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

HP 6

So we took the kids yesterday to see the latest installment of Harry Potter.. it didn't disappoint at least to the over 7 crowd, it was a tad bit long for KayLea but that wasn't entirely surprising since although she wants DESPERATELY to be a big kid and like and be "in to" Harry she hasn't read the books (or had them read to her.. we tried but she tired very quickly of that when the boys were going through them)... I've heard on a few entertainment'y things that the next movie will come out next year that in my book is GOOD I don't know if I could handle letting this drag on 4 more years?! who am I kidding, I'd go again if it was 10 years...

While I was sitting at the movie answering for the millionth time why we arrived early (we got there aprox 45 min before the movie started) and explaining to the kids because it's going to be packed, and in turn the kids saying "hey you were right".. (yes I didn't mind that part AT ALL!) watching the previews was interesting.. have you noticed (if you've been to a first run movie lately.. I hadn't before yesterday in a while) they must be running out of movie ideas??? I mean does every children's book REALLY translate into a movie??? "Cloudy with a side of meatballs" is coming out sometime this year.. all my kids have read it all of them like it but a movie?? really??? and how about the classic "where the wild things are" I mean it's not even an animated one, ( CGI puppets yes, animation no) and even the boys said "how do you turn an 8 page book into a full length movie"... and that kinda goes for the side of meatballs book too!

I am not as "read" as my mother, she is who I go to when the boys are stuck for a book report book having to be a certain genre, or if we are the night before a book report is due and I haven't read the book (happens more than you think!) and I have a crying son who claims "the book I read doesn't have a theme" HA! BUT I'm here to say books are BOOKS and movies are MOVIES.. why do we have to make everything into a MOVIE??? I'm not opposed to books being made into movies on a whole, there are some that scream to be on the screen HP I think is one of those.. a few others also, but I don't think I have ever said after reading "where the wild things are" "hey I'd LOVE to see that on the big screen"... why can't we enjoy both genre's separately must they always collide???

case in point "Cat in the Hat"... I have to admit it's not my favorite children's book but I've read it to all my kids.. (it's Dr Seuss after all I think CPS would be called if I didn't!) when the movie came out the bright colors and big name actors loured me into the theatre.. the movie wasn't BAD but honestly the movie had VERY few correlations to the book... it would have been just as good had they named it Dr Seuss rather than the title of the book...

Anyway that's my rant.. with so few Children's movies to choose from I'm bound to see at least one of the movies that are from a kids book... call me a sell out!

ta ta

Hoppy Easter

So We survived Easter again.. it was fun, we had a VERY busy weekend with pinewood Derby on Friday, a Ward breakfast on Saturday and Hunter also had a birthday party all day Sat then of coarse Sunday...

But I can usually tell my stress level by how motivated I am to over manage or remember the little things.. I forgot my camera on pinewood derby night and it was a momentous occasion it was our very LAST pinewood derby FOREVER!!! that's right folks, the Fox boys have moved forward it's definitely a new era, Hunter will be out of Cub Scouts in just a month meaning we will no longer have ANY Cub Scouts their fore no Pinewood Derby, I might shed the tiniest of tears but I'm too busy doing cartwheels over this news!!! but I forgot my camera I failed as a Mom to document this moment in time for Hunter and our family.. I'll probably get over it..

I also took a good amt of pictures when the kids decorated eggs (at 9:30pm because that's when Hunter got home from his party) I even took pictures of the kids diving into their baskets BUT I didn't take any pictures of them in their fancy Easter duds going to church, nor did I take pictures of KayLea and her ABSOLUTELY adorable HUGE curly hair, she FINALLY slept all night with sponge curlers (we have tried several times but she always rips them out before the night is over) and her hair was a liking to Clown hair.. she cried and cried when I told her we had to brush it down so make it "lower" she understood i think but still was certain I was plotting to get rid of her curls.. You'll all just have to take my word for it that it was adorable and VERY curly.. maybe I'll convince her to do it again next week so I can "re-create it" to put in my scrapbook which I'm way behind on anyway...

Am I the only one who frets over how much candy vs. clothes vs. toys to put in the kids baskets??.. there are years I forget what I've gotten and keep buying candy.. this year I kept going back and forth "do they need a chocolate bunny" Ben reminds me NO that is ALWAYS a mistake.. they can never eat it in one setting and we have broken chunks of yucky chocolate ground into the rug I resisted but have some guilt I think...

