Kid Stuff....

Yesterday Landon was tapping my leg furiously and clasping his hands begging-style while he asked, "Can I have some chocolate milk? Please? I'll be your best friend!"

Last night we had french dip sandwiches for dinner. Kennedy pulled off part of her meat and said, "I really don't like the sinew on this meat." Then, of course, Ethan and Kennedy got in an argument on how to pronounce the word sinew. What happened to just calling it "the yucky stuff"? Who are these people?

Boogers....

When you have 5 kids you are going to run into an occasional booger. Or, a lot of them. When Jack picks his nose he at least understands it is socially un-acceptable so he covers his picking hand with his other hand. I'm guessing he doesn't think anyone knows what he his doing behind that hand covering his nose. Hmmm... All these nose picking, germ touching, kid playing hands and their reluctance to soap up and insistence on touching their sister resulted in poor Presley getting her first cold. I was awoken at 2 am listening to her snorting and trying to breathe. Poor girl. She was up a lot because of all her snot. The bulb syringe and her are doing some serious bonding time. Lovely. And right when she was actually sleeping through the night. I'm talking 9-5. Glorious hours that my body needs to produce cortisol---the belly fat fighting hormone. Which I'm in desperate need of. My pants are still gathering dust on my closet shelves. I'm tired of wearing the same 3 outfits repeatedly. I've changed a lot of things in my life to remedy the situation. In fact, I've found 2 new addictions that I couldn't live without. I could, but I'd just be really hungry.

I wish my body back to it's pre-pregnancy state instantly. Unfortunately my fairy godmother seems to be on vacation so I'll have to continue with this whole diet/exercise regime. Bleh. I'm hoping by springtime I can emerge from this cocoon I'm contained in and turn into my regular self.

Here's one of the booger culprits:

Now that he's going on the toilet by himself (and refuses help) I'm afraid of what germs he is going to start spreading next. Thank goodness for the Rotovirus vaccine given to Presley. Don't get me wrong, he washes his hands after he uses the bathroom. But He does it, without help. Maybe I should invest in a Costco size bottle of Germ-X.

Lando Bando...

Where the heck does time go? Just yesterday we were moving into this house and I was birthing this little man. Now he's 3. And potty trained. (All by himself.) For his party he wanted to take his very best friend and her older sister (to entertain Jack) to Burger King for happy meals and a little play place. Then back to our house to just play. Easy enough. Taking 5 kids all under the age of 5 to a restaurant seemed kind of daunting at first. I'll admit, I was a little afraid. Then I remembered how easy these kids are when they get together and all my fears abated. We had a great time with only one incident. It was minor. Landon's chocolate milk fell off the table and instead of just spilling it splashed up and out like a geyser. Presley and I were the lucky ones to be caught in the explosion. Both of us were covered in chocolate spots. Minor. Especially compared to the other little girl occupying the play place that was throwing the most impressive of tantrums. My little group stood in awe of her display. I'm sure glad I was over my group and not over her care.

We finished up at BK and headed back home for some more fun. Later that evening we had chocolate cake with chocolate frosting and chocolate ice cream. Landon's requests. The boy loves chocolate. Some neighbors were over playing so they joined us in our festivities. Earlier in the week when I asked Landon what he wanted for his birthday he said "presents". I knew he'd be happy with whatever he opened as long as he got to open something. A bike is the traditional 3rd birthday present in our family, but it being so cold outside we decided to hold off until the spring for that purchase. Besides, he couldn't unwrap something like that and might have been sorely disappointed.

Happy Birthday little man. You are the sweetest little boy I know. Everyday you tell me you love me, over and over again. It melts my heart. Your big chocolate eyes make me want to squeeze you and smother you in kisses. Thanks for being such an easy going little guy. You are very much loved in this family. Thanks for being you. I love you too.

No Go...

Today was the primary program at church during Sacrament meeting. So, we needed to be on time. We were all completely ready and loading the van 15 minutes early. Shawn is on call so we needed to take both vehicles to accommodate. Only the van wouldn't start. We thought the battery was dead but now we think it's the starter. Ethan and Kennedy didn't want to miss the program so I drove them over in the car and dropped them off. We can't all fit in the car, and I can't go alone because if Shawn gets called in he would need the car. Dilemma. Shawn could go alone but I (being the mean woman I am) said no way should he get to go sit in peace and quiet by himself while I'm home with the 3 hardest kids. Now we 5 are home, and we'll have to go pick up the other two when church is over. Now is when the real dilemma begins. How in the world am I supposed to do all that I do in a day without my van? I guess I'll find out tomorrow.

