-01-03T15:13:00.000-08:00

that was the official lab report for Todd's 6 month vasectomy check ;o) How funny is that????? He won't even get near me!!!! Now he has to go for some special work-up to see if the tube grew back together or if he has a 3rd vas (I guess there are some freaks out there that do)! I guess he should have done that 6 week check, huh? Who knew? Funny thing is...I've been bugging him about another baby and he kept saying, "too late"....I guess not :o) He told me yesterday there is NO WAY I can convince him to have another one, and if I'm set on having another one I'll have to find a new husband....anyone out there???? Just kidding :o) Oh well......

I'm looking forward to these next doctor visits (more than Todd is) to find out what the heck is going on. I hope everyone has a good laugh with this one...I know Tiffany and Lisa will!

nice break

2006-12-29T16:47:00.000-08:00

The past few weeks have been such a nice break!!!! I've taken a break from everything, and it has been wonderful. I am so energized now :o) The kids have all been great while Todd has been home, and we were able to have lots of fun family time. The baby is growing so much every day. He still isn't crawling, but he's starting to scoot around a bit. He's just too fat to get his belly up off the ground :o) He tries to get involved with everything his brothers are doing though. He grabs toys and food right out of their hands all the time, and they scream at him. He just gives them a loving smile and giggle. Todd is trying to teach him to say dada (ha, dads crack me up). He moves his mouth like he's saying it, but nothing comes out. It's cute. Caden and Camden are growing also. Cam's new thing is "yes, ma'am".....he says it for EVERYTHING! Todd thinks he says "yes, ma'am" to him to piss him off. He knows how to say "yes, sir" but he doesn't :o) Caden is so proud of himself with his A B C's. He shows off in front of Cam all the time. Cam doesn't care....he looks at him like "so, what?" Bailey is just Bailey.....as perfect as ever. I can't believe he'll be twelve in less than a month. Wow, how time flies. That means I'll be having ANOTHER birthday in less than a month also. I swear, it feels like my birthdays come a lot more frequently than everyone else's....why is that? I hate getting old. I keep telling Todd we need one more baby, like that is going to keep me young or something. He thinks I'm absolutely crazy, and there is no way I'll convince him to have another baby. Truth is, I'd have 2 or 3 more if he'd let me. One at a time is easy and actually fun! I'd take 6 boys....could you imagine how much fun that would be? Better yet, could you imagine being a boy with 5 brothers? Could life be any better? I just want to keep giving my little boys more and more brothers. Okay, enough baby talk....everyone is going to think I've fallen off my rocker!
Let's see, what else? Oh, I've been reading everyone's blogs :o) Congrats to all those new Majors out there....yeah!!!!! I can't wait for that pay raise :o) We're only a year behind you! I envy that.....but not all the snow you all have!!!! I love looking at all those pictures, but I'd hate to be sloshing around in it....yuck! It's been cold here....I actually wore a sweatshirt when I took the kids out for donuts this morning!!!!!! It's probably in the low 60's with the wind. That's cold enough for me ANY day. Todd is out golfing, because he hasn't been in probably a month. Poor guy. He's been super dad the past week, so he definitely deserves it! Bailey loves having him home too....Bailey doesn't feel bad bailing out on me when Todd is home. Bailey has been fishing, rock climbing, playing tennis, bowling with his friends, and is paintballing next week. Childhood is definitely more fun when you get to that age where you can just leave and go do your own thing with your friends :o) Speaking of Bailey, he almost got himself killed....really! His friend went to White Beach with his family for a few days, so Bailey took care of their cats and did his older brother's paper route for him. Well, Brainiac decided to NOT yield to a car and turned out in front of it. He jumped off his scooter as it went sliding underneath the car!!!!!!!!!! He came through the front door with road rash on his stomach and arm. I told him he's SO lucky he jumped off that scooter. It's not like he doesn't know better! I guess the lady jumped out of the car freaking out. Bailey told her, "It's okay, it's my fault, it's my fault!" She felt horrible and asked if he wanted a ride to the hospital :o) He just walked home....why, I don't know.....he had his cell phone in his pocket!!!!!! Duh....he must have been in shock still. Anyway, of course, dad yelled at him and told him to get over it and to go do the paper route before it got dark. Of course, mom, babied him....cleaned his wounds and drove him on the paper route :o)
Wow, this is getting long....and probably quite boring. I'm just trying to fill you all in over the past couple of weeks, since it's been so long since I blogged. Connie's blogged more than I have....something is definitely wrong....I'm way behind the power curve. Speaking of Connie, Happy Birthday! She's still a baby....only 31....I think I remember being 31!
Well, I guess that's it for now. Who knows how long it will be before I blog again....could be a while! We are all enjoying our gifts Santa left for us!!!!! The three little ones got WAY TOO MANY toys....I can't even list them all. I can't even see the floor in the toy room. I had to order 4 new toy bins for all of this crap....I can't wait until they get here. Bailey got a new tennis racket, a ball hopper, Nike ID gift card, movies, books, etc. Todd got his golf punch card :o) He never wants gifts! I got my pink Kitchen Aid blender to match my pink Kitchen Aid mixer, another Coach purse, and my Starbucks Espresso machine....all of which will come in good use :o) It was probably our most relaxed Christmas yet....hard to believe! Okay, really, I'm going now!

bad bad blogger

2006-12-08T19:43:00.000-08:00

I know, I've been really bad about keeping up lately. I was so busy when Todd was gone TDY. Then, the day he was supposed to get back (the day before Thanksgiving) there was a terrible storm......lighting storm and tornadoes (who ever heard of tornadoes on Okinawa?????)....it delayed his flight. They almost didn't come home....but they did....late that night. Well, our computer got zapped and died. So, Thanksgiving Day, after we ate, we had to go computer shopping....not fun!!!!! Earlier that day we took the fried computer somewhere to see if they could save it....nope! Shopping one day BEFORE the big sales really sucks. Anyway, we finally got our new computer and had to get some external drive for our old hard drive. I think I would DIE if I lost everything from my old computer. Anyway, within 24 hours, everything was back to normal.
Thanksgiving was nice and quiet. We didn't do anything with anyone....just us....it was peaceful. Lots of food though :o) Then, the rest of the weekend was the whole Christmas tree set-up and decorating and so forth. I finishing another class last Monday and have been on break this week. I start another one on Tuesday but only have one week of class before we break for our 2 week holiday break.....yeah!!!!! So, that will be nice :o) Once the holiday break is over, I only have 4 (YES, FOUR) months before I'm ALL done....I can't wait!!!!!!
The kids have all had parties and crap at school. Feasts, programs, gift exchanges, etc.....that crap just wipes me out!!!!! It's only the beginning (again) too.....Lord, help me! It's fun to see how happy they get, but it is exhausting for me! I guess it just goes with the season.....
I have so much to write about, I don't even know what to write about. The longer I wait to blog, the more I dread it.....I hate having to play catch-up. I've been reading everyone else's though! I can find 5 or 10 minutes here and there to read, I just can't find 30 minutes here and there to post.....I can't post without adding pictures.....the families don't want to read about the chaos, they just want to see pictures of the kidlets :o) So, I guess I'll stop rambling now and post some pictures. I wish I had pictures of our Christmas party last night :o( I think I have one of Todd, but none of me.....that stinks too, because I actually looked pretty cute (ya, I'll toot my own horn....I wore a hot little low-cut black dress). We're going to another party next week. I may wear the same dress and get pictures :o) Heaven forbid my husband ask someone to take our picture together.....is that a crazy request, or what?

