Quarters and more

Well, the exciting news is that Jr3 choked on two quarters on Saturday.  Sr had her and I was getting ready for bed.  I think she got them from Jr2's piggy bank.  We didn't know she currently had them.  Sr said she started choking and then stopped breathing.  He did the Heimlich (not necessarily recommended for children anymore, but much, much better than nothing).  The first I knew of it was when I heard her throwing up, due to the Heimlich.  I came out and saw Sr doing the Heimlich.  Since things were coming out, I asked her if she was o.k. and if she could breathe now.  She responded that she could, so Sr stopped.  Later when laying down, she saw some more of Jr2's money that she had dropped.  She very vigorously shoved it away.  I think she will remember this for possibly one more day before she tries it again.  We said a very heartfelt family prayer after this.

Jr2 continues to enjoy preschool.  I made Mayflower boats for the kids while they were in the bath after the last post.  They quite enjoyed them.  We also got some new toys at the local used toy/clothing store -- the children used their own money.  Jr2 now owns a harmonica and Jr3 own some plastic cling stickers to dress up ballerinas, etc.  She is quite into princesses and ballerinas currently.  She called her outfit today a ballerina outfit (the backup outfit for Roo's wedding).  She also enjoyed the princess outfits from the neighbor and they both enjoyed the Little People castle and Thomas toys.

Sr caught up quite a few hours at work this week.  I sorted through a mail pile holding two or three or so months of mail.  Thus is the excitement at our house.

Poop is not a toy!

Still losing that battle.

The week in review

Jr2 enjoyed preschool again this week.  He got to bring home the friends book and review everyone's names and likes.  I'd feel worse about how he doesn't know the other kid's names, except Thursday leaving preschool one of his classmates called him by another name.

We have some of the busy bags from the swap we are doing.  Today we got one where you match a picture to a page with a matching color.  It also has the name of the item.  Jr3 pulled the pictures off and ran around the house trying to find matching items in the house.  I'm not sure how helpful it will be tomorrow in church, since much of it is missing.

I've decided I need to sit down every night and add a bit to the blog post that will come out the next Sunday, so I don't forget the funny things the kids have done.  I've also decided that is not going to happen.

Sr was at work part of Thursday, until he came home to help me (I had a tiresome cold) and then most of Friday.  Jr3 had naps Friday and Saturday, thanks to car rides.  It's about the only way I can get her to take a nap.  Or go to bed.

Jr2 likes to help Jr3.  He likes to help Jr3 by carrying her places.  He can lift her an inch or so off the floor.  Jr2 is not so excited to receive this help.  Jr2 also like to move the furniture in his room.

Jr2 and Jr3 have both enjoyed the new desk we got this week from church members.  They colored at it.  Tuesday, they watercolored.  Then I taught them they should color on paper, not the desk.  Then they got bored of the paper and colored themselves.  Tuesday, Jr3 followed in her like-minded cousins footsteps and finger painted the house, with smelly finger paints of her own making taken straight from the holding area.  I was picking up Jr2 from preschool and Sr was watching Jr3.  This seems to be a favorite activity of hers when he is watching her.  I guess next time it will probably be on my shift.

In other news, there is no other news.  Have a good week.

Pizza, Princesses, and Pneumonia

So this week, we all went to scouts (sort of).  The wolves were making pizza.  A few weeks ago they made the dough.  This week we remade the dough before hand.  Jr3 feel asleep on the way, so I kept her with me.  Jr2 was most definitely not going to miss out on the pizza making.  In fact he helped with the remaking of the pizza dough.  When Jr3 woke up, she also wanted her daddy, so she got to help out, too.  They had a blast and so did I, since I got a break.  The scouts loved the pizza.

For our anniversary Saturday, we pulled out our wedding book like we do every year.  We called the kids over to look at it and we told them stories about the day.  When we opened the book up to the first picture, we asked the kids who those people were.  Since we don't look too much like those pictures right now (especially me -- no fancy, schmancy hairdos here), they didn't know.  So Jr3 ventured a guess.  She thought maybe it was a princess.  We ended up deciding it was a mommy princess.  It sure was fun to be a mommy princess.

