Pyro? Maybe not.

Give a man a medical degree and all of a sudden everything becomes a safety hazard. Trampoline? Broken limbs. Motorcycles? Death. Fireworks? Blown off body parts. Yes, that is the fear this year. This coming from the man that 3 years ago tied 30 sparklers together and jimmy-rigged a contraption off the side of our mailbox just to see what would happen. Here in Missour-a nothin' is illegal when it comes to this glorious holiday. (pertaining to fireworks that is) You haven't truly enjoyed the 4th until you've celebrated in a state where roman candles and screaming rattlers are a part of familiar vocabulary. Usually Shawn is counting his pennies and trying to bargain with me how much money should be allotted for this pyro-technic display he will perform. "It's for the children Jayne." That's the one that usually gets me. This year has been different. He's been moonlighting in a lot of ER's around the area, and seen countless surgeries involving some sort of explosive. We do not have one single firework in our possession as of this minute. Ethan has been saying for the past two weeks when we drove down the main drag that we need to purchase fireworks. This town has more fireworks for sale than the entire state of Utah. Three days ago I even jumped on the bandwagon and have been trying to get my husband out the door to one of these tents with the kids. I've threatened that I would go alone and get them if he refused. Why should we all suffer because he now knows what can really happen when a firework misfires? He finally relented and is headed out the door with three kids in tow. (Landon needs a nap so I volunteered to be the one to stay home). I'm curious to see if he actually holds true to what he's been saying for the past two weeks. If I truly know my dear sweet pyro-at-heart husband, he'll come home having spent more money then I deemed appropriate to spend. After all, you can take the boy away from the fireworks, but you can't take the fireworks out of the boy. Or something like that.

Kennedy's new "do"

One month ago today Kennedy saw a little girl at burger king and really wanted her hair cut just like hers. It was quite short, and her mother had done it really cute. Kennedy said she needed it cut because that girl was the cutest one there, and Kennedy says she wants to be the cutest one in the room. What can I say to that? Well, that spurned a whole other conversation about whiny-ness. Lately every morning had been a struggle and she was demanding to do her own hair which consisted of brushing and that's it. No pigtails, no ponytails, no cute little knots, no bajillion elastics creating adorable designs, and DEFINITELY no bows. So, I used this haircut situation to my advantage. I told her that if she cut it I would have to curl it everyday or it couldn't happen. Sure Mom, no problem. To make it look as cute as the girls I'd probably have to use bows sometimes. That is what I want Mom. I would even sometimes want to use little elastics and make cool designs on your head. If that looks good Mom, then you can. No whining? No. Will it be difficult to get you ready in the mornings? No Mom, I promise. So, I told her that if during summer school she didn't put up a fight and it was easy breezy to get her ready, she could have the desired haircut. Well, school was out friday. Today at 4:30 we headed to the salon. She was smiling the entire haircut she was so excited. I actually love her hair short, it's a lot easier to fix, and less tangly. She doesn't look like too much of an orphan if it is only brushed. Of course I will never tell her that. I will keep that secret to myself as leverage. Call it evil, call it deceiving. That's what it is and I'm the first to admit it. But, until you've had a 5 year old dragging her feet every morning for 1 entire school year, the mother deserves some kind of reward. Even if it is selfish. She got what she wanted in the end anyway, right? Everyone's happy.

Before making the cut

During the big moment

After the deed was done

Let's Go To The Movies

Shawn was post-call today, and since it was a light surgery day he was home by 11 am! Unheard of, WAHOO!! We decided to take the older 3 kids to see the new Disney Pixar movie "Ratatouille". We put Landon down for a nap and a friend (thanks Ash!) came over with her daughter to watch him while we were gone. Of course since we rarely go to the movies, and almost never take the kids, we went all out with tubs of popcorn bigger than their heads and drinks so big they had to rest them in the cupholder and stand up to sip them they were so heavy. The movie was great, as are all of the pixar films we've seen. We did have to take 3 bathroom breaks (one for me, TWO for Jack), and refill the popcorn 3 times, drinks twice. After Jack's second bathroom break (Shawn had to take him because he can't go in the girls, good excuse on my part) Shawn upped the age able to attend a movie with us to age 6. We seem to up the age everytime we attend the movies with small children. Too bad for Landon he'll probably have to be 18 before he's allowed to sit in the cinema with his parents. The older two loved the excitement the theatre brought, along with the salty and sweet treats. Jack? At the end of the movie his wiggly body stopped long enough to say, "That was a really long movie".