red and white suckers

2006-12-08T19:30:00.000-08:00

Oh, we love suckers around here.....those "red and white" ones are a hit this year!!!

The boys are finally big enough to sit on these little fair rides alone! Todd and I used to fight about whose turn it was to ride with them. We both hate getting on these little rides. It's cool having twins, because they never have to ride alone :o) Of course, Caden will always dominate Cam and insist on being the one who drives.....always.....he never lets Cam drive anything. Cam has accepted it though. He just hangs on and smiles :o)

candy canes

2006-12-08T18:41:00.000-08:00

Okay, we went to do the Santa "thing" last weekend. We really spent a lot of time spinning the kids up for this big event. "Me like Santa Claus." "Me no cry." This is all we've heard the past 2 weeks.....well.....of course it didn't work out that way. They both cried, of course. Candy canes seemed to make things a little better though.......
The candy cane worked pretty well for Cam. He wouldn't look at Santa AT ALL.........
That is one angry little red-head! Wow....he was NOT happy.He tried to smile for me after he got his candy cane, but he wanted OFF that lap!!!!!
Bennett is still a little angel and will go to anyone that will love on him :o)
No, Bailey passed on Santa pictures this year! Do you blame him?

clowns

2006-11-18T20:44:00.000-08:00

I picked up a really fun hat the other day on Kokusai Street....it's for my "I still feel young" days. Well, I was wearing it when I picked up the boys from school. Caden looked at me, paused for a minute, and then yelled, "mommy....clown" as he ran to me with a big grin on his face. "My hat, my hat" was all I heard from the boys the rest of the day. As much as they hate clowns, I'm surprised they liked the hat so much. They took turns wearing it the rest of the day.

Cam even had to wear it on the potty :o) By the way, he hasn't had a poopy diaper in 3 weeks :o) Caden is a different story....

Caden actually DOES look like a little clown with the hat on :o)

Even baby Bennett liked it.

Bailey opted NOT to wear the hat for a blog picture.....I can't understand why though.....

momma's little cubs

2006-11-18T20:12:00.000-08:00

when i was pregnant with the boys, strangers would ask me if i knew what "the baby" was.....i'd say a "litter" of boys. my little "cubs" (i am such a momma bear) have grown so much since they were laying in the nicu with tubes and monitors attached to their little miniature bodies. i'd say they are still just the cutest litter i've ever laid eyes on :o)

too many

2006-11-18T18:48:00.000-08:00

too many pictures to go through.....i downloaded 2 of the 3 cameras last night and had no idea i had 200 pictures in them.....wow. i figured i better start posting some of them. here's one of bailey and bennett that i just love. i was getting ready to take pictures of all the boys for our christmas cards and just did a trial with the two of them, and it turned out so cute.

here i am snuggling up with buzz....hey, todd's tdy, what does he expect....i'm lonely. a girl has got to have a man on the side, right? buzz is my man :o) i had my friend take this picture when we were shopping down on kokusai street (touristy shopping area) with the officer spouse club (most of them think they are way to cool to hang out with wives of silly little captains....but i play their game....i can hold my own), because the boys weren't with me and they LOVE buzz. so, they got to see a picture of mommy with buzz when they came home from school.

here's bennett in his little excersaucer. he likes it a lot more than the twins did. they could care less about that hunk of plastic.....they weren't happy unless they were crying :o) monsters i tell you, monsters. he likes being vertical though....he feels like he's part of the family when he's standing all by himself with his toys in front of him.

here's a picture of the boys on a teeter totter at the park. that's one good thing about having twins....they ALWAYS have a friend (and enemy) the same age to play (fight) with :o)

oh ya....

2006-11-15T00:24:00.000-08:00

How could I forget to comment on election day in my last post?????? Probably because the thought of the day still makes me want to vomit. All I can really say is, POOR AMERICA!!!! I guess with public education going down hill, we have produced some pretty stupid people....there is a new generation of dems (the "how does that make you feel?" generation)....PUKE!!!!! I don't know how else to explain it. Okay, Okay, I do have dem friends that I love dearly (Lisa, if you are reading this...I still love you and think you are one of the brightest women I know :o)), but I am sad to see what happened in the Senate and the House and quite afraid of what the future holds....

I'm still waiting for bumper stickers that say Bill O'Reilly 2008. Okay, not really, but I'd put one on my car!!!!!!

quick hello....

2006-11-14T23:59:00.000-08:00

Don't have time to mess with the camera and download photos for this entry....just wanted to say hello to everyone! We are busy this week with Todd gone TDY. I couldn't imagine being a single mom with 4 kids....wow....hats off to all those moms!!! Anyway, things are going well around here. We are spending the next few weeks prepping for Santa Claus. Cam is afraid of his own shaddow, so this will be an interesting year. We pulled out the pictures of the boys with Santa last year, and they LOVE to point and say, "me like san claus" over and over again. Caden points and says, "me no cry" because he is crying in his picture from last year. We need to pull out the digital recorder and do a pre-Santa interview with the boys talking their big game and then the actual Santa encounter. My prediction is that they'll be shaking like leaves on trees. They won't get near him....I won't be able to pry them off my neck to get them to sit with him.

A little late for this message, but YEAH for the CMAs......some of you love country music, some of you hate it.....ever since I was introduced to country music (way back in tech school) I have found my music.....country music does something to me :o) love it!!!!! Anyway, go Carrie Underwood. As much as I think Kenny Chesney is gay as can be, I still love his voice and his songs....go Kenny! There are lots of them I love....go all y'all....okay, enough of that!

