an actual question in our house starring Anna

mom,
um,mom,
what...mom,
do you......mom,
think......mom,
what,mom,...............mom,
Lazybones,mom................
what do you think,mom,
lazybones is doing mom?

now mind you, everytime she says "mom" i have to respond, and "hmmm" doesn't count, or she will just keep saying, "mom,mom,mom,mom,mom,......."well you get the idea. i swear the child doesn't breathe when she talks. and of course the moment anna starts in maria, not wanting to be left out, will start in on a question of her own in the exact same style. then they get mad at eachother for interrupting eachother. i will shout over them to have them stop. this is followed by a brief respit of silence, then we start all over again.

A Historical Occasion

The local highschool here offers a pre-school program. It is three morning a week for 90 minutes. It gives the kids a good idea of what it is to be away from mommy, but not too long. And the winner is that it is only $20 a month!! It is taught by the highschool students, which is perfect because they are at the same maturity level as the pre-schoolers. There is a teacher there to supervise but the students are running the classroom. They have to take childhood devlopment classes for three years before they get to work with the kids. Daniel started it out for us. (after being on the 2 yr long waiting list) and we have had every kid in there since. It is wierd to think that this is the end of the line. Although Daniel wants to work in the program when he gets in highschool.

Anna on her first day
Maria on her first day. She was a bit more apprehensive.

Then they saw the TOYS!!

And the reading corner.

Then before ya know it.......the day is done!!

Daddy getting loves from his daughters

Mommy actually got a picture with her daughters.

And what did I do for those 90 minutes you ask? Well I went and did something I absolutely cannot do with them, EXERCISED!! i loved it. (sorta, i am sorely out of shape) but it felt good to get out there and to know that i have three mornings a week to do so. that is until the 5 feet of snow comes.

You know you've been a mom too long when.....

YOU SEE BROWN STAINS ON THE CARPET AND THE FIRST THING THAT COMES TO YOUR MIND IS NOT CHOCOLATE.

FINDING AN OLD M&M BEHIND THE COUCH IS NO LONGER A TREASURE BECAUSE YOU CANNOT BE CERTAIN WHERE IT WAS BEFORE IT JUMPED BEHIND THE COUCH.

SEEING KATSUP SPATTERED ALL OVER YOUR BATHROOM DOES NOT RAISE ALARM

YOU DON'T FREAK OUT BECAUSE YOU HONESTLY DON'T KNOW WHERE ALL YOUR KIDS ARE. YOU ARE JUST HAPPY THEY ARE NOT BY YOU.

YOU ONLY CLEAN THE TOILET WHEN YOU KNOW YOU ARE GOING TO BE THE ONE TO USE IT NEXT.

WHEN YOU EAT DINNER AT HOME AND IT TAKES 30 MINUTES AND THE FOOD IS ALWAYS COLD, THEN YOU GO OUT TO EAT, YOU SCARF IT DOWN IN 5 AND YOUR TONGUE IS BLISTERED.

WHEN SHOWERING EVERY OTHER DAY BECOMES A LUXURY.

WHEN YOU CAN SLEEP THROUGH YOUR HUBBY'S SNORING BUT IF A KID COUGHS IT WAKES YOU.

WHEN THE MESSIEST ROOM IN YOUR HOUSE IS NOT YOU CHILDREN'S, BUT SHAMEFULLY, YOURS.

WHEN YOU HAVE ONLY TWO PAIRS OF JEANS TO WEAR BUT A TON OF SHIRTS AND THEY ARE ALL STAINED.

WHEN YOU CAN FALL ASLEEP ON THE COUCH WHILE THE KIDS WATCH SESAME STREET, WAKE UP AND BE ABLE TO TELL WHAT THE WHOLE EPISODE WAS ABOUT.

WHEN YOU FORGET TO COMB YOUR HAIR, OR EVEN TAKE OFF YOUR HOUSE SLIPPERS, BEFORE YOU GO RUN ERRANDS BUT ALL THE KIDS CLOTHES ARE CLEAN, HAIR BRUSHED AND SHOES TIED.

WHEN THE ONLY TIME YOU GET TO TALK TO GROWN UPS IS IM'ING THEM ON THE COMPUTER.

