Pajama Day and Parent Teacher's Conference

Last night was Mackenzie's Parent Teacher's Conference. It was at 7:30, which is way too close to bedtime. Luckily, Jenn saved me by watching Kaitlyn and Kaiden. I don't know if all parents do this but I always worry about what the teacher is going to say to me. Not because I have bad kids or anything like that, but I was a second grade teacher so I know the kinds of funny things that kids say at school that their parents have no clue about. Some of the things would make you blush. My kids are those kids that tell all and come up with things off the wall so I do enter the classroom with a bit of hesitation.

All went well. Mrs. Bruhn said that Kenzie is so good and that they all want to take her home. I told her that if she asked on the right day I might let her take her. Just kidding! Her cognitive skills are still through the roof but she is really struggling with the fine motor skills. It looks like she might need at least another year of working with the occupational therapists to get her fine motor skills on track. But, she is improving so that is positive. They said that she is quite the talker at school but what would you expect when she is part Kirby! She also has Pajama Day at school today and is bursting with excitement. She wanted me to take a picture of her in her PJ's so I could show it to Daddy.

There is my idea of clean...

And then there is Kaiden's idea of clean. I was making his bed this morning and noticed he had a few toys out on the floor so I called him upstairs to take care of them. I left him alone to clean up the 4 or 5 toys and went downstairs. About 20 minutes had passed and he still hadn't came down so I hollered up and asked him if he had cleaned up the toys. He said "Yup, come see!". He seemed so excited and proud of himself that I went up to discover what you see. His 4 or 5 toy mess turned into a disaster and he managed to unmake his bed. Ahhh! It didn't even phase him that he had made a much bigger mess and in fact, he seemed quite pleased with himself. I have always known that my definition of clean has been different from my kids but this is taking it a bit too far. On a positive note, it is starting to warm up a bit so soon my kids will be able to spend more time outside and less time making their rooms a mess.

The Bunch of Us

I had someone at church ask me about my family this week. They had seen my parents and Lisa at Maddie's blessing but no one else. They were shocked when I told them that I was one of 8 kids. There doesn't look like there are that many of us until you get a huge family picture with my parents, us kids, our spouses and our kids. My parents have 20 grandkids so there is a pretty good sized group of us. One thing for sure is that when we all get together we have a blast! So, here is my family for all of you who haven't met the whole group of us.

This is all of us, including my parents, "behaving". And this is how we really are!

Not so fun and maybe a little too much information

I will spare you all the pictures because they wouldn't be attractive. I was sitting here on tuesday night and all at once I got horribly sick. Good thing that I had just put the kids to bed so I could lay there and feel sorry for myself without having a little one begging me to get them something. I was up all night with stomach cramps and just feeling icky. I immediately thought that I had food poisoning but I ate the same thing the kids ate that day and they were all as healthy as can be so I ruled out that. I laid in bed thinking how nice it would be to have Jason here to help take care of the kids and get them to school in the morning. I did manage to get up in the morning and get the kids to school. I had flash backs of taking Kaitlyn to preschool last year and having to stop on 25th street pretty much everyday to throw up. It was when I was pregnant with Maddie and so sick. I was picturing myself pulling up to the school to let Kaitlyn out and losing it. Not something everyone needs to witness!

I am feeling much better today and the kids are still feeling fine. The funny thing is that Jason called me on Monday and he did not sound good. He got a horrible cold and cough and was forced to stay in his hotel until he could get better. He was supposed to fly yesterday but the flight doc wouldn't clear him to fly yet so he has spent 5 days in his hotel sick and he is in the Caribbean. Poor boy. Oh well, I guess if we are going to get sick we are going to get sick.

Before I get busy and forget...

I want to wish both of my sister in laws, Melissa and Kristi a Happy Birthday on March 1st. I figure that if I post it a little early, you will be more likely to see it before or on your birthday. I would hate to have you think I forgot. On a side note...I really need to get digital pictures of all my family so I can post your smiling faces along with a birthday wish. I am sure that you will all be flocking to me for your photo shoot knowing that I will post those pictures on here. Anyways, Happy Birthday!!! I hope you have a good day and make sure my brothers treat you to a nice dinner and a stress free day. No pressure, boys!

