Aww, they care about each other ....

I know I should have taken a picture of it, but I was more worried about getting the situation taken care of. What are you talking about? Is what your are probably thinking and well, as a parent you know that your children are bound to have injuries and "owies" and that you as a parent need to be able to keep your wits about and get these situations under control. Well, this evening one of those times happened. You know you hear parents constantly telling their children to not play with sharp things, not to play with knives, not to play with the stapler --- STOP RIGHT THERE!!! Yes, my oldest daughter was outside doing some "art and craft" time after church and well, we haven't quite figured out exactly how the staple got into her thumb, but sure enough my 5 year old came running in and said that Kaylee had a staple in her hand!! I was right in the middle of peeling eggs for our egg salad sandwiches that we were going to have for supper, so I threw down the one I was working on to run outside and Kaylee was across the yard by the neighbors hammock and was crying and holding her hand.

Oh boy !! Is what I said, I asked her to come around the hammock so I could see what was going on and she somehow managed to get a staple to go in here thumb and the only part you could see was the flat part of the staple. Her thumb wasn't bleeding at this point, but I knew that it needed to get out of her thumb. I came inside and felt bad that I had to cut Chris's phone conversation short so that he could help remove this item. He went and grabbed the needle nose pliers and we had to hold her down, sort of. I had her right arm and head while he wrapped his right arm between her body and her left arm and held her hand with his other arm while he pulled out the staple. She screamed while this happened and it immediately started to bleed. We cleaned the site and bandaged it, put on the antibiotic ointment and I'll call tomorrow to see if she needs to get a tetnus shot.

Talk about your downs of being a parent. But at least I can be grateful that it was only in her thumb and not on her face or something like that. Chris and I think that she didn't realize what was happening until she saw that a staple went into her hand. She might have been in shock or somthing. I gave her some Tylenol (generic brand) and then an ice pack for the thumb and she is asleep now. I am so glad that my husband was home to help in this situation because I think I wouldn't have quite known what to do, without first freaking out about it. She was playing with a little stapler that was part of an art kit that my neighbor had bought and I don't think that Kaylee realized that it was a stapler until this happened. So it isn't like she meant to do this, and even asking her afterwards, she doesn't remember how it happened. Poor Girl!!!

But the best thing that made me feel like I was doing good at being a parent was when my other two daughters came up and asked what they could do for Kaylee? I told them that they should do nice things for her and help her out. So they both made her a card and then Heidi my five year old came up and said "Look Mommy, I made this card for Kaylee!" She opened it up and said "she's a queen in it!" I could tell right then that she really loved her sister no matter how many times they fight and argue over stupid stuff!! Heidi went in to where Kaylee was and gave her the card and I watched from the background and just started to cry!! I couldn't help myself --- it was one of those moments that as a parent really brings you joy and love for your children to know that they care about their siblings.

And on a more funnier note, Thomas my nearly 3 year old asked if Kaylee still had a thumb. I couldn't help but to laugh because he was concerned too!! He asked it in such a caring manner and with such worry. Even a 2 1/2 year old is capable of loving his siblings.

So I feel extremely blessed that my Heavenly Father has blessed me with such great kids.

Baby Dancing

We were at a reception the other night and I saw Ethan doing this and just had to share.

Rash Update, and other ramblings...

Well, I made an appointment to take him in, only I watched throughout the day and the rash was really starting to disappear. So about an hour before the appointment time, I called to cancel it, I felt as though he would be just fine, and that it wasn't contagious or life threatening. I didn't want to go spend the copay just for the doctor to tell me, my instincts were right. (At least in this instance they were )

He's doing better now, and never skipped a beat. So I'm attributing the rash to some kind of contact dermatitis. No one else in the family has the rash, but we'll still keep our eyes peeled. But Ethan my 6 month old sounds like he's catching a cold, and I'm really hoping that it isn't RSV. His oldest sister has a cold right now, or at least a cough that doesn't sound very nice but she seems fine otherwise. So he sounds kind of wheezy -- hopefully it doesn't get worse. Poor guy :(

This time of year is terrible on kids, they are so used to running outside with short sleeves and most of the time without shoes and occasionally without all the clothes on, as in the summertime, but then the weather up and changes on them and they are still used to what they did while it was warm outside.

I thought about how all summer long we tell them to keep the front door cracked with the screen door closed. Why?? We have a swamp cooler and in order for the cooler to work right a draft needs to be present, without a place for the air coming in to draft out of the house, your house won't sufficiently cool. So we grill it in to their heads when the weather starts getting warm in the year and then when the seasons change and it starts getting cold and we need to winterize, such as keep doors closed, they are used to keeping them opened.

