12 Eyes...and Jam

Bee has been struggling with reading for awhile.  She mostly read by seeing the first letter and just guessing a word that begins with that letter.  Then sometime in the last few weeks, she decided to put on Two's glasses to read.  And amazingly she began reading better.  So I decided, maybe it was time to have her vision checked.  Believe you me, I felt like a horrible mother when after we left the eye doctor with a prescription that he knocked down a few levels so she wouldn't be legally blind....well not quite, being a little dramatic, but he did make a lesser prescription.  Just crazy to think 3 out of my 4 are farsighted....Where did they get their eyes?

But the best part of the exam that just made me smile, maybe a proud mom moment, or a proud teacher moment but the nurse put the letters up on the wall and said, "tell me what the letters say."

Bee looks eyes all strained...and says "buh, duh, kuh, tuh, mah."  I just smiled, because she told her what they say.

She is so excited to get her glasses, and I am so excited to have her be able to see. 

Just makes me wonder, if you know Bee, you know her stare, if she really was staring, or if she was just trying to focus and see you....just a thought.

The kids and I picked our pears. 19 gallons of pears!

This last weekend I made, with the help of my mom, some pear jam.  She gave me some plum, peach, peach-raspberry jams that she had made.  Still carrying a load of pears, that the kids made, I decided to make some more jam/sauce yesterday.  So I whipped up a couple batches of strawberry-pear sauce/jam.   When G came in last night as I was making it, he commented on how it smelled so good, that we needed to make waffles or pancakes or crepes.  I agreed it sure smelled good.

So this morning I woke up to the kids making pancakes.  They had all kinds of shapes going. Then they opened up a jar of all the jams we have, including the cherry syrup our neighbors gave to us yesterday after we dropped off some pear jam.  They poured the jams into their own bowls and began taste testing.  Their first favorite was my moms peach raspberry then my pear-berry.  It was really cute!  Such cute kids.

And I am going to work on pear raspberry tomorrow, or maybe Thursday....or Saturday??? I don't know but I still have a ton of pears, and still many growing on the tree.  But am so excited that I canned by myself and it wasn't as hard as I thought...though i just finished cleaning up the kitchen from my mess...but that is more out of shear laziness. 

Pears anyone?

And Eric is coming home for three days this weekend, got a sitter for Friday night!!!!  and ......older two are having oral surgery on Monday...I guess not really oral surgery but sedated dental work, lots and lots needs to be done, and we are going to do it all in one shot. Glad Eric will be here for it.

Summer Fun!

We are working on ways to make summer fun and still get work done.  So around here the rule is NO FUN til the chores are DONE!      As incentive yesterday we bought a little swimming pool. One the kids were dying to open and set up, even though it was raining and cold.  Though when we came home from the store, yesterday, I told them the basement had to be cleaned. So they ran down stairs and cleaned the basement.  Well again it was cold.  And we had other things to do and they were not behaving so well, it didn't get set up.     So today as they were begging me to do the pool, I mentioned the back yard needed to be cleaned.  So they filled three trash bags with popsicle wrappers and weeds.  And Once they were done, I noticed the basement was still in need of some cleaning. With swim suits on they finished the basement! And so like I had promised I filled the pool for them.   However I don't think they were expecting it to be so cold. I went inside to boil some water for them, and came out to them huddled into this little ball!  Even with blue lips T-Rex was the happiest...... Hopefully we will experience some warmth soon....Soon enough I am sure!

Christmas Day in Photos!

G made a Santa Block as a card and thank you for Santa.  Though it still sat on the mantel in the morning and he asked if Santa even saw it.  He did and was very grateful! Just didn't have time to take it.

This is Two as she walked out and saw her Santa chair! So happy!

This is a little out of order, but Tuesday I had realized we hadn't had or been to a Christmas party this year.  So I called and invited a few of my friends here over.  However since it was last minute many had plans, go figure :) but gratefully two good friends didn't and we had a blast. I think I might throw more parties even if Eric isn't around.  We had fun!Here is T-Rex playing with his train that his Papa built for him. Pretty impressive!

G-Man wearing his new PJS and his new favorite baseball cap...GO COUGARS!!! (even if his dad professes to be a U fan he loves BYU!!!--thanks uncle soren!and all decked out like a little skater dude!! Hed go outside for about two minutes and come back in freezing...figuring out that summer outdoor toys are not great Utah Christmas gifts. But he still loves it and as I speak the kids are scooting around on it with T-Rex's ride on train attached. Bee had an interesting request this year for santa "$12 in cash."  So he did give it to her with a few other things.  She got this canvas bag and put her "special" gifts in it, her doll, her new wallet with $12, her makeup, her barbie, some card games. She has carried ti around ever since.  G-Man commented that next year he is going to ask santa for $20....Better start saving for these cash Christmases. So happy to have a new brush and a little petshop! She tried to fit the house in her purse, just not big enough!

