Crazy, Bonkers, Frantic, Exhausted!

Wow... if I ever complained about another week being so full it's because I had never lived through a week like this one! Each day has had two activities that were set in stone. Swimming at 8:30am and Kelson's Safety Town from 1-3pm. Swimming got the boys up and excited each morning by 6am. I was wondering how much of a fight it would be to keep Analise on the sidelines. It was not even an issue. She was so content to sit by me and just watch. So far she is not a big fan of the water. I hope that changes. Cade and Kelson have made significant improvements since last year. I know my kids are behind other kids their age in the swimming category. I think most of it has to do with we don't belong to a club or pool to allow them the repetition they need to get really comfortable with it. Kelson is the most fearless. He loves to just jump in and get in there. Cade still has a fear of letting go of his nose. However, I must say I was shocked when I looked over and say Cade jumping off the diving board with no flotation assistance. Other kids in his group were still using noodles but Cade just jumped with the assistance of a lifeguard wading below of course! Kelson had been asking to jump since day 1. Because he was only level 1 the instructors were weary of allowing this but by the last day they said he was a great little swimmer and he could do it. He did! I was a proud mom! Each day after swimming it was running like mad to get to other appointments. It was so crazy! It simply wore the kids out. Monday was the worst! Swimming to my Dr. appointment, to Cade's dentist appointment, to Kelson Safety town, to Monday bean night at G'ma's, to Cade's Soccer party. We seriously left the house at 8am and got home at 8:45Pm. I'm not made to run around like this!
Safety Town is a free 2 week program that is offered by Greensboro Police Department. There are a bunch of high school kids that volunteer their time as well. You have to be age 5 or 6 to participate. I feel bad that I didn't know about this program when Cade was that age. Kelson got lucky and got put in the same group as another boy from church that he plays with. Kelson was so excited the first few days but I think he has been so tired after lunch that the excitement has worn off a bit. They feed them snacks and teach them about a variety of different safety tips. So far he has learned about playground, streets, buses, pets, and ambulances. He comes home each day with coloring books and new stories. It's fun to see him grow!
Wednesday gave me the scare of my life! After swimming lessons we went to the free movies. They offer $1 popcorn and drinks. We also opt for cups of ice and fill them up at the water fountain. We were all standing there- the kids and I. Cade and I were filling the cups and Analise and Kelson were standing next to me holding the popcorn boxes. When Cade and I finished, I turned around and Analise was gone! I can't even describe what my heart did in my chest. I found a man working for the theatre and asked if had seen a 2 year old girl walking around. I proceeded described exactly what she was wearing. Still... he just looked at me! I finally shouted- I NEED HELP FINDING HER! Finally the man that was he was talking to figured it out. He said he would go check the men's restroom. I ran in the women's screaming her name. Cade and Kelson by this point were doing the same. About 5 minutes past and a lady from another theatre walked out holding Analise's hand. Phew! I was an insane tear ball at this point. She ran to me and yelled, "MOMMY!" I picked her up and wouldn't let go! Those 5 minutes have been the longest, most terrifying 5 minutes of my life. The sad thing is that I don't think Analise is old enough to have had it scare her enough! Cade and Kelson definitely had their taste of fear. My first thought and prayers went to my brother and sister-in-law. I can't even imagine what they went through when they couldn't find Allie. I know that children wonder off and it always doesn't turn out like ours did. I have been thanking Heavenly Father almost every second since for watching over Analise and keeping her safe. Thank goodness there was a nice honest lady that assisted her in finding me! What scary is is that I'm the over protective parent that is always saying- hold hands, can you see mommy?, do not wonder, do not talk to strangers! And yet, this still happened to me. Cheeto is always telling me to relax they can go over there- I can see them. It took 2 seconds for her to lose me. If I had let my guard down a little bit- you better believe it's back up and stronger than before! When we found Analise, Cade yelled at her and said, "Analise, don't you listen when mommy says don't wonder off. You have to see mommy!" After we found her we walked into our theatre and saw a family from the ward. They were all waving but I was still teary and didn't want to cause a scene, so I semi-ignored them. Was that awful of me?
Cheeto has been busy with work of course. He studies whenever he gets a chance which seems like less and less these a days! He started playing in a rec soccer league. He has games each Tuesday and Thursday nights every week until the end of July. Another guy broadsided him his first game and hurt his knee. He felt well enough to play Thursday. He did great! I love to watch him. It's hard to really watch with the kids running all over the place.


