chalkboards

Today while reading with some 2nd graders at my boys school, a little girl read a line about teachers squeaking on the chalkboard. She looks up at me with this funny look and says, "This book is weird. Teachers don't even have chalkboards. They only have whiteboards!" I, being SOOOO old, didn't even know that all classes have transitioned to white boards. I just smiled and said, "crazy huh?", and she just kept on reading. Makes you wonder what other things of your childhood will become completely obsolete. Love spending time with these little ones. They really can teach you more than you want to know! Another little girl told me that a cock roach can live for an entire week without a head! Lovely! Thanks for sharing!

Business

Over Thanksgiving we were driving to Laramie to see Morgan, and Chet and I were chatting in the front seat. We were talking quietly about something we did not want the kids to hear, when Carter says, "Mom, what did you just say?" I said back to him, "Carter, worry about your own business, ok." and he says back, "But mom, I don't have any of my own business...so what did you say?" Chet and I both had to laugh out loud. Kids...they only speak the simple truth, as they see it anyways!

Teenagers

Do you know what happens when you have 5 babies??? One day, you will have 5 teenagers!!! I am freaking out for the boys to be 8, let alone teenagers. My food bill is skyrocketing! Carter and Carson are now out eating Chet and I on a pretty regular basis (and they also eat a full meal after school at 4, then again at 6 with us). It used to be that if they didn't like dinner they would just eat enough to "make it through" or enough to get a treat after dinner. Now, they pretty much eat as much as I possibly can, sometimes complaining they hate this dinner in between mouthfuls, and sometimes that they love it, as they are getting their 3rd helping. Caden is still picky, so find him something he likes and he'll eat us broke (breakfast! Put syrup on anything and that kid will eat 5 of whatever it is!) When Chet and I didn't have any kids we ate on $150 a month. We are now up to approx. $600 a month. That includes me making almost all of our treats homemade and bread stuff and eating pizza about once a month. Today as the boys were walking up the street (I carpool with a neighbor so she takes them to school every day) I was watching them from behind remembering a time when they were in their diapers walking away from me at home, and then imagined these tall skinny young men of the future! It will be here before I know it! I just so hope that I am doing a great job now, so that they are great young men then! Line upon Line, Precept upon Precept! One lesson at a time.

Dentist

Yesterday we went to the dentist. I know that some people hate the dentist, but my family loves it! I loved going as a kid, twice a year - Thanks MOM - and my kids love going. Yesterday I had the older 4 seen. Cael was a champ. They tried to do x-rays, but he gagged, so we'll try that again next time. He sat perfect while they cleaned his teeth. She told him she was tickeling (sp?) his teeth and he thought that was funny. He also loved the suction. She would tell him to kiss it, so he'd close his lips around it and then bust out laughing. So cute. The greatest thing that came out of going to the dentist (we start going at 3 and go every 6 mo so Carter and Carson and Caden have had this talk MANY times) was that for some reason it clicked with them this time that they needed to start brushing (more than 4-5 times a week, yuck I know! Bad mom!!!). Every time they eat something, they ask if it has sugar in it. They have brushed 3 times in the last 18 hours. I love it. Carter even said that he didn't want a cupcake last night because it had sugar in it and he had already brushed for bed. YAH!!!!!!!!!!! Now I just hope it sticks for longer than 24 hours. I don't care how much toothpaste and dental floss (because they are flossing too!) I have to buy...I am sure it is cheaper than my dentist bill!!! Also, Carson has an absessed tooth on the top side tooth. They want to pull it, but it doesn't hurt him and it is slightly loose. I told Carson if he pulls it before next Wednesday, then I will pay him $5. Since he LOVES making money, he looks right at me and says, "Get some string. Lets pull it right now!" I won't do that to him, but I have a feeling that tooth will be out by then, and that will save me about $250!

Caels New Saying

So, Chet and I have always kind of thought that if we say it, the boys can say it. Whenever they say 'something" they learned at school, I pick my chin up off the floor and say, "Have you ever heard Mom or Dad say that? Then you cannot say that." If you learn a new word and Mom and Dad don't say it, just know that it's bad. Well, sometimes we use phrases that sound a little weird coming from a little boy. Carter has been using, "Take that sucker!" for a couple days now, I believe learned from Mom (oops!) So, just now I hear Cael playing monster trucks on the floor next to me folding clothes and he is saying to the cars he just smashed, "Take that sucker! Rrrrrrrrr...crunch, Take that sucker!" It is hillarious! I know that I should not think that is funny, and I would probably be embarrassed if he said that in front of some people, but I cannot help but laugh to myself how it sounds coming from him. Carter has not bothered me or sounded weird, but Cael it's really funny! Once again, what they learn by example! Good and bad.

