Christmas Pictures

My parents' house on Christmas Eve

In Kunkle Stefen's twuck at Grandma Shorty & Grandpa Square Pant's house

We love Grandma Shorty!! (Jackson and Mylie)

The boy's gingerbread house

The girl's gingerbread house (make sure to watch the "Destruction" video below

Christmas Videos

Christmas Eve at my parent's house...

Jackson is not sure about Tickle Me Elmo

Christmas morning - Batcave!!

Gingerbread House Destruction

Anticipation

That is probably the best word for Christmas Eve. Anticipation. A kid waiting for presents. A mom or dad waiting for their child to arrive to town. Preparing to make a large meal. Anticipation. My kids have been up for hours in anticipation for grandma's tonight, which includes opening presents. At 8:45am, I was being persuaded by a 4 and 3 year old to make Jesus cupcakes for Santa and they are now cooling on the counter to be decorated later. Jackson cried until I put his shoes on and he's walking around saying, "Bye, bye? Bye, bye?" As for me? I am in my pajamas writing this blog :0) Much to my kids dismay! I'm not sure what sounds worse. Staying home with three kids or leaving the house with three kids! Boy I wish Moose were home! I guess I better get ready to go. It will be easier to keep them out of the cupcakes if I take them out :0)

Here are some highlights of Jackson in the past few months...

Do you think he knew he did something wrong???

Gittin jiggy wit it...

ABCDEFGHIJK Elmo P....

Kitchen Picnic

Here is what I did with my kiddos while my carpets were drying! We had a kitchen picnic! Not really that exciting, but the kids thought it was cool and it kept macaroni out of my freshly shampooed carpet!

Where did the time go...

Wow! It seems like just yesterday I wrote about Logan's prayer! Now it is 11 days until Christmas, Moose is working almost everyday, with extended hours. The kids are out of school this friday for break and the early start I thought I got on Christmas shopping is looking kinda puny. Thankfully I have the next 4 nights off and I plan to get most...if not all of my Christmas shopping done as well as clean my carpets. I'm still not sure how to shampoo the carpets in my 1,000 square foot apartment with the kids home, but I will find a way. It has become desperate! Other than that...not much going on in the Hunt household. Happy Christmas shopping!

Logan's Prayer

"Dear God, fank you today. Fank you a Baby Wiwa's birfday. And my fire twuck. And ambawance. And my chicken. And my chetchup. And my wanch. Amen."

Interpretation: "Dear God. Thank you for today. Thank you for Baby Lila's birthday. And for my fire truck, ambulance, chicken (nuggets), ketchup and ranch. Amen."

Where Did My Kids Go??

I took Payton, Logan, and Jackson to McDonald's today after running some errands. I ordered them each a Happy Meal and when I got the food, they came right over to the table. They all got the same toy and the older boys wanted to exchange them so I let them go up to the counter by themselves. I stood nearby to make sure they didn't cut in line or forget to say "thank you", but they did beautifully! I was so proud of them! They came back to the table and continued to eat. Logan was about half way done eating when he realized he wanted ranch. I felt confident enough that he could go by himself, so I sent him off after reminding him to say thank you. He was taking a little longer than I thought he should have so I got up and looked in his direction just in time to see the lady behind the counter giving him cookies! I started walking towards him when I heard him say, "I need 3.", gesturing with 3 fingers held up. At the time I thought he was asking for 3 ranch dressings, but later realized he was asking for a third cookie for Jackson. The woman at the counter had seen Logan with Payton while they were exchanging their toys so she had given him 2 cookies. And he was trying to get a third for Jackson! Such a sweet little moocher! I thanked the woman at the counter and she just kept saying "He is so CUTE!" (refer to my previous post "This One's Gonna Be Trouble..."). I have no idea if he asked for the cookies or if she just gave them to him, but either way we got 2 free cookies! For the rest of the meal, all three of them stayed seated and ate their entire meal, fries and all, without me having to coax, feed, or bribe them. Amazing! Payton will usually eat half a burger and ask to play. Logan will do his best to eat only the fries and Jackson plays musical chairs eating everyone else's food but his own. But not this magical meal! What great kids! I have no idea where my real kids went while we were at McDonald's but don't worry! They came back full force once we got home...and I hope those other kids come back more often!

(While writing this, Payton has been in time out for kicking Logan who took his McDonald's toy, Logan was running around saying he is a girl, Jackson was crying because I wouldn't let him help me type this post, Payton asked for a cup twice in the span of 1 1/2 hours even though he had one at McDonald's and another when we got home, Jackson let himself out the front door and was throwing dirt from the planter, then proceeded to run when he saw me coming, I had 3 requests for food and 3 requests for TV/movie, and after I put Jackson to sleep (and thought I could finally finish this post), Logan went back in his room and turned the light on. My real kids are back...)

Family Pictures (Preview)

I am really excited about how our family photos turned out so Kristy is letting me share some of them. (just kids pics not all of em). We had gone to the parade that mornin and the kids had their flags with them and the colors turned out amazing.