Breakthroughs...

Tomorrow Landon will turn 3. A big milestone. Except he is still in diapers. For the last 6 months or so we've been talking up the toilet. Letting him know that only big boys wear underwear and babies wear diapers. A few weeks ago I said, "Landon, don't you want to wear big boy underwear?" His response? "No, I just like to wear my big diapers." Nice. Because of the recent addition to our family and my lack of desire, I haven't pushed the issue. I've learned from stubborn kids in the past that it's easiest just to wait until they are ready. Three days ago Landon was about to poop in his diaper. I knew it, because he told me that is what he was going in his room to do. I suggested he maybe go on the potty. Surprisingly he agreed. Voila. Poop in the toilet. I made a big production, gave him 4 pieces of candy, and put the diaper back on. The next day he came to me and said "I'm peeing". I again suggested the toilet, he sat, he went, and then claimed his delicious prize. He didn't pee in his diaper that day. Only on the toilet. Again, I have not suggested underwear, just kept putting that diaper back on. I don't want to spoil his excitement, and I really don't want to clean up urine all day yet. I'm not ready to go that far. Yesterday he went on the toilet every time he needed to go. This morning he went. A little while ago I got in the shower and he was watching TV. When I came out of the shower he wasn't in my room anymore, so I called to him to see where he went. He came running up the stairs holding his diaper in one hand and his pants in the other yelling, "I peed on the potty! I called to you to help, but you were in the shower so I did it all by myself!" I went and found a pair of underwear for him to put on. He decided it would be easier to take that off and on than his diaper. Nice. Being the mother of 5 I realize that I can't possibly be done. I foresee accidents in my future. Probably right now as I'm downstairs typing. But, going from only wanting to keep the "big diapers" to going on the toilet without even the suggestion is a huge breakthrough. Now maybe he won't have to be the only kindergartner who needs his mom to come half-way through the day to change him. That's where I thought we were headed.

Tricks..

For Halloween we went to our friend's get-together. Shawn and I went as Surgeons. Apparently this is only funny to an Anesthesiologist.Presley was a pea-pod. I wasn't going to dress her up but then found a super reduced priced costume at Old Navy (online of course). She was adorable. And hated wearing it.

Kennedy was supposed to be Hannah Montana, but last minute changed to a cat. Jack was a frog in a way to small costume. He insisted, so I relented. Landon was a spider. Ethan was Mario as in Mario Brothers. He isn't with us at the party. I guess he's "too old" or something. He went with a friend to the college dorms to get some major loot.

We still have remnants of this candy around, and I imagine we will until after Christmas when I can safely dump what's left because it's finally been forgotten. Or all my kids teeth rot out. Whichever comes first.

For Grandma...

Presley---9 weeks old

Little Fish...

My kids all love the water, but none of them can swim. Last summer we frequented the 2 foot wading pool and if we were ever anywhere deeper they wore life jackets. As mentioned previously, this summer we went to the aquatic center. I wasn't aware life jackets were allowed so my kids swam without. Due to their new found freedom, they learned how to swim. Ethan and Kennedy were both jumping off the diving board and swimming to the side, and Jack jumping off the side and swimming to me. I was amazed at how fast they picked it up. Then came the summer Olympics. Ethan was enamored by Michael Phelps and all that gold that he racked up. I noticed that when we'd venture to the aquatic center Ethan would swim more in the indoor pool. He told me he was swimming "laps". I was pretty skeptical as to the fact that he was truly doing anything resembling a true stroke. One day I watched. He actually taught himself the backstroke, freestyle, and breaststroke. And he was swimming them the length of the pool. I was amazed. I gave him a few pointers and he picked up his pace. I discovered there was a local swim team called the Aquadogs, but one needs to pass level 5 swim lessons in order to join. So, we signed him up for lessons. The teacher was amazed at his ability and mentioned that he was far surpassing the others in his class. Would I mind if she gave him private lessons to speed up the whole process of him joining the swim team? Would I mind? Did she really have to ask? After 6 lessons he was deemed ready to join the swim team. He's gone from life jacket to swim team in a matter of months. His favorite stroke? The butterfly. I'm glad he found something he really enjoys doing. He practices 2 to 3 times a week and loves it. He comes home worn out but fulfilled. This kid sure does have some kind of determination. Watch out world----here comes Ethan!