On another Easter RANT I discovered i LOVE sweet tarts.. it's only Easter when they shape sweet tarts into bunny's and rabbits.. they even have gummy sweet tarts the kids even noticed that they had far more sweet tart related candy than chocolate (i don't really care for chocolate)... but this year I was so disappointed it seems as though they have omitted the Yellow in most (not all) of the sweet-tarty goodness.. I'm sitting here right now snacking on a bag of chick's ducks & Bunnies and not a yellow in the bag.. only pink purple and blue, i feel gipped!!! and there sure are allot of blue's YUCK! I need to be able to buy a bag of just Purple and Yellow (and MAYBE the occasional green which reminds me there isn't any green anywhere either) could the sweet tart company use some of Obama stimulus to bring back the yellow and green?? is it budget cut backs or layoffs perhaps the person who holds the yellow and green recipe was laid off.. well I"m here to tell you i purchased enough Sweet tart products to be able to bring back that guy!!!

So My Internet connection is kind of crappy right now (seems worse than usual) so I'll have to wait to post pictures of our Easter adventures (except of coarse of KayLea's cute curls)...

That's all for now
ta ta

Teenage attitude

So far all is going OK with the Dog.. he's getting use to going potty outside and is having fewer and fewer "accidents".. Ben wasn't feeling well today and stayed home and actually said he was sorry he felt I was complaining and that being home with the puppy "IS WORK" DUH!!! but at least he gets now that when he walks through the door HE is asked to take the dog out feed him etc. etc.. same for the kids..

for the Teenage attitude.. everyone says teenage girls are AWFUL but let me tell you the teenage boy i'm living with at the moment is about getting ON MY NERVES!!! He's either SO angry he's going to pinch someones head off (usually MINE!) or so upset he's in tears and these conditions can be MI LI-seconds from each other... Tonight's attitude was sparked by the dishwasher breaking down and he being asked to wash the dishes by hand (OH THE HORROR) I didn't even tell him that we had no dishwasher growing up and there were TWICE the children and we didn't use paper plates REGULARLY (wasn't that nice of me?) he so happily (NOT) reminded me that it was SUNDAY when we break out the REAL plates which is why we hate him!!!.. which he knows that statement ("you hate me!!") sets me off (which, duh, is why he says it!) He is a great kid.. gets good grades (when he tries.. don't get me started on the d+ he got on the progress report that he's raised to a B in 2 weeks.. only the slightest of efforts)... He's quiet and shy but He is the first to help at church and fulfill his priesthood and quarm duties at church.. He's very motivated at the moment to get his scouting stuff done so he can eventually get his Eagle.. BUT it's days like today that I want to lock him in his closet and throw away the key until he's 20.. OK rant over.. there will be no closet locking today (besides the fact that the boys don't even have a proper closet) all I have to say is if girls are harder (I'M in REAL Trouble here!!!)

On a totally unrelated note
He wants to get contacts, someone out there help me.. I didn't wear glasses until I was married so when I got contacts last year it was swell but I'm totally not sure at what age it would good.. I'm worried he won't "take care" of them or he'll put them in or out of his eye with dirty fingers etc.. I kind of thought when he hit High School but now I'm thinking 8th grade??? maybe this is a question for the Dr... if anyone has any thoughts PLEASE comment!!!
Thanks for listening!!
Ta Ta

Day 1 of Feb Break... Shoot me NOW!!!

Ok so let me set the scene for you... I have 3 LOVELY children who normally are fairly well behaved (don't scoff!)... only throw in a 5 day stomach flu, 2+ feet of snow, and a little girl that is probably fighting some kind of bug because she can't seem to stay awake and when she is awake she is whining and screaming and you get one frazzled mother who is ready to call the superintendent and INSIST school be called back to session we have snow days to make up after all!!!

Anyway I have no clue how many inches we got yesterday, we were forcasted to get more than 2 feet but it snowed on and off most of the day today also and After Brad went and snow plowed several times today mostly due to the awful heavy wind Ben came home and cleaned up the corners of the entrance of the driveway... Have i mentioned how DONE i am with SNOW!!! Ben is trying to get me to take a picture of our drive way because you can see the several feet of snow that has built up over last few months and thats even after our slight thaw we got a few weeks ago.. Maybe i'll do that tomorrow!

I don't have any idea whats wrong with KayLea but she is SUPER CRANKY and she has taken a nap for the last 3 days (something she hasn't done since she was 2)... she insists her ears don't hurt and although she did up-chuck one night last week I really think it was because she ate a whole box of Peeps and not much else... she's not running a fever and after sleeping for 2 hours this afternoon I made her wake up for fear she would never sleep tonight.. although the nap's don't seem to be doing ANYTHING for her sunny disposition (or lack there of!)