So now we've got to go back and reteach them to keep the door closed, so the cold air will stay out or at least keep most of it out, and keep the inside of the house warm. So it takes a while to ingrain this into their heads and you know the drill, by the time they start doing it well, and don't need to be reminded the season changes again. Poor little creatures, they must be absolutely exhausted at trying to do "the right thing". But hey, what perfect circumstances to teach them consistency!! Because the more reminding and training they get while they are younger, when they are older they'll know what to do, and isn't that what we want for our children after all --- is to get them to the point of being able to make the right choices without us, as parents, constantly telling them how, what or when to do something.

That's what I hope to achieve by the time I leave this earth, that my children will be good people and contributing members of society and will do what needs to be done when it needs to be done.

AAGGHHH !!!!

Okay crazy post title I know, but after today that's all I can think of! Pretty Lame ----

So my two year old started of with a few red spots near his belly button this morning and throughout the day a rash has taken over his nice white baby soft skin. I was not sure weather I should take him in today or not, so of course, not being I sure I hesitated all day. Finally when Chris came home I showed him what was going on and said that I should probably schedule and appointment for tomorrow. As if my day isn't already crazy!!! I'm supposed to take Ethan to get pictures done around 10 something ( go figure I can't even remember when the appointment time is). But when I scheduled that appointment didn't remember I had a WIC appointment set up for the same day, so that appointment is at 11:10am. Not to mention my kids have had early out days this entire week!! So they are getting out at 12:30pm. So the only time to go in for an appointment is going to be in the afternoon -- when I have all five kids!! Just my luck, so I better be prepared with a bag of snacks, coloring books and crayons, books to look at and maybe a few toys. Plus I still have a 6 month old who nurses, but Ill plan on giving him his bottle during that adventure if he needs a feeding. I'm tired already just thinking about how tired that is going to make me.

Yes, Yes, no worries I'll call the picture place in the morning and reschedule the appointment for Monday if possible and then go to the WIC appointment hopefully be done in time to drive towards my sister in laws house and wait for my girls to get out of school and then see where that gets us to.

This time of year I have bitter sweet feeling for. Bitter because my kids seem to catch every "bug" that goes around and then they can't kick it for the entire winter it seems. Kaylee often catches a cold as she has right now and a terrible cough and usually still has the cough come January and February. I like this time of year because I can wear sweatshirts and jeans and I feel comfortable in that. So if we could just pass on the getting sick business that would be great.

Tomorrow after I find out what it was I will update on the condition of the rash. I've never seen anything like it -- and he's been whiny and irritable all day!! I haven't exactly noticed a fever, but he very well could have one.

An evening at CORNBELLY's

Here's a picture of the creature!!! The older girls were all too excited to have Daddy go through with them but then Kaylee bailed out at the first chance, and then Katherine decided to not finish either. So it's dark inside and like a big maze, and sometimes things will pop out and it's loud with spooky sounding noises. Here's Thomas walking through the hay bale maze for the younger children, he sure did have fun this evening.
Me with my children in the corn maze, before they were extremely tired. Even Ethan had fun!!
Daddy and Ethan waiting for the other kids to get back off the cow train ride.

Our family really enjoys these rubber duck races, with water pumps!! Thomas especially was having fun because he's at the age where playing in water is just so much fun. It's all I can do to keep him out of the bathroom faucet!! Kaylee and her dad are on the left and then Thomas, Katherine and Heidi are on the right of the picture. Here the kids went up on one of the "bridges" in the cornmaze. Sadly though they only wanted to be in the corn maze for about 20 minutes and then they were done. Chris and I decided that next year we'll go by ourselves the first night and then we might take the kids the next day. Especially when a local radio station offers to allow any guests that mention their station to get in for like a $1.00 a person. But it's only for a few scheduled nights. Got to be listening to the radio in order to catch the deal. Otherwise we couldn't afford to go.
Here they are on the cow train getting ready to go on a ride, this is Heidi in the back and Katherine in the front.

Here's Kaylee and Thomas --

I was actually worried that he was going to get scared and not want to go, but I was wrong!! Thank goodness this must be a sign that he's getting older!! Yeah!!

Here they are playing on the "hay fort" -- which they loved doing also.

Heidi's 5th Birthday !!

