Can you guess what is inside?

A random post....

 I wash and fold all the clothes for our family (I'm a little picky on washing, folding, and wrinkles).  Anyway all I require is that my kids put the clothes in their baskets away and hang up the shirts.  Kirsten has always struggled with this.  The last time I saw a pile at the bottom of her closet, I threatened to take the clothes away and make her "buy" them back when she needs them.  So last week, while the kids were at school, I went in and straightened their rooms.  In this little jewelry box, I found 2 shirts and a dress STUFFED inside of it.  Sometimes I wonder what takes longer, hanging them up or thinking where to stash them and shoving them there.  : )  The joys of being a mom (and I enjoy every second.)

Chewing catastrophe questions????

Scenario this evening: 

Plot: Young Women practicing their song for sacrament meeting before Mutual.

McKay:  Mom, I have to go to the bathroom.  (She proceeds to head out of the chapel with her hands closed very close to her chest.)

Mom:  McKay, what are you hiding?

McKay:  Nothing?

Mom: (Gave her the look.)

McKay:  My gum made my hands stuck together.

And now I know why....

....Jacob doesn't allow the kids to have gum....my gum. 

Sometimes I wonder....

....how when McKay is so smart that she is so ...... unthinking sometimes.

This is what happens when you go to practice singing and you decide to roll your gum into a ball in your hands....for 20 minutes.  It was much worse than this.  This is after she had ice in her hands for a couple minutes to get it off.  

All I can do is smile, laugh, shake my head, and take a picture for my blog.  : )  KIDS!!!!

a week has passed

A week gone by since the last post, but our everyday life is usually the same thing. It's funny because all winter in Idaho is so cold that we spend most of it inside. Here in Texas it's just the opposite. It's been 100+ degrees (not including the heat index) so most of the days you spend inside until night when it cools off.

The kids have enjoyed playing in the little pool as well as the bigger neighborhood pool. The little pool didn't last very long as the big kids gave it a bigger "stress" beating.We've also done lots of different crafts (as Betsy is very creative), lots of coloring, and playing. The older kids invited their own 7-up club. (They tried to ban the younger kids from joing. As grow-ups, we had the ultimate say and the 7-up club allowed all.)

McKay and Aspen tried to see who could keep their grapes in their mouths the longest without biting or eating them one afternoon. What I want to know is where is McKay hiding her grapes in the next picture?My other amazement has been Katanya. She has been, by far, my most pickiest eater. She only would eat a handful of foods before she came here. She was getting better but it was still a power struggle for us on getting her to eat vegetables, meats, and other foods. Since we've been here she now eats almost everything. Vegetables like cucumbers, lettuce, broccoli, raw carrots and cauliflower, to fruits like raisins, honeydew, cherries, bananas, mangoes and more. Whole meals (down to the plate cleared) of chicken masala (she beat some of the other kids), lasagna casserole, pot roast, Linda Brown tacos (which Nate now calls "Amy's tacos), pasta, and more. I guess it's been a positive peer pressure influence to her down here. I still just shake my head and wonder how much of it was a power struggle between us and her.

P.S. We also found out that the Texas tooth fairy was a lot nicer than the Idaho tooth fairy.

inside those tiny little brains, the wheels keep turning

After one day of watching 3 of Betsy's kids and all of mine, I am still going strong. It's actually rather simple. Although McKay had the nerve to ask....(seriously)

Me: (I was tucking in the girls and giving them hugs.)
McKay: Mom, how was it with 7 kids today?
Me: Easier than I thought, it was great.
McKay: So does this mean you will have at least one more, maybe 2?
Me: (LOL.) Nope.

Gotta give it to her for trying, she never gives up.

it's been documented....

McKay: (while cleaning up after dinner) "I hate kitchen duty. My husband will always do the dishes when I get married."

Remind me to tell her this in another decade or so.

only for the strong in stomach

Afternoon church always throws me off. It's hard to get lunch in because you are also trying to get everyone ready. By the time you come home, everyone is starving. Sunday nights are usually leftovers. Yesterday was no exception. (Kirsten finally asked yesterday, "What happen to Sunday dinners and why is it always leftovers?") Everyone chose their own meal, but McKay took it an extra creative level. She wanted some of her favorite foods. Her concoction was chili with pickles and soggy tortilla chips. I'm just glad none of the other kids thought this was the cool thing to do.

And now, with my turn of being sick and battling the stomach flu today, this is the most unpleasing picture I can think of and it makes my stomach churn that much more.

Is there any other weird combos out their that you or you kids like?