Sr is almost over his bronchitis or pneumonia or whatever.  He felt good enough, and it was warm enough, that we took the kids over to the temple.  We walked around the back of the temple on the sidewalk.  Then we went to the visitors center.  Jr3 wanted to watch a video, so we watched the family video they have there, while the kids rocked in the little rocking chairs they have.  It was fun because this time we were the only ones in the movie, so we could talk with them about some of the things in the movie.

We also looked at the auditorium.  Jr3 like it enough she ran away to it when we weren't looking.  We finally found her there (thanks in part to Jr2's help).  She was just sitting there in a seat like she was waiting for the show to start.  

Also at the visitors center they hand out little stickers that say "Junior Missionary" and they talk to them for a second or two how they need to tell people about Jesus.  Then when Jr3 was talking to Sr, they talked about mommy missionary and daddy missionary and Jr2 and Jr3 as missionaries and they she announced that "Jesus is a missionary, too".

Jr2's Post

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Halloween

This year Jr2 was going to be a race car driver.  I was overly ambitious and was planning on making a pattern (first ever) and sewing it.  Needless to say, not even the pattern got made.  So Tuesday after taking Sr to the doctor (annual fall bronchitis / pneumonia - he's doing quite a bit better now), we popped over to Costco.  We found a knight outfit (apparently missing the pants, although I thought it had them).  Jr3 was already slated to be a princess.  We used a dress the neighbor gave us earlier in the year and poofed it out with her tutu from her last year's outfit.

We went trunk or treating that night and the kids loved it.  Then Thursday we went to the neighbors and Jr2 shared some of the candy from the trunk or treat with them and got new candy.  We were the first trick or treaters some of them had gotten in 15 years.  Our next-door neighbor even made them apple crisp and his wife gave them two of every kind of candy from the bag she bought.

Jr1 is preparing to take the ACT again and the SAT both in December.

Sr is trying not to be sick.  I am trying to not be such a stress case and be a bit organized (being on time is down the list aways -- sorry Moo).  We are also working on teaching Jr3 to ask for help when she wants a drink instead of pouring her own and flooding the floor with milk in the process.  It did help get us enough milk jugs for the Halloween skeleton we made, though.

p.s.  The neighbor took pictures of the kids in their halloween outfits and brought us a copy.  I just have to get the scanner hooked up to post this picture.  And don't complain too much about no pictures (except LizaB) -- at least I'm posting (hint, hint).  (Remember, when we visit each other we call it a change in boring.  I am all good with blog posts you think are boring, because for me they would still be a nice change.)

Asserting her independence and more

So, while I was at a doctor appointment the other day and Sr was watching the children, Jr3 apparently decided she wan't getting enough attention from Sr.  She took off her dirty diaper, painted the wall with it, and then proceeded to wash her hair with it.  Then in the midst of this, the sister missionaries stopped by to see if they could help.  Unfortunately since I wasn't home, they couldn't come in and help.  I'm glad I didn't have to deal with the mess this time.

Our house is a bit quirky.  It has four doors.  Each door has the doorknob lock plus a deadbolt.  When we moved in, each lock had a different key, so that is eight different keys.  Then the screen doors have a door lock and a deadbolt.  Only one of the screen door locks has a keyhole, so if you lock both screen door locks from inside you can't get in from the outside.  And that's four more keys for a total of twelve.  We got new matching locks for all the doors and have installed them on the two doors we use the most (so now we are down to 9 keys instead of 12, plus each screen door having a deadbolt that we can't unlock).  We only carry the new key and the front screen door key.

Today when we went to church, we went out through our foyer / sun room / entryway / weird room.  It is much closer to the cars, so it's great for when we are bringing in groceries and when it's cold.  When we got home Sr went to open the front door, since we only carry the new key and a key to the screen door with us.  However, we had gone out the other door, so this screen door was locked top and bottom (therefore we couldn't unlock it).  The back door (the other door we have a key to) had it's screen doors locked also.  We were locked out of our house.

Then we got back in the van while Sr was checking all the doors once more, just in case.  We decided to say a prayer and Jr2 volunteered to say it.  When Sr came back to say they were all definitely locked, we told him about our prayer.  So he went to see what he could do.  After a while Jr2 went to look for him.  He came back all excited and said,"Daddy has a ladder and is trying to get in a window."  Then he went back.

