Electronics

Vacation. What can I even say about vacation. There are so many feeling associated with vacation. You want to make memories. You want to spend that family time together. The kids will not remember the toys they get for their birthday, or the decorations in the house. They will not remember everything I make for dinner. They will remember going on vacation. They will remember riding their bikes everyday every summer. They will remember that I made dinner every night and that we sat at the table and ate it together. So, as we return from vacation, and I am exhausted, and having a hard time recovering, my kids are on my every last nerve! I got a sitter today to go to lunch with Chet and grocery shop. Upon returning, I learned that my kids had made a soda stand (selling soda left over from the trip) I am VERY against stands. That's actually how we came to deliver papers. I told them I would find them a better way to make money, and more of it, without guilting old people out of their money. My kids know that I will NOT allow a stand, EVER!!! So, for punishment I asked what they should have. Cars suggested no electronics for a week. I agreed (there were more, but that was just one of 3 punishments. I was so mad they did it with a sitter when they know that is NOT allowed!) As we were driving home from taking the sitter I stopped to get the oil changed. We sat in the car while they changed it, slowly roasting a slow hot death! Just kidding, but it was 99 degrees my thermometer said) When I could finally turn on the car I cranked the AC. Caden says to Carson (the two in trouble), "We better get used to being hot. The AC is an electronic. We cannot use it." I told Caden it was allowed and Cars with all his post vacation attitude (too many nights without enough sleep, we are struggling BIG time here!) started chewing Caden out. Caden just says, "Carson, I am just so glad to have such a wonderful family. I don't care if I have to go without AC. I did something very wrong." The whole car went silent. Then Cars says, "Caden, you are so annoying." He just shrugged his shoulders and went for the ride. Sometimes I just love Caden Land! I need to visit there myself! Love that Cade-A-Babe!!!

Singing Time

Cars has always liked music. Baylee likes music too. They are always talking about their new song they downloaded, and Cars is always having Baylee listen to his songs. It's kinda cute. Well, yesterday was Baylee's birthday and she got an ipod shuffle. Oh my, too cute. They each have an ipod (Carter, Cars, and Baylee) and they are singing at the top of their lungs to the same songs. Then Cars and Baylee started having almost a dance off. Cars was moving his hand back and forth like rappers do right in her face and was singing will all kinds of attitude and spunk. Then when he was done, she started doing this thing where her arms are at her chest and she is moving them in and out (I am sure these popular moves have names, but I don't know them!) It was so funny. They sang the entire song doing this back and forth, and then started asking what song next. It is so cute to see. 8 years old! Sometimes it blows my mind the things the kids do so young. I remember wanting to build forts and make mud and play tag. Things are so different now!

Rope Swing

While in Bear Lake we made a small hike to a really fun, cool rope swing. All of the boys were really excited and were climbing up the hill to it. Cael had to pee, so I took him up the hill behind some trees. Chet was holding Colby and just kind of watching everything (there were probably 30-40 people there.) When I came from behind the trees, I see Caden dropping off the swing into the lake. Complete panic filled me. Caden cannot swim. I just yelled, "He cannot swim!" The entire mountain looks at me and then back to the lake. Caden's little head pops up and with no fear showing on his face, he is just doggy paddling in place. I yelled again that he could not swim and then I hear a splash. My cousins husband had ripped off his shoes and shirt and jumped in after him. Caden just sits there in the water until LJ got to him and latches on and lets him bring him in. Chet was trying to get Colby to someone when LJ jumped in. I asked Caden what in the world he was thinking. He told me, "All my cousins were doing it. So I did it too!" He had no idea that what he did was wrong and scary. My Caden lives in his own world. I love him to pieces, even if he lives in Caden Land!

