merry christmas!!!

So it's over!!! it was a fun filled day everyone got everything they wanted and more.. and now it's over as quick as it came... tomorrow I will be taking down the tree (which is practically taken down due to the mass amount of needles it is shedding at this moment!) the mantel will no longer house our nativity set and all will be back to normal... I'm kinda ready

So the kids and I have the next week off... We don't have any grand plans we are kinda just getting caught up on laundry and chores around the house..

Some new news, Hunter has been tentatively diagnosed with ADHD, I say tentatively because it's only been through our school psychologist and frankly she's not qualified to actually diagnose she can only let us know he has some indicators.. we have an appt. with our pediatrician from there I think I'm going to ask to be refered to a specialist. I'm not completely against medication BUT I want to be darn sure we aren't just wanting him to be easier to deal with and so zoning him out etc. I'm knee deep in books right now and so far from what I've read he fits the profile kinda right on... it makes me wonder why it's just manifested it's ugly head now in 6th grade but really in hindsight I've seen signs for quite a few years he's just had some AWESOME teachers and low class sizes to be able to manage and get him the one on one help he's needed at times.. Now that he's in a bigger school with more than one teacher things have gotten kinda out of control, but I don't know why I'm surprised, My learning disability wasn't diagnosed until the summer before my 7th grade year and my 6th grade year was kinda a wash as far as learning or grades etc.. BUT my point is we are on top of it.. or at least as on top of it as we can get for now, the lucky part he's brilliant like actually tests off the charts as far as smarts go we just need to be able to teach him the coping skills to be able to get through life or at the very least middle school.
I'm thinking me being at the middle school was no accident... and the fact that I'm actually working in Hunter's cluster (his group of students with the same core of teachers) even more of a blessing... I'm not sure if he would have fallen through the cracks were it not for me being their... it also helps his teachers can tell me when I need to crack the whip etc. etc. it's also helped one particular teacher who was kind of bullying him I could see for myself that allot of what Hunter was complaining about was TRUE!!! (that's an ongoing issue more about that at a later date!)

more fun news Ben and I celebrated our 15th wedding anniversary yesterday!!! we will be going out to celebrate this weekend (he has to work all week, yuck!) but I can't believe the life we have created together!!! it hasn't always been easy but it has been the most worth while endeavor, the most fun and to do it all with my very best friend, PRICELESS!!! I can't wait to see where the next 15 years takes us.. I love You BEN!!!
anyway that's all for now
ta ta

Hunter's in LOVE

So Hunter is LOVING football.. I had a twinge of guilt that we made him wait this long to play because this is the FIRST sport he has walked onto the field where 98% of the kids LOOK just like HIM!!! the coaches were salivating as he came onto the field it was just the EGO boost he needed!!! I am so GLAD!!!

on a COMPLETELY different subject I think we may have a slight problem... KayLea watched "Toddlers in Tarrah's" for the first time a few nights ago.. it seemed like a perfectly harmless show that we all could gasp at the ridiculousness of it all and point and stair etc. etc. and because I've cut her off of "Jon and Kate plus 8" it seemed like a harmless compromise.. WRONG!!! she's now saying things like she wants a "flipper" (a mouth piece that makes teeth look perfect) and why can't she wear those kind of dresses to CHURCH!!! EEEEK!!! I told her in no way would she EVER participate in any pageant like that.. if she wanted to grow up and be a part of miss America or something then she had to be old enough to fill out the paperwork and drive her self to what ever was going on.. now the constant marital up-heavel of Jon and Kate don't seem so bad.. what am I going to do!!! I'll have to tell her the show was cancelled or something!
ta ta

whats a middle child to do???

So Hunter's having a rough day... this happens every summer about this time, he feels his lot in life is to be the poor picked on middle child who is completely and totally over looked, under appreciated and just all around stepped on... He's jealous today that KayLea has a birthday party to go to and got an invite to swim at a different friends house before the party and then she's spending the night at a completely different friend after the party... He further boosts his arguement that Brad got to go shooting last night with boy scouts... he feels that because Brad and KayLea got to do fun things he should automatically be able to go spend loads of money buying junk he doesn't need because "isn't that fair?"