Bailey got his first report card....straight A's, of course. Caden and Cam are loving school. Bennett is loving his mommy time while the boys are at school 3 days a week. He is a good, FAT baby.....I kinda like having a fat baby :o) He's so thick...rolls on rolls...it's so cute :o) We are hoping they disappear someday though. We've got some really fat (grossly obese) blood on my grandma's side of the family.....I think they're all dead now, so I can say that :o) Hopefully, Bennett just has baby fat and that fat gene died with those old family members.....keep your fingers crossed for us....

In the middle of a class....that's why postings have been so slow. I've been reading everyone else's blogs though :o) I'll try to get some pictures up this weekend. It all depends on the boys, with Todd gone and all.....we'll have to play that by ear. We're hoping he'll be back for Thanksgiving....should be, but those of you in AWACS know how predictable those damn jets are.

That's all for now....hey, hey, hey to all.

Halloween

2006-11-03T02:35:00.000-08:00

Bailey wanted me to bake pumpkin seeds, so I made him dig out all the crap and separate it. He is such a "clean" freak, that it just about killed him. Anyway, he's still eating his seeds :o) The boys started out just watching but quickly joined in. As Bailey separated the seeds from the orange stuff, Cam dumped them back into the pumpkin. Bailey was quite frustrated with the whole process. It was one of those days he wished he was still an only child.

Bennett just hung out....so did his boobs :o) check out those chubby boobies!!!! He wants to be part of the action around here but isn't quite big enough yet. It won't be long though. Check that out....naked outside the last week of October....yep, it's still nice and warm :o)

What a scary lion, huh? He was walking around growling and scratching.....what a little pussy cat :o)
Cam doesn't have a scary bone in his whole body. He liked his alligator costume because alligators say "snap" with their teeth :o)

Bennett had a bumble bee costume but was asleep before trick or treating ever started. So, he slept through the whole thing! I took the twins out trick or treating for about 45 minutes. I came home (the streets were PAKCED full of trick or treators) and I found Todd in the house with all the lights off...sitting in front of the computer!!!! He couldn't even pass out candy??? Oh Lord! So, he got to give Caden and Cam a bath and listen to them talk about their "treats" the rest of the night, and I sat outside and passed out candy. I couldn't believe he was pretending to NOT be home!!!!!! I call him the Scrooge at Christmas time (believe me...he's such a fun sucker at Christmas time), but Halloween.....come on!!!!

I wish I would have gotten a picture of Bailey before he bailed. He stayed home from school on Halloween because he was up all night the night before puking. I didn't want him to go to school feeling like crap and all dehydrated, so I made him stay home. Todd said if he was too sick to go to school, he was too sick to go trick or treating......dads, I swear. The poor kid wasn't sick anymore...his poor little body just needed to recover from all that puking and dry heeving!!! Yes, he went trick or treating anyway. He didn't feel great when he came home though. He was trying to keep up with all of his friends running around the neighborhoods. It's only once a year though, so how could he not go? He had a Stewie (Family Guy) costume, and he looked pretty funny. Probably not the most appropriate costume for an 11-year-old, but, hey, I'm one of "those" moms.......

political rhetoric

2006-11-02T13:45:00.000-08:00

This didn't take very long to surface, did it????? Gosh, I love the rightwing stabs :o)

ever felt like you weren't the college type????? you shouldn't!!!!!!

2006-10-28T06:02:00.000-07:00

Okay, y'all want to feel like rocket scientists? Here you go....these little paragraphs actually came from someone in one of my Master's classes. I copy/pasted these to a document last year (it was one the first classes in my program) to go back and look at when A) I need a good laugh, and B) to prove that ANYONE can get a Master's Degree. I'm glad I saved them, because I'd like to share some of my frustrations with all of you. This is the stupidity I have had to deal with during the past year......

Research to me is find out information that you did not know anythingabout. For example if you wanted more information about how an writergot started with his career the only thing you would have to do is puthis name in the address and search on the internet. The internet is thewonderful place to do your research because it was not available back inthe 50's and 60's or the 70's I don't think. There is a whole new worldthat is open up to up and we should used it as much as possible.

To tell you the truth I really never been in that kind of a situationbecause I never had a professional job in my life unless it was NursingAssistance or Housekeeping for someone else. When I became a nursingassistance I wanted to help the elderly people that was in their homeand the rest home. But when I saw how some of the nurse treat thoseelderly people I had to get away from that kind of work. If I had notstop working in that kind of worked I would have been in trouble,because of my anger toward those other nurse. I was still going toschool but I wanted something more for myself. Then in 2003 I startedtaken class online to get my BS in Computer Information System andfinished up on September 12, 2005. I was alway taught to treated theelderly people with kindness and respect.

In the beginning everything was going very smooth. I turn in my firstassignment but in the wrong place. I would go to the chat room everyother day until I did it four out of five time a week. Then when theteacher told me that he did not have my first assignment I told him thatI put it in on Sunday of the first week. Then the next thing was thegroup of Team A. I did not know which one that I belong to until aboutThursday of Week 2. When I started this second class I am going to be ontop of everything. I still got work to do but I am going to worked alittle hard this time because I wanted the best grade I can get and thatis by doing everything that I possible can do for myself and my familybecause they are behind me 100%. I don't wanted to let them down.

This is what I have learned from the lecture is that by working togethera person can combined their individual talents and their experienceswith their group's members, and they will be able to cover more materialthan they could if they were working on the assignment individual. Whenyou attended some college like the traditional one that don't never dogroup that much. But when you go online and take a class they worked ingroup alot and that why it is very important to me because when you getfinished with your Master Degree and any other degree you decide to gofor it will help you when you get a job in your field. You will be ableto worked with difference people at your jobs whether it is two peopleor fifty people.

Describe what self-improvement strategies you will use in this last week to push through and successfully complete this class? -try to have my homework on time if possible.-started making a schedule from now on so I wanted behind in my study.-use the chat session as much as possible to response to other people inthe classes.-try to finished this last paper before Tuesday.

Do you understand why I drink now????????????

strike a pose

2006-10-28T05:45:00.001-07:00

Who says I can't be a Cover Girl model?

http://www.campaignforrealbeauty.com/

foofie

2006-10-27T05:34:00.000-07:00

this is the funniest shit ever....i can't get enough of it.....i can't stop laughing....i know, i'm a nerd!!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-xEzGIuY7kw

One up....

2006-10-27T03:55:00.000-07:00

Everything is a competition between Caden and Cam. Who gets up earlier, who gets their vitamin first in the morning, who gets to go get the mail with mommy, who gets to pick out their clothes first.....everything! Well, we pretty much know that Caden will be the first for many things.....breaking his arm, getting a black eye, knocking out his teeth, etc. Well, Cam is one up on Caden now....Caden WANTS stitches like Cam. Funny thing is, Caden isn't even the cause of Cam's stitches....Cam is (Bailey was also a contributing factor).