WHEN YOU HEAR HUBBY PULL UP YOU BRUSH THE COOKIE CRUMBS OFF YOUR MOUTH AND TRY TO LOOK BUSY.

K-THAT IS ALL I GOT RIGHT NOW. IT IS PAST 10PM AND I GOTTA GET MY SORRY BUTT TO BED. IF YOU THINK OF ANYMORE PLEASE POST THEM SO I CAN ADD THEM TO THE LIST. (GIVING YOU THE CREDIT OF COURSE.)

Just another strike against us. on the Neighborhood Watch Board

Yes, that is barf, throw-up, vomit, oh and anything else you wanna call it.

jakey said he was full, i said, clean your plate, he cleaned his plate and then tossed it in the street. normally i would be embarrassed but he had the class to do it infront of the neighbor's house. of course his older brothers were impressed with the amount. i honestly did not know he had eaten that much.

so needless to say (but i will type it) i will listen to him better when he says he is full.

**yes we did hose down the street. which made it run into the neighbor's driveway because we live on an incline. hee hee

HIAWATHA HO!!!

I have wanted to bike this trail for years so when the chance came, i jumped on it! sent jake and ike off to Brinn's after school and the girls went to lanae's and Lisa picked up Daniel after practice. I was off to the Bitteroot Mountain Range. (Right on the Idaho, Montana boarder.)

It is called the Hiawatha because that is the train that ran this route. We go through about 6 tunnels ranging from 8,800 ft long to just 15o ft. long. Luckily we had flashlights. No bats though. I thought that was weird. Then there are the breathtakes trussels. You are about 875 ft about the valley floors when you go over them. The trees were so dense you could not always see the bottom.

My rim was bent on my front tire (don't wanna talk about it) so i had to use daniel's bike. no biggie, same size as mine but has a seat of plastic that by the end felt like shards of broken glass. The back brake locked up so we pulled off and dis-assembled it. and then i discovered the dang thing would not shift!! i was stuck in 1st gear for the whole ride!! ARGH!! Poor Kathy's left bike peddle kept comming off so we would stop and re-attach it. ALOT! but other than that it was fantastic. Oh ya and i had to sit on the rumble seat of the truck and on the way back i was hurting!! OUCH!

This is the first tunnel. it is 8800 ft long. all you see is a pin hole of light and you aim for that and try to avoid the gutters that run on either side of the trail

But this beautiful water fall is waiting for you on the other end. I have a funny face because i am squeezing my mom's buttocks.

I love how green the moss was that covered all the rocks.

We were up very high. it was nice and cool though.

My mother acting silly infront of one of the trussles.

Dead. Happy but dead.

Getting as much as we can outta summer

I am still in serious denial that summer is over. I am not ready for our 9 months of winter.

we have been very lucky to still have some warm days this september so i took the kids to the pool on friday afternoon to play. It was fun yet bittersweet.


Isaac showing off his diving skills
Daniel's diving skills

Maria being a ballerina

Anna and Maria diving in together

Jakey on the slide. He played on that most of the afternoon

Daniel

Isaac's Student Council Application

Isaac is in fifth grade this year and can apply to be on the leadership board for student council at his school. Application reads as follows.....

Name: Isaac Brown

Grade: 5th

Teacher: Mrs. Crater

Why do you think you would make a good leader?

I am a webelo scout, I help out alot with my younger brother and sisters, and I am a good student.

Do you have experience dealing with kindergarteners and 1st graders?

EVERYDAY OF MY LIFE!!

What do you hope to do with your leadership skills?

Well, when I grow up I hope to be the President of the United States or take over Cuba. Either way I am going to need leadership skills.

Hmmm, I wonder if he will get a call back? What do you think?

My Motley Crew

I have been asked to introduce the stars of the show here at Brown's Sanitarium. Ya know, put a fact to the names.

I will start with the oldest. Daniel is 13 going on 9. He may have huge smelly feet and be able to fart on command put as his age increases his maturity level decreases. I do not know when this will level out seeing how his father is 43 and is around the maturity level of a 8 yr old. He is a ridiciously good kid. He made us seem like we knew what we were doing as parents. Luckily Ike came along and showed us we were as cluesless as the next sap. He of course cannot keep is hands or body odor to himself. He can sense peace in the house and therefore must disturb it. I ask he why but he honestly does not know. I will kill him before he is 18 if he keeps this up. But I do have to brag that Daniel is at a post H.S graduate in school. how can a kid that is so book smart be so stupid? find someone that can answer that question for me and i will show you a true genius.