*after-note: I wanted proof I was at the movie too so Shawn used his go-go gadget arms to snap a shot of us all. Excuse the wide eyes most of us are sporting, that's the kind of photo you get when nobody is behind the lens!

Don't talk to me...

I'm ornery. I probably shouldn't blog when I am, but I need to get this out of my system. It started yesterday. Yesterday nothing really went wrong, but nothing really went right either. I hate days like that. Shawn was home a total of one hour---just long enough for us to remember how much fun it is to have him around. Then some lady decided she would give birth. He ended up spending the night at the hospital (actually not too uncommon) waiting for the delivery. This morning I woke up all the kids and we THOROUGHLY cleaned their bedrooms. I thought maybe it was the mess hidden behind their doors that was wierding me out. Nope. Still ornery. Shawn came home around 1 this afternoon and of course needed sleep because he was only able to catch a few hours between c-sections and more epidural dosings. I don't know what my issue is really. I guess I could blame it on the fact that I made homemade rolls yesterday and consumed almost 1/2 the batch MYSELF. Maybe it's because I feel like I've dredged up stuff that maybe should have been left alone, like maybe I've just said too much. Maybe it's because it's nearing the middle of July when my life gets turned upside down every year and some of the cool people I've come to love and see around all the time are moving. (you know who you are) As I write this the doorbell upstairs is constantly ringing because nobody is fast enough for the impatient child doing the ringing. See, usually that doesn't irritate me. I'm usually happy because it means my kids will have friends to go out and play with. Today it only irritates. I'm starting to come to the conclusion that maybe there are a few female hormones coming into play here (Dad, don't make the hormone joke, please, I can't take it today). I'm just going to take my ornery body upstairs and climb into bed, pull the covers over my head, and hide. Well, until reality hits and Shawn's pager goes off yet again...................

The Circus is Coming! The Circus is Coming!

Only, we aren't going. I wish I could say it was because of some animal rights band wagon I've jumped on, but it's not. We have a t-ball game, the last one of the season, and we are snack. Though, that is just a good excuse for me not to have to attend this hyped up event. Remember, we are in the 'ville. This morning at 9 am they allowed everyone to come see the elephants erect the circus tent. In my mind I pictured a gigantic tent lying on the ground with 6 or 7 elephants tethered to various ropes. The ringmaster would yell "heave" and all the elephants would gracefully back up. Voila! Circus ready to be performed. When we pulled into the parking lot I noticed the huge tent lying flat on the ground already tethered to giant wooden stakes. People were standing awfully close to the tent to be able to fit the elephants, but I then noticed the elephants were still penned eating breakfast. Jack, Landon, and I wandered over to get a closer look. We then noticed more animals penned behind us so ventured a look in that direction. There were some camels, and donkeys. There was this strange looking animal that resembled a cow with horns, but a strange hump on his back. I'm still puzzled as to what that was. There were some goats, and even a hippo. I'm curious what kinds of tricks a hippo can do in the circus ring. We eventually wandered back over to the elephants and I noticed about 20 or so men tugging two giant ropes to erect the entrance of the big-top tent. I was a little disappointed to see human rope pulling, but my vision wasn't completely deflated------yet. A man entered the elephant pen and placed a huge harness on his back. (There were about 4 elephants total, but only 1 being harnessed). The anticipation I had felt was slowly dissipating. The man slowly led the elephant to the entrance of the tent and pushed him inside. Yes, I said inside. Then behind me a tractor started up. The tractor began pulling ropes to further erect the first half of the tent. Yes, a tractor. Vision destroyed. Was I seriously thinking it would be a magical experience to see giant animals putting together this gigantic tent? I was. Was it really POSSIBLE that it could have happened the way it did in my vision? Maybe. But then reality struck and I remembered where I was. Other than a total reality check with a childhood vision obliterated, it was a fun morning. After half the tent was erected we were able to go inside to witness the "elephant" helping put up the rest. (I couldn't really see what the elephant was actually doing because there was a gigantic tractor in my way.) My kids got to see the inside of an enormous tent, we got to see a few animals, and we were able to get out of the house. What more can actually be expected from a free circus?