Hunter and Brad are fighting over who gets to plow etc. (you'd think that would be a good thing.. it's really not!) and I'm holding having a friend over later in the week for a sleepover over Hunters head to pry good behavior...

although all 3 seemed to find something great by the end of the day, an hour or so before dinner they all wanted to play outside.. I was skeptical because the wind was still harsh and the temp was VERY LOW but I was at my whits end so I gave in, they somehow got into making snow forts (snow caves really)... they ALL thought it was the coolest thing KayLea LOVED being the guinny pig and going in and trying out the "forts" to see if they needed more room etc.. they probably could have been out there for hours if it hadn't gotten dark...

Tomorrow I think we are going to try for a Movie, we have a play date with another family for a movie on Thursday too so cross our fingers that will be enough to break up the week so I won't want to send them all away to boarding schools by Friday!!!

Oh yea Ben's birthday is Wednesday, only bummer he has to work and Brad has an orthodontist appt and we have scouts that night so I don't know when we'll celebrate more than a cake and happy birthday, but such is life for us old fogies!.. for his birthday he's going to Lake winnapisacki (spelling sucks folks!) and spending the night on the frozen lake in a snow hut.. doesn't sound anything like fun to me but he's wanted to do this for a while and his 35th seemed like a good one to do that.. he's going this weekend so I'll have to take him out for his Birthday sometime after that... and he works so hard he deserves a weekend of ice fishing...

so that's the long and short of it
ta ta

Hip-Hip-Horray!~

THE ELECTION IS OVER..

Ok I know I'm a few days late but I seem to be a BUSY girl these days so ya.. So of coarse the person I voted for didn't win but to be honest I'm not feeling like it's the end of the world.. Maybe because I have a very cynical view of both the candidates and I'm fairly certain that our new president won't be able to do nearly what he's promised.. I'm not so much worried about his tax plan mostly because again I'm not so sure things are going to change all that much.. if I'm wrong don't worry I'll whine and complain because you see I VOTED so i get to whine and complain if things go bad..

Last night in Relief Society I and my friend somehow got into a political conversation with another lovely lady who I do like very much.. she basically said it was another sign of the last days.. I don't think THIS is a sign I think there are FAR more signs that this MIGHT be sort of the last days but I'm wondering if my upbringing and my parents far more liberal view of the last days (and mostly questioning ANY time someone said something like that) has more to do with my opinion that I can only do what I can do, if I'm living the way I know i should (but lets face the facts, i am in NO WAY perfect) I'm not going to be able to do anything about it being the last days or not and if i AM trying to live the best life etc. etc. it won't be a terrifying prospect will it?? I'm not sure all of that made since.. Yes there are terrible things going on in the world no doubt about that.. YES our very belief's are sometimes held up for reticule and judgement BUT I am but ONE person holding hands with 4 others (my family) doing what we can do... Maybe it's not enough but it is what it is..

So I don't think it's the end of the world.. I'm more curious than nervous or scared.. I might just have to bookmark this to remind myself but that's life.. we'll just have to wait and see! as far as the blues i was/am feeling, I don't know I'm still uptight about the stockmarket, our retirement, money in general but again i'm not so sure the other guy would have made that much diff either..
ta ta

Halloween in a Small town and I mean SMALL

So actually trick or treating in our own community (technically the one community over but who's keeping track) was an interesting thing.. the last few years (it was our 3rd Halloween this year) we've either used the ward trunk or treat as our trick or treating or last year we went to a friends house quite a distance away that lived in a real honest to goodness subdivision with mass amounts of houses and the kids came home with quite a hall.. that friend sadly moved away so this year we could have either driven quite a distance again to go with friends who also would be driving a distance and just glom onto another community to where we didn't know any one or know where the heck we were going.. we opted to go the next town over where there is a neighborhood of around 20 houses spread over about 2-3 miles and so the kids could get the experience of trick or treating and we wouldn't waste take of gas and get loss etc. etc.. win win right.. it was a great experience one that I think we will keep up (unless a better offer comes up of coarse) but here's the thing about doing this in a VERY SMALL town... most everyone gave the standard treats snickers, reeces there were still the cheep treats bit-o-honey and dum-dums and of corase the non decrypt dollar store fair BUT 2 places gave home made treats and one hadn't gotten them wrapped in what ever she was going to wrap them in yet and just gave a very cute spice mini bunt cake with an AWESOME frosting on it.. Bradley was the recipient of this little cake and looked perplexed of coarse we've, always had the rule no digging into the candy until mom or dad has gone through it all, I don't really even remember having to throw out anything for cause unless it was a sucker that's rapper had accidentally fallen off in the may-lay of the candy bag but of coarse you can never been too careful so of coarse out it went.. when I was a child this was the routine also, I remember someone giving out popcorn balls and My mother being torn but we did throw it out (unless of coarse it came from Pat Jung's house those Mom let us dig into because we knew her!. and to be honest Pat only gave those to the kids who she knew)... so as Bradley looked at this bit of bake goodness he handed it over to me and I seemed to look at it oddly also, "what should we do?" I asked Ben, I handed it to him.. I of coarse had to lick the icing that had gotten on my hand and it was GOOD! we considered chucking it over the overpass into the river trailing the street we were on but then as Ben held it for a few more minutes I said "you could probably eat it".. He looked at me and kind of shrugged his shoulders and down it went.. He said it was good I asked him if we should go back and take down the address in case he died in his sleep.. guess what.. he said it was REALLY good kind of pumpkinnie and very spicy and no razor blades (at least that were noticed in the biting and chewing so i give it the all clear)... so here's my question to you all.. would you have eaten it?? did we set an AWFUL example to the kids?? and I think I've seen some urban legend stuff that says the razorblades in the apple and poisoned candy was kind of a over hyped up thing anyway (but maybe that's my way of rationalizing this experience)..
we did end up checking all their candy and since there weren't very many houses everything passed with flying colors except for some ginger snaps that actually looked store bought but were in a zip loc bag.. guess what we did chuck them but I wonder if we would have if it was actually a cookie that we all would have enjoyed Hmmmmm.
ta ta