Honestly, I'm really surprised it has taken this long for one of them to get stitches. Only 3 little stitches too. He was quite the trooper getting them put in. I remember when Bailey got his first (and only) stitches....he was only 9 1/2 months (that's what you get when you have an early walker) and screamed bloody murder the entire time. Cam did very well :o)

So, here it is, Friday night, and I'm sitting here at the computer....warm blanket around me, nice LARGE glass of wine in front of me, getting ready to tackle some homework while Todd and Bailey are out. I'm not even sure where they are....playing pool maybe? Older kids sure are easy (well, in some respects....certainly not others....believe it or not, they actually get harder!!! I know those of you with little kids don't believe me, but you just wait....you'll see). How was that for a tangent? I'm very good at that :o)

Okay, ideas (anyone) on how to get my baby to eat? All three of my kids were SCARFING down food by 3-4 months....never had a problem getting them to eat cereal. A couple tries to get them used to it, then I couldn't keep it coming fast enough. Bennett wants NOTHING to do with cereal. He loves to watch other people eat, and gets really excited....opens his mouth and kicks. When it's time for him to eat, he just lets it sit in his mouth and waits until it gets really watery before spitting it out. Maybe he doesn't like it???? I put cereal in his bottle though, and he loves it. I'm open to suggestions.

The shirt says it all!

Have a great weekend, everyone :o)

time flies

2006-10-25T05:07:00.000-07:00

Today was a nice, relaxing day. After I took the boys to school (gosh I love Wednesdays!), I went over to Connie's house and BSed for a couple of hours. She made cookies and fed my fat...don't you love friends who help you get fatter?
Yesterday we had a couple of people over. Some guys Todd worked with at Tinker are here TDY for the week, so we thought we'd have them over to our house (aka, the ghetto). We got to hear about the nice, big houses they bought up in Alaska while we sat around our 1950 typhoon-safe, concrete box! Oh, the jealousy was oozing out of me....I can't wait to get back and buy another house. I miss having my own house....a BIG house....and, believe me, our next house will be a frickin' monster of a house.....3,000 square feet, 5 bedrooms, 3 baths, 2 living rooms.....I don't care....after living in this shoe box with 4 kids, I'm not settling for anything less (that was my foot you just heard go down)! Anyway, it was cool to see John and Jeff. It doesn't even seem like it's been 15 months since we left Oklahoma. The only thing missing was Beth and Karen :o) I could almost hear them here :o) The AWACS community is cool, because we'll all end up back together somewhere, someday. Even though Jeff is getting out, we'll probably run into him back at Tinker....that's just the way AWACS works! We were with John and Beth for almost 7 years. When we met them, we just had Bailey (he was only 4) and they didn't have any kids. Now they have 3 boys and we have 3 more also. Gosh, time flies....I can't believe how quickly time flies by. Anyway, it was good to see old "Vikings" here :o) Todd even cooked last night (hahahaha....the grill broke.....it was horrible). It turned out okay though :o)
The blogging will probably slow down now that my next class has started. The workload doesn't seem too terrible, but there is a new online system I just can't seem to get the hang of....that is taking too much of my time. I can't wait until April when I graduate. I was supposed to start a job (not a real job, a fun job....only 12 hours a week) next spring/summer when someone leaves, but she is wanting to quit this winter sometime. I'll have to start early so someone else doesn't snatch it up. I was hoping to be done with school before I start....oh well.
Other than that.....same old shit over here!!!!!!

DH

2006-10-20T05:22:00.000-07:00

Okay, ya, was talking to a friend today, and she mentioned that if she died tomorrow, her kids would never know what their mother looked like, because she never gets in any pictures. Uh, ya, I can relate to that! So, this ONE is for you, Bennett....here I am holding you during your evening nap. A nice fake smile just for you :o) Okay, so can we all see why I never get in any pictures? I won't elaborate on this....
My big butt should be doing sit-ups instead of vegetating at the computer! Todd ditched me for poker with the guys tonight....can you believe that??????? Oh, what a bozo! He'd better win some money....the O Club just got a new furniture shipment from China, and I'd like one of his drunk friends he works with to support my spending habit:o) Friday night...Todd is playing poker, Bailey is spending the night with a friend, the three little ones are asleep, and loser Kris, is on the computer!
Anyway, I've been thinking....I need to start another blog...a bitch blog! That's all I ever do around here these days is bitch, bitch, bitch. I asked Todd last night if he checked out the new pictures I put on the blog yesterday. His response was, "Ya, and what's up with that anyway? Where is all this happy crap coming from? Two days ago you hated the world." It's not that I hate the world, my dear husband....it's that you flipped a switch. You'd think by now he'd know about these switches....HELLO!!!! He's a smart guy....really, he's quite brilliant, actually! It's just an testosterone vs estrogen thing, I guess. So, an estrogen-driven blog may be what the doctor ordered, because this blog was designed to be a happy, family blog. I'm thinking there would be a screening process on who gets the address though :o) Hmmm....I'll keep you updated on that....it may just come down to a time issues. I mean, I have SO much extra time on my hands these days, right? Uh, no. Actually, my two-week break is almost up....another class awaits my presence in only 4 days. Another 6 weeks of hell is just ahead...bring it on! Only 4 more classes left...I can do this...i think :o( Well, I guess I could go do laundry or something productive....

....oh ya, those sit-ups

SUNSHINE

2006-10-18T19:04:00.000-07:00

85 degrees and perfect! It is a sunshiny day!!!! I've been singing this song to Bennett all day, so I thought I'd sing it to all of you across the miles (and countries) that contribute, or have contributed, to the sunshine in my life...

You are my Sunshine
My only Sunshine
You make me happy
When skys are gray
You'll never know, Dear
How much I love you
Please don't take my Sunshine away!

Although they're small, they are the largest source of my sunshine :o)

suds

2006-10-12T04:13:00.000-07:00

I remember loving, loving, loving, bubble baths as a kid. I remember my Grandma's big pink bottle of Avon bubbles :o) Actually, I still love bubble baths.....no, I'll spare you the pictures of ME in the bubble bath, but I will share these...