Unfortunately for him he feels he is only dammed in that BOTH of his parents are OLDEST children and so we not only have NO sympathy for him we get down right irritated by his tantrums and tirades about how much his life sucks!!!

We have gone above and beyond (in my professional opinion!) to make sure he is made to feel like his own person, we have pleaded with teachers to not compare him to his older brother they are just different boys, in EVERY possible way... I felt it was a GREAT thing that Brad went back home earlier than him so HE could be the BIG cousin and he really rose to the occasion...

We are REALLY hoping football this year will some what help in his constant feeling of injustice.. Football is HIS alone.. Brad has no desire to play (and feels like he'd be broken in two if he ever tried such a sport).. and of coarse KayLea won't ever play so he has the opportunity to really make this his own..

but really.. calling all middle children, what can we do to help him feel just as special as the others and just as special as we feel he is... a disclaimer.. we aren't willing to send Brad and KayLea off to boarding school...
ta ta

Happy 11th Birthday Hunter

So Hunter Turned 11 !! I can hardly believe it... He got a new DS-I (we got a GREAT deal by trading in his old one)... So he was SUPER happy.... and we had his Birthday Dinner on Mother's day since Ben is working nights now so he chose, Ribs, Braut's, twice baked potatoes and baked beans YUM!!! thank goodness his birthday falls when the weather is good we are definitely a BBQ'ing family... and for his Birthday cake he wanted Cheese Cake (definitely MY kid!) and Strawberry's on the side (again MY kid all the way!)...

Hunter is a GREAT kid... he is very tender like a BIG teddy bear.. for his birthday he ALSO got the OK to play Tackle football.. we sent in his form and FEE the week of his birthday I'm a little bit nervous because we've ALWAYS said he had to wait until JR High and here they don't do JR High (7-8th grade) they do MIDDLE school (6-8th grade) and so AFTER a ton of thought we gave in.. He really needs something his own, he often feels like he's un-fairly compared to his OLDER brother and they are just totally different kids!!! so Brad will do Soccer and Hunter will do Football.. I'm a still a little bit nervous about the time commitment and the risk of injury but I have to get over it I guess...

Hunter will get a friend overnight sleep over Memorial day weekend and a Movie with friends on Monday to top it off..

all in all Hunter had a great B'day...

**post note: blogger picture upload isn't working for me at the moment.. hopefully i'll remember to post them when i'm on again...** YOu'll just have to trust me that he was adorable blowing out his candels and opening his presants***

If only I believed in Reincarnation

So We have ALWAYS said that it's too bad we don't believe in reincarnation (i know I'm sure I've butchered the spelling) because Hunter has almost ALL of my Great Grandma Mockridge's tendencies when it comes to getting ready to leave the house.. First i have to say I loved my Great Grandma VERY MUCH.. I lived with her and my Grandma Merry AND my Other great grandma Nanny, when my parents moved to Arkansas I was in College and could never have afforded to live on my own so these 3 ladies saved me in more ways than one.. Grandma Mockridge never learned how to drive she actually told a very funny story of how my her Husband (Pappa Mockridge) tried to teach her and she didn't make it through one lesson and just said something like "I'm done" and never drove ever, she always someone take her where ever she went... All of my memories of her are after Pappa died and because she didn't drive etc. she moved in with My Grandma Merry and Grandpa Jack and although i have a few flash memories of Pappa it's hard to tell if they are real or from pictures etc.. Anyway on to how Hunter and She are just alike.. When i was living with the Grandma's one of my favorite things to do was to take the Great Grandma's to do her weekly errands.. Nanny usually took her on Friday's BUT soon after i moved in Nanny had a series of strokes so the system drastically changed after that.. and although i was going to school and working full time I really tried so hard to help Grandma Merry as much as I could.. Grandma Mockridge LOVED LOVED LOVED the mall my only complaint was it took her FOREVER to get ready I mean I would have to tell her at least 2 hours before we were leaving ANYWHERE so she could primp and prime to get ready, here's the funny thing. she wasn't so much a very over done lady she just TOOK HER TIME!!! I do remember one time though that I came home unexpectedly and thought I'd just shoot her up to the mall but only had a few hours.. I came home and told her I could take her up to the Mall if she could be ready in 30 minutes.. I don't think I ever saw her move so quick and she WAS ready on time!!!
so how's Hunter like her..