And so it begins...

It seems like Jason is gone more than he is home. I was so excited when he told me that he was not on the February schedule to go out. He got back right before Christmas so his week off was spent running everywhere for everyone else and we didn't get a chance to really spend time together as a family. As soon as his week off from work was up, the base did several exercises so he couldn't take off any additional time. I patiently waited (okay, so not so patiently) for him to be able to take a week off work to spend time with me and to work on finishing up the basement. That time finally came this past week. He took of tuesday through friday. Well, wouldn't you know it, he gets a call from his squadron on wednesday saying that something has come up and that his leave is now over and he needed to report in that afternoon. He was told that he would be deploying and it would happen as early as friday. We got the word on friday afternoon that he would be leaving this morning at 7:00. So much for me having him home for a while! :0)

You know, I really think that I am getting the short end of the stick with this one. While I am sitting in the freezing cold taking care of the kids and the house all by myself, he is down on a tropical island. In an attempt to make me feel better he told me that he would be flying so much that he wouldn't get to spent much time at the beach. Needless to say, that didn't make me feel better. On a positive note, this deployment shouldn't be as long as the others so hopefully he will be home before I know it.

Are you serious?

It always seems that when Jason leaves some catastrophy happens. The moment I found out that he was taking off I started wondering how long it would take for the first mini crisis to happen. Well, it happened much sooner than I anticipated. He left the house at 4:59 am and at about 10:45 am the sink and disposal back up. Arghhh! Most wives would immediately call the plumber but not me, I call the one person I always call when things go wrong, my mom. You see, my mom is one of those moms that does everything without fear so I knew that if I called her up she would tell me exactly what to do. I get on the phone and tell her what happened hoping that she would have an easy solution that would not involve undoing pipes or me getting messy. No such luck! She told me that I was going to have to undo the pipes under the sink and clean them out. So me and my little helper, Kaiden, got started. I used the term "helper" very loosely in this case. His help consisted of saying "that's discusting" and laughing when stuff shot everywhere. Notice his picture. I caught him trying to "fix" the sink after I cleaned everything up.

Back to the story...After scooping all the water out of the sink I placed the bucket under the pipes and got started. Mom stayed on the phone with me to guide me through this. I secretly think that she just wanted to hear me squeal when all the gunk came out. :0) I unhooked the pipes and got part of it cleaned and then I realized that the disposal side of the sink was still plugged and the pipe in that area was on way too tight. Mom tells me to go find one of Jason's wrenches to try to loosen it. So here I am looking through the garage for a tool that Mom is trying to describe to me over the phone. I couldn't find the exact wrench but I did find one that would work. So it was back to the kitchen to take off more pipes. Well, I think I took off one too many because all at once, stuff shot everywhere. It was so gross.

The joys of having a hubby that isn't home all the time. I think that they should offer a survival class for all air force wives that teach them what to do when things go wrong. A part of me wonders if Jason rigs things to break when he is gone so I appreciate him and miss him even more. Okay, so I know that is not the case but it gives me someone to blame when I break something. The most amusing part of all of this is that I have never in all my life plugged the disposal and I happen to do it not even 6 hours after he leaves so I had to take care of it. I guess I can now add plumber to the list on my Mom Resume.

Look at those skirts!

I couldn't resist posting this picture. We kept Jenn's two youngest kids while her oldest was in the hospital and I guess that Tanner spent too much time playing with the girls. It didn't take him and Kaiden too long before they were both dancing around in skirts and high heels. What amazes me is how fast those two could get around in those heels. It is really sad when little boys can navigate better in heels than I can! Dave is going to quit letting Jenn bring the kids over when he sees that his little boy is starting to wear skirts. Hee Hee! Please excuse my messy house. When you have 6 kids under 6 all day long, your house has a tendency to fall completely apart. I don't know how my mom did it with 8!