Ramblings about my Day

So Fall has FINALLY arrived and since moving to New Hampshire (the above pic's are of our creek in the back yard) I have declared Fall my FAVORITE season of them all with a close second to a tie between Summer and Winter those are the FUN seasons.. Sorry Spring due to awful allergies "you are out"... i know, i know we need spring to have the others it's the growing season but I can be un-reasonable it's my blog!!!

Anyway Today was a great day because Ben had the day off and because the kids had the day off of school I had planned to take a family picture today only because the only family picture I have the boys were 2 and 4 and KayLea wasn't even born so it was HI time!! I have been seeking out the most perfect spot for a family photo since we moved here and have been waiting for JUST the right FALL moment and I think today was the day.. Ben and I had to do some errands this morning (I even picked up a tripod.. I wasn't foolin around folks!) and while we were gone the Boys had strict instructions along with a list of 2 chores each to be done by the time we got home.. huge surprise (not) they weren't done and so we said fine we'll do the pic when your done and showered and and and.. and guess what we missed our awesome opportunity Ben has to work tomorrow so he's already getting to bed and i just KNOW the wind or the rain or our busy lives is going to prevent the awesome picture I have in my head to come about.. and to prove to you what an awesome location it is here below is where I want our family pic taken...

First Choice (above)

2nd Choice (above)

3rd Choice (above)

So if you get a Christmas card with an awful pic of us in front of our Christmas tree (AGAIN!) you'll know that I was RIGHT and we missed the PERFECT day to take a pic with the fall colors.. I just know all those beautiful leaves (including the ones the boys are begging to rake on the ground but I won't let them because I WANT them in my perfect picture!!) will be GONE due to wind or rain or even dare I say it SNOW...

enough of my rant

ta ta

do YOU get some personal self esteem from Ebay feedback??

So I really can't say I'm an Ebay addict.. I kind of go in fits and starts.. I have periods of time where I tend to use ebay allot then I'll go months with out buying anything.. I wouldn't say I'm at a period of ALLOT use now but I just recently purchased a box of reeds for Brad (at half the cost as the store, including shipping, not to brag or anything).. and 2 rolls of vinyl for my nifty cutting machine.. (it was WAY cheaper than the craft stores and i can get as much as i want instead of just one little square)
anyway I'm getting off topic.. (what a shock!) am I the only one who gets a little excited when my feed back rating goes up one more.. its like free adulation.. people who have never met you saying "ada girl!".. or things like "A++ Do business with this e-bayer", I have dabbled in selling on e-bay, when i was doing little girl hair bows i did some (found it wasn't worth the time/energy for what people would pay for them) then I cleaned out my craft closet and sold some stuff (the mentioned punches in the previous post.. GONE!.. and I did OK on those too BONUS!).. so I ALWAYS posted nice feedback but I've noticed a trend for NASTY feedback I mean I get it wen people don't pay or stuff you on stiff you on what your purchased you need some remedy but come on the nasty stuff people put on these things it's down right personal.. and how about those folks who won't post any feedback until YOU (the buyer) post positive for them.. ebay has actually changed some of their policy's regarding this but previously it's like they were holding your good feedback hostage.. and if you felt there shipping was slow or the product wasn't quite in mint condition as stated in the add they would leave you NEGATIVE just for your honest feedback.. I must not have been the only one who felt that was unfair because now if you leave negative for a seller they can not retaliate I'm not exactly sure how that all works I just know it seems like a good change...
so here's my question to the all of 2 people who read my blog.. am I the only one who feels a since of happy when people who have never met me give me a cyber "high five".. or do I need to look into why I'm needing that kind of validation Hmmmmmm.