Hunter Loves the long shower.. his shower yesterday was only 15 minutes and he even commented "hey I was only in there for 15 minutes that's good right mom?" which it was but the 40 minutes he was in his room brooding over what to wear kind of cancelled that out.. but his average shower is about 30 minutes and that's because after 20 i go in and tell him to "rinse and run please" He can have 40 minutes until he's got to catch the bus and all he had to do is get his shoes on and eat breakfast (we keep it simple cereal or a bagel in the morning) and he STILL is running out the door bagel in mouth almost missing the bus... I've even tried my little trick i used with Grandma (you can go _______ insert fun place.. if you can be ready in xx amt of time) it doesn't work... I think he calls my bluff and don't get me wrong Grandma would call my bluff pretty regularly too.. so you see Grandma Mockridge died just after Brad was born and so she had to give a bit of her tendencies to the next one HUNTER!!!

I've had fun remembering Grandma Mockridge so i just had to include my most favorite memory of her in her last year with us was when Dad and I went to Southern Ca for Grandma Merry's retirement party (Ben and I were down for a wedding and it just so happened to co-inside with her party) It was a surprise to Grandma Merry that Dad was down so we kind of snuck in to see Grandma Mockridge at the nursing home she was in She recognized Dad right off the bat and kind of recognized me but I was hugely pregnant with Brad and she couldn't quite place me I was warned that this was a possibility she had kind of gone a little down hill but it was a great visit.. THEN after Brad was born we visited S. CA to show him off to all the relatives Grandma Merry and I took him to the home again so Grandma Mockridge could meet him.. She just Loved on him and you would have thought she was the bell at the ball with all the other seniors gathering around like she was the pied piper with the Baby, it really sparked everyone attention and everyone there had a smile on their faces... We kept reminding her who the baby was "it's KyLeyne's Baby, Bradley" and then it all became clear why she couldn't place me before she said "No, it can't be, KyLeyne's said she'd never have babies".. and you know what, I DID SAY THAT AS A TEENAGER!!!
ahhh memories

I'M DONE!!!

So Day camp is offically DONE!!! unfortunatelly our district was way to disorganized this year which made for a way too stressful week for those who were trying their best to put on camp... but i don't think the Boys even noticed.. Hunter and KayLea had a blast and Brad even had some fun although it was a different guy running the water so he couldn't just frolic in the water with kayak's this year he found a buddy (a fellow older brother) and they fished and swam (on their own) and did bb's once or twice.. so it was a success over all and the best part was I NEVER HAVE TO DO IT AGAIN!!! now thats not to say if i still have a cub scout calling i might come for friday skits or something like that.. BUT... i won't come for a whole week again, and i'm holding firm to that!~!! it's someone elses turn to get those blessings (sounds good right.. i'm going to bookmark this post and remind myself of this next year!)

So it looks like i've finally figure out how to reduce the size of these pic's from my camera so i can post on the blog.. it's still taken a bit but at least here's a couple from this week... above is Hunter shooting arrows, BB's and with half of his den figuring out a catapult and doing a jousting exercise (the theme was Knights of the round table) below are the few pic's i got of KayLea playing and doing her skit with her tag-a-long group..

So dispite the pitfalls it was a fun LAST week... ta ta for now

pictures

we are at the library this morning, so it's time to catch up on some pictures..
Ok just so it proves i'm not totally anti baseball.. i have taken pic's of the kids..
above: brad batting below Hunter catching...

above: Hunter getting batting tips from his coach.. he's all wet because it was the hottest day of the year so far (around 90) and the field we were at turned on the hose for the boys to cool off.. i wasn't too sure about this idea but in the end it was probably the best thing that could have happened..

above; here's KayLea batting and then her on first base.. below: she always holds her helmet because it almsot falls off everytime she runs..

Our life as we know it..