None of you reading this can say you haven't made bubble hair before!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Kadena Marina

2006-10-10T06:21:00.000-07:00

The weather is finally cooling off a little. I mean it's still hot, but the heat is tolerable these days. The marina has such a nice little beach. We love to take the boys out there....it's just such a pain. Caden wants to throw sand, chase fish, drown himself....he is a full-time job all by himself. So, it is very hard to take the twins AND the baby to the beach....doesn't happen often! Here is Caden with Bailey's goggles on...he thinks he's swimming :o)
Cam thinks he's swimming too. He's my retarded kid :o) God love him....I just want to hold him and "protect" him from the world....he is so sweet! He sure is playing it safe here!!!! Holy cow....Bailey blessed us with his presence today. Look how tan he is next to the twins....and skinny! His waist is probably the same as their waists are :o) really :o)
Poor Bennett.....only a spectator today....next year, Buddy, next year...........
He had a good time though. Look how happy that little man is. Oh, I could just eat that little baby up :o)

hungry?

2006-10-10T06:13:00.000-07:00

I remember "American" Mongolian BBQ....vaguely!!! Try Korean BBQ, if you dare. Forget the days of beef, chicken, or pork as your choices of meat. Try beef #1 (horse maybe?), beef #2 (kitty cat maybe?), beef #3 (puppy maybe?)....etc...there are about 15 different trays of meat.....who knows? The meat is "red" but the writing is all Japanese....hhhmmmmm. Then there is the seafood selection....as you can see, I chose a cute little feller to cook up in the center of our tabletop grill!!!! There was a big bowl with about 50 of these little dudes in it.......ick!
No, I didn't eat him :o) I had to put him UNDER a plate as I ate the other food, because he was looking at me!!!!!!
Oh, the Japanese cuisine is only for the very adventurous American!

Lost in translation

2006-10-10T05:49:00.000-07:00

I love love love to read the Japanese signs that are supposed to be English. Some of them crack me up for days!!!!!!!
This is supposed to say "Parking strictly prohibited without permission" How funny is that????
Connie and I saw this one night and were DYING laughing. It says "I feel like a GLANT today" instead of "I feel like a GIANT today" I can see how an L and an I look similar :o) I almost peed my pants when I saw this one proudly displayed in a retail store!!!!!

Not sure what these little car pictures represent. Usually Bailey can figure them out for me....this one lost us.

I know this one is sideways, but it's worth turn your head for. This one took us a while to figure out....go ahead and give it a shot.

Sunday outting

2006-10-09T05:52:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday we took a trip to the botanical gardens. They have BEAUTIFUL grounds here. I'd post pictures of the scenery, but I'd rather post pictures of the kidlets :o) Let me just say that the Japanese people are very artistic and this island has fabulous landscaping. Anyway, here are my little creatures running up to the tree house! They were gone as soon as they saw the stairs way down there. You can barely see them in the distance.

Of course, everything is a race....and, of course, if there is a competition at hand, Caden refuses to take second place.....hhhmmmm, I don't know where he gets that from!

He was even ready to take on this 200 lb tortoise....he could probably kick it's ass too!!!!!!!! I swear, this is one tough little cookie :o)

Bennett was lovin' the outdoors and the breeze. He looks so cute just hanging out with the family. He watches everything those boys do. He can't wait to be wrestling around with them. He just watches and laughs....He likes being the baby though. He somehow KNOWS he's the baby and will get what he wants. Everyone caters to him....even the twins :o)

Gee, what do you know? Bailey is missing from these pictures.....he misses about 75% of our outtings these days. He'd rather do his own thing. He thinks he's the man these days......

Now that I'm done with my class (I have a 2-week break...yeah!!!) I'll try to post some pictures every day :o) Ya, I have that many!!!!!!!

picture time

2006-10-08T06:07:00.000-07:00

I have tons and tons of pictures to go through. I just cleared my two cameras and have about 200 new pictures! There are about 10 different days of pictures, so I can't possibly do an entire blog entry with pictures for each of them....not nearly enough free time! I'll pick some of my favorites and write a little something about them though.

Look at my little surfer!!!! Bennett is getting so big. I can't believe he'll be 4 months old on Wednesday. He is such a good baby, too. He is so happy...as long as he's being held. He loves bathtime, his brothers lovin' on him, and daddy tickling his feet with his whiskers. He has the cutest little smile and adorable giggle to go along with it :o)

Those little fat cheeks are fun to squeeze. I suck on his little chubby cheeks all day long. They are pretty irresistable :o)

We have quite the little get-up for all three of the monsters. They will ALL fit on this stroller. The back is just a stool and a platform, so one can sit, and one can stand. Bennett hates his carseat but really isn't big enough for a real stroller seat yet....he falls to the side and gets really mad. Another month or so, and this stroller will be my best friend!

When Bailey gets out of the shower and starts doing weird crap with his hair, it's time for a cut!!! You'd think he'd learn.....every time he comes out doing something like this I tell him he has to go get it cut....he gripes and moans and says he wants to grow it out! Duh, when your hair looks this bad, it's not up to you anymore!!!!!

Behind again :o(

2006-09-29T04:48:00.000-07:00

Yes, I see I am behind on blogging AGAIN!!!!! I have another week and a half in this class, and then I'm taking another 2 week break....yeah!!!! So, I'll get pictures up then :o) I've got some good ones :o) Well, my kids are so gosh darn adorable....of course I've got good ones...duh!!!!!!! Bennett has been ssssoooooo sick this week. We were at the Pediatrician ALL day Wednesday....cathedarizing a 3-month-old is not fun....poor baby!!!! It took 5 different people to finally draw blood on the poor baby. Then, the chest x-ray.....what an ordeal. That poor baby was tortured!!!! Then we were in the ER the next night because his fever was back up over 103 again. Oh my gosh....a nightmare! He's finally sleeping again. He didn't sleep more than 30 minutes at a time for 4 FULL days....that means I didn't either. So, I have been catching up on school work like crazy!
Caden and Camden...how are they, you ask? Funny as shit, I tell you!!!!! Last night, Todd said, "Okay, it's night night time. I don't want any talking or getting out of bed. If you get out of bed, I'm going to come in and give you spankings. Do you understand?" Caden replied, "Yes please." How funny is that?????????????? Now that they use "please" and "thank you", they mess it all up! It is so funny :o) I'm glad they use their little manners though. There's hope for them yet!!!! I opened a Sprite the other day and Cam was BEGGING me for some. So, I got a straw out and stuck it in the can. I handed it to him. He drank some and gave me a big grin and the bubbles surprised him and said, "Me like it, mommy!" He is so darling! They talk so much....they never shut up, from the time they wake up until the time they go to bed. I laugh ALL day long :o)
Okay, I'll catch up more in a week and a half when I can forget about this lame class. Why am I even doing this? Am I really ever going to work outside of this house again??????????? No way....that's what Todd is for :o)

Rainbow Montessori

2006-09-17T05:29:00.000-07:00

Just a quick little post, since I haven't posted anything in ages!!!! Busy, busy, busy with school...me AND the boys! Yep, they started school last week. I wanted to get them into a M-W-F program, but the program coordinator said I could only do M-T-W or W-H-F. She said little ones do much better if the days are consecutive instead of spread out. Well, they love it. Of course they cry when I leave them in the morning, but they end up loving it. They say "school?" all the time. They want to go back every morning :o) It is a Montessori school off base. The class is about half American children and half Japanese children. There are 18 kids in the class and 3 teachers....little Japanese teachers. The LOVE the boys. Japanese people love blonde hair and blue eyes AND they love twins....they've got it made! Anyway, gotta run, but here is a picture of them getting out of the van on their first day of school :o) Caden is incapable of saying "cheese" without being goofy.