Here is T-Rex using his new tools to fix stuff, he loves tools and went around just "fixing" everything, including his new trains and trucks.

Hope y'all had a very Merry Christmas!!

A normal day...in my normal life....

Just a little before five am Bee crawled into my bed, meeting up with T-Rex and Two who joined us sometime between eleven when I fell asleep and five. Bee trying to make room in the overstuffed bed shoved T-Rex's perpendicular feet away, causing him to wake up. For about forty minutes I fought the three of them to fall back to sleep. I finally threw my hands up in the air in defeat and sent them down stairs.

Few moments later they were all back upstairs begging for food. I made them go back and play while I read and well actually played a little cafe world on Facebook...didn't want my pies to rot. Anyway I got off my duff and headed to the kitchen to start up some oatmeal. Things were going ok. Then T-Rex decided he didn't want his oatmeal and dumped it on the floor. Bee needed more milk on hers...ooopsss she poured too much all over the table.

Some what with filled stomachs they ran down stairs and played in our newly reorganized and cleaned basement...because yesterday I saw an awesome solid wood dresser that I had to have. After calling a friend and a neighbor seeing us try to put this too large piece of furniture into my van, it was stuffed in with the door opened and my friend holding on for dear life.

It made it home and into my basement. Anyway I went down stairs to make sure it was staying clean down there, and then realized I had laundry I needed to switch out, oh and I needed to start the dishwasher. So up the stairs I ran to only be called down by the words "Mom come quick the bathroom is flooding!" So the dishwasher half loaded, oh yeah and I started to up load pictures to Heritage Makers and had to check that real quick, then grabbed some old towels and headed to the flooded poopy watered bathroom floor....and all the while thinking where is Eric??

Get the bathroom toweled...still need to clean and throw those in the washer because I didn't want to start that knowing we needed showers and the dishwasher needed to be run....not a lot of hot water around here.....then it was time to get the kids off to school...say family prayer and then out the door....but of course it isn't that easy, G-man wants to wear the same outfit from yesterday "cuz it is n't dirty" and Bee won't let me brush her hair and can't find her shoes. But we make it out the door.

When I returned, the mess yelled at me...still oatmeal...still mess down in the bathroom....and yet I still need to find time to write. All the while Two complaining she doesn't want to go to the doctors again today. I can't blame her she went Monday and will be getting glasses in a few days, went to a well checkup yesterday and now going today for some tests to figure out what is wrong with her overactive infected bladder....And T-rex decided to poop on the bathroom floor, tub walls, bathroom door and floor....so I took a break from posting to clean that...but all the while wondering really is this a normal life??? Is this my normal life?

I found myself this morning just wishing my life would go back to normal...but then I thought what is normal? Do I wish it to be a year ago living in Hawaii, with out furniture of sorts and our personal belongings? Or back even further when Eric had a steady job and came home at "normal" hours, and we got paid every two weeks? Or days when I woke up by an alarm clock and headed off to work? Or to have just "normal" kids that sit and watch tv, eat when given food, keep their diapers on?

I think "normal" doesn't exist....normal is what is now and what just happens daily...so all I ask is can I just have an unusual day?

Wow my 445th post! Lots of Randomness

Well when I got ready to post I thought I uploaded the pictures in the order that I wanted them. However, now it appears my whit and ability to tie them all together may be a challenge. And since my computer is being a butt head it is difficult for me to move the pictures around. So without any further delays, my week, my 445th post in 15 pictures of less!

Little T-Rex sums up the last weekend before school! Holy Hannah it was a night mare! Blinds were ripped off the wall, a picture frame took a shattering death, mascara was unevenly applied, sink was over filled, dinner was spilled all over the floor, water was spilled, watermelon splattered, just to name a few things. Here T-rex sits in the sink, caught red handed and naughty! Actually I went to get the camera to record the nightmare of a night and put him back into the sink to get this photo! :) But did not have enough patience to photograph the rest of the mess....to say the least G-Man called Eric in a panic and told him he needed to come home...I guess I was really losing it.

But I gained enough composure Sunday to get the kids all ready for school on Monday Morning....actually Eric had the idea to dress up their dolls and stuffed animals in the outfits for the morning. They thought that was the coolest thing ever.

After blessings from their dad, they headed off to bed with some stories. And bright and early they were up and off to school! They ate breakfast, put on their new clothes and headed out the door with me behind them with my camera around my neck. However, Eric said "No way you aren't going to be one of those mom's are you?" So I decided to take my camera off as soon as I got a picture of them heading down the stairs. However we have a really old cool school and I just might have to be one of those mom's and bring the camera to school the second week. Which I will probably look even weirder than bringing it on the first day. Why do I listen to my husband???
First day of school went off with any hitches. I actually had the opportunity to go to lunch with Eric and make it home to put together a little snack and gifts and cards for the kids. Look at G-Mans face....so filled with joy! He was so thrilled that I thought of them and did something for them. I guess the weekend was really rough and they thought they had lost their mom to a wicked witch :)

While the big kids were at school on Tuesday the little ones and some friends hit the dinosaur park. Such a cool place. So much so that after school on Tuesday I took the kids there! We had a blast!

