Joshua Clay at Four Months Old

Dirty Little Secret

I was in the kitchen today and turned just in time to see John David chugging juice from the jug. As the jug was on his mouth he turned and saw me looking at him. He knew he was busted! He put the juice down and said, "Aw man! You finally found out my little secret!" He thought it was so funny and was really giggling as he told me he'd been doing it all week without getting caught. I might have thought it was a little more funny if he hadn't just had a contagious virus on Monday!

If You're Happy

Aulora's favorite song right now is "If You're Happy and You Know It". She LOVES when I sing that to her and she just dances and does all the motions. We were sitting in the living room tonight and, although she hardly even talks yet, she was laying on the floor singing it to herself. I wish my camera had been handy - it was too cute!

Important Things

After dinner tonight (ahem, a dinner of homemade chicken fried steak, gravy, mashed potatoes, corn on the cob, rolls, and chocolate pie.....made by.....ME!) John, Matt, John David and one of the dogs went on a walk to check on the progress they're making on the golf course we live next to. They had been gone a while and Julia asked where they were. Gran told her where they had gone and then said, in a somewhat sarcastic tone, that she needed to learn the important things in life. Julia interrupted and said, "I already know all of the important things in life - houses, cars, and golf clubs!"

Oh, brother. I know I didn't teach her that! =)

What a Hottie

I was in the twilight zone last night. Julia didn't feel good after church - she didn't want anything to eat, didn't want pajamas, didn't want to make a mess anywhere, nothing. She just wanted to go to bed. When we got home, she went upstairs and put herself in bed and was asleep within moments. Wow. I should have known better though. Before I went to sleep myself, I went in to check on her and the other kids. She was burning up with a fever over 103. We finally got it down with some tylenol and cool cloths. She's better this morning, but sadly she's missing her last day of school. (Sad for her and for me! I was going to get a lot done today! hahaha) She's now entertaining Aulora by playing Dora games on the computer.

In other news, John David locked himself outside for a good while this morning. He went out to see the dogs on the deck and the door locked behind him. I still thought he was just down at the table playing with his toys since I couldn't hear him knocking while up in our room with the fan on taking care of Joshua. I finally heard the door bell ringing over and over. He'd gone around to the front after a while. Poor guy. Now he smells like dog and stinky outside smell. Maybe I'll put him back outside.......

A Moment of Horror

I was soooo tired today, so when it was time to feed Joshua and Aulora was still finishing her nap, I laid down on my bed. If you're a mom then you know how it's possible to half sleep and half watch your children. Granted, you're not doing either one of those things very well but whatever.

I was aware that Julia was in my bathroom and I woke up enough to tell her to get out of my make-up. She stopped so I was satisfied. The next time I woke up a little I looked over to see the toilet lid open. That can spell trouble so I immediately got up and went in the bathroom. Julia's pants and panties were on the floor, the potty is clogged, and there was no Julia. This is good news and bad news. The pants aren't wet and the potty is used so there's no mess for me to clean up somewhere. However, it's bad news that Julia is not around. That can mean a multitude of things, especially since she's probably naked from the waist down.

I set out to find her. I only got to the bedroom door when I see her coming across the balcony with a big black plunger in her hands. She was holding it down by the actual plunging part! EWWWWW! (This would be the moment of horror to which the title refers in case you weren't sure.) And then she put it between her naked legs and started galloping and saying yee-haw like she was riding on a horse. I almost passed out right then and there. Have you seen the new Indiana Jones movie yet? You know the part where they're scrubbing him down after the bomb? Or maybe you've seen Monsters Inc. where a child's sock is discovered on one of the monsters and it's sheer panic as the detox team rushes in?

Yeah.

You've Got a Friend in Me (Toy Story, Anyone?)

The other day John David made the mistake of finding me to tell me he was bored. When I was growing up, that was just something you did not want to do because Momma was going to find you something to do so you wouldn't be bored.

