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!

I Love This Car

Not to be confused with "I Love This Bar"... Anyways, I went on an adventure today. I bought an armoire for our bedroom TV. Yesterday, Payton somehow caused our bedroom TV to fall. Payton is okay, but it scraped his foot a bit. I wanted to make sure that it didn't happen again. Hence the new armoire. Here are a few pics...

The lady I bought it from is moving to Pennsylvania tomorrow morning and gave me a small dresser for free! But you can see how packed my car was! It was me, the 3 kids, the armoire in the back and a dresser in the passenger seat! I love this car!

Funny Side Note: I had to delete 42 pictures off the camera from Payton and Logan playing with it this morning (they woke up before me and Moose) !

Okay...now back to studying...

Catching Up

Finally! We have our camera back and are able to post some pictures for you...here goes!

Jackson found the fireplace. I wish I would have gotten a pic of him in it, but here are the bath pictures! Gray water came out of his hair when I rinsed!

I made a cake for Father's Day and the kids decorated cupcakes.

Enjoying the pool!

Playing in the pantry

A Chapter Closing

February 2009 began a new chapter of our life. A time of learning and growing closer to God and to each other. Many of you know the story. Moose's store closed leaving him unemployed and we had the unexpected early arrival of Jackson, our third child. Well, that chapter has closed. Our house was auctioned off to the highest bidder today. It's hard to believe the journey we've made over the last year and a half. There is no way we could have done it without our family and friends. Thank you to all of you for the counseling, advice, prayer, help with the kids, moving, finances, and transportation. There is so much that all of you have done to get us through all this even stronger than we were before. We are excited for what's ahead of us! I will be getting back into the workforce in a few short months and the kids will be back to school soon. We look forward to saving for a vacation and in the long run, a down payment for a house. God has blessed us and given us new pathways to bring glory to Him. Praise be to Him, our Lord and Savior! He knows every thought we think and every action we do, and loves us more that we can imagine. Nothing on earth comes close in comparison.

We've Moved!!

So we've been in the new apartment 1 week now. As I predicted, the boys have been in the pool everyday if not more! So far so good on the noice level (coming from us, I mean!). No neighborly complains yet. Lily's found a good home....with Bert and Stephanie. They got attached to her since moving in with them last weekend and lucky for us that means she is staying within the family! Still slowly changing our address with everyone...I'm sure I will miss someone. We upgraded our phones a few days ago to new touch screens, which I am still trying to figure out (so sorry if I miss your call or hang up on you!). Our other phones were over 2 years only and were barely functional anymore. So many changes!! I should have pictures up next time I post. The camera is ready at Best Buy, but since it is at the location near our old house, I haven't made the time to get over there to pick it up. I will post pics of our new living room furniture! I was lucky to get a new (to us) couch, chair and 2 ottomans for only $15 more than what I sold the red sectional couch we had! And I love my new living room! More to come...

K

Moving...and some random thoughts

Well, it is 7 days away...We will be packing up our stuff and moving across town. Moving to a larger place was much easier, but having to consolidate and sell stuff so we can fit into a 3 bedroom apartment has been interesting. But we are excited about our new place! We will meet new people and I know the boys are going to live at the pool all summer! Especially Moose! :0)

Well, it was brought to my attention that I never gave a follow up to Ironman. Payton "earned" enough money after about a week and we took him to Target and bought an Ironman riding a motorcycle. It was difficult trying to explain that he couldn't afford the big Ironman. He only had enough money for the little Ironman. It was still cute when he handed his bag of money to the cashier! (We didn't make her count all the coins!) :0)

School for me is going well. Just finished my EKG and Clinical Procedures classes and all I have left are Medication Administration, Phlebotomy, then my Externship! It is going so fast and I am not sure if I am emotionally ready to begin searching for a real job in September. I've got a few more months to think about it.

Moose is moving his store this week...again. Hopefully the new spot will still have as much traffic as the last one and that they get to stay there a while longer.

Payton and Logan are out of school for the summer. Poor kids...their routine is going to be so off this next week with no school then the move. We've already started to prep them...but I am sure they don't realize what "move houses" really entails. We are just going to prep and pray!

On a side note, we are still trying to find new homes for Lily and Winston (the turtle). We'd like to find someone by word of mouth versus posting an ad. We want to be sure they go to safe, happy homes.

Well I guess that all folks. Sorry there are no pics...Jax got hold of the digital camera and now Best Buy has to fix it! :0) See ya all soon...

Savings

I had a great shopping day today! Our house was bone dry. We had almost nothing to eat and I filled the house for $150. I don't think that was too bad, since that will last us 2 weeks or so. Here are some of the deals I got using Coupon Sense...

Albertsons

• 6 - 4 roll packages of Marcal toilet paper --free
• 2 bags of Chex mix -- free
• 3 bags of Bugles -- free (Moose was excited!)
• 2 boxes of instant pasta salad mix-- free (but I had to buy 2 boxes of pasta @ $1.49 each)
• 4 bags of Steamfresh microwavable frozen veggies -- free
• 3 Nivea body washes -- free
• 1 Physicians Formula Bronzer/highligher/eyeshadow --clearanced at $3.99 (originally $15.99)
• 1 vanilla -- $2.39 because I needed it

Total with tax: $11.39
Savings: $72.60!!