Well, Soccer is in full blow, Brad and Hunter both had great games today... Hunter's team got a butt whippin pretty fierce; he's got a pretty young team and allot of them have never played before so i think he's a little frustrated but we keep telling him it's important for him to be a good example to the younger boys.. but we lost count at 8-0.. Brad's team won and Brad got his 2nd goal EVER! (he got his 1st goal ever last year) he did an awesome job and really shined in the 2nd half.. he's kind of new at playing forward and he is shinning!!!

KayLea isn't playing quite yet, but she has a blast with this little boy Malcum (he's the cute blonde boy in the pic with all the kids) they have so much fun at Brad's practices (he's got a brother on Brad's team).. they are great friends!! it's very cute!

now for the weather.. Brad's game (which is not pictured today.. Brad's picture is from last week's game) it was cloudy and rainey and VERY COLD at Brad's game at Noon, come 3:00 for Hunter's game the sun came out so all of us who were sweatered down were roasting.. it's suppose to get down to 30 degrees tonight!!! Time to fill the Oil tank!!! Not looking forward to that but i'm kind of looking forward to the cooler weather!!!

ta ta for now!!!

1st day of School..

Went off with out a hitch, Brad isn't in the dark at the bus stop (at least until daylight savings next month).. and he loves his new school (until they switch to the new; new school in Jan or Feb).. this kid's schedule rivels any college one, they use a 6 day schedule and announce every morning which day they are on, for example, he only has band on day 2 and 4 but because he's on a 6 day schedule that means there will be the occassional week (probably every other) that he only has band once a week.. it's VERY ODD, the important stuff he has every other day, ie: math, science, etc. etc.. he's also taking International Language (I don't remember any language being offered when i was in 6th grade).. Brad seems very excited about the whole thing so i'm trying very hard not to completely freak out!! (at least in front of him!) the New Middle School is under construction and the word on the street (although no offical decision has been made yet) is that they will indeed witch mid year (probably jan or feb) i think it's fine because it will really only effect the teachers who will have to switch over their classes long hours etc. etc.. this middle school now is just falling down around them and is so outdated i think the sooner the better..

Anyway Hunter also had a great 1st day!! his comment was that his Teacher was allot nicer than everyone had told him, it's a good sign i think, and Hunter has resolved to have a new start this year and we've set some school goals right out of the shoot.. He's excited for them and he's also excited that if he keeps up with his goals he gets a later bedtime!!! so Hunter's Bus situation is hopefully going to get better, he was suppose to get home around 3:30 but didn't end up home until around 4:10 because he said of some "mis-placed" kids on his bus so hopefully it will all work it self out today...

KayLea was so excited for her 1st day at home with out the boys, i had my Visiting Teacher come by and she was down right rotten to her little girl (i think she was 18 or 19 months old).. it was very not like her because she usually loves the babies but she was not having it at all.. GRRRRR!!!

Pickin Blueberries

Well this morning we decided to go out and pick some blueberries.. the weather has cooled down a ton so it was such a great day to do this!!

the Kids had a blast, it didn't take long to completely fill our bucket.. i think we'll go a few more times the season ends Labor day so we have some time.. it wasn't the cheepest endevor but the blueberries are so good and it was only 1.80 per pound so it really wasn't too bad!

we had a great time!

the only down fall is that i lost my glasses.. i know your asking why wern't they on my face (something i'd ask the boys forsure!) well the sun was kind of glairing on my camera screen so i took them off so i could look through the viewfinder i slipped them over my shirt collar and they must have fallen off on our trek back to the booth to pay.. i've called them and left my number but i don't anticipate finding them.. oh, well i've been wanteing to get contacts anyway (although i really should have glasses also)..

Finally got the boys baseball pic's.. ok off in the mail they go to Grandparents... or maybe just to CA i'll bring them to AR with me net week...

I Survived Cub Scout day Camp!!!