Here are the little cheese balls wearing daddy's hat. Usually daddy wears a blue flight cap, so when he breaks out the camo hat, the boys love it. They fight over it continuously. I need to march my butt over to military clothing sales and get them their own. I think I'll replace the bars with stars for them though....

Caden with daddy's hat

Cam with daddy's hat

AAFES advertising....WTF????

2006-09-03T05:44:00.000-07:00

Okay, Mel...this one's for you!!!! Who else could appreciate such a great advertisement? Do I really need to post my thoughts of this picture? I'll pass.....

Do I send this in to Maxim, or what?

Catching Up!!!

2006-09-03T05:23:00.000-07:00

School has begun! Bailey is a big 6th grader...he loves that! Big man on campus, scoping out the new cute girls, hangin' with his friends, you know...typical boy stuff! Yes, I started back up also. My 4 week break was WAY too short! I hate school......that sounds funny coming from a teacher's mouth!!!! Well, I do! I'm just sick of being a student...that's all.

Well, here are a few pictures before I dive into my homework. The infamous "Daddy drinks because I cry" shirt.....of course all three little ones have them!!!! I went (with my friends, not Todd...he had to stay home with the kids) to Okinapa Friday night. It is a huge, annual wine-tasting event where vendors from Germany, Italy, France, California, etc are all set up. There are hundreds of wines and tons of food! So, needless to say, our shelves are STOCKED.....we both drink because the kids cry. Moms aren't supposed to admit that though, so they only make the shirts for dad! They sure look cute in them!!!!

My friend Courtney offered to watch Bennett (wow, that was hard to do) so I could take the kids to the water park a couple of weeks ago. Well, more like a pool with a slide and a lazy river....but it was fun. Caden was a psyched up in his little floatie suit....until we got there....he shed that quickly! He was bouncing around the house in it though....

Cam actually fell asleep in this floatie. His head just slowly sunk until....splash....he woke up quickly! I had to lay my arm across the front of it so he could take a little nap and not drown.

Puddles

2006-08-23T05:15:00.000-07:00

There was a little puddle on our street after a good rain one day, so we decided to go play in it for a while until dinner was done. We didn't know the bottom was full of dirt until AFTER we stomped in it. Oh what fun! Those of you who have boys can appreciate this picture. Those of you who don't have boys should be thankful you don't have boys.....it takes a special mommy to embrace children such as these! Yes, the shirts were white. By the way, we love them Aunt Tiffany! If you made them, make more.....we fight over the puppy shirt!

I know this looks stupid...I didn't realize I never turned it until after I posted it. I'm too lazy to delete it, go back to my picture program, rotate it, then upload it to the site again....you can turn your head :o) I told the little snot to smile and he tried to poke me with a stick!!!!!!

Is it possible for Cam to NOT be darling???? NEVER!!!!

Is it possible for Caden to be normal???? We're still waiting!!!!!!

BIG Booger

2006-08-16T03:45:00.000-07:00

Little Booger....ha! Bennett had his two month well baby today. He's my little Butterball. He's in the 90th percentile for weight and 3rd percentile for height. She (the doctor) said he could miss a few meals and not starve. He is all cheeks and belly! Too cute....love it!!!!

Here are a couple pictures of the boys smothering him!

Cam can't stay away from him!

Here's a big smootch!
Caden can't be left out of anything!
Bennett is looking for another kiss-a-roo!!!

Little Booger

2006-08-08T04:15:00.000-07:00

Little Booger is getting pretty big, huh? I forgot how quickly time flies when they are little. He is getting so fat :o) All this boy does is eat! He would eat every hour, if I'd let him.....not going to happen. He loves to smile and coo at everyone. His chubby cheeks are so yummy :o) He is sweet little thing.....I can't believe he's my last! I just love them at this age! Look how cute.....

He loves that Bailey, too! He's so good for him. When Bailey holds him, he just looks up at him and stares :o) Bailey is such a great big brother. He is so attentive to Bennett's needs. He is always checking on him and getting his pacifier for him. He makes sure Caden and Cam aren't playing to roughly around him or taking his toys. As much as I think he misses being an only child, he sure plays the role of big brother perfectly!!!!!

BREATHE....

2006-08-06T05:29:00.000-07:00

(inhale).......AAHHHHHHH! Finally, a break!!!! I am finally done with the class from hell!!!! Honestly, I was planning on quitting :o( I blew off my BIG assignment and was planning on just throwing in the towel. I only completed 30 of my 50 page paper, so I was planning on not getting any points for that assignment (25% of my grade) and taking a C in the class. Yep, that's enough to make me quit. University of Phoenix teachers grade SSSOOOOOOOOOO easy....what a joke.....my professor gave me an A- on a total piece of crap paper. What was she thinking???? She said I need to add more to my literature review, but it is an "excellent" paper. I wouldn't let anyone read it....it sucks!!!! Oh well.....how can I quit now? That was my hardest class, and it's over. I still have to finish up that paper (I have to present it at a public workshop), because in my very last class I have to write the last 2 chapters before it is published.....yes, published....can you believe it? Anyway, that A- brought my 4.0 down to a 3.94 which sucks, but life could be worse, right? So, instead of quitting, I just decided to take a break....only 4 weeks. Life has been good though. I get to spend more time doing stuff I want to do. I can actually spend time with the kids and not be preoccupied thinking about what I need to do for class after they go to bed. I go to bed before midnight now, too.....not much before though.....online shopping has dominated my late nights....love it!!!!!!!