Open letter to ANY scrapbook company;

To Whom it may concern;

When i started Scrapbooking 12 years ago i was excited and eager to document every life moment of my then FIRST newborn babe.. I received from my wonderful aunt a Scrapbook starter kit with templates of shapes i could cut my pictures and then matte them.. Stickers, Paper and a glue stick it was enough but i craved MORE.. so I started buying decorative scissors and finding fun paper.. My 2nd Son came and I think i was just as excited.. Soon after he was born i started obsessing over punches and finding new and exciting ways to use them.. I ended up having well over 200 punches and boy they were fun.. Scrapbooking wasn't just a craft it was an obsession, one that in certain periods of my life was even my anti-depressant..

Although 12 years ago i felt somewhat of a trend setter.. the craze was just taking off and anyone who would look at my then scrapbook would oooh and awww and say how cute the pages were etc.. even now i get good compliments but i have a complaint to submit...

When did Scrapbooking turn into it's own art form?.. when i started Pictures were king... all techniques were to help preserve your photo's to last into the next lifetime.. and the larger size (12x12) was to get as many pictures on the page as remotely possible.

NOW it seems as though all that's needed is one picture and a host of ribbon, buttons.. weird paint techniques etc.. don't get me wrong i use ribbon, buttons etc.. but it seems as though Pictures have taken a back seat to the "artist's" creativity.. and I've decided i just don't have very much creativity because my scrapbook pages are very formulated.. there's a title, pictures then a box (usually done on the computer) that explains the activity going on...

Is this why I'm finding it frustrated to keep up with my scrapbook??.. am i comparing the other works of art and thinking i can't measure up so why even try??? I don't even get the same excitement going into a scrapbook store (if i had one anywhere close to me)...

So I will continue with my formulated scrapbook pages.. and ignore all the new fads.. i do it for my family history.. and so what if i just completed 4 layouts that only get me through April of this year which means I am STILL way behind.. I think this letter has released my inner frustrations and hopefully will catapult me to be more motivated to keep up with this.. Because if it doesn't my husband is going to write his own letter titled: what to do with hundreds of dollars in scrapbook crap!!!

sincerely
an old fogey scrapbooker..

i almost forgot...

Baseball for Brad and KayLea is OVER!!! YIPPEE!!! and we have a week off of games (no weekday game) for Hunter.. DOUBLE YIPPEE>..so Hunter has his first playoff game on Saturday to a team that beat us the previous 2 times we played them.. but not by much so it might be a close game.. (anything other than a loss will be too close for me!) so there MIGHT be some light at the end of the tunnel but really with only one out of 3 kids to get around to everything it's going to seem like a vacation...
I already know Brad won't do baseball next year.. he's pretty discusted with the whole thing right now and I have to say KayLea didn't have the best time so we'll see.. i'm not going to really coax any of them to do it next year.. i'd be happy if only Hunter did it...
anyway there's my almost last baseball rant... hopefully i'll be doing a happy rant that it's all over by Sat...
ta ta

Happy Fathers Day and how the dr's appt went

Happy Fathers Day!!!
to My Dad and to Ben... I am tremendously lucky that i grew up with a great Dad who always made me feel like i was the greatest, prettiest most talented kid there was.. That's not to say he can't drive me nuts occasionally but I'm assuming that's par for coarse (and probably more because we are SOOO much alike than anything else).. Ben is the greatest Dad a wife could ask for... He Loves and provides for our family and never shy's away from helping me around the house even though he's worked very hard all day... He is really becoming the "main" role model for our boys and i couldn't be more happy about that.. KayLea has him wrapped around her little finger and he thinks he was scared to come pic me up for our first date.. i pitty the fool that attempts this with our little girl haha!
Again I'm feeling great love and extremely grateful for the main men in my life! I'm blessed for sure!!!

Happy Fathers Day!!! I love you tons!!!