Veterans Day Parade

I took the older boys to the parade today while kristy slept off an all night shift. Boy did they have a blast. Not sure who was more excited to see the big army vehicles and guns them or me. ;0)
Here are some of the pictures. God Bless. - Moose

Halloween

The boys had multiple costumes this year! We went to the kids' school for a Halloween Hi-Jinx event. Jax was supposed to be this...



But it was way to warm. So instead we was this...



This was a hand-me-down from the older kids. Here was Payton...



He was Batman then and on Halloween night. And here was Logan...



A "Power Wanger"!!! And Logan on Halloween night...

And Jackson...

A fire fighter (calendar style!) That kid would not keep any costume on! Once he got the hint as to how trick or treating works, he left it on. Sorry ladies!

ER

I never thought I'd be blogging about my ER visit! On Saturday I was having such horrible stomach pain that I headed to the ER about 8pm. I was supposed to work graveyard in the NICU but they sent me home. Luckily, my parents were helping with the kiddos so they were able to stay with them. The pain felt like my insides were twisting around each other and ibuprofen and Pepto didn't do anything. They did an ultrasound to rule out problems with my pancreas and gallbladder and it came back normal. So they ruled severe reflux or gastritis. I have my doubts on this theory, but for now I am taking the prescribed reflux medication and have an appt next week to follow up on it. For now, I am eating mostly just white rice. I am afraid the pain will come back! I am slowly venturing out to other foods in moderation so wish me luck!

This One's Gonna Be Trouble...

Here's the scene...Payton and Logan are eating lunch at the dining room table. I am in the kitchen trying to figure out what I am going to eat and Moose is with me getting ready to go to work.



Me: "It is hot in here!" (We had cooked a pizza for the kids for lunch). I took off my sweater leaving just my cami on.

Logan, with huge eyes says, "Wow!"

Moose and I crack up laughing.

Moose, to Logan: "You are going to be trouble!"

Logan: "No I not! I'm awesome!"



Like I said, this one's gonna be trouble!

God forgive me for wasting trees...

Have you ever seen what happens to a regular diaper when your child goes swimming in it? It will get so heavy that it will tear and soggy crystals pour out. I must have put a defective diaper on Jackson because when he wet in it, he began tracking pee soaked crystals all over the house! There was a trail from my bedroom, through the hallway, dining area and living room. It looked like small piles of yellow snow! It took about 20 minutes of crouching to pick up these piles, which seemed to repel the paper towels. Then I vacuumed up the rest of what I couldn't see. I washed my hands and sat on the couch with a fresh diaper in hand. "Come here Jackson. Let's put a diaper on you." Jackson gave me that playful, come and get me smile, squatted and peed. OMG! That did not just happen! So I got the paper towels and carpet cleaner. Just as I had finished and was washing my hands, Logan ran in, "Mommy! I pee peed in your bed!" Sure enough, there was a large wet spot in the middle of my sheets. Back to the paper towels and Spot Shot...

Getting my shoes on to go to my first full shift at the hospital after 3 days of orientation...

Logan: "Where you goin Mommy?"
Me: "I have to go to the hospital to take care of the little babies."
Logan pondered then said, "But we have Jackson Bee-bi (Levi). He's a big baby."
Me: "I know, hunny. Daddy's gonna take care of you and Jackson today."

I met Jesus today

I went to Discount Tire today (twice actually) to have one of my tires checked out. My TPMS (tire pressure monitoring system) registered low pressure in the front driver's side tire. The first Discount I stopped at had a 2 hour wait, so I had them put air in it to make it last til I could go to the Discount near where we live. I got home and called them and made an appt. Anyways, later at Discount as I was waiting for them to do their thing, Payton and Logan were looking through their "Jesus book" aka a kid's bible. They got up and started playing David and Goliath. But of course neither one wanted to be Goliath, because if you know the full story (not the kid version), Goliath doesn't just get "hit on the forehead" with a rock, isn't that right Mama! :0). They went back and forth arguing who was going to get to be David when Logan says, "Well, I'm Jesus." He said it several times, "I'm Jesus. I'm Jesus!" I can't even begin to imagine what the rest of the people in the waiting room where thinking! After 1/2 a bag of mini Chips Ahoy cookies, they pulled the car around. We'd picked up a nail somewhere and they were able to fix it for free. Thank you Discount! We've had too many car repairs in the last 2 months!

On another note, Payton had another appointment with his neurologist today. Some of the "tics" were were seeing 4-5 months ago when we had his first appt have subsided, like his obsession with the word "applesause" and making funny noises with his tongue which is good. However, this was the first he'd heard about Payt's fainting/seizure episode which he got stitches in his chin from. He said fainting/seizures are rare for a kid his age and ordered an EEG. I don't know much about them other than it is a non-invasive procedure similar to an EKG and monitors brain activity. That should go well (hint: that was supposed to be sarcastic). I guess it is better safe than sorry and it won't hurt him, so we should be able to talk him through it. Hopefully the person who performs the test is familiar with the challenges of kids like Payton.