Funny Kid Quote of the Day
Cade, "Mom, when I'm an adult you'll be a grandma right." Mom, "That depends Cade when you get married and have kids. One of my kids has to have kids before I'll be a grandma." Cade, "EWE, I'm never getting married, because I don't like to kiss! Kissing is disgusting!" Mom, " I think you'll grow out of that. You'll change your mind as you get older." "NO MOM! I WON'T! I will never ever ever like kissing! EVER!!! And if you have to kiss to be married and have kids- I won't do it!"

Father's Day 2008

As much as I wanted to make this past weekend all about spoiling Cheeto, it just didn't turn out that way. I did try to pamper him when I saw him. It is still really crazy around here with Cheeto upfitting his new office and trying to get back into the swing of studying for exams. The plan for Saturday was to hit the gym at 9 and come back and hangout with Cheeto. However, Cheeto ended up having to be at the office from 8am until 2ish. Friday night Cheeto and I went out on a date to look for office supplies and furniture. I know it sounds lame and boring but I thought it was great just to be with Cheeto. It's been a long time since just of the two of us have been out. It was fun helping him however I could. It was as we pulled into the yard and I saw the car lights across our lawn when I knew my Saturday morning would more wisely be spent doing yard work. I finally got out of Cheeto what he wanted for his Father's Day dinner. My mom's spaghetti casserole (which I will post after), parmassan cheese bread, salad (I threw that one in the menu- we all know Cheeto is not a big salad eater! :) ) and Strawberry Brownie Torte (also, recipe below). I had most of the ingredients- the strawberries we were going to get from Rudd's Farm again- just like Mother's Day. :) 8am- Saturday morning we were out in the fields picking berries. The kids really enjoy doing this. I was glad they still had some and we could go again because last time I forgot to bring my camera. I remembered this time. As soon as we got home, I busted my butt to get the yard done. The weed eater would not cooperate and it took me an extra hour- that I didn't have of course!- to fix the dang thing. Farm girl skills came in handy I must say. Well- farm girl slash girl raised working on a golf course maintenance. I got it working and successfully finished the entire yard. It looked pretty darn good if I do say so myself. Poor Cheeto hasn't had the time to do it once this year. It's a good thing his wife doesn't mind doing it! ;) It's not like Cheeto is dying to do it either! He hates mowing and it doesn't bother me so it's fine. After I got lunch for kids and took a shower we had a "LITTLE" bit of quiet time before heading to the ward party. They were playing wiffle ball and having a cook out at the church. My boys- all "3" of them were excited for this. We had a great time. We were all exhausted and went to bed early. Sunday morning was crazy. I bit a little more off than I could chew. I started the brownie torte and then decided to make Cheeto homemade cinnamon rolls for breakfast, and started the spaghetti casserole so there would be less to do after church. It was crazy getting all the clothes ironed, kids dressed, hair done and baking all at the same time. We still made it to church with time to spare. Church was church. The speakers in sacrament had some great father's day talks. We came home and ate and gave Cheeto his book the kids and I have been working on. They all made him homemade cards which they were so proud of. Kelson had got my heart punch and punched as many hearts as he could on his card because he said he loved daddy so much and had to punch LOTS of hearts so daddy would know! What a sweetheart! The book we made had some funny pictures in it that they couldn't wait to see Cheeto's face when he saw them. We had fun making it. It wasn't a practical gift- but a memoriable one that in 10 years Cheeto can look back and see remember why he became such a great father. I couldn't ask for a better man. What more could a girl want- a man that loves his wife, loves his kids, works hard for all them, loves to play and be silly with them, honors his priesthood and church callings, and most of all worthy of making us an eternal family!

Spaghetti Casserole

Brown hamburger- we like less so I do just less than a pound.
drain and rinse.
1 onion and 1 green pepper- cook with hamburger
add 1 large and 1 small can of stewed Italian tomatoes (with garlic, oregano, and basil)
fill both the large and small can with water and add to pot
add spaghetti noodles- just eye ball it. I use 2/3 of a medium box. I don't measure spaghetti noodles well. :)
Bring to a boil and simmer until noodles are cooked.