This next week I have to catch up on emails. I have so many people to write back to! Sorry if you are one of those people.....you'll hear from me soon :o)

We have been working on potty training :o) Well, Caden has been....Cam couldn't give a crap. He likes getting treats when Caden sits on the potty :o) Caden is actually doing very well. I'm surprised, because Bailey didn't even start until about 3 months before his 3rd birthday. My expectations of Caden were low, and he has far exceeded them. He goes on the potty (#2) at least 3 times every day!!!! He pees maybe once or twice.....he's a pooper though :o) I guess it's easier to feel that coming and hold it a little longer....I don't know....I don't remember potty training :o)

Let's see....what else? Bailey only has 3 more weeks of summer left. He is excited to start back at school. I can't believe he is a 6th grader. Gosh, that's enough to make any mom feel old. Next year he'll start Jr High....wow....am I that old????? Ya, I am.....I've been researching lunchtime lipo for when we go back to the states in 2 more years......I definitely see it in my future! Todd will argue and say he's not paying for me to get lipo....he's right....he's paying for me to get lipo AND a tummy tuck. He just doesn't know it yet :o) That's what that bonus is for, right? He gets them every year, and I haven't touched a penny of one of them.....yet. I'm raising his babies...I deserve one of them, right? I won't even use the whole thing....I have 2 years to plea my case.....

Bailey has his last 2 weeks of tennis camp these next couple of weeks. He loves it! Then that last week of summer break he is taking the Red Cross babysitting class. He watches the twins so much for us, he really needs to take the class. He is very good with them, but you never know when there will be an emergency, so he needs to be prepared :o)

I guess that's it for now. Pictures will come soon.......

Happy Birthday BOYS!!!!!

2006-08-06T05:13:00.000-07:00

All of the good pictures (opening presents) are on the big camera and haven't been downloaded to the computer yet, but here are a couple pictures of the boys with their birthday cakes. Caden HATED having everyone sing Happy Birthday to him. As much as that boy loves being the center of attention, I thought he'd put on a show for us. He gave us "stink eye" (as we call that dirty look he gives us when he's made) and kept yelling "NO!!!" louder and louder........
Cam didn't like us singing to him either, but he was mesmorized by the burning candles (thought there was going to be an "issue" with the candles for a second there). They both blew out their candles and still ask for "cake?" when I ask them what they want for breakfast or lunch. There is no such thing as left over cake with big mama around....I love cake :o)
We had a low key birthday. We had a normal day and then opened presents when daddy got home from work. They got tricycles, Little Tykes golf clubs/balls, Little Tykes T-ball sets, Fisher Price Bubble Mower, and some stuff from family (toddler power tools, clothes, money, etc). Then we had the Watts' come over to have cake with us. Landon is only a few months older than the boys, so they like playing with him. He brought them some really cute trucks (BIG ones). They loved opening more presents!

"Eat" "Eat" "Eat"

2006-08-06T05:02:00.000-07:00

When Caden is ready to eat, he is ready at that moment. He grabs a Sponge Bob paper plate (no, I don't feed my kids on paper plates...they are left over from their birthday cake) and gets in his chair. He doesn't sit in his chair. He stand up on the ARMS of the booster seat and yells "eat, eat, eat" over and over again. He'll even start to jump and laugh when he falls. When he's done eating, he does the same thing. He doesn't yell anything though....he only does it because it makes Cam laugh and he LIKES IT when I yell at him. What is wrong with my children?????

Snack Time

2006-08-06T04:27:00.000-07:00

Cam keeps me laughing too! One morning they asked for pretzels, so they each got their little snack bowl and started eating. I walked by Cam and noticed him playing with his feet. I stood there and watched......

Step 1: Carefully place the pretzel between the big toe and the second toe.

Step 2: Grab your heel and pull your foot up to your mouth.
Step 3: Eat the pretzel :o)
What a total freak! I love him so much though....we can deal with his retardedness!!!!!

Coming Soon....

2006-07-30T15:41:00.000-07:00

I will be blogging this week....promise!!! I have been SO busy trying to keep my head above water. My class ends tonight, and I'm finally going to take a break. I hate to do it, but I need to. I will be blogging ferociously later this week :o) Stay tuned!

Just Another Day....

2006-07-15T04:49:00.000-07:00

Oh, did I say it's just another day? Well, not really....it's our anniversary. It's 8:45 pm, and I'm on the computer. Is something wrong with this picture? I'm supposed to be out on a romantic date with my hubby, right? Nope. We're moving.....how romantic.....no breaks for dinner :o( Moving stinks, especially when you can't even take a break for an anniversary dinner.....oh well.....the honeymoon is over, right?

Anyway, I'm totally excited about the new house. We keep making trips up the road to slowly furnish the place. They are moving us on Monday, but we already have the keys. I can't just sit around and wait on the government!!!! That's the story of my life!!!! There are things I really don't want a bunch of sweaty dudes touching anyway.....my clothes, bed linen, towels, etc. I would feel compelled to wash them all if I had other people touching them, so I'll just move all that on my own :o)

Now I'm off to write a paper for school. Again, another great activity to be accomplishing on my anniversary. So much for that date I wanted.....it's PB&J for me tonight!!!!!!

Toodles for now

Insanity

2006-07-11T05:29:00.000-07:00

I don't know why I do this to myself.....I drive myself crazy. Really, I will probably have a stroke before I turn 40. I don't think it is possible for one human to be more busy than I am. I have been burning the midnight oil trying to keep my head above water in this dumb Master's program. This class I am currently taking is probably the single most important class in the program. I am developing my research proposal.....oh, it's only 50 pages. Well, knee-deep in this class, we get a phone call Monday night. It was the housing office, and we were FINALLY offered our 4-bedroom house we have been waiting 6 months to get. Went and looked at the house this morning, then went to my appointment to accept/deny the house. Of course I accepted it. Well, we are moving Friday....THIS Friday!!!!! Okay, the movers are coming on Friday to move our government furniture and Monday to move our household goods. Todd had to bow out of his Hawaiian vacation (TDY). Poor guy....he totally deserves a break. He has been such a trooper the past couple of months. He has helped SSSSOOOOOO much with the twins while I have been paying so much attention to Bennett. He was looking so forward to this TDY (he didn't say it, but I know he was), and now he asked to be taken off it so he could help us move. He is so helpful. We could have done it on our own....somehow :o) Where there's a will, there's a way, right? I am so ready to be in that nice big (well, bigger than I've got now) 4-bedroom house WITHOUT STAIRS (Caden might live to see his second birthday after all). Anyway, there aren't enough hours in a day now to do everything I have to do. I don't see how I'm going to squeeze in a move too! Oh boy! Maybe I should just stop nursing and take up drinking.......maybe I wouldn't get so frazzled about all this chaos. I know, I know....it's my own fault :o)

Meeny, Miney, and Mo (Caden, Cam, and Bennett)

2006-07-04T05:29:00.000-07:00

Here are a few pictures from the week. Bailey (Eeny) has been hiding at the pool all week, so I don't have any pictures of him. He had golf camp in the morning, and then took off on his bike to the pool until they closed. He is SSSSOOOOOO tan....he is BLACK!!!!!!!

