No, I'm Not Turning Into A Hoarder....

We've moved all of the contents of our kitchen into our dining room because I'm finally getting a new kitchen!! Hooray! I've hated these ugly, outdated things since I first saw them. But since they were still functional, we kept them and spent the money on other things that were more necessary (such as a new hot water heater, patching a leaky roof, replacing toilets. You know, the important stuff). We refinanced a few months ago, and I asked my sweetie if we could get a little more to update the kitchen. To my delight, he agreed!

I didn't take any before pictures, but here is what those old, yucky things looked like.

Here is what my new kitchen looks like... for now. I hope to post the finished product by this weekend!

My Second Blog

On October 10th, our family is heading to Kansas City to walk in the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation's Walk to Cure Diabetes. We have set a goal as a family to raise $1000 to donate to JDRF. To help us get to that goal, I've created a second blog with instructions on how others can help! My new blog is http://www.gatorcrusaders.blogspot.com/. Our team's name comes from Ross's obsession/love of the Florida Gators.

I've also created a video about Ross. Hopefully it will help others get to know him a little better, and therefore donate on his behalf.

Uncle Aaron, you've asked for warnings in the future if a tissue is required. You might want one for this. :)

Turn up the volume and enjoy!

Funny Things I've Heard This Week

Mallory is getting to an age where she says some really funny things. And Drew is just a funny kid. He's witty and clever. Here are some of the funny things they've said this week:

Out of the blue while we were swimming, Mallory yelled out, "I LOVE SWIM DIAPERS!" and then she went about her business.

While shopping at the grocery store she said, "Mommy, I love corn and I love you."

Stella, our puppy, was chasing her last night and getting too rough. Mallory yelled, "Aaghhh! She ate me!" when Stella puppy-bit her.

And Stella was getting too rough with Drew the other day. He told her, "Stella, don't charge me for the crime."

And this is the funniest thing he said to me. Several times this weekend he talked about the baby brother or sister of a kid at his Kindergarten. He keeps telling me, "Mom, there is a baby who comes into my school who's face looks just like Michael Jackson's. I'll show the baby to you if I see it." It must have really made an impression on him because he's mentioned it about 5 times over the weekend.

First Day of School

The three big kids headed back to school on August 13th (happy birthday to me). I was ready for it about two weeks before. The boredom-that-leads-to-constant-fighting was grating on my nerves. Of course the kids weren't as happy about going back. I don't know too many kids that say they are ready. My days are so quiet now! I've forgotten what it's like to entertain just one!

Mr. Drew started Kindergarten. He dreaded it all summer. At least once a day he would ask, "Mom, will you please home school me?" Uh, no. Unless the circumstances are dire, that will not be happening.

Anyway, miraculously, about a week before school began he started saying he was actually looking forward to it! He's had a good attitude these first few days, although he has said a few times that he doesn't want to go. I'm thankful that we got our first choice of teacher, our beloved Mrs. Peppers, and his very best friend is in his class.

Elizabeth started third grade. She got the same teacher that she had last year. Mrs. Miller moved up to third grade. Her best friend is also in her class!



Ross started at a new school this year. With the new diagnosis, I've been a little nervous for him, but it's getting better. The staff is wonderful so far, and he really likes it. He switches classes, and so far his math teacher and his music teacher (a miracle in itself because he has hated music in the past) are his favorite.

Here's to a good year!

Sunburns

Two days ago, we went to the pool for one last all day swim before school started. I slathered everyone with sunscreen including myself. Later that night I realized the side of my leg was on fire. Sure enough, I missed a big strip down the side of my leg. It looks ridiculous (Don't worry. I've spared you the pictures of my thigh.), but not quite as ridiculous as these guys:

I've actually had a sunburn similar to this as well. One year when we went to Florida, my mom smacked a handful of sunscreen on my arm, and I didn't rub it in. You could see a white handprint on my arm for a few days.

This guy's seatbelt mark is hilarious.

