Back To School & The Negotiator

I'm So Glad This Day Is Over!

6:30: Get up and put on work out clothes...this way I know it will happen.

6:40: Check email for a specific response and YES! It is confirmed I have child care coverage for Zach and Ethan. I'M GOING TO ITALY WITH CHRIS NEXT MONTH WHEN HE ACCEPTS HIS AWARD!

6:50: Call USA to tell Marjory to book her tickets to join me in Italy.

6:55: Ethan calls me from the surgery center in DHA to tell me HE WILL NOT have surgery today.

6:57: Convince Ethan that getting tubes in his ears today is worth at least 3 chocolate eggs.

6:59: Chris informs me that chocolate eggs are not available at our commissary right now....oops!

7:00: Wake up Zach, for his first day of school, who is sleeping on a blow up mattress in the living room because Graham barfed all over Zach's room, bed, and Lego bin just as he was going to bed the night before.

7:15: Put clean dishes away, eat, help Z and G get teeth brush, think to self G doesn't look so good.

7:30: Zach is rushing me out the door because he doesn't want to be late. He so doesn't want to wait for me to walk him to school but does let me snap this....

and this as we get there just in time for his class to head in for another wonderful year of learning.

7:35: Phone rings as I'm walking in. Chris informs me that Ethan did agree to have surgery if he got the chocolate eggs, ice cream after the surgery as the nurse promised, and gets to ride the rides at the mall. I remind Chris that because of Ramadan the rides are not open until 8pm in the evening....oops!
7:40: Forget dirty kitchen and start work out.
8:05: Phone rings Chris calls to remind me, (he actually never told me) that he has a field job tonight so when he gets home he will nap and leave.
8:10: Continue Work Out
8:12: Mysterious Smell
8:13: Confirm that the smell is indeed explosive and implosive diarrhea trialed around my living and dinning room.....so glad for tile!
8:14: Stop work out and bathe Graham and clean up poop trail.
8:20: Decide G is way too sick to continue with day as planned.
8:25: Call school and cancel after school childcare obligations.
8:30: Shower
8:50: Decide I won't be back from the clinic in time for Z's lunch so I call school and leave message for Zach to go to a friends.
9:00: Arrive at Clinic
9:15: Read scriptures on iPhone....just feel like it's going to be one of those days and if I don't do it now it won't happen.
11:00: Graham perks up after several doses of pedialyte.
11:10: Head to commissary for crackers, butter, carpet shampoo, and apple juice to disguise the pedialyte taste.
11:30: Down some lunch before I pass out while G nibbles on crackers.
11:35: Vacuum up baking soda and deep clean the carpet in Zach's bedroom.
11:45: Zach walks in for lunch.....apparently didn't get the message to go elsewhere.
11:50: Call friend to let them know Z and I are both home and Graham is doing better.
11:55: Make Z lunch.....What is that smell?
12:00: Change and bathe Graham again and prepare stool sample to take back to the lab.
12:25: Sit down with Graham who just wants to cuddle.
12:30: Send Z back to school.
12:32: Resend Z back to school wearing socks and tennis shoes for PE
12:55: Ethan and Chris arrive home and inform me the house smells of barf and poop.
1:00: Put a sleeping Graham down.
1:05: Ethan says he wants to go on a bike ride despite the fact it 110 degrees outside and go to the library.
1:07: Tell him he can go with me to return our friends car and he can ride his bike home.
1:25: Confirm with Chris that his field job is still on.
1:30: Ethan and I head to the lab to drop off sample.
1:45: Ethan and I return home, leave the car and walk to the library.
2:15: Arrive home, sit down and try to stay awake while reading to Ethan.
2:50: Zach arrives home and we go through new school paperwork and notes from teacher.
3:00: Turn on the Wii, make popcorn, fill out school paper work, clean up kitchen...finally, do another load of poopy laundry, and referee the Wii playing.
4:00: Get Graham up and remind the boys yet again that their hour of Wii time is up.
4:15: Send the boys out to find some neighbors to play with.
4:30: Chris emerges preparing to leave for his night job.
4:35: Chris gets a text not to come just yet.
4:45: Boys show up with new neighbors and their mom in back yard for some trampoline time.
4:47: Everyone wants Popsicles.
4:50: Ethan plays Popsicle swords with a friend as the mother looks on disgusted that germs are swapping between our virus infested family and her happy and healthy sons.
5:00: Feel myself going weak in need of food.
5:05: Scrounge for leftovers and start something for the boys.
5:20: Call Chris back inside because food is on the stove and Graham once again is in need of a diaper change.
5:40: Tell boys to wash hands for dinner
5:45: Ethan decides he prefers the smell of pickle juice over the barf in the house and breaks a jar of pickles on the kitchen floor and cuts open his toe on a piece of glass.
5:46: I take Ethan to the bathroom leaving Chris holding Graham in the middle of a bloody pickle mess.
5:50: Assess and dress the wound and THANKFULLY it does not need stitches.
5:51: Chris gets a call that the job is ready and they need him to come.
6:00: While G is safely in bed and the boys tucking into their meal Chris sticks around a few minutes to help with the mess.
6:05: Screams from E that Z bothered him yet again, send Z to time out, change bandage that has already soaked through.
6:15: Chris leaves.
6:25: Mother in law calls to say she loves us and see how we are.
6:45: Referee another disagreement between the boys.
6:50: Clean up the kitchen dinner mess.
7:00: Bandage cut on Zach's foot from stray piece of glass.
7:10: Wipe another bum.
7:15: Help Zach with School Album while Ethan dictates a note he wants me to write to his friend.
7:30: Commence Bed Time Routine Chaos
7:35: Answer another phone call.
7:50: Remember ear drop medication, hold G who just wants his mom during family scripts.
7:55: Ethan informs us he did NOT SEE FAIRIES like the anesthesiologist said he would.
8:00: Put G in bed and read to E.
8:15: Read to Z while he plays Legos.
8:30: Tuck Zach in trying to convince him it REALLY is time to go to bed.
8:32: Re-tuck Zach into bed while he requests that I set my alarm for 4:30 AM so I can get him up early enough to have plenty of play time tomorrow.....not a chance buddy.
8:45: Blog about it all so it will never ever happen again.