Getting Married

Carter was asking questions about getting married the other day. He was asking about when you meet your wife, in high school, or college, or on your mission, and so forth. Well, I told him that most people will go on their mission and then meet someone in school or while working. He asks if that's how I met Chet and I told him it was. Then he asked what I was doing while dad was on his mission. I told him that I was in High School still. He was nodding his head and was processing that, so I told him that his wife could be in Cael's church class, the nursery, right now. He looks up at me and gets this funny look on his face and whispers to himself, "sick!" I busted out laughing so he looks up at me disgusted and says he is done talking about getting married. I didn't really know he was old enough to get all that, so I thought it was so funny that he thought that was sick. Funny stuff. I thought that because that was how Chet and I would have been. At what point is that no longer sick? Haha!

Potato Farm

Yesterday I was sitting on the couch snuggling (well, letting him crawl all over me. He's 11 mo, there is no more snuggling at this point!) Colby and I got a glimpse of his ear. I said, "Oh my goodness Colby, you are growing the biggest potato farm in Wyoming in there!" That's what my mom always called yucky ears, so that's what I have called them. Well, Carson was doing something completely different in the room and he jumps up and says, "No mom! (So and so) has the biggest potato farm. I was standing behind him in line the other day and I wanted to throw up!" Chet looks at me with a sudden glare and says, "Carson. You need to know that your mother is the only one that looks in people's ears. That is not normal. Don't look in people's ears!' Carson just looked at me and said, "They were so gross mom. You would have thrown up!" I was laughing so hard. He kept telling me he was really serious. I cannot see stuff on my kids faces. I do not even notice it. But...my kids ears are always being cleaned, and their hair is always done (when in public anyways). It's a crazy thing I have (because my ears have to be cleaned twice a day or they are yucky, it's CRAZY!) The things we teach our kids by example when we don't even know it. I just need to make sure that I teach him it's not OK to tell the little boy that he is growing a potato farm, right?

Muscles

Today while the boys were getting ready for school, Carson calls from the bathroom for me. I was busy making lunches so I was a little bugged, but I walked into the bathroom anyways. Carson, with the proudest face a 7 yr old can muster, is flexing his bicep in the mirror. He says with all kinds of enthusiasm, "Mom! My muscle is now coming out of my body! Look at all those bumps (meaning his shoulder, bicep, and tricep)" It was so funny to watch this little boy be so excited about his skinny little arms. He was right, I was really impressed at how defined they were (I think from lack of one ounce of fat!) Every day has a learning moment (or two...or a hundred) in it for me. I didn't realize body image would start this young for them! They are the best boys ever!!! I love that they have so much enthusiasm for life. They will keep me so much younger for so much longer. Thank goodness for that! They want to ea start taking a night and running with me. (I thought that could be some fun one on one time with each of them as well as learning good healthy habits!) I love my life!

Money

So I posted earlier about my little money hounds. Well, the boys found a new way to make money! They are now doing a paper route. I always say "we" when I want a project done, and Chet is doing it. He always says, "that funny word 'we'" and that applies here. That funny word "they", but they'll get there. We are just delivering 140 papers, once a week. It is the advertiser paper, not a huge commitment. I stuff the papers for the boys during nap time, and then right after school once a week we go deliver them. Yesterday was the first day. Chet and I worked out a great plan for stuffing and it went super fast. Then to the delivery! Oh my it was painful. You just forget that people need taught how to be a good employee. I think it's been lost, so I am very grateful for the oppurtunity to teach them. I am pretty strict on it being done exactly right. They were good about it when I would correct them, and they happily walked around an entire neighborhood, walking papers to the porch of every house. They will earn $.10 a paper, minus their expense of gas (it's gotta suck to have an accountant for a dad, haha) and then tithing. Chet teaches the boys about taxes and all aspects of business. I love it. The boys probably know more about business that most adults do! I told them every 10 houses they get a dollar, and at that point you could almost see dollar signs in their eyes! Now the hard part will be waiting until payday, not until December 15th for yesterdays work. They don't like having to wait for payday!