Here's my little Heidi on her 5th birthday!! August 16th, 2007 --- she was so delighted since she would be able to start school just a few weeks after this happened!! Turning 5 is always such a big milestone for the kids and the parents. She's waiting to blow out the candle on her number 5!!
Her she is hugging Grandpa and Grandma Randolph after her "Party" was over!! We are fortunate enough to have them living close by.

We just kept the party simple since, the next day we would all be busy with family for my sister's graduation. It was nice and simple on me this night.

Baby Shower Bliss !!

So this news is kind of old, but I thought that I'd post a few pics anyway!! My husband has a cousin in Tooele, Utah who is married and expecting their first child!! We're so excited for them. This child is said to be arriving in full boyhood!! Back in September they had a baby shower for her and I took a few pics to especially share with those that couldn't make it!! So enjoy!!

Tabi's sister Miti.

This is Juston's mother, forgive me I don't remember her name.

Here's another group shot looking towards the kitchen but this one happens to have Tabi's mother in it. The lady with the pink and white striped shirt with long dark hair.

This is a bear that Tabi's parents had made for the baby, says a cute little thing like "Grandpa and Grandma love you" or something like that.

Group shot looking towards the kitchen, with some family and friends most of which I don't know. Sorry Juston!!

Isn't this outfit just darling with those little wings!!

A quilt that a family member had made for the new little guy!!

Another blanket that was made for the baby!! I love the frogs!!

In this picture, only because this is the side of the family that I share with Tabi, I can tell you who they are, left to right Mary (Tabi's cousin) Mary (Tabi's Aunt), Dani (Tabi's sister) Rebecca (who is also expecting is Tabi's sister in law)

Group shot from Tabi's upper level Kitchen. Of course I'm not in any of these photos, I should have remembered to have someone else take them also.

Tabi opening up some gifts, and little Isabella (my niece -- Amy's child) looking intently on.

Juston the proud PAPA!! Looking on to see if someone got the 50" HDTV that he'd put on the baby registry. Sorry Juston no such luck -- the baby is going to have to just watch Baby Einstein videos on your current TV.

Tabi showing us the crib that I believe someone on Justons side of the family had given to them as a gift. Juston had just finished painting the room within a week or two of this I believe and it took him all night to set up this beautiful crib with a changing table connected just behind Tabi.

Here's the other side of the room with a lot of gifts for the new little guy!!

It's a girl!!!

Ha ha !! You thought I was having another baby didn't you? Well, I'm not having another baby but my sister is.

So I got a phone call telling me that my sister who is expecting baby number 3 is having a girl!! So I'll now have 1 nephew and two nieces. So all together my parents will have 8 grandchildren which I have five of!!

It's so crazy to think that I've got 5!! I feel like time is just whizzing by!! Granted of course, some days seem to last a lifetime, or at least they take longer to pass by then others but hindsight looking back -- it's flying by!! My oldest is now 8 and I can remember when she was just born!! So too, will this new baby quickly come and then be 8 years old herself!!

She tagged the couch !!!

Okay so yesturday I was so gratefully busy but very exhausted by the end of the day. While I was at their school for a meeting and to talk about the curriculum, my kinder was busy throwing up and running a fever and this is what I came home to. She tagged the couch cushion which I need to get washed --- agghhh. As if I'm not already needing to do a million other things.

It was rather annoying as you might suspect. So I thought I'd be in for a very long night!! But fortunately she slept all night without any problems, of course that meant that once she was asleep on the couch I wasn't moving her. So she stayed there all night!! Now of course she is feeling a lot better. But the school day is almost over and I want to make sure it is at least 24 hours or more since throwing up or signs of fever. I just really have a hard time dealing with sick kids.

I guess it's okay with one being sick but then as soon as they are better another one usually comes down with it. But then if the whole brood of kids is sick you really have no rest for at least a week. Or so that seems to be my experience, so here's wishing you a healthy Autumn and Winter seasons!!!

T E E T H I N G

I wonder how long it will take until my nearly 6 month old will finally get these darn teeth to come through the gums? He had me up about every 1 1/2 hours the other night and I was so absolutely tired!! But now he not only is teething but might be coming down with a cold as well. Most of my other kids seemed to not have much difficulty with their teething pain, nor did they really ever stick anything in their mouths. Except for my oldest, Kaylee. She had things in her mouth all the time, from a little miniature rubber duck to her pacifiers, and any toys that she could hold -- would go straight for the mouth. But with her teething I never really knew that she was until I looked in her mouth and saw that she had a tooth pop up! Hopefully my baby won't have to endure this bout of teething much longer. It sure is one of the difficulties of being an infant.

I'm HOT and TIRED !!!