Daughter and Son Like Father

We all know how Cruz is a spitting image of Jake. His looks, his face, right down to his smile. Yes, somehow dad's smile has been the way to go and Cruz has made it his own too. Yesterday, Jake was having me take his face shots and I told him to smile. He said, "tell me how." I've never had to instruct anybody on smiling so it was actually a difficult thing to teach. I think this is where Pete comes in. He could always get Jake to smile.

Anyway back to Cruz, I wouldn't give this up for anything.

Now onto the daughter. This one is the one that acts like Jake. She is my counter in every way. How many candies, how many minutes on the computer, especially how many pictures on the blog. We have had many sit down talks how the world isn't fair and not everything is the same, but we try to make everything equal. She is not afraid to express her opinion and what she wants. She is also very independent and stubborn. To make her happy all you have to do is let her pick her own clothes and do her own hair for school. I've bitten my lip many of times when she does her hair, but it expresses herself and I have to let her have some of the control too.Her hair is so thick and full that I love it in rollers. There are some days that I step forward and do her hair for school and church. And almost every time she isn't happy about this. I do miss her hair and how long it used to be. Many times I wished I hadn't gotten it cut. She took her ponytail for show and tell last week and it brought back all the memories.

I wouldn't trade this for anything either.

Bloody nose queen

Just thinking about it....I'm sure I could do a post on health and doctors every day this week. Just from things that has happened and things that Jake has thought. Anyway that's not the point today...... This picture is from our lovely beach vacation, and yes Katanya had a bloody nose. For the past three months Katanya has been having bloody noses at anytime. We had tried all the tricks; Vaseline, humidifier, neosporin, ayr, but none of them were a long lasting solution. After averaging 3-4 of these happenings a week (and that's not counting when she bumped her nose and then all went wild) the doctor finally cauterized both sides today. Surgery, anesthesia, and recovery went great and the patient is now home and sleeping in her own bed. I was amazed. She was happy the whole time and never cried once.

P.S. I'm hoping this makes sense because after two nights of no sleep, I'm not sure it does.

Hard Headed

Take a look at the first picture. Do you see the missing purple hair? The big bald spot where normally her part is? Can you take a guess what happened? No it wasn't scissors nor had anything to do with scissors. It wasn't Katanya either (lately hair pulling has been her forte). It was self inflicted if you are wondering.... Now take a look at the toy. By the time I got the picture, that was only half of the hair. It was late last night and the kids were playing trucks while I worked on entering all of last year's invoices into the new QuickBooks so we can finish our taxes. Let me clarify, the kids were in the living room and I was at the Bar. We were in the same room. So, Kirsten some how got her hair stuck in the wheels. Now instead of saying "Mom, can you help me?" She just yanked and pulled til it came free. Not an "ouch" or any mutter of discomfort. Then she came over and said "Look mom, it's my hair." You can imagine the rest from there.
So after inspecting the damages and calming Kirsten down (She freaked from my reaction....it was a lot of hair!!!!) It's not so bad after all. It's a good thing that she has the Kerksiek gene for hair and she has a lot of it!!!!
So, we changed her part and all is good. What isn't showing isn't knowing.

GROWING UP

McKay wanted a blog also. Sometimes I swear she is too little to grow up this fast. Although, since she is going to be away from home for the next 5 weeks, I figured it would be a cute way to keep in touch. To see her blog click here.

Aquamarine

I was going to let McKay do this right before my brother's wedding.....but last minute thinking I opted against it. So today we spent a mindless 4 1/2 hours (each kid) of bleaching and coloring. Also, since Betsy is here my kids fit right in.
My only problem is fixing their hair before school starts.
I will worry about that in a couple months.

THE CRAPPER

*Two weeks ago*

(Old neighbor throwing out long time broken four-wheeler and a riding engineless lawn mower. Jake trades two loads of dirt for it.)

*Today*

KIRSTEN: Dad, why did you have to get that crappy old four-wheeler? Is it because you are the crappy man?

(Kids say it best)

Update or non-update???

I keep waiting for my life to get a little slower paced, or maybe just simple once in awhile. Somehow I don't think it will be that way anytime soon. Katanya was scheduled to have her tonsils out today....BUT.... since she decided to come down with croup Saturday morning, things were postponed. The normal doctor's visit happened early morning, the normal steriod was given and within hours, she was a different kid then at 7 a.m. She still amazes me at how fast and how severe it can affect her. My pediatrician was worried since when they put you under anesthesia, they also put you on a type of ventilator, and when they pull the ventilator out it normally irritates and causes a little "stryder" (croup). With her trachea already having these symptons and being irritated he didn't want to risk it and the chance that she would end up down in Salt Lake. So we are giving her 10 days and trying to schedule it again.

A letter from the teacher

Just how much does people know about your family? Leave it to the kids to tell them. Yesterday, McKay brought home an envelope from her teacher. I pulled it out and there was a post it note reading "I thought this was hillarious. I just adore Mckay. What a spirit she has! I'm glad I'm no the only one raising a drama queen." Signed, her teacher.