He's Going to Shoot Me

We all know that our little Kenzie has personality coming out of her ears and says the funniest things, well, she's done it again! She woke up on Valentine's Day and found her way downstairs. After a few minutes she comes over to me with a very solem look on her face. She asked me if today was Valentine's Day. I said yes expecting her to be all excited about her party at preschool, but her big, blue eyes started to tear up. I asked her what was wrong and she said that because today is Valentine's Day that that "one guy is going to shoot me with an arrow". I couldn't help but laugh. Apparently, Kaitlyn had told her all about Cupid and his role. Poor Kenzie was afraid that she was going to get shot!

I finally got her straightened out and she seemed fine for the next couple of hours. Then the school van pulled up to get her and I had a hard time getting her to go out the front door. She stood in the doorway and looked cautiously both ways. I had to coax her out of the door assuring her that cupid was not out there, armed, and ready to shoot. As I put her in the van she informed me that she would be watching out for cupid while she was at preschool just in case he did exsist because she didn't want to get shot in the bottom.

Happy Valentine's Day

Jason and I have never been big into celebrating Valentine's Day because we feel like you should always treat the ones that you love like they are special, but, we do still do some small things for each other each year on this day. I thought that today was a perfect excuse for me to express just a few of the reasons why I am still head over heels in love with Jason.

I love Jason because.....

He is an incredible father.

He works hard to provide for our family.

After almost 8 years of marriage he still sends me flowers all the time.

He kisses me goodbye each time he leaves the house even if it is just a quick trip to the store.

He tells me I'm beautiful at least once a day. (What wife doesn't want to hear that!)

I never have to make a "honey-do" list. When he sees something that needs to get fixed he does it before I have a chance to say anything.

He volunteered to stay with Jenn's little boy in the hospital so Hayden wouldn't be scared. He knew that he would get little to no sleep that night but did it anyway.

He is incredibly handsome.

He always kisses me goodnight.

He still calls me "honey" and "sweetie".

He doesn't mind when I fall asleep when we are watching a movie because I was up too late with the kids the night before.

When I do fall asleep, he goes upstairs and turns down the bedspread for me while I get ready for bed.

He isn't afraid of dirty diapers.

He makes me laugh all the time.

He still holds my hand when we drive in the car.

I still get love letters from him.

He always puts so much thought into the gifts he gets me.

He still romances me.

He tells me he loves me everytime he calls me.

Happy Birthday Holly!

I realize that this is a little early but I didn't know how often you check the blog. I figured that putting it up early made it just that much more likely that you would see it in time. Anyways, we hope that you have a great birthday and we all miss you. I wanted to make sure that you knew that we hadn't forgotten you or your birthday. Happy Birthday!

Raspberries

Maddison has now discovered that she can blow raspberries. Once she gets going, she really gets going. I have never seen a kid get such a kick out of blowing them. The good news is that she hasn't figured out that if she does it while she is eating, she can completely cover me in food and pretty much slime anything else in the general vacinity.

Daddy Daughter Date

The base held a Daddy Daughter Valentine's Day dance that Jason decided to take the girls to. It was a luau theme and the girls had so much fun. Luther also took Shalynn and Langela and Luther Jr. hung out with me and the younger kids at the house. It was a fun night for all of us. The girls were so excited to get to have a night out with Jason. We took a few pictures before they left of the kids. Kaiden didn't go but he couldn't help but sneak into the picture. What a pill!

Earings

Well, I did it. I took Maddison and got her ears pierced. I think she looks adorable and I am hoping that by getting her earings, I won't have anyone else accuse her of being a boy. You would think that most people would see a baby dressed in pink and think that she is a girl but I am finding that that is not the case.

It was a little harder to get Maddie's ears pierced and I felt a little guilty that I was doing it. We got to the mall and I started to chicken out. I told Jason that I couldn't let some stranger put holes in my baby. Of course, he just laughed at me. The only thing I can come up with is that I felt bad because she just looks so tiny. I did Kaitlyn and Mackenzie's when they were 8 months and I was fine with it.