No on to other stuff friday i went to my awaited appointment.. i think things went fine.. My first impression of my Dr is good, she seemed to listen.. I've got some lab tests i have to go back (i had to be fasting for a few of them) for this week and that will be the real test.. if everything comes back normal if she just says loose weight and see me next year.. i'm switching dr's.. although i DO KNOW i need to loose oh lets say 100 pounds.. thats right folks.. if i'm being completely honest i probably should loose around 150.. but that just sounds too scary so we'll keep it at 100 for now... and it's not like this Dr had to tell me this (infact she didn't say a specific amt to loose at all) BUT i feel like i have put in some real efforts on this front and NOTHING is happening.. and from the reasearch i have found and from what other family members have told me of their experience.. nothing will happen if my hormones or thyroid aren't working properly... so we've taken the first step in the hormone stuff, i'll be starting on the dreded Birth Control pill next month... i only say dreded becasue i had kind of a bad experience with it many moons ago BUT as i was told more than once "these aren't your mother's BC pills".. so i'm trying hard to be open minded and not feel like a fool for getting my tubes tied after KayLea because now it seems as though "what was the point"... i guess maybe i should have put the TMI warning oops sorry!
so at least the process has started... i knew there wouldn't be an amazing "whola your cured" moment at this appt but i guess deep down i kind of prayed that maybe there would be.. Oh yea and it seems as though i'm probably turning into my Mom and need my Blood Pressure monitorerd regularly and maybe even controlled by meds.. and with this revelation i realized My mom was quite a bit younger (by a few years) when she starte on BP Meds.. so why can't i also gain her skill of sewing and quilt making along with the yucky stuff??? oh yea because i never listened when she TRIED to teach me all those years ago...
anyway thats it for today.. i'll keep everyone posted...
ta ta for now

We were so Close!!

to being done with Bradley Baseball.. then they had to go win a game!!! URGGG! so He has another game on Saturday.. it is single elimination so fingers crossed the'll loose.. don't get me wrong i don't want them to be humiulated or totally wiped off the floor.. but a respectable showing but then a LOSS will do me nicely...

Hunter on the other hand has another week and a half and THEN playoffs.. although they are kind of in the same boat as Brad's team we havn't really won any games last night we did tie.. Hunter had kind of a rough night.. he got hit in the thigh with the ball as he was playing catcher it was kind of his own fault because he was kneeling the wrong way behind the batter and his thigh was totally exposed but no matter he "cowboy'd up" and played out the rest of the inning then came to me away from his team and cried on my shoulder and told me it "really hurt" we got him some ice but it was SOOO hot last night i also think he got a little dehidrated because he had a head ache and was VERY cranky the whole way home... So needless to say i won't be heart broken when Baseball is OVER..
does this make me an aweful Mom??? i hope not because even if someone said it did.. not sure it would change my outlook...

I'm also thinking we might bag scouts tonight.. i need just ONE night that i'm not rushing around and i already have to go into Concord 3 times the rest of the week and the Gas budget is well it's hurting...

Everyone say a little prayer for us.. they've cut Ben's hours.. not dramatically but there is absolutely NO overtime (unless someone is out on vacation and even then they are being asked to work short)... i guess this is a far cry from other airlines who have to lay off so we should be thankful but it still seems quite sucky! we'll manage and be complaining that we never see Ben in the winter pretty soon so "this too shall pass"...

We are SO DONE!!!

So we have our offical last day (baring any un-forseen floods or natural disasters that prevents all the kids in our school district from attending schooo) the kids last day is June 20th.. and they go back to school on August 26 yes your adding up correctly they get barly 2 months off.. i guess this is good in some ways.. but i'm feeling some real resentment over this.. and I"m usually the mom who says.. "yea less time for .. i'm board".. why do i care.. i think i care because it seems as though my kids are loosing their childhoods.. Summer is well essential in their rounded education.. maybe i'm just annoyed because i've worked on 2 projects and 2 book reports in the past few weeks that i'm READY for school to be done and 2 months just doesn't seem like enough..
I'm going to book mark this blog entry because my predection come August 15th i'm going to be more than ready to shove off my kids onto the bus, oh yea thats another thing KayLea starts Kindergarten and she's in the PM group and our district doesn't allow Kindergarderners to ride the bus even one way, so i'll be taking her (at least i don't have to get up early) in the afternoon and then picking up both her and Hunter afterschool... it kind of sucks for me because it would REALLY be helpful if she could ride with Hunter towards the end of the school year because it would be nice for her to get use to the bus system rules etc.. while she can ride with her brother.. Hunter will be in Middle school the year after and so KayLea will ride all alone.. which only means my insaine mind things i will probably take her at least through 1st grade..
we'll see..
thats it for now...
tata