Float Trip

On Saturday, Edward and I took Ross and Elizabeth on a float trip on the Current River with a group of 33 of our friends from church. We had our canoes reserved for about a month. I wasn't so optimistic when we arrived at the river, and it was seventy-three degrees and raining. Couple that with sixty degree river water, and I knew it would be a cold day. Surprisingly, it didn't turn out too bad. We rowed for about an hour in the rain and fog, but it quickly lifted. It stayed pretty cloudy most of the day and got to a high of seventy-eight degrees. Edward and and I were relieved the sun wasn't just blazing down on us. That part of the trip was pretty enjoyable.

I have really mixed feelings about our trip. While we had a great time with our family and friends, I was shocked and repulsed by the behavior of nearly everyone else on the river. All of the party people who were two sheets to the wind were either oblivious that we had fourteen children (ages 7 - 14) in our group, or they just didn't care. Only once during the day did someone in one of the rowdy groups yell out to another to watch the language. My skin crawled at each vulgar and vile thing I heard. If I heard it, my two kids heard it as well, and that makes me really mad. At the beginning of the trip, the kids would say, "Mom! That person just said a cuss word!" By the end of the trip, they just plugged their ears as they saw groups with alcohol. And not only did we hear awful language, we saw really inappropriate behavior as well. I mean REALLY inappropriate behavior. I was at the front of the canoe so I would just tell the rest of my family, "Don't look to your left."

I cracked up because at one point during the day, we passed an especially obnoxious group, and Ross said, "It smells like Busch Stadium." And it did!

If we try to organize another float trip next year, I don't think I want our family to go. I don't want my kids exposed to that environment, and frankly I don't want to be exposed to that environment. I think I might go again if we went on a weekday. I'm sure there will still be some unsavory characters, but I wouldn't think it would be so bad.

There was one episode that had me laughing hysterically Saturday. To my friends that know about my bad habit of laughing when someone gets a little hurt - it was one of those times. As I said, I was in the front of the canoe. Elizabeth, Ross, and Edward were behind me. We were coming up to a crowded spot in the river, and of course I had a front row view. There were two guys that had tipped that were trying to get their canoe up out of the water. We were headed straight for one guy that had his back to us and his legs spread apart. He was slightly bending over. We were headed straight at him. To me, we were going in slow motion, and there was nothing I could do about it. I felt my giggles coming on as we started to take aim. Sure enough, the pointy nose of our canoe goosed him! And the current made us keep going. He yelled, "Whoop!" and had to stand up on his tip-toes. We literally lifted him up onto the nose of our canoe. By this time I was laughing so hard I couldn't breathe! I managed to wheeze out a "sorry," but I don't know how sincere he thought I was. He managed to get himself wedged off our canoe and helped push us on our way. I don't know how much of it he remembered the next day, but I have a feeling he might be a little sore on his back side. When we floated far enough away that I didn't worry about him hearing us, I was howling with laughter. I couldn't even catch my breath. I couldn't even paddle. I couldn't even move. When we got further down the river and caught up with my sister's family, they asked what was going on. They said they could hear me laughing way down the river and knew something good was happening. It. Was. FUNNY.

Lunch Break

You can see some of the fog.

The fog was actually pretty neat.

Harrison & Emmy (nephew & niece)

Emmy & Grant (niece & nephew)

Elizabeth & Emmy

Things I Learned While At Six Flags

*Not everyone chooses to wear deodorant. Either that, or it doesn't work for everyone.

*I don't care about how stylish I look in 87 degree weather. I look melty and soaked. So do 3/4 of the people there.

*A two hour thunderstorm clears out an amusement park quite nicely.

*My 30 year-old body just doesn't handle the same rides my 15 year-old body use to be able to handle. The Ninja use to be my favorite. Now it just scrambles my brain. But I'm not willing to throw in the towel yet. I love roller coasters too much.