Bed Bugs

There is no doubt about it, Chet is a hotel snob. He is super picky about the hotel that he stays in. Chet doesn't have many things that he is crazy about (the kind of mom I am and the way kids are treated and his hotels, maybe a few more but I cannot think of them right now) but his hotel is one of them. On our way to Bear Lake for vacation this week, we stayed in a hotel that his company recommends. He says that if his hotel doesn't start with an "H", he won't stay there. That would be: Hilton, Holiday Inn, Hampton, etc. This hotel did not start with an "h". As we are getting out of the car Caden says, "Does this hotel have bed bugs?" I said, "No Caden! This is a good hotel!" He just had a disgusted look on his face and said, "I think that it might. It looks like a hotel that would have bed bugs." I was half embarrassed and half laughing so hard inside I could barely keep a straight face. This one's on you babe! Not my fault they have to stay in the best (although I don't mind staying in really nice places. I just hate when Chet thinks we don't have enough money to do something because we have to pay double for our hotel!) I don't even know where he learned about bed bugs. Too funny!

Lost Clothes

Chet and I have made habit of inviting people over to our house. What seems like an innocent little dinner can quickly turn into a huge feast with half the ward. I have a little problem. I never want to be considered cliche (is that how you spell it) I would never want to hurt someones feellings by not inviting them. I however, cannot call everyone every time I do something, about once a month. So I just tell everyone if they ever hear of an event going on at my house, they are invited. At the beginning of the summer we had lots (maybe 15-20 for my best guess) of families coming over for dinner. It was a crazy Sunday and the house was a mess. The laundry room was not even walkable (thats not too uncommon). Sometimes guys help carry things in (tables and chairs) from the garage and I knew that was not going to work. So, I took some empty bins and stuffed all the laundry on the floor into them. I ran them downstairs into a room that we lock during events, a storage room/guest room. Today, about  3 months later, and entire summer of complaining that the kids don't have any cute summer clothes, I found them!! 3 Bins full of clothes. Some were wintery clothes (jeans and long sleeve) but many were waiting to get washed for the summer use. Lovely. Lovely I tell you. Side note: This problem I have of stuffing things in places has always drove Chet crazy about me. I would rather stuff and have a clean looking house, to usually go and clean later, than to have it messy. Chet would have rather me left the clothes there and take the chance that no one saw it. Good thing that's not a deal breaker for Chet. He loves me!

Silence, Kinda

Last night before dinner, there was a little tiny itty bitty straw, and it broke the camels back. All day, the boys had been horrible. Colby is going on being semi-sick (not sick enough to do anything, or medicate, just sick enough to walk around crying all day and wanting me to hold him ALL.DAY.LONG) for about a week now. Chet is gone out of town with the scouts. Caden told me he was smarter than me, so stop telling him what to do. Starburst wrappers were found UNDER the couch, because they were not supposed to be eating them so they didn't want me to see the wrappers. Cars dissappeared before dinner, not to be found until about 3/4 of the way through dinner, which was eaten in complete silence except for the rants that I would give about every 5 min for about a full minute. Oh yeah, and the little snot suck that Carter was doing because they were all bawling. No simpathy here though, just turn off the tears, I don't want to see or hear them! That would send them into more of an ugly cry, which would send me into another rant about something else that had happened throughout the day. I am just done with all the crap! We are in military mode today. I told them if I heard one word last night they would sleep in the dark closet (they are all petrified of staight dark!) They got one bathroom break so use it wisely until noon the next day! Wow, bedtime was amazing! No fifty million excuses of reasons they needed to be up. Cael got to sleep in the dark laundry room all by himself. It was a lovely night. My heart beat came down at about 10, and they went to bed at 8. I told them they could not come out of their rooms until I came and got them. Colby slept about 1-1/2 hours longer than usual, thanks to the quiet house. I got up, made them breakfast (pancakes with syrup and apple slices and water, none of these 5 choices like jam or pb or cinnamon on them) and took them to their rooms. They ate in silence in their rooms. It was lovely! I got to eat breakfast in silence. I cannot tell you the last time that happened (Colby was so much happier when he hadn't been pestered at all)! I then gathered their plates and the blanket they ate on and breakfast was cleaned up. Then after they layed in their rooms until 9:30 (that's about 2-3 hours after they get up usually) I told them they were going to learn how to clean, the right way, the way they will need to know to be missionaries and husbands, until the entire house was spotless. Cars says, "Why, I will go make the money and my wife gets to cook and clean. I don't need to know how." You can only imagine how that conversation went over. Needless to say, my baseboards have been scrubbed, my bathrooms are spotless, my carpets don't have a spot left on them, my closets are clean, my kitchen floor is mopped, Colby is sleeping for the first successful time since the boys have been home. Then Caden says to me, "I don't even understand why we are in trouble. You just freaked out over nothing (remembering the tiny itty bitty straw!) They are now sitting in their rooms silent until I feel like talking to them. I took away snacks too, because of the starburst problem, and they think they are going to die. I bet they will eat what I make them for lunch. If not... I don't feel too bad! Mean mom is here!!! They aren't liking mean mom too much. I am convinced that older people only remember the good days or events. They say how much I will miss these days. I write about the crazy things they do, but not usually about my complete frustrations. Here is one breakdown. They happen like this about once a month. I just get done with all the crap and mouthyness. This one is worse than usual. Cars told a good friend of ours that asked him to pick something up ON HIS PROPERTY we were camping on that he wasn't his boss. He said it jokingly, but I about died (the friend doesn't remember him saying it so I hope it wasn't as bad as I remember it)!!! The attitude and entitlement are ending today. Last week Chet was out with Colby and I had all 4 older boys in church. After about breaking Cadens fingers, I leaned over to all the boys and told them they better follow me out. Cael was more dragged out by the arm, but outside against the brick wall they all got a good talking to, and then marched back in single file where they sat and folded their arms the rest of the meeting. Almost every week of their lives they have sat in church. They are going to know exactly how they are going to sit every single week!!! I could go on and on about things that I need to do better with them. Things that they have done that make my heart beat way faster than running 5 miles. But for now... that is all. Thanks for reading my total rant and frustration, until next time! I love being a mother (really thick with sarcasm today!)

