Bubble time

We had a brief break from the rain this morning so we all ran outside to play with bikes, bubbles and neighbors.

Ria cruising down the street.

Anna showing her skills on Jakey's old bike.

we also had our bubble machine going. always lots of fun. ike showed me a new trick he learned from the last time i washed his mouth out with soap. (yes, it happens often) i dunno what to do now that he has made a game of it. anyways, he thought he could out do the bubble machine. well he could not pump out as many at a time, but he made up for that with them being totally gross and disgusting to watch.

learning to french braid

I grew up in a house of french braiding. inside out, diagonal, corn rows, fishtails. well you get the idea. but i was lazy, i always had a sister or mom nearby that could do my hair when i wanted it done. now i have girls of my own and i wanted to do their hair the same way mine was done. we always had fabulous hairstyles and our hair was down past our bottoms. we were not allowed to cut it.

last week i finally got brave and started teaching myself. the girls are very patient. they watch their favorite tv show while i slowly work. i know i will get faster with time. i just need to stick with it. soon i want to master the inside out french braid.

East Valley Tournament

We has our last wrestling tournament of the season this past saturday. we were at East Valley, where they like to keep their gym at a cozy 98 degrees. YIKES! ike got a silver. this year was his hardest year yet. we are really proud of him and how hard he has worked.


Daddy with the girls
Ike getting ready to wrestle. he gets so nervous.

Jakcy and Ray playing.

Daniel's new toy

sure, it may not be the wisest thing we have done as parents. but, he promised not to use it around our house. and he did buy it himself.

stuck in a rut

i have been stuck in a rut this past week. just going through the motions.

wake up
dishes
laundry
breakfast/scripture study
get kids dressed and out the door
mop floors
vaccum
laundry
clean bathroom
read
lunch
laundry
pick up dog poop
take out trash
make snacks for kids
laundry
dinner
bootcamp
wrestling
dishes
baths/showers
bedtime
clean up house
laundry

everyday, the same thing. here's where it gets tricky. i can't stop. if i do i will fall behind. i hate being behind. i have to stick to a schedule. if i don't i get very overwhelmed and then depressed. but i am bored with my schedule. everyday is the same list because everyday the same stuff needs to get done. i can't sit still. i just can't. it bothers me, a lot. so in the boredom i am finding more and more things to add to my daily list of chores. and the longer the list gets the more overwhelmed i get because i wonder "when will i ever have free time to just sit?" i feel like one of those mice that are stuck on the wheel while someone else is spinning it. i am just running as fast as i can to keep from getting flipped.

The kids get out of school at 1pm all this week, which is two hours earlier than normal. luckily this week has been very, very nice weather. they play outside from 1-5. all i ask is they clean up before they come in. so they have desided to build a basement to their tree fort. we have four extra boys in the backyard too. so this is good. it keeps them busy, and any mother can tell you a busy boy is a quiet boy.
they are using wood from the woodpile. i am sure i should be concerned but honestly, it is just wood. they can't break it. so what if it is not stacked "just right" it will still burn.

they have added some "barracks" in the tree too. along with a crow's nest. seeing how this a work in progress for them i will keep posting pictures of their fort.

New Kitchen Floor!!

step one: tear up old vinyl tiles. Ike and Daniel took this job.

yucky, nasty, dirty floor.

Fiberglass underlayment stuff. dunno what it was totally made out of i just know is costs alot of $$$ per roll and we needed two to finish our kitchen.

all laid out and ready to grout

a grouted floor.

all sealed up and shiny. i like shiny. =)

well i have learned to do alot of things through trial and error being married to a man who loves to start projects.........just has trouble finishing them. i love, love, love my floor.

Wrestling match at U-High

Ike getting some tips from his coach after his first match.

This week was a knock down drag out fight for each match. i could not control myself and occasionally shouted out. Oops. these were the same three boys he went against last week. they are in the top bracket. the kid in the purple singlet pinned him in 21 seconds last week. this week ike went all three rounds with him.