Strawberry Brownie Torte

1 box Fudge Brownie mix- Cheeto likes the double fudge Betty Crocker kind
1 egg
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup oil
Spray two round cake pans and divide batter. Bake at 350 for 10 minutes and then watch them until completely cooked through. Cool and freeze.

Filling:
1 8oz cream cheese
1 sm box vanilla pudding
1 1/2 cup milk

beat cream cheese and add milk. Add the milk SLOWLY!!!! This is very important. It will clump and be lumpy if you add it too fast. Add the box of pudding and mixed well. Cool in fridge at least 5 minutes before spreading.

Layer: Brownie, filling, sliced strawberries, Brownie, filling sliced strawberries. Of course I like it to look pretty so I arrange the strawberries in a circle pattern and place one full strawberry in the middle. This is super good! It never lasts 24 hours at my house!

One Heck of a Week!

This week has been very eventful. Cade had lots of end of year school parties and events to attend and piano lessons. He is doing great with the piano by the way. He will tell you different. But he does have a knack for it. Analise didn't really eat much on Wednesday. I really didn't think too much about it until Thursday morning when she woke up with "the I'm going to puke smell." My kids all get this smell. I can pretty guess when it's coming. Weird- I know! Maybe it's just a mommy thing. Cheeto kept saying she was fine but I knew it was coming. Yep- about an hour later she was standing on a stool next to the kitchen sink helping me with some bases when she said, "Mommy, I frow up!" She leaned over the kitchen sink and was done. She perked right up and was fine the rest of the day. She got diariah for the next 3 days. Thursday night Kelson said his stomach hurt but then followed by asking for a brownie. I figured he just really wanted a brownie. I had some major heartburn that night and couldn't get to sleep. Good thing for Cheeto. About 11pm I heard Kelson moaning and crying in his bed. I went to check on him. He was crying saying, "I need to get it out." I thought he had to go to the bathroom. Nope- he had to throw up. I got him half way to the bathroom before he puked all over me and the bathroom wall. It was a mess. We got it cleaned up and just got him back to bed when he pucked 3 times as much in his bed. ARGH!!!! What the????? I was so tired and sick myself. I did not want to be doing this! For those of you that don't know Cheeto.... HE DOES NOT DO THROW UP! He was such a help that night though. We couldn't just throw it all in the washer so picture this.... Cheeto and I literally on the front porch hosing down all of Kelson's bedding and hamper at midnight. After this Kelson got a bed on the bathroom floor! I was afraid that Cade was going to get in Friday that I allowed him to stay home from school. He was feeling fine so he went with me to help Cheeto move offices. (that is another story that I'll get to in a minute.) We ran a few errands and he was still looking like our Cade. He spent the afternoon shooting 18 holes of golf with Papa A. Thanks to G'ma A I was able to go help Cheeto move all afternoon. G'ma deserves a great deal of credit for me making it through the week. I wouldn't have made it without her! Thanks MOM!!!!!! The boys spent the night at Papa's since he is going to Mexico for quite awhile on Tuesday. Dad, Kris, Cheeto and I had a 8am shotgun start at Dawn Acres golf course. We were so exhausted after Friday that we went to bed at 8pm. Analise was still looking a bit dehydrated or something Saturday morning. Mom said she would be fine. So Cheeto and I left for the golf course with Dad. We had a lot of fun golfing. I wish we had the time and could afford to do it more. When the kids are older- right? Mom and Lettie were suppose to meet us at the course for lunch when we were done. Well, it was time to meet them and we only see Lettie, Kelson and Analise. Oh NO!!! Yep-Cade was home throwing up! Lettie said he was doing a great job getting to the toilet. We went to have some naps and later to help Cheeto unpack some at his new office. Cade threw up a couple more times there and some through the evening. However, it was much easier for me. I just had to ask if he was ok through the bathroom door. I love the older kids when the get sick! Cade spent the night on the bathroom floor last night. The bathroom floor has never been so used! He's feeling good enough to fight with Kelson and Analise this morning. We opted to keep them all home from church today! So here I am just dreading a very long sunday without church! I wonder if and when Cheeto and I will have to take our turn.
OK- Cheeto's office news. Cheeto and Jim created a partnership and decided to go out on their own. They found some great office space at Revolution Mill Studios close to downtown Greensboro. It's actually the old Cone Mills. It will have close to a million square feet of office/event space when it's done. They have renovated it nicely! It has lots of character and charm. It has a great feel! I'm so excited for him. Right now the space they are in is 2400 square feet but only temporary until they can build them their own space. It should take about 3 months or so to get something more permanent worked out.