Dinner Prayer

Last night Carter and Carson went over to Baylee's for dinner (first time to go for a home cooked meal). Cars was telling us that he said the dinner prayer. I asked him if they pray the same way that we do and he told me that Baylee taught them how to. (This is all from Carson) He said that she told her parents that they were supposed to be praying before they eat, so her mom said that she would have to teach them, because they didn't know how. This was before last night that she taught them this. Yesterday Baylee was asking me why we fold our arms and put our head down. She asked if she could just put her hands together and close her eyes. I told her she could do it however she wanted to, but this is why we do it this way. So last night at dinner she told them why they did it this way. I think that is so cute. Her teaching her family, and them being so kind about it. Carson said everyone folded their arms and bowed their head. So cute. Love my future missionaries!!!

Jump Off a Cliff

Cars was doing something that I had asked him several times not to. I told him very stern to stop now! He said that Baylee wanted him to. (Baylee was standing there) I said (oh yes I did, the dreaded words that welcome you into parenthood!), "If Baylee asked you to jump off a cliff, would you?" Baylee was standing right next to me and she gasp and said, "Kimber, I would never say that to him!" She was so distraut (I don't know how to spell) that I would even say that. Cars just looked at me weird and said, "You are weird mom. Baylee would never ask me to do that." and the two walked out of the room. Ka-BOOM! That didn't quite have the effect I was looking for. Maybe we need a little longer before we start using sarcasm!

Family Home Evening & More

Tonight, my non LDS neighbor, Baylee, was helping me make dinner. She was telling me the things that she wanted to do soon, like rock climbing. She then tells me, "I begged my parents to go for family home evening, which we do on Thursday, but they did something else." It made me laugh. When they first moved in and we took Monday nights off, they were kinda bugged. My boys have always loved FHE, but the neighborhood was silent on those nights. So to hear that she has instituted it in her family makes me smile.

Today for lunch I took Cars out. We went to a mexican restaurant. He ordered his meal, but when it came, he didn't want to eat it. He said that it tasted better after they had been in the fridge for a while and then microwaved. I thought he was crazy but said whatever and let him pick on my meal and eat chips and salsa. The minute Baylee got here tonight (her mom works so they go somewhere during the day) Cars says,  "Baylee! I got us some hot wings!" The two run off to the kitchen and start heating them up and then gobbled them down. I was laughing to myself. That was very thoughtful. 1) Cars loves hot wings. He could have eaten all 8 himself 2) He saved them specifically to eat with Baylee.