Ok just a warning this MIGHT fall under TMI

Ok so because i blogged about my lovely monthly turm oil and I promised to make an appt with a dr i actually followed through and got an appointment for NEXT FRIDAY i know pretty good i expected to have to wait at least a month but after looking over my provider list and doing a little praying the first one i called had an opening for the time i needed (late afternoon so Ben will be home so the little girl won't have to see whats in store for her later in life!)
So now it's time to orgaize my thoughts and symptoms i want to be concise and not going into it thinking i already know my diagnosis (which i think is in-active thyroid)
so here's my symptoms
*Hair falling out (so much so it cloggs the drain after EVERY shower)
the only issue i have with this is that i have told pretty much every doctor i have seen in the last oh say 5 years that this is happening and they look at my massave mane of hair and skoff.. but really folks i use to only be able to put a rubber band around twice now it goes around several times
* Dry skin
I have oily skin now it's so dry i have a hard time wearing any kind of make up (not a huge tragedy but still it's something to add to the list)
* tired ALL THE TIME..
that doesn't really need an explination
* can't loose weight to save my life
i feel like i have put in some REAL effort on this front i do realize i am more than twice the size i should be and when Ben and i diet and are eating the SAME thing and he looses 10 pounds and i sometimes gain there is something seriously wrong.. (i do know men and women shouldn't for the sake of health and marriage compare weight loss issues but this is but one example)
*I feel like my mind is in a cloud allot of the time like i can't express myself clearly or i forget ALLOT..
too many examples to share
* ok here's the TMI, my monthly women issues are WAY out of control,
there not regular, too long, too heavy and my family wants to shoot me during a 10 day period of time each month.,. enough said
*night sweats..
but i'm cold during the day and espically after i eat.. weird i know!!
*Edit: i forgot one; all that hair that's falling out of my head.. it's growing on my chin!
i know lovely hua!

ok those are the main ones.. if anyone has any suggestions for lab tests i should insist on (im already insisting they test my thyroid, and am thinking about asking about hormone issues).. please share.. im hoping because i'm a few years older than the last time i went in and claim i was falling apart they won't just say "your only 30 it can't be your thyroid" or ,"your aren't as young as you use to be"... sheesh.. i am committed to feeling better.. and since we aren't moving anytime soon (that has been a BIG excuse of mine in the past) i can hopefully stick with this doctor (if i like her) and see some real results..

wish me luck

ta ta

So yesterday was a wash

Yesterday i was pretty much useless.. Once a month i'm incapicated for 2 days (hopefully it's not too much info brothers!) anyway Yesterday was the 2 days rolled into one (Yes, mom i know i need to make an appt with the Dr.. after yesterday i'm looking online to find one today)..and Thankfully Ben was home all day because Night before last we went to a Fischer Cat's game it's a minor league baseball team we have locally it's always fun, it's a rather small stadium and we got Free tickets because the boys participated in a reading challenge they had, we actually had to pay for one ticket but it was only 5 bucks so that barley counts.. i don't think we've EVER paid for fischer cats tickets.. Ben usually gets a few each season and i think if you can't find some free ones somewhere it's probaby not worth going because once your there you've got to spend a minimum of 40-50 bucks on drinks and snacks alone.. we always eat before we go but somehow we can't escape with out our token to the baseball gods.. and we had finally hit our financial limit when the boys claimed they were thirsty i sent them together and told them to find a water fountain and fill up the empty rootbeer bottle.. they came back and said they coudn't find one and they even asked someone who worked there and they said there wern't any.. so i (standing firm on not giving in to more money) told them to go fill it up in the bathroom faucet.. they griped and said "TAP WATER?" i asked them what they thought a water fountain was??? anyway they came back looking discusted but with their bottle filled.. Hunter came back handed me the bottle and said "feel that?" and i realized the water bottle was filled with pretty much HOT water.. they don't have hot and cold handles it's just a button that shoots out warm/hot water to wash your hands.. what happened to the days of no hot water in public restrooms.. anyway i gave in and got them a $3.75 bottle of COLD water but they had to share..

Ahhh what a night..

today Brad gets his retainer.. i'm hoping they won't have to re-fit him he's lost, no lie, 5-6 teeth since they fit him... i called and left a message asking if this was going to be a problem and no one ever called me back so i'm guessing it's fine... we are hoping the retainer route will fix his cross bite so that if he does need braces it will be very minor experience... funny thing.. Brad's baby teeth are actually larger than his adult teeth.. this is actually a VERY good thing which is why we can do the retainer route and not just b-line to braces..

wish us luck

ta ta

i'm not ignoring you REALLY!

So another slam on dial up internet.. i think our dial in number has been shut down due to lack of use... at least thats the latest ive heard so we've been with out internet for a week now and i'm now at the library trying to figure out if i CAN get FREE dial up... because it's totally annoying to PAY for such aweful service... i found a few but we'll have to see if it will work...

anyway we are well in the swing of end of school year stuff.. awards assemblies final projects and book reports.. Baseball is winding down.. i'm also going to post a few more pictures from our trip...

below is just some light house keeping on getting the rest of the good pic's from my camera on the site from the wedding.. i think we are finally all recovered and back to normal what ever that means! ta ta

paying the piper!