In a few minutes, Sr came around the front of the house and Jr2 opened the door from inside.  Then Jr2 had to show Jr3 and I how he did it; then Jr3 had to climb in through the window also.  Then Sr closed the window and put the ladder away.  Good thing, since Jr2 and Jr3 went back to the window to try and climb down so they could climb back in again.  Who thought all those visits to the playground monkey bars would come in handy so soon?

Jr3 has also decided her bedtime should be more like 10 or 12 at night.  When informed it is bedtime, she says "I'm not ti-red" and "I not ready yet".  She then strips off her PJs and starts for her diaper.  After a threat of duct tape she leaves the diaper on.  She wants to watch TV, but after a certain time, she is informed that Caillou, Daniel Tiger and all her other buddies have gone to bed and she can't watch them any more.  She then reads books, has us read books, reads her dolls books and puts them to bed, sings lullabies, and does everything but actually go to bed.  When we try to put her in the room she shares with Jr2, she throws a fit and wakes up Jr2.

Shopping, Water and Whatever Else

Jr3 went shopping with me today.  She is getting quite good at it.  She puts things in her little cart and then if I tell her to be careful and not squish things in her cart, she will put them in mine.  She also makes suggestions and additions, but not as many this week as last week.

Jr2 is enjoying preschool.  He told me today that he learned you need to drink lots of water, so that you won't get tired and will be able to run more.  He said you should especially drink the water from cups and water guns.  He was adamant that they taught him you could drink water from water guns at preschool.  I'm guessing it wasn't a teacher that taught him that part.

I finished a peasant top today for Jr3 -- pink of course.  It's pretty cute on.  Good thing, because I already have two others cut out (another pink and a yellow).  I also have a pair of pants cut out for Jr2 from a pair of his Dad's old pants.  Unfortunately when I cut those out, I was so worried about fitting the piece on I forgot to watch for the hole.  So, I need to patch them before I sew them together.  They should be fine for wearing around the house, in the yard, etc...

Sr is working on his history class more.  He has to read "The Jungle" for the class.  Hopefully we'll still be able to eat beef after he finishes.  One, because I love beef and two, because I bought a roast for Sunday dinner this week.

Also, at Scouts on Tuesday, a boy was going around pretending to hit people.  When he was pretending to hit Jr3, Jr2 told him, "Don't hit her.  You remember... that is my sister.  You don't hit her."

I was very proud of him.  Especially since he doesn't apply that rule to him and hitting his sister, it's nice to know he doesn't think others should hit her.

p.s.  I finally posted on the Crafts Gone Awry blog.

(Pictureless) Update

Well I found the cord the connects the camera to the computer.  Unfortunately, I don't remember the safe place the camera was put.  By the time I find the camera, I'll probably have forgotten where the cord is located.

Jr2 has gone to a couple of short days at preschool.  Tomorrow is his first without Mommy.  It is a still a shorter day, so I think we will all be fine.  Jr3 will probably have the most problems with it.  I think she would probably rather be with him instead of Mommy (definitely more fun that way).

I also completed the second coat of chalkboard paint on the boards tonight.  Since it was mostly dark, hopefully it looks better than it did before.  Jr3 already tried to color on them.  One of them will be hung on the wall with the most art work on it (the hallway wall).  The other one will either be put on a kitchen wall or on the other hallway wall.  Probably the other hallway wall.

Monday was gorgeous and I even pulled a black garbage bag full of weeds.  Then it got hot again.  Maybe sometime this weekend.

When grocery shopping, I have started pulling a page from the past.  We first go select two or three bananas.  The kids push the little carts.  We pay for the bananas.  Then, we put the little carts back and they sit in the big cart while they eat their bananas.  I hurriedly shop while the eat the bananas and forget they are actually in the cart.  I got this idea from my mother's story about me eating bananas the at the grocery store that the store manager would give me.  I think he was on to something.

Jr2 currently (still) has a major thing for cords.  He has three straps he detached from bags and two yoga straps that he has hooked together into a long chain.  He likes to put in on me (so he doesn't loose me) or Jr3 (because she runs away), but the climbing section of the park, the sign at the park, anything he can wrap it around, they all work.  It even went to preschool the first day (attached to me).  

Jr3 still likes changing her own diaper.  I'm getting very good at following my nose to find anything that might not have made it in to me along with the diaper.  She also loves drawing (almost as good as me) on walls, sidewalks, floors, and occasionally on paper.

Sr has been getting quite a lot of his history homework done.  