Ike got a bronze this week. he was not happy about it, but i could not have been prouder. he worked so hard. and his last two matches were back to back. so that was six minutes of wrestling all out. he was so tired. one more match at East Valley next week and then the season comes to a close.

3AM this morning.......

This is Anna (to the left)and Maria. in this picture they are all of four years old. they are now five and have since giving up on painting their walls with their own feces and markers. now they are big girls and share a bed. sure we got them a trundle but knew full well they would share the top bed and the trundle will be used for sleep-overs (if it ever comes to that).

so they cuddle up on the top bed every night. maria sleeps by the wall and anna sleeps on the outside. i pull the trundle out part way in case anna falls off during the night. that has happened a few times because i hear her plop and then scurry back up onto the top bed.

we have a small house. all the bedrooms are in a row and share walls so we can easily hear all the kids in their rooms. especially the girls because our head of the bed in on the wall their bed is against. if that makes any sense. last night at 3am. (weird how the clock is the first thing you look at when you get woken up) dan and i were woken up by those to chippies fighting. conversation goes as follows......

i am a horrible mother as i cannot always tell who is who when it is just their voices and i am half asleep trying very hard to go back to 100% asleep.

girl 1: get off my side!

girl 2: i am not on your side. you are on mine!

daddy: Go to bed!

girl 1; completely ignoring her father's advice. you are on my side and now you have my blanket!!

girl 2: no, you are laying on your blanket and mine too!

girl 1: oh. well your buns are cold. get them off me

girl2: your legs are warm. they make my buns feel good. gimme my blanket back.

dan and i totally see the logic in her argument, which only proves how tired we are at this point.

daddy: knock it off and go to sleep.

girl 1: get your buns off me and i will give you back the blanket.

girl 2: FINE!

girl 1: nite sis.

girl 2: nite sis.

and then they quickly fell back to sleep. i on the other hand had to find my comfy spot again and warm my buns on dan's back. i did not give him the blanket back. thpppt!

they got me!!

we have had "kennel cough" going through our house for about a month. they have finally taken down me. now you think that if they were as smart as their test scores show they would know that if you take down the mama everything else comes to a screeching halt. dinner, laundry, housework (well really they could care less about that) baking, and extra curricular activites. i am going to finish my malt-o-meal and crawl back onto the couch. girls still in jammies, hair not combed, i did switch over laundry and load and start the dishwasher. i dunno if i will get to floors today. sigh..... i don't even want to think about Boot Camp tonight.

Hopscotch in the sunshine

We have had a few days in a row of sunny, warm weather. a very special treat for mid-march. the windowpane pattern on our backdoor of our family room make a perfect hopscotch patten on the floor when the sun shines through it. i caught the girls playing. sadly my camera died a few seconds in but it was still sweet to watch.

Wresting match at mead

You know it is going to be a good match when there is already a firetruck and ambulance there before the action even starts.

Ike at weigh-in. a whopping 87 lbs.

Yes folks, he is this tough.

Heading out to the mat

the second match lasted all of 21 seconds. the kid was awesome. pinned all his opponents. dan wonders about the legality of that move. it is still being debated. ike got a silver and was really happy with that. next week we are at university high.

Lincoln Heights Ward Talent Show 2010

My bestest buddies, Kathryn and Brinn. last names withheld to protect identities. we had so much fun much to our hubbies embarassment. and of course several teenage children were humiliated by the performance and may require counseling as a result. mwaaa haaa haaaa.

I put together a routine for the YW too. they got an award. they were such good sports. thank you so much girls for letting me play with you!!!

not much

nothing really of note has been going on in our house.

anna is on another round of steriods which makes her super, super moody. she got mad at her leg the other night and beat herself up. YIKES!

practice continues for ike. he got a small cut below his left eye. but other than that he is moving right along.

this week daniel want so work for the Army Corps of Engineers. I will let you know what he wants to do next week.

jakey wants to do his first bike race. i wish they had those around for little kids. i wonder what it would take to get one going.

the lizards shed their skin this week. that was really a cool suprise. we did not know they did that. we have a lovely sample from spiderman.

and that's about all folks. so from the great white north. Good day!