*My very cautious, never-before-liked-roller-coasters boy, now LIKES roller coasters! It was a very proud day for Mom. He even rode Batman and said he thinks he'd like to try Mr. Freeze the next time we go. That one's pretty intense even for me!

*A group of five boys can really draw attention to themselves.

*Little girls can be braver than little boys.

*A seven year-old girl's throw up can shut down an entire ride for 13 minutes.

*A day at the park can restore the kids' thinking that I'm the coolest Mom in the world.

Clueless

Last night, Elizabeth, my mom, and I had a fun evening at the Muny. We saw The Music Man, and it was wonderful! It's such a fun show.

Wouldn't you know we were running a little late to head to St. Louis because just before we left, a car exploded just a few houses away from ours! The kids and I sat in our backyard watching the flames and smoke engulf the car, and then we watched the fire trucks pull up and the firemen bashing out the car windows. Now THAT isn't something you see everyday. As far as we could tell, no one was hurt.

So, running late as we usually do, unfortunately, we still needed to eat dinner. We stopped at Cracker Barrell, where they took a little too long to bring out our food. We scarfed the tastiness down quickly. I told my mom and Elizabeth I would go pay then use the restroom so we could get back on the road. You know all Cracker Barrells are basically the same - pay in the general store, and bathrooms are in the back of the general store. I paid the lady, and then I was organizing my cash into the various compartments of my wallet as I entered into the bathroom, head down. I went into the stall, and I continued to organize the contents in my purse as I used the restroom. I could hear people coming in and out. When I was finally finished, I opened the bathroom door to the shock of my life. To what should my wondering eyes should appear but TWO MEN WITH THEIR BACKS TO ME USING URINALS!!!!!!! My first thought was, "There are men in the women's bathroom!" My second thought was, "There aren't urinals in a women's bathroom!!" I then wondered if I should go back in the stall and hide out until the cowboy and the other guy left. I decided I shouldn't because more men might come in. So what did I do? I put my purse up in front of my face and RAN out of there like Forrest Gump! I yelled out, "EXCUSE ME!!!" in about as high a pitched voice as I could muster. I continued speed walking back to my table and tried to tell Elizabeth and Mom what happened but I was laughing so hysterically that I couldn't get it out. I was embarrassing Elizabeth because people were staring at me. I wasn't embarrassed, but I was just laughing so hard that I was hysterical. I finally was able to get the story out, and Elizabeth and Mom began laughing hysterically as well.

I wonder what those two men thought. Did they look under the stall when they first walked in and see pink painted toenails and women's flip-flops? What did they think when nature called and a brown purse with a zebra printed shirt ran out of the bathroom behind them?

Ah, it was priceless. One of the finer moments of my life. I've been laughing all night and all morning.

Sweet Drew

My little man is certainly all boy. He's turned from a pretty quiet, laid back kid into an occasional stinker! He has his moments!

Tonight, though, was one of those times that I think he's an angel. After being gone to a photography class with my Mom (thanks, Mom!), I came home to find all the kids had been put to bed. Edward said they were all quiet, but they were probably all still awake. I went into their rooms to tell them goodnight. I found Drew in his closet with his beloved Black and Decker Junior Tool Shop, busy working away on a project. I asked him what he was doing. He replied, "I'm making something so that kids with diabetes won't have it anymore."

Poker Face

I'm sure many of you are familiar with Lady GaGa's over-played song, Poker Face. It has a fun, catchy beat that gets stuck in your head, that's for sure! The kids would yell, "Turn it up!" when it came on the radio, so we would rock out to it. Since I couldn't tell what Ms. GaGa was actually saying, I thought I'd better check out the lyrics for myself. I thought it was probably one of those songs that the beat just makes you move, but the lyrics might be inappropriate - like "Dude Looks Like A Lady," as Edward embarrassingly found out the hard way in a game of Sing Star at my parents' house for Christmas. Oops! So it turns out I was right. I Googled the lyrics to Poker Face, and I didn't think they were appropriate for my kids (or me) to listen to. We've had discussions about what is appropriate and what is inappropriate for us to listen to. The kids have all agreed that we shouldn't listen to this and should turn the dial when it comes on (every five minutes!) the radio.
It seems Miss Mallory has been paying attention too! She was the leader of the pack when it came time to sing along with Poker Face! It was pretty funny to hear a two-year old sing the chorus to the song! She must have been listening intently as we talked about it not being a good song. This week she was talking Edward's ear off about anything and everything and said something that sounded like poker. Without missing a breath, she told Edward, "Poker Face is a cuss word, Daddy."