Two really likes her little friend! She wanted to me to take several pictures of her with him. He is a cutie, I don't blame her. Notice her shoes are on the wrong feet. Gotta love that girl!

This morning while trying to catch up on some blogging and photo uploading, T-Rex came and sat on my bed with me, notice he is wearing a hula skirt, and a Thomas the Train jammie shirt. He loves to dress himself and is so stinking stubborn about what he wears! Oh the blackmail pictures I have!

Speaking of pictures, do you know how hard it is to get some people to take a good picture of you with a friend you meet for the first time?? Yvonne, a wonderful fellow blogger and one of my newest dearest friends, came all the way from Canada for a visit. Well actually she was dropping her son off at BYU but still SHE came all the way up to the restaurant to visit us, dragging her sweet and kind husband with her. And they didn't even eat anything. So we packed her up some food to go. We had such an enjoyable time chatting and catching up just like old friends. If you ever want a chance to read an amazing woman's blog, check her out. I am not the first blogging friend she has met, she has touched many people's lives! Thanks Yvonne!

Check out this amazing sunset!!! I was driving home Tuesday night and had to pull over to get a shot of it. I love all those oranges and yellows and purples! Amazing beauty!

And a Barbecue plug! Tuesday night we did a back to school night at the restaurant with free hot dogs and watermelon for the kids. They had a blast and it was fun to see people coming and eating with us. When you get the chance you really should make a trip up to Texas Pride Barbecue. The scenery is amazing! And the food is awesome! Also we will be having a fall festival, every Saturday of October! Come on out! www.texaspridebarbecue.com

And have a great week....man I am worried about posting this and seeing the mess that I made!

Summer Ends

Tis bitter sweet to mark the end of summer. How is it possible for something to last "so LONG" and yet go so very fast? We have played at the lake many days, sunning our legs and lightening our hair. We avoided sickness...for the most part!! We have spent many days helping out at the restaurant and playing at the park.

Visited the library and lost some books....Gone swimming at the rec center. Caught up with old friends. Journeyed back and forth attempting to visit cousins, and yet we didn't get to play with them as much as I would have liked.

Living in a new neighborhood we have made some new friends, and yet we feel so new and not yet enough time to know them all.

Monday school starts. YIKES! I am so excited and yet so sad. As much as my kids are driving me bonkers today, I am mixed with emotions. Did I do enough fun with them? Did we enjoy our time together?

We did. I had fun. I enjoy just going and doing stuff, yet there are several things more I wish we could do. There are always weekends right??? We have actually slept in this summer, will we be able to wake up?? There will be days where just T-Rex and I will be alone...and as G-Man reminded me, soon there will be days when all will be in school and I will be so lonely....for a split second I thought about having another....and that fleeted as fast as it came.

I am so looking forward to the older kids going off and making new friends and having some structure in their so unstructured life. Actually going to bed and bedtime routines get to get started again!!! Do I have to start making dinners???

Today is the LAST Saturday before school starts!! and so far the kids have built a furniture fort in the front room and have sat on my bed watching Saturday Morning cartoons, well more like infomercials...what happened to Saturday morning cartoons????

Holy August???

Eric and I celebrated our Tenth anniversary on the 30th! Hard to believe we have been married for ten years, sounds like a long time, but doesn't feel like it. He gave me these flowers. I set them in our window sill in the kitchen, and realized it was right next to our photo that we took on our honeymoon. Seems just like yesterday we were sailing around the San Juan Islands enjoying the peace and beauty....and now....ten years later...

We got T-Rex! He is such a sweetie and keeps us on our toes that's for sure. And apparently he has a hard time keeping up with his own toes because...boom crash....at least his forehead caught his fall....

Speaking of Fall, its hard not to fall in love with this little sweetheart. Her smile warms you up and just makes you feel good. However she has become our little liar...yes she can lie, and unlike her dad and older brother who I can tell is lying just by their smile, this one she doesn't crack a smile. Oh boy not sure what we are going to do with her. Then there is.....

G-Man who is so tender and sweet, and so active and loving. Though hard to find him to take pictures, been looking all over this morning.

Bee who is just too sweet. She is always concerned about the others and quite my little helper. Always, well not always, willing to help....but she sure can throw some fits. She is so excited to be starting school in 21 DAYS she can't wait....

I also am trying to get my portfolio up and going to start making some money with one of my hobbies/talents....I took pictures of my little sister and her family. For more pictures from that check out www.corrinescapturings.blogspot.com