I'm pretty sure John David won't be telling me that anymore since he got to sweep all the floors. He wasn't too thrilled about it either. His grandma walked in and said, "John David, you're sweeping the floors - how nice!" He responded, "Well, it wasn't in my mind to do it so it's not pleasant!"

Tonight, as we were laying on a blanket at the park having dinner, he asked Daddy, "Why do movies always have to end with people kissing?" John answered, "Well, they always try to have happy endings." John David said, "I wish they wouldn't do that - it embarrasses me when I'm with my family." He went on to say that it's ok if he's with his friends though. We told him that was silly - we were the ones who sees him naked and all kinds of stuff. He shouldn't be embarrassed around us!

He is just getting so old! He's 7 1/2 so I'm used to the growing fast stuff, but this is new. This maturing and getting wise. Am I ready for this?!? I love how he's fun to be around and have conversations with. He really helps with the younger kids and is such a little man. A funny little man, I should say. He can really make me laugh. Who else swims with goggles in the bath tub? Who else drops their drawers all the way to the ground every time just to stand in front of the toilet to pee? Who walks around squeezing bellies and peeps saying, "Belly belly belly, peep peep!"? (You have to see that one.)

And do you know that he has learned to swim, ride a bike, snap, dribble a basketball, whistle, and say all 66 books of the Bible?

And do you know that I had my very first kiss when I was his age??? I sneaked into the manger prop at our church and kissed another little boy my age. I don't know why - he wasn't even cute. But that's not the point. The point is - I was John David's age!

Anyway, tonight, on that picnic blanket, I was happily envisioning many years of friendship and laughter between us and our children. It thrills me to know that just as my parents were people I enjoyed being around and had lots of fun with (and still do), our children will have that same experience with us. It's sad to think of how fast time is going by, but I really can't wait for all the fun times still to come. I love you, John David!!!

Excuse me, you're HOW old???

Last week Julia came into the kitchen with something black on her eyes. When we asked her what it was she kept covering her face up and saying, "Don't look! Don't look at me!" Obviously, I had to know what it was at that point so I pulled her hand away to discover mascara on her eye. What?!? She said she was just trying out my eye brush.

Then yesterday she kept holding the inside of her thighs and rubbing them as she walked around. I asked if she needed to go potty. No. I asked her if her legs were itchy. No. What's wrong with you???

"I just wanted to try your scraper."

"My what?"

"Your scraper!"

I looked at her legs and then it dawned on me. "You mean my razor???"

"Yeah!"

So now my four year old baby has razor cuts up both her legs. Scary! I should have known I needed to hide my razor from her!

All I know is she better not walk downstairs wearing a push-up bra.......

Field Day

John David had field day at school last Wednesday. I took the kids up to see him in action. I think he was quite pleased to have us there watching. Excuse his mismatched clothes in the pictures please - they made him change his plain white shirt to a red uniform shirt since it wasn't a spirit tee shirt. Oh well. =) It was a fun day.....

Stinky Breath

The kids are close by in the living room and I overheard this conversation that was making me laugh:

JD: Julia, get away from me! You have stinky breath!

Julia: How do you know I have stinky breath?

JD: Because I can feel it! Now get your head away!

Julia:But why do I have stinky breath?

JD: I don't know - you just do. Now get your stinky breath away!

Being silly in our jammies.....

Picking Strawberries

Last weekend we went to an orchard just outside of town to pick strawberries. It was such a great experience! It made me want to live on the farm and have a big garden. =) I think we all enjoyed ourselves, but Aulora had the most fun. She LOVED eating strawberries - leaves and all! Daddy was worried she was going to have quite the stomach ache but she did fine. Funny thing is, she never wanted to eat a strawberry before that day and she hasn't touched one since. I guess it was just a lot of fun to eat something off the ground! We also got to eat lots of pecans. Daddy sat under a shade tree with Joshua and shelled them for us and we would trade him good strawberries when we found them so everyone was happy. John David was multi-tasking since he was hunting both strawberries and a "weta beetle". I think that's what it's called. He saw a picture of one at school and has been obsessed. It's a beetle the size of your hand - so gross! I'm glad he only found strawberries. =)

We ate at Cracker Barrel after the orchard and that night we grilled chicken at home along with John's parents and made homemade strawberry ice cream. Soooo good!!!