Motherhood

Motherhood seems to be full of guilt. Did I yell at them too much today? Should I let them drop-out of baseball because they hate it terribly? Did I jump in too soon and not give them a chance to solve that problem alone? Guilt, guilt, guilt. I'm racked with it morning until night. Then sometimes I dream about it. What I'm not teaching them, what I am teaching them, what I'm not feeding them, what I am feeding them. I could go on and on for eternity and never finish the list of things I feel guilty about. So, when I have one of those sweet moments with one of them and witness them making a good choice, on their own, without mother intervention, I relish it. My kids are actually really good kids inspite of what I do or don't do on a daily basis. They all seem to be compassionate at times, helpful at times, and just downright lovely to be around. Today I seemed to have a sweet moment with each child and I feel the need to give them credit where credit is due. (to some of you these simple situations might seem odd, but to me each one took one second of guilt away from my cluttered mind)

#1) Ethan. He's oldest so he goes first, not to show favoritism. We have a neighbor boy down the street his same age. They pretty much have a love/hate relationship. This boy happens to be an only child so doesn't quite understand little brothers. I've heard Ethan yelling at him before only to find out it was actually in defense of poor little Landon or Jack, or sometimes even Kennedy. Ethan holds his guns. Tonight I was trying to make dinner and heard Landon sneak out the garage door. A few minutes later Ethan stuck his head in and yelled, "I've got Landon outside with me, is that okay?" Wow. I get to make dinner without my baby crying to play outside? Score 1 for Ethan. Tonight I took the 3 boys to the wading pool for about 30 minutes while Shawn took Kennedy to her t-ball game and then on a little date. We took the neighbor boy with us. My admiration of Ethan's tolerance and patience went up 10 fold. This kid is obnoxious. Ethan would just say "knock it off" and go about doing whatever he was doing. Never once did he try to harm the boy. Lucky the pool closed so soon because my tolerance was quickly dissipating. Ethan is always quick to notice my bad days and say something smooth to butter me up. He has quick wit that is quite charming. He's likable. I'm glad he belongs to me. (Even when some lucky woman snatches him up after his mission and some college and thinks he is all hers, I'll still call him mine).

#2) Kennedy. What a beauty. She has the most beautiful little face spotted in freckles. I just love to look at her. I can't get enough! It always amazes me the "motherly" instinct she naturally holds. She is the one I ask to help with Landon when I really need it. Or Jack. She is one that instead of stepping over the wrapper one of the boys left on the living room floor, she'll pick it up and throw it away. She is such a great little helper. She is fun to shop with even. Instead of whining and throwing a gigantic tantrum about the adorable skirt she just has to own, she'll hold it up and say "Look Mom, wouldn't I be soooo cute in this?" How can I say no to that? She's obviously smart. I'm always worried about her shyness. Afraid she won't be able to speak up, especially to adults. Today we were leaving the Ice House Gas Station (another lovely library prize---32 oz. of nothing but sugar contained by a cup). A man was holding the door for all me and my little people to go through and it was Kennedy who spoke up and said "Thank you for holding the door". My heart did a little skip-a-dee-do.

#3) Jackson. This kid gets a bad rap. I'll admit that I'm the first to dub him troublemaker of the bunch. But, what you don't hear often enough about him is his sweet gentle side. Today at the library we had just finished checking out a bazillion books. My arms were full of various novels and Landon, and Jack starts screaming that he didn't check out a movie. "Next time". I head out to the van with everyone else. Here comes Jack screaming through the doorway holding none other than the much needed but not yet checked out movie. I buckled all the kids in (don't call social services) and led Jack back inside. While we were waiting in line I knelt down next to him and explained that this one time I would allow him to check out the movie. Next time he better as heck decide the minute we enter the library to get a movie because this would never again be allowed. I stood back up. What did he do? He grabbed a hold of my hand and kissed it. "Thanks Mom, you rock". Then he squeezed my thigh as any 3 year old could. Funny thing is, he ALWAYS does stuff like that. He's so stinkin' adorable and squishy, how could anyone not love this child? Last week I was really tired so I was laying on my bed watching tv. I heard him coming down the hall so I closed my eyes and pretended I was asleep. (not so nice of me, but we aren't focussing on that now). I felt him climb up onto my bed. He pulled the covers up onto me, then kissed my cheek. I seriously wanted to cry it was so sweet!