So Tired

Jet Lag Means:
Early Mornings
Cranky Kids in the Evenings

The key to getting on a regular schedule is to keep moving because from about 5pm on if you sit down for even a moment this happens:

I made the mistake of laying down on the floor for family scriptures last night. Moments before this Ethan was screaming about how horrible a Mom I was because I didn't let him start a movie. (I knew it was the exhaustion speaking and didn't take it personally.)
Ethan, being funny put this blanket on me....as I was resting my eyes. The next thing I knew two kiddos plopped down and passed out. I knew one was G. by the size (nice pillow) but because of the placement of the blanket I couldn't tell who else was there. Chris had to come and rescue me.

Hello Sunshine

We survived another 36ish hour world crossing back to the desert, sunshine, and heat.

After 31 days of rain in Anchorage the sunshine is feeling pretty good. And yes, I know, the sun came out the day after we left. But according to my monitor it looks rainy again.

The boys were great even though they did have to sit next to a stranger (taking turns) on one flight. We only had one serious melt down and it was Zach of all people. On our second flight he was too engrossed with non-stop movies to sleep. He decided to save that until the last 1.5 hrs. of the flight. When it came time to exit he REFUSED to exit the plane and then the flight attendants had to get involved because I didn't have enough arms. After some time I coaxed him through the Amsterdam airport to the kids', thankfully recently remodeled, play area. There they had a huge ottoman that became his bed while G and E burnt off some energy.

I tried something new this trip that kept the boys in line. I told them we were a train and Graham was the engineer in his stroller, Ethan grabbed onto the leash from my roller suit case, and Zach was the caboose. It worked about 90% of the time. It kept them close to me and from wandering into other peoples paths. Also Zach was a huge help watching G and all our stuff so that I didn't have to haul the entire crew in and out of the bathrooms.