Next month blackberries will be ready for picking. I wonder if I can talk anyone into taking me again.......

He's Done!

My boy's done with the first grade! He got all A's and was even commended for his high SAT scores in the award ceremony along with a few other kids in the school. He did not receive the conduct award (hahaha) but we'll try again next year for that one! He is super duper excited to now be a second grader. Second grade. SECOND. Oh my........

Julia's First Ballet Recital

Julia's first ballet recital was on Sunday, May 18th in the Wichita Theater downtown. Her teacher's name is Ms. April and she has lessons once a week on Tuesday evenings. She started her lessons the beginning of this year and she has really enjoyed it. I was a little worried that she would not want to perform at the last minute because of some things she had been saying, but she did great.

The video is of Julia's second song which I had a much better seat for and she was a lot more comfortable on. The first song was a bunny song and they all had on bunny ears - so cute! The sound system cut out in the middle of that song though so they all just stood there for a few moments not knowing what to do. It's a pretty old theater so I guess that shouldn't have been a big surprise.

My parents flew in from Colorado to go to the recital and John's mom left the house for the first time since her fall to go. This was a very special day! All the grandparents, Mimi (Julia's great grandma), Uncle Maka and Aunt Kara, Mommy, Daddy, John David, Aulora and Joshua were there. After the performance we all went to The Jalapeño Tree and ate dinner in the party room. It was a wonderful day!

Scary Night

I was nursing Joshua to sleep tonight and had the girls in their room watching a video to keep them occupied and quiet. Just as I got him to sleep, there was a horrible crash. I ran to their room and found Aulora under the chest and Julia under the big tv. I put Joshua on the floor and quickly tried to get them out. John's dad was there within a few more moments and he helped move the tv. It was VERY heavy. The girls were both crying so hard and I thought for sure they were going to be hurt badly. They both ended up with knots on their heads and Julia has a smashed nose and cheek too. Maybe a black eye or two also. We'll see in the morning. I'm so incredibly thankful that's all that happened though. They could have been killed! Angels were watching them, I know.

Apparently, Aulora was climbing on the drawers and that's what caused the crash. I never thought those wall anchors were necessary, but I bet you can guess what I'll be buying this week. Please, please, please make sure your kids are safe too. Don't wait for an accident to happen. =(

Afterwards, as I was holding both of them on the floor and rocking back and forth, Julia was still crying and kept saying to me, "You should have been there! You should have been watching us!" It was breaking my heart. I told her that I couldn't always be right beside her to watch over her and that was why I always ask Jesus to watch her and send angels to protect her too. I know there are going to be so many times in their sweet lives that I can't protect them the way I want to. How wonderful to know that even when Mommy or Daddy aren't there, Jesus is.

Oh yeah.....my cell phone story.....

I forgot to tell my amazing cell phone story! I just got my new phone and only had it a few days when it got left in my jean pocket and put in the washing machine. We have front loading machines so even though I realized what I had done before the cycle was over, I couldn't open the washer. I had to just stand there and watch it swirl around. =( Afterwards, I took it out and watched the water jiggle around in the screen. Double =(. I let it dry for a few days - it's so not fun to not have a cell phone when you're used to having it all the time. I finally plugged it in and do you know that it works??? Isn't that amazing? So now I have a working phone and it's clean and good smelling too!

What a great weekend.....