Take down tourny at Mt. Spokane H.S.

We got through the take down tourney. it is the longest tourney of the season. the kids are getting used to it after eight years. i wish i could say the same. i get so nervous for the little guy. i am shocked the camera is as steady as it is. you can hear the little cheer section chanting " isaac, isaac"

now i do enjoy the sight seeing at these things. fascinating what comes out of the woodwork. i saw six kids with regular Mohawks. one kid with a bright green Mohawk, a kid with a mullet Mohawk. business in the front, party in the back, shaved up the sides. his parents hate him. say a kid named shamrock. yep, honest truth. and four girls wrestling one in just a singlet and sports bra! yikes!!! i think i will make up some rules of wrestling etiquette.

1. If you have more than two children you are no long allowed to wear lowrise jeans with hot pink g-string panties. no one wants to see that.

2. I am sorry your dreams of pro-wrestling career fell through. Don't try to make your NINE YEAR OLD live them.

3. two words "PERSONAL SPACE"

4. Don't yell at the refs. they are high school boys trying to earn an easy $50. i am sure your kid's wrestling career will not be stunted by one missed point.

5.and finally. yelling louder will not make your kid win the match. it will only make me want to hurt you, and no kid should see there dad's butt kicked by an angry mid-thirties housewife.

thank-you.

things found while cleaning the boys room.

this is ONE wall in their room covered in fecal matter and boogers and other organic substances we could not identify at this time.

soiled underwear. approx 12 pairs.

candy wrappers. enough to fill a 4lb bag

empty yogurt container

two spoons

dried orange peels

dried banana peels

LEOGS. 10 lbs worth

cash. now belonging to me!

daniel and ike both had pocket knives under their pillows (ya, things are that rough in there)

variety of buttons

15 socks. why couldn't it be an even number?

half eaten cookies. i guess they were too full from the candy to finish the cookies.

four brass tacks

three pajama bottoms belonging to the child that like to sleep all natural

several shoes that are missing the laces. (have not found laces yet)

stringcheese wrappers.

a variety of nuts and bolts. i am afraid to scrape the dried boogers and gum off their bunk beds because that is probably what is holding them together.

1 cupcake wrapper

1 moldy orange.

my foot file. i dunno why, i don't want to know why. and i threw it away for piece of mind.

they say that 9 out of 10 deaths occur in the home. i can now see the reasoning in this because when the boys get home i am gonna kill them. not in their room of course, i just cleaned that!

If Elton John designed watches......

It would look alot like this beauty here. Ya, i know you are jealous. Holly and I found this lovely at a little bead shop in the valley. it was love at first sight and then when i saw that it was 1/2 off i knew it was meant to come home with me!! I always get lots of compliments when i wear it. Dan says it is because they are just being nice. He HATES it. which for some strange reason makes me love it even more. weird.

i should take a picture with it on so you can see how gigantic this baby is. in fact, i will be right back. well, it is at the top of the post. and i am too lazy to correct it. but i think it shows off the beauty of the watch. sadly, my wrist is pasty white. oh the joys of winter.

Crazy Hair Day at Hamblen

Last friday was crazy hair day at the kid's school. jakey was very happy with his blue mohawk until he realised that he could not wear his bike helmet and had to actually walk to school. poor baby. it is all of 1/2 a block.

i dunno if i have any "normal" pictures of jakey. he always seems to be making a face of some sort. oh well, he is easy to pick out of a crowd that way. he did not win first in his class. he said some girl with really long hair did. he said, "How can i compete with that?" i said, sissors.

Ike wore a mullet wig. yes, this is just a wig. but he loved it and now i am a bit worried. he did win first place in his class. i guess they are all too young to remember this hair do.

Ike rocking the mullet. for a moment there i thought i was at a White Snake concert. (shudder)