#4) Landon. This kid is funny. He can't really talk yet, but he understands everything. I mean everything. He is also very loving. Today I was on the computer and every few minutes he'd come into me and just hug my leg, lean in for a kiss, and then go about his business. I don't have any really great stories because he is so small, but this kid has potential. He's going to be a heart-breaker with those big brown eyes and long eyelashes.

Those are my little kids. I admit that I complain about them often, but now amidst the complaints I hope you can sense my true love for them. Amazing how one can become so attached to these little people. It amazes me to think that I actually had the opportunity to bring them into this world. They definitely make the world a better place.

Simple Saturdays Made Fun........

Shawn was working today, so I tried to fill the day with entertainment. I say that it's for the kids, but I really think it's to entertain myself. If I'm entertained, the day seems to go by quickly and smoothly. We woke up this morning, had breakfast, got dressed, cleaned our rooms, made our beds, then headed out the door to the bike path. It's kind of a chore to take a seat out of the van to make room for various bicycles and one jogging stroller, but worth the effort. On our drive over I noticed a dark gloomy sky. It was sprinkling but the kids voted we attempt the path anyway. I was glad because I wasn't able to drag myself out of bed early for my date with the treadmill, and I needed to exercise today. We parked by the kids school and started the trek. The kids took off and I was able to run while pushing Landon. (Sometimes I have to walk because Jack seems to dawdle, but with the older two he didn't want to be left in the dust). It started to rain a little bit harder as we neared the end, but we were able to avoid the downpour that occured shortly after getting loaded back into the van. We made a quick trip to walmart, then headed back home for a snack and me a shower. Landon was nearing naptime, so we put him into bed and headed downstairs with blankets to watch "Bridge to Terabithia" that I rented for us yesterday. Halfway through we had to pause for me to make us a quick picnic lunch to eat while we enjoyed the rest of the movie. The movie ended and I gave each kid one piece of dove chocolate to wash down their lunch. I came into the room with the computer and left the kids to their own choice of entertainment. Jack came in 5 minutes later looking like this:

He said he didn't want the word (Dove) written on his chocolate so he rubbed it on his face to melt it off. What happened to just licking it off? Who knows. About the time I was done washing the chocolate off Jack, Landon woke up. We noticed the rain had subsided so decided to head outside for some fresh air. Kennedy entertained herself by drawing with chalk. These pictures really don't do her art justice, but on the left is a huge flower, and the right picture is a watering can. She had water coming out of the can onto the flower, but I couldn't quite fit it all in a picture.

(The artist is cuter than the artwork anyway!)

Jack and Landon rode around on the trike for while.

Kennedy caught a baby frog.










Jack made grassy, muddy, soup that he called pizza.

Then we headed to the Redbox to return the movie we watched earlier. What fun is it to return a redbox movie and not get ice cream? We indulged. I didn't need to order any for myself because I'm the designated drip-licker. Believe me, there are a lot of drips. Definitely at least one servings worth.

Home again. Back outside. Ethan decides to show off his jump-roping skills. It isn't until I get out the video camera that he starts making mistakes. Jump-roping jitters.


He decided since the video wasn't showing his perfected talent accurately, he'd turn the sport into a lasso. Boys.

That wasn't enough "boy" trouble so squirting the aforementioned chalk art seemed to take precedence over any kind of productive activity.

Of course this brought full on tears from the artist.

Seems like tears come in waves of at least two.

I was able to convince the art-squirting-lasso-roping brother to catch frogs instead.

Dinnertime. Finally. Free Pizza Hut personal pan pizzas, courtesy of the Library Summer Reading program.

Back outside yet again. But this time I kept the littlest one covered in pizza sauce in the house to take a bath. 7:00 three more bodies slip into the tub. Nobody wearing clothes this time. Littlest into bed while I snuggle on the couch with the bigger ones for 45 minutes of uninterrupted book reading. (We all want to earn every single prize possible from the library this summer, right?) 8:00 four little bodies snuggled deep under the covers. One asleep, one reading with a headlamp, one wiggling the top bunk to irritate his brother, one reading out loud to the one that is asleep. Me? I'm downstairs blogging due to full on procrastination. I need to plan my Relief Society lesson for tomorrow. After a full day like today all I really want to do is dip into my jacuzzi bathtub, jets full on, and read my book that I've been trying to get to all day. (Mine doesn't have any pictures).