So the other day my girls who are going to school were walking home with each other, or at least headed to their Aunt's house, while I was waiting with my boys in the van in front of her house. Katherine had asked for walkie talkies for her birthday and ended up getting some. So we've been using these the last few days -- so I can avoid all the mass confusion and crazy traffic around the school.

So Heidi my kindergartner wanted to wear a long sleeve turtleneck shirt to school and I said that it was fine, not realizing how much warmer it would get throughout the day. Katherine lets me know everyday when they leave the parking lot and start for the "house". Only today Katherine called me on the walkies and said that Heidi was really HOT and didn't feel well, and wanted me to pick her up at the bridge which crosses over the Provo River. So I changed locations from my sister in laws house to wait closer to where the bridge was. I jumped out with the two boys and we went to the bridge and looked down at the moving water below. A few minutes later she came back to say that Heidi was laying on the ground and wasn't moving. So I ask if I should drive around and get them or just walk over, because I could see them in the distance but didn't realize how far away they actually were. So I had my nearly 6 month old in his carseat, and my 2 year old walking and we headed their way on foot.

Sure enough Heidi was laying down on the ground and was very "HOT and TIRED!!" and wasn't moving another inch. She didn't care who was walking by, or who saw her, she just wanted to rest. So after her "mini heat stroke" ( Which she was just perfectly fine, health wise) I told her that we weren't going to be wearing anymore long sleeved shirts until there was snow on the ground. This way she wouldn't get overheated.

Signing with your baby

I came across this video and loved it, because I did try and use some signs with Thomas when he was about a year old and I'm not kidding it really helps if they can communicate with you using signs instead of throwing fits because they can't tell you and you can't mind read. If you have a child this age you might want to check into signing with babies.

The best way to start is with an online dictionary I found one that you might like to use --- click on the title and you'll go straight to the online dictionary. It has a video screen and a person showing you how to do the different signs you want to use.

Halloween costumes

Every Halloween I wonder what my children are going to be for Halloween -- I refuse to buy the costumes in the store that cost $$$ that I don't have. So every year I try to come up with ideas for my children to dress as that don't cost very much money.

So here is a list that I've made of costumes that didn't take a lot of time to come up with nor very much money. If it did cost some money I made sure that it was an item that could be reused!!

Halloween 1999 :Our daughter was 6 months old and crawling so I acquired a long sleeve turtleneck that was dark green, dark green sweat pants, and borrowed some dark green socks. I got a few pieces of felt that were varying shades of green, and with a bright dark green cut out a "turtle shell" shape, and did the same with a second piece. Used a hot glue gun to "sew" the edges together leaving a small opening to put in some stuffing for a turtle shell. I attached two pieces of elastic to the flat side to hold it on with for the arms. So she was a little turtle.



Halloween number 2- We had two little girls -- I managed to buy a "pumpkin" outfit at a thrift store for way cheap like $3.00 for my 18 month old daughter. I borrowed a costume from my sister in law a winnie the pooh outfit for my then 5 month old child

Halloween #3 with children I reused the pumpkin costume and made my two and half year old into Elmo, I bought a red hat and glued some pom poms to make eyes and an orange one for the nose. And just had her wear red clothes.

Halloween # 4 2002 I purchased some red fabric and made some red hooded capes for them and they were "little red riding hood", the baby-- we borrowed an outfit again --- She was a strawberry !!

Halloween 2003 With these costumes my dear sweet grandmother had sent the two on the left and then I found the one that is pink and white at the thrift store. We just bought hair wigs and used face paint.

Halloween 2004 We found white dresses that we had already or went to the thrift store and bought one of these, we bought three packagest that contained the wings, wands and a tiara -- but the tiaras kept falling off from their heads so we did without those.

Halloween 2005 I regret to say that I don't have the picture available right now but I made my three girls black capes and we let them wear pants and warm clothes underneath and bought them each witch hats and they were witches. I had a little guy that was about 9 months old and he was dressed in little boy camoflauge sweat pants and a shirt and went as a GI Joe !!

Halloween 2006 My oldest reused her cape and we painted her face to look like a bat queen (female version of dracula) My other two daughters were princesses - so we just found cute princess like dresses at the thrift store and then bought a few cheap accessories, like jewelery and a handbag and put on some glitter face paint. My son was a clown -- he wore the yellow costume with the colored stripes pictured above.

Halloween 2007

WELL WOULDN"T YOU LIKE TO KNOW!!!

BY THE WAY SO WOULD I !!!

We'll post pictures up after halloween -- we have ideas but need to get working on them.