I love these little hats. I found a lady on eBay who makes anesthesia caps, and I got her to make little miniature caps with Curious George fabric. The boys love to wear their little hats....they love George too! Here is Cam with his :o)

Here is Bennett with the one-handed-baby-hold.....it must be a daddy thing!!!! Mommies like their babies to feel close and secure....daddies just drag them around....I don't get it! Look at that fuzzy head :o) I'm sure he will lose all that fuzz and be bald for a while, just like all my other babies :o( I hope he loses it quickly and it grows back quickly!!!!! I hope it stays brown too. Bailey needs a brother with his brown hair. The little blonde-hair, blue-eyed twins don't look anything like Bailey. Bennett has a darker complexion than the pasty white twins, so maybe his hair will stay dark too!

Isn't he adorable? He is gaining weight quickly. All he does is eat, I swear. Every time he wakes up, he freaks out until I feed him. He can't get enough. He is going to be my little fatty!!!!

Crazy crazy Caden. He has this thing about wearing sunglasses....loves 'em! Here he is watching cartoons first thing in the morning with his sunglasses on.......upside down!!!! Duh!!! He doesn't care though.....This picture is SO Caden!!!!!!

Cam could care less about sunglasses.........all he cares about is "baby"...... loves his new little brother. He can't get enough of him. He kisses him all day long. He gets diapers for me. He puts the pacifier in his mouth when he cries. He just adores him. He wants to hold him all the time. I really have to keep an eye on Cam with the baby, because I'm afraid he is going to try to pick him up on his own when I'm not looking......he tries to be such a big brother :o)

Fartsy Smartsy

2006-06-27T21:47:00.000-07:00

Those big fancy schmancy doctors think they are so smart! I finally decided to take the ER doc's advise and call the Urologist for my consult. He spent an entire hour showing me my CAT scan and explaining why I need surgery. He said it is between 6 and 8 mm. "I've seen some people pass some pretty big stones, but this stone is too big to pass on your own. You can call me next week to schedule surgery, or you can call me in a year to schedule surgery. It depends on how long you want to be miserable in pain." So, what do you say when an expert puts it that way? Well, I guess I need to schedule surgery....right? So, I scheduled surgery for next Wednesday. What a pain. I can't nurse for 24 hours, Todd is supposed to start his new job next Wednesday, and then leaves for Hawaii (sure it's "work"....ya, ya....paid Hawaiian vacation without the wife and 4 kids is what I call it) for 2 weeks. The whole logistics of surgery with a newborn, twin toddlers, (Bailey's easy), and a husband who is 1) recovering from surgery himself (4 kids is plenty), 2) starting a new job where he works 14-hour days, and 3) leaving to go TDY for 2 weeks is a NIGHTMARE! Anyway, if it has to be done, we'll find a way, right?
So, on my way to bed last night, I made my standard trip to the potty. That MONSTER kidney stone that "won't come out on its own" managed to find its way out alright!!!!!! Whew, I almost passed out when I saw that bad boy!!!!! He said it was 6-8 mm......it was 6 mm wide but 9.5 mm long. I was so happy to call the doctor this morning to cancel that surgery! The bad news is he wants me to bring it in so the lab can analyze it. Let me tell you, that thing is like my Medal of Honor or Purple Heart......I want to frame it or put it in a shadow box for the world to see. I need to take that thing to Vegas with me....what a unique lucky charm, huh? Anyway, it's gone, and I am one happy camper!!!! Those stupid doctors don't know anything........

Stone Soup anyone???

2006-06-24T01:55:00.000-07:00

All these damn kidney stones I've been passing....I could brew up a nice stone soup! I was in the ER Friday night still trying to pass the same stone from 4 weeks ago. They tried to talk me into having surgery THAT night, but the urologist said he'd give me until Monday to try to pass it on my own. Well, it's been 4 weeks, so the chances of me passing it by Monday are pretty slim. No, not looking forward to having a camera shoved up my urethra, into my bladder, and into my ureter.....that CAN'T be fun! Well, I guess 5mm is the "magic" size to indicate surgery.....I have a 4mm kidney stone sitting directly on top of a 6mm kidney stone. Both of them are sitting right above my bladder and can't seem to make it through that little turn. I don't know.....it sucks though! I traded in the cancer 11 years ago just to have kidney stones for the rest of my life. Honestly, the cancer was a LOT easier....it didn't hurt at all. Anyone out there who has ever had kidney stones knows what I mean! I've passed 6 stones just during the last half of my pregnancy with Bennett. Gosh, maybe I had all these kids for a reason.....I'll need one of them to donate their dear old mom a kidney one of these days! Seriously, I could probably make a lot of money selling my body to medical research. Oh, I wonder if there is a market for kidney stones on eBay.....hmmmmmm...."LUCKY" kidney stones might be in high demand!

The Griswalds

2006-06-24T01:49:00.000-07:00

The Betz Family at the Okinawa Pineapple Farm.......almost as bad as The Griswalds at Wally World!!!!!!!! Are we pathetic looking tourists, or what??????

Spud

2006-06-19T03:57:00.000-07:00

Is it too late to change Bennett's name? I like Spud better...it fits him so well :o) He always snuggles up next to me to fall asleep when he's done nursing. He wraps his little arms around me however he can and curls up. When I grab his head to move him or lay him down, it is really warm and fits in my hand just like a baked potato! So, I call him my little spud. I think he likes it :o) Better than "Bean".....that's what Todd calls him. He says he reminds him of a little bean. No, the twins remind me of beans.....they always fart and laugh about it!!!! My little Spud still smells like a baby, not a miniature Todd. Anyway, not much to say except he is a wonderful baby. Eats well, sleeps well, doesn't cry much at all. The boys love him to death, for the most part. Every once in a while they'll get a little jealous. Cam is easily distracted....I just have him help me with the baby. Caden gets a little more jealous, and doesn't get over it as easily. They are doing better than I thought they would though. Cam has decided he doesn't want his milk from his "cup" anymore....."mommy booby milk mine" is what he wants......I was hoping he forgot about that!!!!!
Anyway, here are some more pictures. I know the family is dying to get pictures in the mail.....I'm a little behind on pictures these days. I'll get a CD together one of these days. Until then, you'll have to keep checking here for pictures. I'm sure you can save the pictures from the blog and put them on a disk or a CD though. Anyway, here are a few......

Caden and Baby Bennett

Cam and Baby Bennett

Bailey with all three little guys! My four little princes!