Like she knows what "cuss word" means.

Another Reason Ross is Such a Cool Kid

Back at the beginning of the year when it was time to think about signing up for spring baseball, Ross decided he wanted to take the season off. It wasn't a decision he came to quickly. Even after being told several times by the coaches of two teams recruiting him that he would be one of the starters this year, he still really felt like he wanted to take the season off. Just at the time of his diabetes diagnosis, the season would have been starting. Coincidence? Probably not. We're grateful for the break to get use to our new life.

Also before his diagnosis, he did decide he wanted to participate in Challenger Baseball, and it worked out perfectly. Challenger baseball is an amazing thing. In our small community, it consisted of two teams that played each other each Saturday morning for about a month. It is a program for disabled children ages 5-18. Ross was a "buddy." The buddies duties were to make sure their partners didn't get hurt. They stood next to them in the outfield, and they helped them bat and run the bases. The children's disabilities ranged from very mild (some of the kids you couldn't tell what was "wrong" with them), to pretty severe (autism, cerebral palsy, retardation, etc...).

It was a touching experience to say the least. The first game we attended, Edward and I pretty much bawled through. Each player was pitched to (or used the tee) until they got a hit. Then, they ran the bases, getting a "home run" each time at bat. You can't imaging their joy as they ran the bases. They had huge smiles, and many would raise their arms and cheer for themselves as they ran. The audience cheered loudly for each child each time at bat. While they were running, the pitcher would throw or roll balls to each player in the outfield. They would then throw it back in.

Ross plays third base with his little buddy.

At the first game, this little guy with Down's Syndrome came to the fence and looked each audience member in the face. when he got to us, he asked, "Who are you here for?" When I replied, "We're here to watch you!" he just skipped off back to his base with a HUGE smile, as if I'd made his day. Edward and I turned to each other and cried.

He was a funny little guy. When he was bored he either sat at his base, or he just came back to the stands to his family. He would have rather played the GameBoy with Drew on several occasions.

The boy in the outfield behind Ross is blind.

Ross running home with his buddy.


At the last game, Ross had a new 11 year-old buddy, one he'd never helped before. He turned to Ross and said, "I give all my buddies a hug" and hugged him. How sweet.

Our New Addition

This is Stella, our new 6 week-old Chocolate Lab! She is such a sweet, fat little girl.

The kids have been begging for a puppy for a year now. The begging has gotten really intense over the last few weeks. Elizabeth has been the most desirous. Daddy was the lone holdout, and he finally secretly agreed just a couple of days ago. I have been on the hunt online for the perfect dog, and I think I found her. She was at a beautiful farm (with cattle, chickens, kittens, a pony, and lots of dogs) about two hours from us. We kept the puppy a surprise from the kids, telling them we were going to look at furniture we found on Craigslist. We finally let the kids in on the excitement about 15 minutes before we arrived. This is the exact moment we told them. Elizabeth was about one second away from screaming here.

The litter of puppies is 6 weeks old, but they were quite a bit bigger than we thought. Stella barely fits on Mallory's lap.

I loved this picture of one of Stella's sisters licking Drew's ear. He is our very cautious, easily frightened child. He's always been pretty jumpy around animals, but he's really started getting better lately. I hope this new puppy is a good thing for him.

Of course Elizabeth was in love with all of the puppies we saw!

Ross loved holding all of the puppies.