Little Me...

Jackson has been a little troublesome as of late. He missed me. And he misses his dad. When we got back late Wednesday night he was in bed. Shawn was on call Thursday and then left for a long work week. He was on call yesterday too, which meant Jack really hasn't seen him for over a week. I can tell a noticeable difference in behavior when Shawn hasn't been around. Last night Shawn was baby-sitting an epidural and had a free hour before his next surgery so the kids and I took him dinner. When it was time to leave Jack didn't want to go, of course. Shawn, being the loving man that he is, suggested I leave Jack with him. He said he would set him up in the OR lounge watching TV. I was hesitant at first, but the thought of only having to put the easy kids to bed made me quickly depart before minds were changed. We had a lovely evening at home. I told Landon to get his sippy cup of water and climb into bed. I went looking for him 10 minutes later and he had tucked himself in with a book. Nice. A 3 year old that tucks himself in. After all 4 kids were asleep I started to worry about Jack. It was 9:30 and I hadn't heard anything. I paged Shawn and he said they were headed home. When they walked in Jack had a grin the size of Texas on his face. He was also wearing a surgical cap. He ran to grab the picture he drew. I was a little confused. Shawn said that as he was setting him up in the lounge the surgeon walked in and said "Oh, we got a little guy with us tonight?" He was then given the okay to suit him up. Jack donned the doctor garb and sat next to Shawn throughout the surgery. He even drew a picture of what he saw. (I'll add it when I can load it on the computer.) Shawn said he was very appropriately behaved for a surgery setting. Wide eyed and entranced by the whole procedure. He was especially fascinated with the blood. Anyone that knows Jack knows that he loves the body and anything "skeleton". He's always said he would be an orthopedic surgeon one day because then he can do surgery and use tools at the same time. Insightful. Looks like he's a boy after his dad's heart. Only, dad anesthetizes the patient instead of operating. I'm so happy that Jack got to spend this time with Shawn. It was good for both of them. One of the docs took this picture with her phone:

Jack woke up and said "When me & Dad go to surgery tonight..." It's going to be rough explaining that that was a once in a lifetime experience. At least until he's old enough to go to Medical School himself.

* The yellow on the left is Shawn, the right yellow is both the patient and surgeon. The red on the right is blood coming from the patient sucked into the tube leading into the suction canister full of blood on the left. The blue is the bone clamp the surgeon used. Apparently he got really close up to this surgery to draw that kind of detail.

Punishment...

Whenever I leave my kids for an extended period of time, I always expect to be punished when I return. Usually in the form of bad behavior. But, I returned just after midnight on Wednesday and Thursday the day was smooth. Friday was even fabulous. I thought I was out of the water on this one. Until today. They were waiting until I felt comfortable enough to let my guard down to dish out the punishment. Jack is the main punisher. Kennedy has shed a few tears, and Landon has been kind of a bully, but Jack is the reason my shoulders are tight and my head hurts from frustration. 7 time-outs. In a 2 hour time span. I finally left him in his room for 1 hour with instructions to fix everything he destroyed in the first 10 minutes he was left alone. We forgave each other our trespasses, cuddled a little, and left it that we would get along the rest of the day. Until 5 minutes later he went back on his promise and had Landon in tears as well as the neighbor boy. Am I just never supposed to leave so I am never punished? It would probably help if Shawn were home to take some of Jack's actions, but no. It's just me left to deal with him. Lovely.
Pictures have been scant as of late. We got a new computer and don't have the software loaded to enable me getting them off the camera. And when the laptop crashed we lost everything we haven't taken time to back up yet. Including everything since Presley's birth. Sad day. Good thing it's the 5th child and we can use that as our excuse.
Landon just came in crying due to Jack something or other. Looks like it's finally time for bed.
When Shawn returns and I can safely sit here for sometime I'll dish about our trip to Washington.