My parents left to go back home this afternoon. We had a great time! We were able to do so much in the short time they were here. There was McDonald's, swimming, tea at the tea room for the girls, donut breakfast, strawberry picking at the farm, playing outside, church, ballet recital, eating out and Chuck E. Cheese's! The kids are sleeping like rocks right now. =) I have tons of pictures and videos but I'm ready to go sleep like a rock myself.

John David only has 3 1/2 days of school left. That's just so crazy!!! I'm sure the summer will go by super fast and then he's going to be in the second grade. Wow. I remember soooo much about second grade. I hope he has really great memories one day like I do.

Just wait until you see pictures from the ballet recital. Oh my goodness. I know Julia is my daughter and all, but I'm telling you - she was adorably gorgeous. I will never forget that special day for the rest of my life.

I had a nursery meeting today at 5:00. I'm not in charge of the nursery here, but I'm one of the "team captains". There's a team captain for each week of the month. It felt kind of good to be back in the saddle for ministry things. It will be interesting to see how I can handle this though. It's usually all I can do to just be at church with all my kids, much less do something at church! And most days when I'm working, John will also be working in the preschool department so it's not like I can just dump the kids on him. I'm sure we can manage.

Sandy is doing better. She went to the specialist today and found out that her shoulder is broken into three parts. She doesn't have to have surgery though so that's good news. In a couple of months she should be back to mostly normal. In the meantime, she can't really drive or do much else with her right arm/hand. So again, this will be interesting.

A Big Fall

John's mom fell and broke her arm and shoulder too (I think) this evening. It was just me and the kids home with her and she landed flat on her back. It was a scary thing! I called John's dad and had him come home right away and he took her to the ER. She's home now until she can get in for surgery. Silly lady - all she could think about as she was laying on that floor was all the things she needed to get done. It's her right arm too. =( We're going to have some tough weeks ahead, I'm sure. Don't expect too much blogging!

BTW, while she was having her x-rays done, we were home eating steaks from the grill. Isn't that horrible sounding? But we couldn't be at the ER with the kids, I had already cooked dinner, and we needed to eat. I felt kind of bad though. Fast food would have felt more appropriate, don't you think?

Blog Sloth

No, I haven't been dog paddling in the depths of icky sick stuff all week. I haven't been on vacation. I haven't even had an incredibly busy few days. I've just been a blog sloth. Sorry. I apologize. Let me see if I can get out of my slump......

• Mother's Day was great. Went to church, had a nice lunch here at home that my sister-in-law and brother-in-law headed up, and then went to a Mom's night at church with the kids. We played games, made a craft, did a 3 legged race (although we actually had 4 legs because I raced with John David and Julia both), and bounced in the bounce house. What a sight. Pictures and video will be posted another day. My kids got me handmade cards and flowers and sooooo much love. It was super sweet. My husband got me a new perfume set. I like Mother's Day. =)
• John David has learned (finally) to ride his bike without training wheels! Again, videos will be posted later. [read: I'm not totally out of blog sloth mode yet.]
• Julia had her last ballet lesson before her recital this coming Sunday. For two lessons in a row they have allowed parents to come in the dance room to watch their performance. I seriously don't think I ever smiled as big as I did when I watched her that first week. I absolutely CAN NOT WAIT until Sunday afternoon! Especially now that she has her recital costume - it's just as girly as can be!
• My parents are flying in late tonight and get to stay a few days!
  
• David Cook needs to win AI. I LOVE that guy! He's been my favorite for awhile now. Sorry, David A.
• Remind me to tell you a funny story about my cell phone. (No, this is not slothful procrastinating. My baby is crying and needs me now.)

More later..........................

You Know What's Great About A Seven Year Old?

They can make it to the bathroom in time when they have to throw-up. At 6:00 in the morning, that's a super duper bonus.....