A final note, we finally got our computer back from Staples. Would not recommend them, at least not the one near us. It took a full month to get it working again! I called them at one point for an update and they said it was done. So I asked if they had put the operating system back on and if they were able to retreive any of the data. She had to put me on hold, then she came back on to tell me nothing was done in the week they had the disc I brought to them because the person who took it in didn't say anything to the tech department. Then I got a call with an apology saying it would only be another day and that the data retrieval was going well and that they'd put it all on a disc for me. Later that same day, he called back to say there was a "complication" and that all the data was gone. I don't know much about computers, but taht doesn't seem right. He said there was nothing they could do and it was expected to be done the next day. Ugg! Three days later and no call. So I called them, and it was done. Apparantly their phone only takes incoming calls. Maybe I should pray. Apparenly I have some bitterness against Staples :0)

Hope all is well with all your families...

New Job!!!

I was officially offered the Patient Care Tech position at Scottsdale Healthcare Shea campus today! Yeah!! I will be working in the NICU where Jackson stayed after he was born. It is perfect timing! I have 4 shifts left in my externship which ends on Oct 5th. On the 4th, I go to human resources to fill out paperwork and my first day is Oct 12th. This is where I hoped to be after my externship, but was afraid to hope for it. Even better, we have full medical benefits as of November 1st and the job is part time, (3) 12 hour shifts every 2 weeks. So we won't need much childcare. Yeah! God is so great! He answers prayer and provides for our needs!

"You can pray for anything and if you have faith, you will receive it." Matthew 21:22

Ugg! Electronics...

Well, I guess my family is hard on electronics, which is unfortunate since they tend to be expensive. We are without a computer (at least our own computer..thanks John and Sarah for lending us your laptop! You guys are lifesavers!). Staples has had it for 6 days now, since last Monday. I was told when I dropped it off that they would call in 24 to 48 hours, so when I hadn't heard from them in 4 days I called them. "It is still going through diagnostics" I was told. Doesn't sound good. Can we pray for electronics? I'm sure He thinks we will be okay without. It sure feels like I'm being deprived :0) We are so spoiled! I just hope we can save our pictures and documents. My budget spreadsheets for the year are in there! That's a lot of work not worth trying to re-create, but would be missed. Hope everyone is doing great...Later

K

Payton and Logan have started school and really like it. Their teacher, Wendy is really good with them. We were really lucky to get them both into a class with only 2 other kids, so they get lots of attention. And Logan is liking the bus just as much as Payton did last year. Here are some pictures of them being silly.

Jackson has aquired a new nickname, Monster (said in love of course!). He is into everything and doesn't understand hitting, pinching, grabbing, taking toys, etc... And his other name should be Garbage Disposal, because this kid eats SOOOO much! He frequently eats his portion then finishes off his brothers's. Here is a cute video of him making elephant noises...

This one is only 24 seconds but explains all those complaints I've been posting about my camera!!!

One down, one to go...

So I finished my phlebotomy extership today and it feels great to have finished that! I really enjoyed St. Joseph's and meeting new people and patients. I have so much respect for those patients! Most were there for brain surgery and they were all in such great spirits despite the gravity of their diagnosis and nature of their surgery. I felt bad I had to poke them, but I know that was the least of their worries. I get a week off before starting my next extership at North Valley Internal Medicine. I should be done at the end of September...Yeah!!

Nothing too new at home. Jax is just getting over some sort of stomach bug that gave him diahrrea for 6 days, and now Moose is feeling it. Wonderful. I told him to make sure and wash his hands so Payton and Logan don't get it! It's miserable when they are sick!

I'm working a graveyard at Gainey tonight because I can't say no. But that's okay...it's always nice to have a little extra money.

I think that's all I have to say...Bye for now

D-backs vs. Giants

It was a lot of fun last night. I took Logan to his first d-backs game. I shoulda got some pictures of him with his cherry snow cone cause he was going to town. No spoon just face to cone. He did really well and loved it when the balls would "go real real real high to the woof."

Stitches

So this was our Friday...




Payton was the first of the boys to get stitches. I guess that is fitting since he is the oldest... Anyways,on Friday Payton either had a seizure or fainted or something. We and the ER doctor aren't sure, but either way his chin met pavement and he ended up with 4 stitches in his chin. He had a CT and bloodwork and everything came back normal so we will follow up with his doctor and see what else is recommended. He has been the same little boy, so we are not too worried about it. Let you all know if we get any new info...

July 4th Camping

As usual, I am behind posting...You'd think I'd do it more often since I've been out of classes the last 2 weeks. Anyway, here are the highlights...




I took Logan a little longer to be comfortable with the Rhino, but once he got going he was all smiles!



We taught the boys to "water" the trees. Payton refused, but Logan fully embraced the idea...although he had no modesty and often chose the trees in the middle of camp! At least he hasn't peed on any of the trees here at the apartment!



Payton LOVED to cook marshmellows on the fire...although maybe burn is a more appropriate word. He just wanted to catch them on fire, then blow it out. And then repeat that until the marshmellow was no longer recognizable. Then get a new marshmellow...

Here's my Dad and one of my parents' three dogs, Shelby.

These last two pictures sum up the before and after of the trip...By the end, we were all exhausted and very, very dirty!