I unfolded the paper and this is what it said (McKay's words)

My writing assignment

"I tried to clean my room. But then my sister came down and started bawling because I was picking up our toys. Then she went and hid and I continued to clean. My dad was upstairs on the computer and heard her crying. He called her and then she told him what I was doing. Then I started crying and hid. Everytime Kirsten tried to come in I would yell 'Out! Out! Out! Out! Out! Out!' Then she told my dad what I was doing (again). My dad called me and I didn't go. He called me again. This time I put a blanket over me. My dad made me take it off though. I had to go up. I hid on a stair and I started crying again. Then I went in and called Kirsten a big fat tattle tale. I started arguing and called my dad a FIVE HEADED PIG EATER! Then my mom started laughing [I will insert here and say that Jake was egging her on. He was provoking the matter.] I called my dad a five headed pig eater because he said cleaning my room was not service. I had to do service for homework from school. But doing this gave me an even more bad day. (At school when I was coming home, I ran into a boy in my class and hit his forehead with my nose.) So that gave me a bloody nose. I got it on my white coat too. My nose is still sore. After I called my dad a five headed pig eater, my mom took me. She told me to brush my teeth. I said when Kirsten was out I would. After the prayer, I did my service. I unloaded the dishwasher. So I got my homework done. In bed I wrote this paper. I didn't want my mom to catch me because she would take my lamp away for a week. My mom had turned on the radio. As I was listening, the radio said reading in a poor light would not damage your eyes, only strain them! My mom said it did damage them. So I went upstairs to tell her. I told her I wanted a hug. Then I told her. She laughed. She was eating a popcicle. She took a bite and I started eating the rest. My dad caught me of course. Then I said I had a headache in my nose. He gave me Tylenol. I went downstairs to right this story. I'm glad reading in poor light doesn't hurt your eyes. P.S. It is true!"

I couldn't help but smile. (McKay is my one child that when she is tired, she can't handle any bit of stress. That is why bedtime is so important at my house.)

Creativity. That's all I can say. Cruz dressed himself. As hard as it was, I let him stay this way all day long.

He's also so proud of his "tractor" books. What they really are are construction auction pamplets with a list and pictures of the upcoming machinery.

P.S. Keli, I thought of you when I saw this.

Face of an Angel

Take a look. Innocent, sweet, cute, adorable are all words that come to mind. This is my baby.I had been blessed with three very easy, very mellow babies. All of them that slept the night early on in their little lives. None of them very picky, all of them happy and playful. Did I mention VERY EASY? Needless to say,my fourth, has been the exact opposite! She has been very strong and independent from birth, and I was grateful for this trait. Now, I don't know what to think. This sweet angel teases and knows just how to push my buttons. She still refuses to eat almost all foods. I've never had a biter until her. I often feel like I fight her with everything simple thing that happens in life. She's fearless and I spend most of my day trying to keep her from falling off chairs, or jumping off couches and beds. Then nighttime comes, and bedtime is another battle. Her precious attitude has made me glad that she is the last and not the first. Although it's not just me that puts up with her.... (busted....)
Kirsten and Cruz had climbed in her playpen to protect themselves from Katanya hitting them on the head with a doll. She knows how to tease and loves it. Many times she will run and grab something you are using or working with and start running around the bar saying na, na, na, na, na, na, or she runs and hides.

Where did she learn this?

Although, after all is said and done (and she is in bed and asleep) we still love her.

Three down, one to go

How do you get your three year old excited about going on the toilet when his baby sister comes and bites him? Doesn't leave a good impression.

Although Cruz made it through two whole days with no accidents! YAY.....as bribery we are off to TOYS R US.

From the mouth of babes

SUNDAY MORNING

Kirsten: (whispering) "Dad, Dad, wake up. I have to wake you up because mom is anwry if I wake her up."

If only I could get a good night's sleep this wouldn't be so true. Although for my defense, it was 7:30 in the morning. I do get up on the school days....maybe this is her reasoning.

Another hobby....

Jake decided that it was time to start our playmobile collection. He has been wanting to since our trip to New York. Cruz LOVES them! Cruz loved playing on the tramp or in the sandbox. This was his "favorite." As he says it best. I love sandbox, love tramp.

Cat in the Hat

"The sun did not shine. It was too wet to play. So Cruz sat in the house all that cold, cold, snowy day."

"...So all he could do was to sit! Sit! Sit! Sit! And he acutally liked it, all of the bit."

I think Cruz has watched Cat in the Hat too many times. I turned around from doing the dishes and straightening the kitchen to find him doing this. And he did this for a good 20 minutes.