Dear Diary...

Dear Diary,

As I tucked two of my boys into bed last night, I saw things that made me ponder. OK, Diary.....if there is anyone I can be frank with, it's you, right? So let's cut the crap. These things were a bit disturbing to me.

The first, and probably the most freakish, was my oldest son who I found attempting to sleep in a box that was 1/4 of his size. Covered up with his favorite blankie (shhhh, don't let his homies know), he was well on his way to dreamland. I asked why he chose to sleep in a box, to which I was awarded the proverbial 'I dunno'. I offered a lecture about the hidden dangers of sleeping in a box and included a motivational speech titled, " You can do so much more with your life....honestly, how many famous contortionists to you actually know?" I closed my arguments with a kiss and said good night.




As I moved across the hall, I came to my son, Jack's, bed. There I found a pile of stuffed animals that would make the Himalayas pale in comparison. We managed to shove the pile the the far corner of his bed in an effort to create enough room for him to breathe as he slept. The twisted and tangled heap no longer looked like a beautiful mountain range, but quickly resembled that of a pet cemetery. Although he is our animal lover extraordinaire/stuffed animal hoarder, I hear by ban all friends and family members from purchasing anything 'stuffed' for Jack until further notice. All who break this rule shall suffer a S L O W and PAINFUL death. (OK, forget the death part, but may you at least feel some sort of pain.)



Thanks for listening, diary. Until we talk again,
Amy

Quick trip...

Due to my lovely sinus infection (happy summer to me), our trip to my Dad's house in Westcliffe was cut short by one day. We were there less than 24 hours, but that didn't keep us from doing each and every activity we normally do. We had a great time visiting with Dad, Annette, and her two daughters, Jillian and Emily.

The best shooter that ever was......ahem.

Custom bench built by Dad to ensure safety for all who desire a tractor ride.

Insects galore.

Kisses galore for all the little grasshoppers.

More tractor rides in hopes of tiring 5 little boys. (no such luck)

Uno games with your new Aunties (or sisters as Jack prefers)

Yes, more tractor rides.

Until next time!

Hi Ho, Hi Ho, It's Off To School We Go!

The Big Kindergartner!

Watch out, 3rd grade....here he comes!

(Thank you, Stephanie, for saving me with your camera!)

Can you believe it?

10 days of summer vacation and then starts a new year of school.

What a rip off. A little part of me would like to move to a city that provides a conventional school calendar. My boys deserve to know what a true summer break would be like.

Yesterday was Evan and Luke's first day of school. 3rd grade for Ev, Kindergarten for Lukey. Derek raced home early from work so that we could pick them up together at the bus stop. (The bus stop that has now been moved to a gazillion miles from our house......don't even get me started) As we walked home (a gazillion miles) we asked the boys to tell us something about their first day.

Evan-Mrs. Harwood says 'High five' to us and then we all put our hands in the air and listen. She is nice and told us that chocolate isn't a good snack to bring to school. I showed her the pretzels you packed me, mom, and she said those were fine. Oh, and Isabella hit someone on the first day of school. I think that's all.

Luke-My favorite things were recess and riding the bus home. We get a really long recess. Like 4 minutes. My friend is Zach and my girl's name is Caroline. Don't pick me up from the bus tomorrow, mommy. I can walk home all by myself.

So there you have it. The first day of school.

Without a hitch.

Note to Luke: See you at the bus stop, dude.

I'm Baaaaaack!

All 7 Grandsons at the Veterans Memorial in HR. Evan's big catch at Uncle Big Dan's house.

I think I'll spring for tubs of night crawlers more frequently. Kept them busy for hours. Snowflake catching....summer style.

Before we start, I have to make something clear. The title of today's post must not be confused with the "I'm baaaaaack" eerily spoken by Jack Nicholson in The Shining. Please refer to the song Back In The Saddle (Aerosmith) as you read this post. Perhaps the lyrics will move from my head to yours. Thank you.

I'm apologizing from the get-go. I feel as though my thoughts (and as a result, my writing) are dull and boring. My birthday was last week and my creative flair seems to have left along with the number 33. Bummer.

The past two weeks have been a whirlwind. Dec, Lorie, Braden & Ryan came to town and we had a wonderful time with them. Our house was bustling with 7 little boys who kept us very busy. We took two day trips while they were here, one to Grand Lake (fishing at Uncle Big Dan's house) and the other to Estes Park (shopping and eating purposes only). It's hard to believe that their Colorado visit is already over and that we'll have to wait forever until we see them again.

Side note: I just looked down at Wes and noticed he's wearing a pair of handcuffs. Do I stop blogging? Do I take a picture to show you? They're actually keeping him quite intrigued. I'll keep typing.....

My Dad came for one night and the boys were super-excited to see him. It's almost been a year since we've seen him - way too long! We're planning on heading to his house this weekend. Have I mentioned before that EVERY time we're there we encounter a bear? Sometimes they're on the hill watching us. Other times they're on the front porch (mama and her two cubs) sorting through the dirty diapers to get the good trash. I could really do without the anxiety this brings.