As Baylee was eating a cookie tonight she says to Cars, "I love your moms cookies. I love your moms cakes. I love your moms cooking. I love everything your mom makes." Then my boys started telling her everything they love that I cook. It felt good. Not very many days do you get thanks as a mom. I am tired, tired, tired. Summer is hard. The boys are exhausting me. To hear her say that and then for my boys to agree and join her was really nice. A little smile! I love our neighborhood!

Bodyguards

Cars has not been wanting to go to Gym 60 everyday like in the past. The class went from 40-50 kids the first few weeks to about 10-15 the next. Everyone that I know of that quit going said it was from the same thing. Bullies. My boys are pretty tough and can hold their own, so we have never had this problem. These boys are MEAN! The last time that Carson went, he pulled one of the kids flags in flag tag and so the kid punched him. Later that same day Cars and him were having a pushing war (I don't know what the real name is, but they try to get each other to touch something across the mat and then they win if they do. The best is to wrap them up and drive like blocking in football) The boy is a wrestler but Cars got the better shoot on him and drove him and the kid lost (Cars has always been an amazing athlete. He just "gets" it, not matter what he's playing). He grabbed Cars and threw him up against the wall and started choking him. It's bad. (the boy got kicked out of the class, but there are more boys just the same.) Cars just decided that day it wasn't worth it anymore. Caden however goes EVERY day. He freaks out if I am a minute late dropping him off. He goes alone, is willing to walk (I don't let him) alone, walk home alone, whatever he needs to to get to go. I asked Cars today why Caden is ok going and he says, "Because everyone loves Caden. He has some bodyguards, and if anyone even tried to touch him, these older boys would beat them up." Haha! It is so funny. Cool Joe Caden! He amazes me more and more everyday. I hope he never loses his personality that seems to flock everyone to him.

I told him the other day (when he heard an advertisement for football) that we were going to try and take him to the football games this year. Instead of date night alone, I told him we would get a sitter for the babies and take them with us to the home games. He got really excited and said that ALL his friends would be there, because they love football, even if they can't play until 3rd grade! I always wanted to take my kids to the football games, but I had no idea 1st graders would want to go "hang" with their friends. WOW!!! Scary. I don't know if I'm ready for that with him. The older boys, maybe (they were already asking last year to go meet their friends). Not him. Not yet.

Gravity

Carter is my little saver. He likes to save his money, and when he does spend, he buys quality things. He feels (and is just repeating what his dad says I'm sure!) that you get what you pay for. So, when they were buying bikes this year, Carter opted for a Mongoose, which was about $30 more than Carson's. Carson is on his bike about triple what Carter is. Carter is always making comments to Carson about why he should have bought the Mongoose. It is really funny because has more to do with how Carter treats it, as well as the number of hours logged in on it, than the price of it. (Carson opted for one that is shorter. If it's not as "stretched" out he knows that he can do more tricks with it.) Today Carter tells me that he loves his Mongoose because, "it has way less gravity than Carsons. When I jump I stay in the air for like 3 seconds longer than Cars." And he's nodding his head like he's so cool. I looked over at him getting ready to teach him about gravity...I just stopped, smiled and said, "Awesome!" He responded, "I know, huh." and on with our day we went. Pretty cute how they think. It's all about the Mongoose baby!!! (I dread the day when I have to start buying them "real" bikes and not Wal-Mart cheapies!)

Mechanics

Cars is constantly surprising me with his knowledge of mechanics. That's not Chet's strong suit, and I know NOTHING about mechanics. There is nothing there that is common sense to me. Cars is also OBSESSED with mowing the lawn. He wants to mow it ALL.THE.TIME!!! Colby is a little sick today and just wants to lay on me, so we went outside to watch Carson while we sat on the swing. Carson stopped the lawn mower to see what I wanted. When it was time to start it up again I didn't like how he was holding it. I asked what in the world he was doing. He went into this long explanation about how the gas gets into the motor to make it run (where he needed to tip the gas too) and if he's low on gas and turns the mower this way then he can still get it started. He then tells me that it takes more gas to start it than to run it, so that he had enough. I just sat there shaking my head up and down, but I have NO idea if he's right. He is 100% sure that he is though. Sure enough, the lawn mower starts and runs out of gas soon after. Way too smart. Either because he figured that out, or because he can sure come up with a good story! He fooled me if it's not true!