Funny Kid Quote of the Day
I was trying to get Kelson to get some rest after staying up all night throwing up. I asked him to go lie on his bed and shut his eyes. About 10 minutes later he comes back and sits on my lap. He says, "Mom, I really tried but my eyes just don't want to go to sleep. They want me to play the playstation." Nice try Kelson!

Cade 2nd grade Field Day

Up until Thursday of last week, my week was pretty much free. By Thursday evening, every hour of every day was pretty much consumed! Sunday night I had that sick feeling like I just don't want to even start the week. I was scared of the hectic schedule. Monday started off with field day all morning at Cade's school. They had a lot of fun. Cade was very well behaved other than he didn't want his Carolina Panthers shirt to get wet and muddy so he opted out of most of the water games. Which was fine with me, I didn't want to start a fight with Cade- we were doing so well. As you can see, he had a great time. The first event was flag tag. Cade was the winner of the first game. He was so proud of himself, as was I. The board walk game he was so good at. I know I'm being a bragging parent but he was. Some of those kids were s-t-r-u-g-g-l-i-n-g! He must get his good coordination from me! :)







I stayed and ate lunch with him and then he wanted to come home with me. I was more than happy to bring him home. I had a doctor's appointment from 2-4 so we hung out at G'ma's for a bit and then went to get the babysitter. After my appointment I had 20 minutes to wait for Cheeto to come home. Analise was coloring with the window markers on our storm door. Not too long she was giggling and giggling. I asked her what was so funny and then I saw it. Her attempt of giving herself a Analise original tattoo. WOW! I'm glad those were waterbased markers. They wash off of most things really easy. Kelson was quick to get some baby wipes and started assisting in the clean up. Oh- what joy 2 year olds are! Following the cleanup we went to Monday bean night at Papa and G'ma's. What can I say they love their pinto beans and burritos!!! I can't complain, I look forward to them as well. We had FHE and came home.



This morning was full of working on an impression order I have to fill and then I was pampered with a haircut and color this afternoon. My hairdresser and I had a bet if Cheeto would notice or not. I had about 3 inches of roots that needed some color. I must say they were in desperate need of some attention. Cheeto never notices my hair so I bet that he wouldn't notice. Kristi thought it was very noticeable that he would most definitely say something. Well, Krist won! However, we were half way through dinner before he said something. Poor G'ma and Papa- they are working their butts off this week with helping me. I'm sure Papa enjoys all the time with them since he is leaving next week for awhile.


Funny Kid Quote of the Day
A couple of days ago, I had an errand to run just to Lowes and back. When we got there I told Analise and Kelson to let's hurry and get it done fast. I stood their outside the van waiting and waiting for Kelson to just get out. I was getting to the point of yelling when he finally said he needed help. I asked him what for- just unbuckle the dang seatbelt. It's not that hard- this is what I was thinking. He kept saying he was stuck to the belt with the belt. He sits in the very back so I couldn't see what he was doing. At this point, I'm talking more sternly and demand that he get out of the van. He cries, "But Mom, I'm stuck to the belt!" I still couldn't figure out what the heck he was talking about. I step up in the van and lean over the seat to find that after Kelson had done up his seatbelt he had put his church belt on around his waste. He was belted to the seatbelt and couldn't free himself. I had to laugh out loud where as Kelson was scared I was going to leave him sitting in the van. This scared him because we had just had the conversation of no playing in the cars because it gets to hot and some kids have died because they were left in the car. Poor Kelson- he was so innocent.

Swim Goggles

It's official, we are registered for swim lessons. While we were at Costco Saturday we found this 3 pack of Speedo Goggles for $14.00. That is a deal since they are close to $10 each at Target or Walmart. They were so excited that we had to try them out. It worked out perfect. Each kid wanted a different color. I love it when that happens. It made less convincing and fighting on my part.