Ike, is 10. His whole goal in life right now is to save up so he can buy a gun. I told him the legal age is 40. Right now he believes me. We (as is everyone, including you) are in trouble when he finds out the real age. He life long goal is to join the military (air force), then work is way up to designing weapons, then to take over Cuba. His brother Daniel is totally in with him on this plan. After they take it over they plan on leaving Jake there as a leader. He is a freakishly smart kid. I know we all think our children are but this one really is. he is at an 11th grade level in school. He loves wrestling. he has been in the program for the last 5 yrs. It is a great outlet for all of his aggression. i would like to say i feel bad for the kids he is up against but really i am just grateful it is not his little brother taking the brunt. If only the program lasted all year round.

This is Jakey. He has stitches in this head from where Ike accidently hit him in the head with a shovel. Yes, this time was truly an accident. Ike thought he killed him and was so happy to see him back home from the ER with a smile on his face. Ike was nice to him for a WHOLE three days. That is a record in this house. Jakey's nickname is Smilin' Jake. he is all smiles when the world is going his way. when it is not you better watch your back!! for those of you who watch the t.v. show Malcom in the Middle....this is our Dewey. He gets into a ton of trouble but he is so cute he is hard to stay mad at. which makes his brother resent him even more. i would like to say that jakey does not bring on the beatings himself but the kid just keeps looking for it. like the time he parted Ike's new lego car and then buried the various pieces in alley. Not a smart move in his part. Or when he sneaks into his brother's beds at night and beats the crap outta them and then hustles back to his bed before the wake up completly and realize what just hit them. Ya, he will be a great leader for Cuba.

Now for Anna and Maria. They are 4. They will be started pre-school next month. I dunno how long they will last. They tend to go through teachers pretty quickly in primary at church. Maria is the one holding the bucket in this picture. she has very short hair because anna cut her hair. not once, but twice. the first time they hid the sissors under their beds. AH HA! we now know to do bedchecks. we have found lots of things since then. An entire jar of grape jelly, an empty container of bologna, Ike's D.S, the picture of Christ they ate, a pile of poop (fresh), and of course MARKERS!! a bit late on that find. but the second hair cut caught by surprise, that is until we found there new hiding spot! the heat registar in their room!!! so we had to screw it to the floor. now they are just back to hiding things under their beds. other than that they are your average girls, having tea parties with their cousin, Jaylee, playing dress up and dolls.

Only My Kid

So I hopped in BigRed and headed off to my bff Brinn to make apple butter and apple pies Saturday morning. I was very excited and slightly distracted. There in lies my downfall. I did not check the roof of the van before i left. but why should i check the roof of the van? it is seven feet off the ground. why would any thing be up there? anyways, i take a sharp right and i hear something fall of my van. i start freaking out thinking it is finally falling apart. i hit a bump and i hear another thing fall off. i slam on the brakes...........and a rifle flies out over the front of the car on to the road!

so i went and picked up my friends and headed back down the street were i picked up the rifle, a six shooter, the holster ( i can only assume the six shooter was in there at one time) and a light saber. my friend just looked at me a laughed because honestly, this is just another day in my crazy, crazy life.

went home and asked Ike why. he said that the top of the van makes a great look out. especially when you are playing pirates. i cannot argue with that kind of logic.

Where did Jesus go?

There was a picture of Jesus here. (you can only see the corners where the tape was now) I thought it would bring peace and spirituallity to my crazy daughters......they ate him. Ya you read that right, they ATE him. they tore it up into little pieces, ate the pieces then spit them out. We are waiting three days to see if He will come back. I don't think Jesus will be comming back from this one. and is confirmed my thoughts that the girls are little demons.

how to deal with buggars ( by anna brown)

anna saw daddy blowing his nose this morning.

she asked "Do you have a buggar in in there?"

daddy, "Yes"

Anna, " I just use my finger and POOF they are gone."

Daddy, " Well i like to use a tissue because buggars are dirty."

Anna, "I just wipe my finger on something then the buggar dissappears and my finger is clean."

it is all so simple for a 4 yr old. we now know to look before you sit on anything in our house.