Safeway

• 2 brownie mixes -- free
• 4 cake mixes -- free
• 4 frostings -- free (they had them buy 2 get 3 free! Then I added coupons, and since they will take coupons on the free items, I got them all FREE!)
• 1 box Ziploc storage bags -- $.49 (in ad coupon making it $1.49, limit 1. Then added my coupon from the newpaper)
• 3 Del Monte 4 pack fruit cups -- $.49 (again, in ad coupon made them $1.49, then add my newspaper coupons)
• 3 boxes of Capri Sun pouches and 2 Welches Grape juice --$2.00 (had coupons for each product and Safeway has a juice promo buy 5 save $5.00)

Total: should have been around $5.00 but I wasn't paying attention and they didn't take off the $5.00 for the juice promo. Even still I paid $10.50 including tax which was a savings of 82%!

I finished up my grocries at Fry's. There I got...

• 1 bag Kroger baby carrots -- $.33
• 1 Bag Lay's potato chips--free
• 4 boxes Raisin Bran cereal--$1.22 each
• 2 watermelons--$2.77 each
• 3 milks--$1.68 each
• 3 Sunny Delights --Free
• 1 Frenches mustard 20 oz--$1.00
• 5pk Kraft MacNCheese $3.49 (box had coupon on outside for free Capri Sun)
• 2 Capri Sun--Free (lady in front of me at check out gave me the coupon off her MacNCheese too! Score!)
• Plus $5.50 off my frozen food purchase (Fry's mailed me this coupon, probably because we spend too much of frozen foods!)

There was much more to this list, a lot of the stuff was not on sale but I needed it (like those frozen meals!). Another reason I shop mostly at Fry's is to get $.10 off per gallon (when you spend $100 in groceries) at their gas stations. I filled up the other day at only $2.61 a gallon!

Total: $125.15

Saved: $80.08 (39%)

I love Coupon Sense! There is nothing better than getting stuff you can use for free!!

Jackson Videos

He was being especially cute today...and kinda a turkey at the same time. I'm not sure if being a turkey was just a phrase my family used, but for those who don't know what being a turkey is, it means he was pushing my buttons :0)

Ironman and the Diaper Disaster

I took the kids to Scottsdale Fashion Square 2 days ago to play. When we go there, we always have to visit the Disney Store which is only a few doors down from Moose's store. While there, Payton discovered Ironman. And he is in love! It's funny because he has never seen or heard of Ironman before! Well, I didn't want to just buy him the toy so now he is earning money to buy his beloved Ironman. He is adorable! He gets giddy when he talks about buying it and Moose and I have been using this to our advantage! Moose made a chart of 16 squares and everytime he does something around the house, he gets paid and a square colored in on the chart. He won't raise all the money by himself because I want him to see a light at the end of the tunnel but we also wanted to show him that we have to work for what we want. So he has helped unload the dishwasher, put soap in the laundry and switch the loads, and it is amazing how quickly he cleans up his toys. I know why so many kids get spoiled because I want to go out and buy him that toy now! Maybe next weekend would be enough time...

So on to the diaper disaster...I am at the mall, with no diapers. Jax had pooped and it was coming out the side. Wonderful. What would you do? Well, I went to the bathroom and grabbed a stack of paper towels (the pull out one at a time kind) about a half inch thick. There were also the rolled kind, so I waved my hand over the sensor several times to get a long piece. I thought about changing him there, but I could imagine myself walking through Scottsdale Fashion Square with a half naked baby...or one all rolled up in paper towels. So I stuffed my loot into my purse and headed out to the car. In the cargo space, I cleaned him up the best I could with dry paper towels, put the remaining stack over his "area", and wrapped the long piece around his waist to keep it all in place. I laid a blanket on his seat and buckled him in hoping that he wouldn't pee. Or at least that I had done enough so I didn't have to take apart his carseat to wash it. Well, no such luck...I ended up doing just that. So, I'm not sure what I could have done different, but that is how not to make a diaper.

P.S. I now have a hefty stash of extra diapers in my car!!

Playing in the Fort

Aunt Jennifer made the boys a fort in the living room and they boys had a blast!

Jackson Clicking

Jax has learned how to click his tongue...very cute! Then he gets mad at me for not letting him have the camera...not so cute :0)

Garage Sale

We had a garage sale 2 saturdays ago...it was HUGE! It was mostly our stuff, but my mom and sister had brought over some of their stuff too (along with some other random donations). Here are some pictures...

Yes, a few of the toys ended up back in the house. Payton told me (with an arm full of toys) that he wanted all the people to go away :0)

As you can see, there were tables all over our driveway and yard. Overall it was a success, although we had a truck and car full of stuff for Goodwill...

Bibles

What do you do with your old bibles? I can't imagine anyone wanting the ones I've highlighed in and marked up. But I don't think I can throw them away either. And it doesn't seem practical to have 5 or more copies. Any ideas???

Kristy

Easter Pictures

Here are the kids opening their Easter baskets. Jax got a couple balls and the big boys got sunglasses. Such cool kids!!

Then we went to the Hunt's after church. I didn't take any pictures, but Stephanie did and they are on her blog at http://www.grandmastimeat5.blogspot.com/

Then off to the Rice's! Here are pics of the egg hunt...

Jax was getting a little overwhelmed :0) So cute!