On the last flight the boys got non-stop compliments from the staff and surrounding passengers on how well behaved they were. It helped that by that point they were so tired they didn't have any energy to fight. E seemed to have gotten all his punches out of his system by then. Thank goodness because the last flight had us sitting two by two with G and I in front of Z and E. When I learned of this arrangement I had my doubts it would work as they generally can't sit next to each other with out problems. But once again fervent prayers from Chris, myself, and many friends and family were answered.

Just Go Fly A Kite

Wind...check

Open Field....check

5 Foot Wide Biplane Kite....check

Aunt Lauren scored a brand new unique kite at a yard sale. She is always on the look-out for great deals and often surprises the boys with amazing finds. This one did not disappoint but waiting for just the right amount the wind was almost more than they could handle.

It couldn't have come at a better time as I was recovering from yet another bout of strep throat.

THANKS AUNT LAUREN AND GRANDPA SLOCOMBE FOR ANOTHER GREAT ADVENTURE!

Boyz At The Zoo

Boyz, Boyz, Boyz, and their moms.

Not sure
who was

the WILDEST?



These guys

or

these

guys?

Mine were..... hands down.

These bears aren't living the Big Wild Life (AK State Theme).

But we are as we raise our three little monkeys.

Family Feast and Fun

The sun came out just in time for our party. What were we celebrating?

Just being together!

Mark fried up the halibut (ooohhh so yummy)

Lauren put out the spread (salmon dip and sweet potato fries)

Megan sugared us up (Double Musky's Cajun Delight)

Scott helped us burn it off (volleyball and badminton)

and

the Babies entertained us. (Eating dirt, fighting over Grandpa's lap, and scavenging food and drinks...everyone's and any ones with in reach.)

Graham is not used to car alarms and one went off near him. He came running to me FULL pelt, FULL on screaming, with a FULL soda sloshing everywhere but mostly on him.

He recovered pretty quickly but remained super sensitive the rest of the evening.

The grownups were super excited to be included in the usual kids only games.;)

As the evening moved on so did the sun. We did our best to move our chairs along with it but eventually we had to end the outside fun and move it indoors.

For two hilarious rounds of BALDERDASH.

Zach was stoked we let him play too. He even came up with some impressive answers once we were able to decipher the creative handwriting and spelling.....and he won the second round (we had some non standard scoring).

Twin Shiners

On Sat. Ethan danced into a table corner.

On Sun. with only minutes left in Sacrament Mtg. (our Sermon at church) Graham face planted the corner of the pew ahead of him. Grandpa, who was holding him, made a quick exit during the gasping phase but didn't quite make it out the door before the SCREAM of pain.

28 Hours on the Kenai

CAMPING, CAMPING, CAMPING!

Was cheered along with jumps and squeals by the boys when they overheard the plan. Aunt Megan, Uncle Scott, and baby have come for a visit and the Kenai River was their first stop after acquiring a motor home, truck, trailer of camping gear, fishing gear, strollers, pack n plays, chariots, etc. Sheesh camping with kids is A LOT of work because....

• We had two kiddos, two toddlers, and one infant and our main campsite had a steep drop off into a ravine. Even with several pair of adult eyes it was still tough keeping track of everyone.
• We had gourmet meals (thanks Dad) cooked over a campfire that was so enticing to the little ones.
• New sling shot glider planes that flew phenomenally and kept the bigger boys very entertained and mom's throwing arm in shape as I had to repeatedly rescued them from tree branches with rocks.
• Pulling Kids from the Russian River when they lose their balance on the stairs.
• Finding a missing toddler who decided to go on a walk about....walking about 1/4 mile away from camp.
• Keeping kids happy with stories on the 4.5 mile hike to and from the Russian River Falls.
• A little boy who wouldn't stop asking to go fishing. (Thanks Scott, E had a great time.)
• Keeping boys from fighting over the Darth Vader and Clone Wars helmets Aunt Lauren scored at a yard sale the day we headed out of town.
• And lastly trying to get toddlers to sleep in the bright of night, in a tent, and then stay asleep when it pours rain at 2 AM.

We had a GREAT time making memories and reuniting with family.

FYI my boys had nothing to do with Sean's entrapment....no really they didn't.

It is not unusal to see bears in and around this area but this little guy was by far the cutest one on that day.