Livea's Letter

Dear Daddy,

Hi Daddy, I am going to tell you about Adam's birthday party.  Um, we did lots of games. They were really fun.  My favorite one was the last one.  And you had to put some tight things on your head and there was a ball in it and um, you had to put it on your head and there was water bottles and so you had to swing it and you had to get that water bottles knocked down.  All of them.  I knocked down all of them but two.  Adam just ran into them to knock them down when time was up, to help me.

Daddy, once for school we were on Apple and we made cheese and apples and made it an apple sandwich.  And it was really good.  Daddy, would you like that?

Daddy, we went to Halloween and I got so much candy and my bag is really heavy.  And we went to tons of doors.  And Mommy got me a witch costume.  It was black and really long.  And Mommy painted my face green with her green eyeshadow.  We put some lipgloss on and we put sparkly green eyeshadow on my lips and it was really fun.  And Mommy put mascara on me.  We are going to send you candy because we have too much.  Mommy says it's too much, but I think I got a lot, but I'm giving some to you.

At Adam's birthday party we put helium in balloons and put a string on it.  I liked that, it was really fun.  And we even got to suck up some helium that was left in the big bottle.

I miss you, Daddy.  I love you a lot.  I want you to come home.  I love you.
liv

(so cute! she typed her own name!)

Picture Catch-up Time.

In order of no certain importance............

Littles playing at the last swim lesson of the season.  They put holes in the hose so our awesome dive students wouldn't burn their toes waiting in line to dive.  I finally got smart the last week and let Ethan wear his suit to play in it.

 

 

 

 

I don't remember what day this was, I think a Sunday.  But this is my story and I"m sticking to it: I accidentally forgot to run the very full dishwasher.  I was feeling extremely behind, and tired, and also probably a teensy bit lazy too, and so I also had a sink-full of dishes as well as a full dishwasher.  I woke up in the morning very hungry, with starving kids biting my legs.  I went to make some delicious eggs, and coffee, and the works, and the dishes were all dirty - everywhere.  I felt like pouting, and called up my mom and sister and begged them to go to Cracker Barrel with us.  That way I didn't feel ultra guilty, or something.  They both lovingly obliged, and here is the photo of kids rockin' on our way out.

I had to make a Target run, for something or another, and made Jenna try these cute glasses on.

....and Ethan had to try them on too, of course.  He also had the matching shirt on already.

Haircuts for everyone.  Jenna and Liv went to a salon, a door down from Great Clips.  Great Clips had a $7.99 promotion.  The next day I saw a commercial for free haircuts at JC Penney.  Nice.  I cut Ethan's.  I kept walking back and forth between Great Clips and Salon to make sure kids were okay everywhere.  The people probably thought I was crazy.  Also, the salon smelled horribly and constantly of fake nail perfume.  I think we all have lung cancer.  Sorry about that.

Liv Leigh has shingles.

Here she is sleeping before swim class because I gave her Benadryl for her "rash."  We went to my mom's to have her look at it, and three minutes later here is Livea sleeping:

So Liv's ER experience was not so bad.  They are so nice at Mendy's Place.  I love them.  Here she is waiting for the doctor to come in (watching television!):

She enjoyed her hospital bracelet and gown.  She wanted to take the gown home.

The rash is actually hard to capture quite right on camera, and it is pretty mean looking today, and she had trouble sleeping last night because it was hurting her.  She took some Advil before bed.  All the kids wanted to sleep in my bedroom last night on blankets, but she moved into her own bed sometime during the night.  She said her back was hurting her.  She also is saying that her underarm on that side is burning - no rash there (yet), but maybe it will come? I don't know.

It starts at the center of her ribcage, and extends all the way around and stops just before her spine.

Kids have two more days of swim.  I have a pile of pictures and videos of them swimming and diving to post for you.  Hopefully, I'll get to it this weekend.  Miss you tons, and love you tons more.

ohh, Liv.

Livea: Mommy, I think I know the very bad "F" word.
Me: You do? Who told you that?
Livea: I don't know.
Me: Well how do you know it's so bad?
Livea: I don't know. It just know it is.
Me: Okay, well whisper it in my ear.
Livea: Are you sure?
Me: Yes, go ahead.
Livea, whispering in my ear: "Freak."
Me: Oh, yes, that is very bad. Don't say that.


whew.

Pictures

The kids played in the snow the other day when I shoveled the driveway.  Livea climbed the huge hill and was so proud of herself so I had to take a picture.

The boys played too.  Jenna was in the house...so there aren't any pictures of her this time.  I will have to get plenty of her in Colorado!

I was doing laundry last night and I asked Livea to fold her diapers up.  She loves helping with any kind of work around the house so I knew she would love to help.

All done!  Look what a great job she did!  I did not help her at all!
Love ya and miss ya!

hackjob

Adam and Livea decided Livea needed a new haircut. I was reading to Jenna and Luke (school stuff) and the little ones went upstairs. They do this often, so it isn't something I worry about. They play together really well. Well................................!! Adam hacked the heck outta her hair. Livea helped somewhat, but Adam did most of it. I could not even bring myself to take a picture of her hair. The image burned into my memory is bad enough. I was really anxious the entire day about it. Christina's has a friend that does hair in her home, and I called her up and she let me come over at 4:15. Her hair doesn't look so bad in this picture - it's pretty cute actually, but this morning when she woke up, all the too-short hairs were standing straight up on the top of her head. Aye! There really isn't anything I can do with her hair now, I have tried ponies, and clips....it is just going to have to grow for a while. I was very upset with them. Poor Livea - she just cried and cried. Adam cried because I spanked him. Livea cried just because I was so upset with her. Later I asked her what she thought Daddy would think when she told him Adam cut her hair, and she said "Daddy will love it! Daddy will say he loves my new haircut when he comes home from Iwack!" So here it is. We wuv you and miss you vewwy much. ;o)

From Drop Box

lotta nothin'

It was so nice talking to you last night. Of course it always is, but I was just really glad to talk to you last night for some reason. I am so thankful that you take the time to call me, I really am. I know not everyone does that for their wives, and I feel very blessed that you wake up extra early some days just to call me. I can't say I'd do the same, you know how me and Sleep are best friends, so it means a lot to me.