And Mallory loved this kitten more than anything, I guess because he was just her size. The cute five year-old boy that lived at them farm was a little anxious about her love for the kitten. He kept telling Mallory, "You can't take the kitten with you."

Wish us luck on our new journey!

Prize Fighter

Mallory tripped and hit her eye on the step in the garage last week. Of course being two years-old, she would NOT let me put an ice pack on it after it happened.
Her cousin Grant taught her that when someone asked what happened to her eye, to reply, "I got in a fight!" She was the novelty at church yesterday. Word travelled fast about her response. She had many people asking her what happened, to which she would shout, "I dot in a fight!" When asked, "Who won?" she replied, "ME!"

Our Weekend In Chicago

We just came home from a wonderful weekend in Chicago visiting our sister & brother-in-law & family. As always with visits with family, it went WAY too quickly.

Matt, Katie, Ellie, Sam, & Mike

The Man of the Hour - We were in Chicago to celebrate this sharp dressed man. Matthew Edward Reall turned 8 and was baptized.

We stayed with the Realls for four days. Mike's sweet sister, Tammy, and her darling boys, Gavian, Damian, and Christian also made the trip up. It was so fun getting to know her better. Along with the five adults in the house, we had one 1 year-old, two 2 year-olds, two 5 year-olds, a 6 year-old, three 8 year-olds, and a 10 year-old. That would be ten kids under the age of 10! And believe it or not, everyone got along so well! It was great to see the kids having so much fun together.

Partners in Crime - Sam, Drew, and Damian

Matt, Christian, and Ross

Russ & Monique Felker's boys - Danny & Michael (I couldn't get Tyler's picture)

The Felkers (Russ is Edward's first cousing) live about an hour from Mike and Katie. They came over for the baptism and for dinner afterward. Their boys are DARLING! All three boys (ages 3, 5, & 7) became absolutely smitten with Elizabeth! They all wanted to sit on her lap and hold her hand the entire evening. It was precious! Danny, the three year-old, asked if Elizabeth could be their new babysitter.

The whole gang getting crazy after the baptism.

While there we spent a day enjoying the beautiful weather at a park. We started off the day fishing, but that was quickly aborted when a clueless woman brought her dog over to our dock and threw a stick into the lake for it to retreive. Tammy even asked her, "Are you not concerned about the dog getting stuck by the hook?"

We moved on to a picnic lunch, followed by chasing chipmunks, playing in the dirt, and an intense kick ball game.

It was a wonderful weekend!

If It Sounds Too Good To Be True, It Probably Is

The bowling deal certainly wasn't all it was cracked up to be. When something is advertised as free, I expect it to be free. While there was some truth to the campaign, they sock you with the shoe rental fee.

In our town, you can bowl in your socks if you want to. So I went to a bowling alley in the city fully expecting the same. When I asked if the kids could bowl in their socks, the manager said, "No, no, no..." I asked the shoe rental fee. $3.99 per child. Yowza!! I took my cheap-o hat off and paid the darn fee. And wouldn't you know as we were leaving, I looked at the marquis to check the prices. It was $2.49 per person!! I got rooked!

Anyway, the kids had a good time, but I probably won't be taking them back. The price irked me, and the two games in a row were a little too much for the younger two kids.

Mallory was very proud of her two-sizes-too-big bowling shoes. They were the smallest size they had.

These two pictures should be switched. After the first couple of frames, the manager brought out this rig for Mallory. It was very helpful!

Drew came from behind and won the first game!

Elizabeth picked the pink ball, of course.

Ross has a really funky release.

Check Out This Awesomeness!

Take a look at this deal! I love free! This is so cool because it's even worth signing up, even if we only use it once. Somebody was thinking!

If you don't want to take the time to go check it out, it's a program that offers 2 free games of bowling per child PER DAY this summer at participating bowling alleys!

Are Women Born This Way?

My Aunt sent this to me. How darling is this?! So cute!