Today was the completion of the Week of Cub Scout Day Camp... i survived my 5th year.. that's right i have been a Den Leader at day camp (in 3 different states) for 5 years and i have one more year... We all had fun.. KayLea had a blast at their "tot-lot" Bradley also had a blast, he got to hang out all week at the lake with the life guard.. he got to kayak (he wants one now!) Brad isn't a Cub Scout anymore but he's not quite old enough to be a youth leader (Den Chief) so we were so lucky that the life guard had his 11 year old son with him all week and so he was more than happy that he had someone to keep him company.. Bradley also earned his Kayak merit badge (yes, this lifeguard was one in a million!!!) although he can't technically be awarded it until he earns his 1st class (this is making Brad want to jump right on it!)... Hunter had so much fun his favorite was Archery and BB's... He also loved swimming (actually more like water play).. it was a great week..

Hunter making sawdust clay and doing the obstacle coarse

Brad Kayaking

KayLea during her skit (she was suppose to be scary.. i think it worked!) and her doing the obstacle coarse

That's all for now.. tomorrow is old home day we are suppose to get a couple of presidential candidates (tentative of coarse) and then a big fireworks show tomorrow night...

ta ta

Happy 9th Birthday Hunter!!

Hunter turned 9 yesterday but Ben had to work an un-expected double so he did get to open his presents from mom and dad yesterday but we did brownie Sunday's (his choice for b'day cake) and his birthday dinner; English Muffin pizza (also his choice) tonight. He got mostly flat presents with the exception of a DS game and a Cranium board game and a great book "The Dangerous book for boys" from Grandma Cathy and Grandpa Jack; the book was a huge hit!!! its an encyclopedia of all things boy from how to make a go-cart to how to play poker to a very cute section on girls (the final rule about girls is to treat them with respect.. got to love it!!)..

anyway he also had a baseball game tonight.. he had kind of a mis hap.. he got walked to first base and then when he got the signal to steel to 2nd the path to the bases weren't marked as well as our home field and he accidentally went to third instead of 2nd and got out for interference.. but it was a lesson to look up not just as the ground in front of you...

He's eagerly awaiting Shrek the 3rd which he got tickets for next weekend and a minor league baseball game he also got tickets to that all the boys are going to on the 23rd.. (boy does this kid knows how to stretch out his birthday or what!)

anyway it's been a fun couple of days..

Baseball has begun..

Believe it or not ALL 3 kids are playing baseball this season.. YES little KayLea is old enough to play T-Ball and although she wasn't sure about it all she shined today in her first game. She was so excited We found her a bright pink glove; a month or so ago we found a pink glove and then Brad said "hey it has an on/off button" we discovered it was complete with lights.. we passed on it (with KayLea in tears leaving the store) knowing KayLea would be paying way too much attention to her "light up glove" rather than the game.. so She was delighted when we found a Pink glove minus the lights. KayLea's team is the "Mini Pines" all the T-Ball teams are tree names.. very cute! She is very into it which is good because i was worried she wouldn't want to run but she even has stopped covering her face when she sees a ball coming her way.. remember baby steps!

The Boys are just as excited.. and Thankfully they are on the same team.. we had asked if this was possiable (technically Hunter misses the deadline by a few days but they over looked it since he was going up rather than down)... this will be so awesome that we only have to cart to two different teams rather than 3!

Bradley our lefty, has a great swing in him and is getting better at Catching... once he hits it you'd better watch out because he's pretty fast...

Hunter is excited to work on his running and is begging for a stop watch so he can run around the house and better his time.. He also has a great swing and although he doesn't really like running is learning that it's a necessary evil!..

Well this is our life for the next couple of months of saturday's (and tuesday nights for the boys)... i think KayLea only has 6 games but the boys have 8 and then play offs.. Oh YEA and the boys won their first game by a pretty great margin... KayLea's game they don't keep score and there isn't any outs or strikes (it really is great entertainment watching her team)..

(You can click on any picture to see a larger image)...

Pinewood Derby

Last night was pinewood Derby... both boys did pretty good.. they came in 7th and 8th out of 16 total, i think it was a good thing that they both came in so close to each other.. our biggest fear was that one would do much much better than the other... but they had a good time, Hunter is already stratagizing over what he'll do next year and Brad is a little sad i think that it was his last one!!! it was a fun night!!

Brad's car (grey shark) Hunter's Car (gold w/ stripes)

The proud dad w/ his boys!

one of the heats both boys raced in (one on each end)