Today Derek and I took Evan & Luke to meet their teachers. School starts on Wednesday. They got a whopping 10 day break in between school years. Oh how I loath year-round school.

Just as I'm getting into my blogging groove, I'm noticing it's time to start dinner. You know my routine. I've got 10 minutes until Derek gets home and things need to be Cleaverish before he arrives. Not for him, but entirely for me. It's how I like it. It's just how I roll.

Thanks for reading. Hope I didn't bore you. I'm off to grab my apron.

PS-I'm shouting out to my peeps at US Airways. To Lisa and any of my other loyal readers - thanks for making me feel wanted!

Blogless

(Thank you, Lucy, for today's title)

One may think that with all of this material (see photos below), that I should find myself blogging by the hour. Truth is, all of this material (see photos below), is exhausting. I'm tired, and I'm taking a bit of a blogging break.

Driveway decorating...a favorite past time.

A skater dude in the making.

Fun at the park.Headstands perfected.2nd grade graduation celebration.Day-dreaming of running with brothers.
Bed-head issues.Tying yourself up so well that even you can't escape.
Sharing secrets with butterflies.Taking Mommy's order of a large coffee with a donut. (I received pizza and corn)
3 short days from now these darlings will be filling my house with extra noise, extra spills, extra crumbs, extra dirt & extra love. (You know how I thrive on noise and all the other joys little boys bring.) Perhaps then I will find myself sleeping like a baby.

I pirated this picture and can't figure out why it came out so small. They're much bigger (and cuter) in real life!

Here's what's happening....

I have a few things I feel the need to share with you, my many readers.

Here we go.

Thing #1- I was cleaning the bathroom yesterday morning and (as per my bathroom cleaning routine) sprayed Lysol on all necessities as I left the room. You know, just in case I missed a germ or two. Keep all comments regarding OCD to yourself, I'm a work in progress. Anyway, to make a long story short, I ingested Lysol. Yes, it's true. Somehow or another I ate Lysol. (The taste stayed in my mouth all day long) Seeing as I did not deliberately spray it directly in there, I could only come up with one probable cause as to why I single handedly (but accidentally) disinfected my mouth.

My theory?

My horrible, embarrassing theory?

I must be a mouth breather. Please, friends, tell me I don't walk around all day like this:

I need reassurance....or honesty. Whichever you can provide. Thanks.

On to Thing #2-Our cottonwood tree in our back yard is in the midst of ruining our lives for the last time. We can't sleep with the windows open. Our yard looks like it has a fresh coat of snow. The boys took popsicles outside yesterday which were immediately transformed into popsicles with fur coats. It's disgusting. It's heinous (love that word). And it's soon to be OVER! Hurray for chainsaws. These pictures only shed a glimpse of what we're dealing with. (Look at poor Lukey sneezing as he tries to play.)

Thing #3- Wes is pulling himself up and standing whenever he can. No further explanation needed with this rant. My life is over.

Love to all my peeps,

Amy

Give me noise, give me comfort.

Last Thursday through Saturday, my big boys, Evan, Luke and Jack, went camping with Grandma and Grandpa. They sat on our front porch for over two hours waiting for their chariot to arrive. As I watched the RV travel down our street, initial thoughts of the freedom I was about to experience in reverting back to a mother of two raced through my mind.

I had ONLY...

2 children to feed

2 mouths to wipe

2 car seats to buckle

2 kids to entertain

2 boys to chase

2 brothers in the tub

You get the idea.

I had a long list of errands to run and things I would enjoy during all of my extra 'mommy time'.

The big boys had only been gone a few hours when I decided to load the car and venture out with my '2' children. How easy is this? I thought. My arrogance burst before my eyes and I was quickly snapped back into reality when all of the sudden, my '2' children were locked inside my car. As I watched the firefighters' attempts to free my children, something became very prevalent. Having only 2 children really throws me off my game.

The next 48 hours were hard for me. I need (and thrive upon) the following:

5 children to feed

5 mouths to wipe

5 car seats/boosters to buckle

5 kids to entertain

5 boys to chase

5 brothers in the tub

You get the idea.

I missed the noise in my house that having a large brood creates. I missed the brotherly battles that seem to erupt every 3 minutes. I missed being a short-order cook and preparing 5 different meals 3 times a day. I missed the sight of an overly-crowded bathtub. I missed 5 visitors on my bed every morning at 6AM SHARP.

On Saturday afternoon, I sat on our front porch and eagerly waited for this to arrive:

I'd like to report that I am sleeping more peacefully now that they are all under one roof again.

Side note: If your kids are ever camping, don't read this book while they're gone:
I learned the hard way.

My boys had a blast and have not stopped talking about fishing, roasting marshmallows, and meeting Yogi Bear.

I'm having a blast with my noisy house, wrestling matches, and nonstop cooking. Things are back to normal, and it's the best feeling in the world.