Progress Report

Today was sooooo much better. Obviously, if you read my blog, you know that my day wasn't filled with roses and bubble baths. BUT, I was determined to keep a good attitude and be loving towards my children at ALL times. What a difference it made. Even when they were whiny or disobedient, I was able to stay very calm and handle it well. Julia did MUCH better today as a result. I'm too tired to go into any specifics now. It just feels so good to know that I can do this.

Btw, John David is all better now. Thank the Good Lord above. =)

Laid or Layed? Either way, that's what our best plans were.....

This morning was a Mom's Breakfast at John David's school from 7:30-9:00. It was a come and go thing so we decided to leave at 8:15. I got up at 6 something to get ready. Then I fed and readied Joshua. Julia was next and lastly John David. (Aulora was and is still sleeping.) While Julia was eating breakfast I was helping John David get ready. From the start he was hunched over in pain saying his stomach hurt. In an effort to determine whether it was real or just "I want to go back to bed" kind of pain, I told him that it was ok if he was sick and we had to miss the breakfast, but if he wanted to go he needed to get ready. I came back in a couple of minutes to find him on the potty with, ahem, the "squirties". (Should this post have a disclaimer? Sorry.) He's only experienced this one other time in his life so he was pretty impressed with the whole thing. (I'll spare more details at this point.) I helped him clean up and get dressed, but before we could go downstairs he had to go again. So we undressed and repeated the whole process. Clock is ticking and it's now 8:35.

Finally, he was dressed and ready again, with spare underoos in his backpack. We were halfway down the stairs when he stopped and his eyes got really big. "What's wrong, Buddy?" (I was dreading the answer.) "I just pooped in my pants! For the first time ever I just pooped in my pants! Aw man!" You would think this would be accompanied by some sense of "Ew gross!" but no, it was more of a "Whoa cool!" kind of attitude.

Back to the bathroom we went - me walking and him kind of waddling with his newfound coolness in tow. Again, I suffered through his impressed comments, his bad sense of timing, and general grossness that only a mom is expected to put up with.

We left the house at 8:45 to drive the 3 minutes to the school. We rushed into the gym to enjoy our 12 short minutes of Mommy Breakfast time, only to find they had already put it all away and wiped down the tables and counter. Now he was crying because he really wanted donuts. (So the truth comes out - it had nothing to do with mommy at all. It was all about the donuts.) I told him we would find a donut place and go on our own. I had to go back home to get money and then we were off.

We walked in the donut place and realized it was owned by the family John tutors for. As I was about to pay, John David said, "My daddy tutors your kids!" I introduced ourselves and the lady was so happy to meet us that she gave us our breakfast for free. (That's always nice!) Our Mommy Breakfast was back on track now and we were enjoying our time.

It was short lived though. John David was about halfway through when he looked up at me and said, "Oh no. I just did it again. Ehhhhhh....." At least he was now displaying the proper sense of disgust. I had nothing to clean him up with so I told him I would take him back home to clean up and change. It must have been one heck of a donut though because he continued sitting there eating it until it was all gone.

We got home, he waddled up the stairs and into the bathroom. I stripped him down and cleaned him up. I made the decision that he should probably stay home for now and so he is currently sitting naked on a towel in the bathroom reading a Star Wars book. I guess all's well that ends well......

He's Still Working On Me

I'm making a renewed effort tonight to:

• spend more quality time with my kids (especially Julia)
• not raise my voice at them in an unnecessary way (especially Julia)
  
• focus on their good qualities rather than constantly get frustrated over their failings
• put them before me
• teach them the Word

This comes from a deep disappointment in myself in the way I've handled them lately. I think I've done a decent job for having so many children, but I don't want to give them any less as a parent because there are 4 of them and not just 1 or 2 or 3. They still deserve the best. I'm not beating myself up over anything because I know I'm still learning to be a good parent. I have not arrived. No one has asked me to teach the parenting Sunday School class yet. =) Like the song my MaMa always sang to me said,

"He's still working on me...to make me what I ought to be."