Oh Crap

Cael has been potty training (FINALLY!!!) this last week. He called me into the bathroom, and as I arrived at the door, I asked what in the world he was doing. If you know Cael, you can imagine exactly how he said this. If not, just imagine as much attitude and disgust a 3 yr old can muster. He tells me, "There's crap (with lots of emphasis) on my leg, there's crap on the seat. Help me get rid of all this CRAP!" He was standing there with his shorts at his ankles with a piece of poop on his leg and some smeared on the toilet seat. I have been telling him for weeks that if he just went on the potty I wouldn't have to wipe his bumb with wipes. So he thought he didn't have to be wiped at all. With a little still hanging, he jumped down off the toilet and had a surprise. He was sooooooooo mad at me that he had "CRAP" all over!  I started laughing which made him mad and he just said very stern, "Get this crap off me. This is disgusting!" Oh my, he is funny!! Chet and I tell our boys that if we say it, they can say it. It's times like these when it's really funny to hear Cael saying crap!

Cookies and More

I just made a batch of cookies. I have been out of brown sugar for about a week so I haven't been able to make any. Before they could even cool, 15 disappeared!!! By the looks of Colby's face, he had one. But 15... what the heck!!! I was in my room for less than 5 min. I asked Cars what happened, he said, "We ate them. They were good!" Ok. Today for lunch, Cars invited everyone over. He was looking in the very bare pantry for something to make. I was quite proud of him. He came up with about 4 meals that he could make. They settled on Frito Pie (chili with beans - he wanted to add cilantro but we were out, fritos and cheese). It was microwaved hot dogs for the boy that didn't want that. We are now feeding the neighbors. We have a little boy that comes over in the morning and asks what I'm making. I tell him and he tells me that that is his favorite meal. Some of me thinks, um.... I cannot feed everyone for every meal. Then the real side kicks in and I know that he just wants a good homemade meal.  We seem to be having more and more kids for meals. I am really going to have to up my food budget. $125 a week is just not enough to make it work. Luckily, these kids don't eat like mine yet! A little pork and mashed potatoes and gravy is barely even noticed on a Sunday dinner!

Tears

Carson is the toughest kid I know. He has to be REALLY hurt to cry. That is not being bias towards my own son. He is tough as nails as the saying goes. However, get him tired, and the kid will cry over E.V.E.R.Y.T.H.I.N.G!!!  He has been having a "crying" day today. I have a friend who told me that she tells her son to "Turn of the tears" when he cries. I love it!!! I am not a drama person. However, I used to cry the exact same way as Cars. At the drop of a hat, or angry word from my dad ( I know that drove you CRAZY Dad, oh how sorry I am!!!) I would bust into tears. Any confrontation would make me cry. Chet does not handle drama tears well, so slowly over 12 years I have quit all together (probably the last 4-5 years have been really good!) Well, today when Carson started crying, I told him to "turn off the tears!" He rubbed his eyes and was still crying and trying to talk to me. I said it again, and he looked up at me trying with everything in that precious little ball of attitude he had and said, "I am trying. I cannot!" Then he started blinking really fast and was quite literally trying to stop. It was so funny. The harder he tried the more tears would fall. I don't know if that is imaginable, but it was sooooooo funny!!! He was trying with everything he had! He finally just told me that he would be back. He walked into the hall, composed himself, and walked back in to talk to me. He said that it was really hard to turn off tears. Oh my goodness it was funny!!!

Cookies

Yesterday we went to a little get together at a friends house. I made about 30 cookies to take with us. When we got there, Cael immediatly started asking for one. We were grilling dinner and there were about 15 other kids running around so I told him not until after dinner (not because I cared, but because I felt bad for the other kids who I knew wouldn't be able to) After dinner Cael comes to me about to cry and says that all the cookies are gone! I about died. I saw what seemed like a million people eating cookies, everyone telling me how yummy they were, and I just spaced it. I told him that I could make him some more tomorrow. First thing Cael says to me this morning is, "Mom, will you make my cookies for breakfast." The little thing DID NOT forget what I had promised to do. Maybe just not for breakfast!