We went to Target last night for invitations for Adam's birthday party. $177 later, we walked out without invitations. But the kids have warm clothes now!! I guess Walmart would have been good enough for invitations. Target was out of a lot.


Adam wanted to start school right away, so of course Livea did too. See their new long undies? Courtesy the Target trip. Adam said "Mommy, I used to be really good at school when I was in Hawaii!!" Hmmmmm.

Jenna is in our bed reading Mitch and Amy, one of her Beverly Cleary's that she's never read. I think she's reading it finally because she's read everything else. She finished that Percy Jackson series about a week ago. Luke is in front of the television eating some yogurt.

So last night the 2:00am alarm thing worked! I woke up and heard Adam's fighting voice. Only for a split second, and then nothing. I think I heard them getting back into bed. I really fought with myself not to go up there and check on them. Most parents probably would have not expected an almost-5 and almost-7-year-old to be responsible enough to wake up at 2:00am to an alarm clock, turn it off, go pee, and get back into bed for themselves. But they did it. And I stayed put - mostly thinking that if I get up this first night to help them, they'll expect me to always.

So this morning, I heard Luke in his drawers. Ugh. I thought for sure they just got up and turned the alarm off. Luke came downstairs dressed in his brand new long undies. So cute. I asked him if he peed in his bed, and he said "NO, I didn't!!" I asked him if they got up for their alarm and went pee. He said that they did, and that he and Adam both didn't pee in the bed. I asked him why he changed his clothing then, and he said "because I waned to wear my new clothes!" I believe him too. The reason he didn't wear the long undies to bed, he said, was because he didn't want to pee in them!! I am so proud of them for waking up and going to the bathroom. I am going to set the alarm for them every night for a while. Hopefully they won't ever get a hint to wake up and turn it off without going. I thought for sure that the alarm would just go off and they wouldn't get up, they'd just let it keep going, it's not a very loud alarm.

It's raining this morning. It must not be too cold though, since it's rain and not snow. It looks cold enough that I don't want to go out there though!!

Miss you. =( I am ready for winter to be over. It seems like that is the hurdle to get past, and then you'll be home soon.
Love you tons.

It's only Wednesday??

It's just Wednesday but it feels like the longest week in the history of time! I don't know why! I have been so tired this week, and busy. To top it off, Jenna had a headache all day yesterday, fell asleep in the car on the way home from Topeka (how often does that happen?) and when she woke up she had little to no voice and has been running a fever ever since. H1N1. Ha. I am obsessed aren't I?? =)


Jenna at her ortho appointment yesterday. She was being silly...posing more for me than being really mad about it. I cut her hair last weekend too, cute, huh..?

So, since Jenna was sick this morning (she has been on the couch almost all day), I had the dishwasher open this morning and was putting the dishes away, well, more like getting spoons out for breakfast, and plastic bowls for cereal... and around 10:00am when I finally got around to eating breakfast... I was standing there cooking eggs, and Livea showed up next to me and said "Sure! I will do the dishes for you Mommy! Sure!" I laughed, and turned around and she just started putting the dishes away. She put all of them away. The plates and bowls (glass!!), she asked "Now where does this go, Mommy??". It was so cute, and I told her she was the best 2 year old helper EVER. Her hair is kind of stringy looking because she took a shower with me, and I hadn't brushed it or anything yet.

I also had to take a picture of Livea's face drawing for you. She draws this face completely sideways - it is the strangest thing I have ever seen. Her arm was actually not at the bottom of this picture while she drew it, but on the pictures' left. She drew the entire picture that way, and does it every single time. I'll let her draw on the white board and the faces will all be sideways because that is how she draws them! It is so funny! She started drawing this all on her own, and she started drawing the ears and the legs on her own also. For a few weeks it was just the head, and eyes, and nose and mouth. No she draws circles all over it to indicate ears and legs. I am not sure why they need ears, but they aren't arms - they are ears, I asked.

I am making baby-burgers tonight for dinner, with spinach, pineapples (fresh!), and baked french fries - hopefully anyway - if I can get up and get it going, because it is after 5 already, and here I am settin'!! I wish you were here to eat baby-burgers with us - I'd probably even make you a big-daddy burger. ;o)
Love ya, miss ya.

We picked a bunch of deliciousness from the garden tonight. When I turned around Livea had picked a bell pepper too. She said "I did a great job, haw Mommy?!" I laughed and told her she did a wonderful job. I have way too many jalapenos, I think I need to go give some away to our neighbors. I don't have any chips, but I plan on making salsa tomorrow. I guess we'll just have to go to the grocery again.

The kids are waiting for me to come kiss them in bed, and Livea and Adam are now yelling at eachother, so I have to get up there before they get too untired! I hope you are missing us just as much as you should ;o) We miss you tons, and love you more.