I have four beautiful, wonderful, unique blessings who will be gone long before I'm ready. I do not want their numbered days with us filled with yelling, griping, and busyness. I want to be a "sweet fragrance" in their lives that they will remember long after I'm gone.

Why didn't the weatherman warn me?

Are we the only ones who have a tornado whip through their house every Saturday? Seriously, I have not even been lazy today and I still hardly got a thing done. Is this what summer is going to be like? I'm scared.......

Friday Night

Last night we had a big birthday party for John's brother, Matt (aka Maka). I was a little too busy trying to keep up with all my kids to take pictures but Sandy took this one. Aulora thought she was such a big girl sitting at the table with the other kids!

We had about 10 very scary minutes when we couldn't find Julia anywhere. And I do mean anywhere. There were LOTS of people looking inside and outside for her and she was nowhere to be found. I kept seeing that pond right across from the house and having horrible thoughts. And then I was imagining that some person drove by and grabbed her quietly. My mind was racing, compiling a description of her and wondering how long it would take to get an Amber Alert up and going. My feet could not go fast enough and my voice could not holler loud enough to find her. I didn't know what had happened and it was a terrible, awful thing.

Finally I heard someone holler out that they had found her. I wanted to see her for myself. By the time I got back to the driveway, John had already taken her upstairs to talk to her. She had gone off behind the neighbor's house with the neighbor's granddaughter and she hadn't told anyone. The grandpa thought Julia had permission to be with them.

There is nothing like losing your child to make you want to hold them and love them. I was so emotionally stressed out after that - it took me a very long time to get to sleep last night. That's why I'm tired today. But at least I have my little girl......

A New Blog

Lolligirls Jewelry Blog

After almost five years of making jewelry for my own little girls, I've decided to finally start trying to sell some of it. I thought I would start with a blog for now. As I have time, I'll be adding more designs to it. It's just a matter of getting pictures of what I can make. There's no pressure on anyone to order stuff, but I've been asked for pictures or a website so many times so here it is. Feel free to pass it along if you know of someone else who might be interested. =) Also, any helpful critique is always good. (Remember that I'm a "fragile flower" though so be nice!)

Finally Started

Oh boy......I've finally begun the process of listing outgrown clothes on Ebay. I had already taken pictures for the first batch the other day but hadn't listed anything yet. I was waiting for Thursday night which has historically been a pretty decent night for an auction to end. (I don't know why though. Ebay is usually the last thing I'm doing when Lost is on!) Seph inspired me to get going so now the first small batch is done. There's so much more to do which would be depressing except that it will bring in money. =)

I've always been really picky in the past and spent so much time (and money) to have super nice looking auctions. I just can't do that anymore which will probably end up costing me some in the end because great looking auctions just do better. Oh well. It's the best I can do right now.

Go here to check them out.....

(hopefully they will all show up - for some reason not all auctions are coming up yet. I think they just need some time.)

My AI Dream

I guess American Idol was on my mind last night since I watched it so close to going to bed. I'm not one to share about dreams (because that's usually not an interesting thing to hear people talk about), but I was laughing when I woke up from this one.

Apparently, in my dream world I have enough singing talent to be on AI. (No, this is NOT why I was laughing when I woke up.) Two things happened that I thought were amusing. First, when Syesha was singing I was near the stage and I caught her eye and made funny faces at her and stuck out my tongue. It messed her up really bad and she couldn't remember any more words to her song. You know that was funny to watch as she stood there stuttering, no longer able to be Miss Perfect. (Although, I will admit that I don't dislike her near as much as some of you do. She has an amazing voice and I love to hear her sing slower type songs.) The second thing that happened was that Kablot was also on AI. After she sang, she went off the stage and out to some tables where people were eating. I went to talk to her and found her on the floor under the table. She had passed out due to all the stress of performing. Now you definitely know it was funny to see Kablot all laid out on the floor. The weird thing is, she didn't fall this time. Not too realistic, huh? =)