Ok so we didn't get home until 1:45am this morning.. we immediately headed to bed which meant everyone was sawing logs around 2:15-2:30am.. i decided, i thought very brilliantly, that i would let the kids sleep until they woke up.. we had fairly tight schedules all week and since today was a school holiday anyway they should catch up on all the sleep they had been deprived of and just sleep.. Brad woke up around 8am.. Hunter woke up around 11:30 and KayLea held out until 12:45... well I'm paying the piper now.. it's 9:15 PM (their bedtime is a very strict 8pm) and she is saying she isn't tired.. Hunter and Brad both have school tomorrow and it's just been the past few minutes i haven't heard them bickering or laughing so URGGG!!! i have a feeling tomorrow morning isn't going to be much fun and we'll be rushing to catch the bus!!! I just gave in and feel like the horrible mom KayLea asked if she could play her game boy in bed.. i caved.. I'm exhausted... just in.. boys not asleep.. they are arguing why does KayLea get to play game boy and not them.. I'm a glutton for punishment.. to top it off I'm terrified of what tomorrow's make up homework brings...

I'll report back tomorrow

BASEBALL SUCKS!!! beware this is a RANT

So Baseball has started to consume every waking minute of our lives.. Monday and Wednesday's Brad has games, when they are on our home field it doesn't seem to be a big deal but last night was our first "away" game and since we live pretty much in the middle of no where, pretty much ANY "away" game is like forever.. (ok i'm stretching the truth slightly) so we are racing the kids are bickering in the back seat i get to the end of my roap and insist that Hunter get out of my car and go back inside (obviously we hadn't left yet) he wasn't going to the game he's crying i'm not showing the best side of mother hood, i go in to tell Ben Hunter's not going and he's in trouble to no video games, i go back out to the car to find KayLea balling.. she now says if Hunter doesn't go no one will be able to take her to the playground (an aside.. we don't even know at this point if there IS a playground at this field) it's a mess and at that point i nearly threw my hands in the air and said NO BASEBALL FOR THE FOX'S.. but no no we made a commitment so Ben convenced me to give Hunter another chance.. (he by the way had to leave for work earlier than he usually does so thats why he wasn't coming he had to get at least a few hours of sleep)... and Hunter ended up being a good help taking KayLea to the playground (guess her tears were warrented).. so if this is what the next month is going to be like I"M NOT HAPPY!!!... Hunter has a game tonight along with a parent teacher conf.. no not everyone is getting a conference only those who need it urggg!!! these things always end up with me feeling like the worst parent in the world.. (not purposly, i like hunter's teacher) why is it that my worth as a mother is somehow tied into how well my kids do in school when actually it really has very little to do with me!!! We are deffenately at some kind of crossroads with Hunter and school.. if he doesn't do well his Teacher hates him.. His attitude fluxuates from good to poor in a matter of moments.. and he totally knows how to play me like a violin... He is sweet and tender and i can usually tell when he's had a bad day he'll want a hug (that usually turns in to sort of a cuddle) but he doesn't want to ask straight out for it because that will be uncool... he needs more sleep than the average bear and with baseball it doesn't always happen for him... (see all things aweful go back to baseball!) i think we will REALLY re-think baseball next year.. i always wanted my kids to be involved in things more than i was (we pretty much did nothing) but i'm beginning to see the brilliance in being homebodies.. somehow i need to strike a balance and i havn't found it yet..
ok so i'm done with my ranting.. sorry!
ta ta

ok I'm sick of COLD!

So i thought if the white stuff would just go away i'd be happy and then the white stuff went away not only did it go away it got WARM!!! we even had the windows up all night for almost a week! then... it's cold again.. not just chilly it's been in the mid 30-40's we've had to make fires (which reminds me, i need to get more wood today) during the day and (tears are forming!) turn BACK on the heat at night!!! EEEEEKKKKK!!!!!! this silly weather.. we've had some rain but not enough to wreck havoc on the roads (thank goodness!) we desperately need the rain so i'm not complaining but it would be MUCH better if i just had to bring an umbrella to Baseball games and not my big winter parka!!! i know we will probably be wishing for this weather when it gets hot but frankley i've never complained over the "heat" here i put it in quotes because people here don't know what hot is.. it's never gotten above mid 90's and the humidity is way managable.. i realize we've ALL become whimp when Ben took a trip to Dallas and came home and said he roasted the whole time!
so this just goes to show we are never happy about the weather.. i should be thankful we have heat...
thats just my rant today!!!
only 15 days until we leave for Utah... we are getting excited!
ta ta for now!