I have been working on accomplishing my four goals for the month.

1.  Up and dressed before 9 (just me, not the kids).  If not, then exercise for 15 minutes.  This is also part of the cause of some yardwork getting done.

2.  Drink 5+ cups of water a day.

3.  Read my scriptures daily (one plus verses).

4.  Read to the children daily.  One book or for five minutes.  This has been my favorite.  It's a hit all around.

I think next month one of my goals might be no chocolate after 8 p.m. 

'Night

Still no pictures

Well, we got five more empty boxes last night.  We pulled out some and put it away and some of it we just condensed together.  We've been putting the boxes with books in their own pile so we can easily pull them out once we put up the book cases.

I mention this (1) because it's our excitement and (2) because as we were going through the boxes we did not run across the cords to hook the camera up to the computer.  I think we already pulled it out, put it away, and then I think the kids reput it away.

Jr2 is mostly toilet trained.  When I make him wear underpants he says, "But I don't have preschool today".  He starts in September and knows he has to be potty trained for that.  He can do it when he wants, it's just inconvenient.

Jr3 is getting closer to toilet trained all the time.  We rarely have to change a dirty diaper (just wet ones), although she thinks she should change her own diapers and wipe herself off, and that if she doesn't feel like going in to the toilet that taking off her diaper to go is close enough.  Luckily, she is starting to think the toilet is a more important part of the equation.  A few details are still escaping her.  In the interest of avoiding even more TMI I'll let those that really want to know ask about the details.

Jr2 and Jr3 are both good helpers.  Jr3 likes to help hang up her laundry (which we do to keep it separate from the dirty clothes when she decides to help clean out her drawers and her dirty clothes).  Jr2 is still good at sweeping, vacuuming and mopping.  He is also now good at pressure washing and getting better at watering the plants.  Jr3 is pretty good at pulling the big weeds.  Jr2 and Jr3 are both good at making mud.  Jr2 was very excited when he realized that you can make mud whenever you want if you mix dirt and water together.

Dinners are going pretty well, since we have a four-week meal rotation set up that I use.  (Thanks Mom for having me do it while I was out visiting and then mailing it to me when I couldn't find it to bring with me.)  I generally end up tweaking which items we have which night based on how I feel and what's going on, but it makes meal planning a lot easier.  It also helps with stocking up on the food storage, since I know what foods we'll be using and about how many.  I really don't like buying food I think we use a lot and then finding out we don't really use it that much.  Plus I can then watch for sales and take advantage of them.  I have also taken summer / winter into consideration a bit.  If I plan a soup for a meal, I try to also plan a salad option as well so we can eat whichever is appropriate.


Lunches are not going so well.  We eat penne, ramen, pb&j, cheesy toast, bologna wrapped around string cheese, cheese tortilla roll-ups and chicken nuggets.  We usually have mac and cheese for one of the Sunday meals.  I think I need to come up with a rotation for it.  Since I am usually home alone with the kids when we prepare it, easier is better.

I love IKEA bags!

Ikea bags are great.  I keep them in the back of my mini-van.  They save me from having to pay for bags at Target.  They help me carry in the groceries from Sam's Club faster.  And today we found another use.

So, we went to play group at the azalea gardens.  The kids loved walking on the paths, climbing up and down the hills, and playing with the sticks.  They didn't care so much about the azaleas, but the mother's enjoyed them.  Then we walked back by the spot with the water coming under the fence.  That was the best spot of all.  Splashing in the mud and the water; throwing the sticks in the water; even  stirring the water with the sticks.  Then Jr3 walked through the open fence and into the water waist deep.  Jr2 followed "to bring Jr3 back".  Jr3, who doesn't like a wet shirt or wet pants in the house and has to strip them off as fast as possible, doesn't seem to mind being drenched from walking out into the water.  No requests at all to strip off the clothes.

This is where the Ikea bags come in.  When we get to the car, the kids need to get into the car seats.  Jr2 was stripped down to the wet skivvies, Jr3 was jacketless, but that was it.  Out came the bags and they made great car seat protectors!  I love IKEA bags almost as much as the kids love water.  At least for today.

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter to everyone.  We did take a few pictures of Libby in her Easter dress.  Liam is in some new clothes,  but he didn't want his picture in his new Sunday outfit.  Hopefully someday we will post the pictures.