Anyways, we get to the mall and came upon the first place that pierced ears. The girl behind the counter looked like she was 16, had pink hair, and about 10 too many piercings. Needless to say, we moved on. I did manage to find a place where the lady was much older and didn't scare me. The girls love the fact that Maddie has earings just like them.

Sisters

These were taken in Texas. Kaitlyn was almost 3 1/2 and Kenzie was almost 2.

Kaitlyn and Kenzie have fought non-stop for a couple of days and I am going crazy! I guess it is something that I am going to have to get used to because they haven't even hit the teenage years yet. After hearing Kaitlyn complain that Kenzie was touching her again about a dozen times, I told kaitlyn that they needed to start acting like sisters. Kaitlyn is too smart for her age and replied that they were acting like sisters. I think I have my hands full! :0) So, I decided to find some pictures to remind me that they do love each other even though they don't always act like they do.

Brrrrr!

It is soooo cold here. I am literally freezing all the time. My dear, sweet husband obviously didn't adequately prepare me for just how cold it gets here. It wouldn't be too bad except the wind blows all the time and it is a cold wind. I don't venture out very much anymore because going shopping with four cold kids isn't exactly fun. I keep telling Jason that I need to go home and visit because it would feel warm compared to here. I now have sympathy for how cold Mom is all the time. It is miserable! The good news is that the weather should start turning around here in the next month or so. We will go from freezing cold to hot and humid. I just can't seem to win! :0)

Way back when...

Kaitlyn

Mackenzie

Kaiden

I was looking through our old photos and came across pictures of the kids when they were 5 months. I was comparing them with Maddison's pictures. They all have their own look and lots of fat rolls. Time goes by so fast!

5 months

I took Maddison for her 4 month checkup today. She just turned 5 months yesterday so we are still a little behind on her appointments. It has been confirmed that she is a runt. She only weighs 11 pounds 12 ounces and is 24.5 inches tall. Her weight puts her at 3% and her height is at 25%. She is so tiny! I am so used to gigantic babies that she is throwing me for a bit of a loop. The doctor says that she looks healthy so he is not concerned about her weight. She has a bit of a bug so we have to wait until next week to get her shots. I guess she will be built more like my side of the family. We chuckle a little because she is smaller than some of the new babies in the ward. So, I guess I have kids at the extremes. Kaitlyn was so chubby that she was hard to hold and then we have a petite little Maddie. It goes to show how different each child can be.

We Miss You!

While I was going through some of our old photos I found this one of Dad and Kaitlyn. It was taken in April of 2003. Man I miss home. It is really hard to live so far away and looking at photos like this remind me just how lucky I am to have such a wonderful family. Seeing this photo almost brought tears to my eyes. My Mom and Dad are the greatest parents ever and I love them so much. My Dad is always there for everyone and always willing to offer help whenever it is needed. Jason tells me that I am just like him because I am too impatient to wait for help from others. Not that Dad and I are the only ones with that trait. He is also a favorite of the grandkids. They love to talk him into getting on all fours and giving them a ride. Mom is my best friend. She is someone I can always call when I need to vent and I seem to do a lot of venting lately! I know that no matter how busy she is, she will drop everything to lend some advice or just let me talk. She can always offer me some perspective or laugh with me at my crazy life. I don't know what I would do without them. Mom and Dad, I love you!

Remembering Potty Training

I posted earlier that I was going to start potty training Kaiden. Well, he got a bug so I decided to wait. I was peeking at some old pictures and found some that were taken during our first attempt to potty train Kenzie. I think her expressions say it all. Should I be worried?

Too cute

I don't really have much to say to go along with these pictures but I thought they were so cute that I would post them. I did figure out that Maddie is getting squirmy enough to wiggle out of her swing or at least get a little too close to falling out. I guess we have officially hit that stage when we have to start strapping her down for everything. I think she might start liking her exersaucer at this point so I plan on venturing down to the basement to search for all the parts and put it together. It was a lifesaver with the other kids and Maddie loves to stand so I am sure she will be just tickled pink to play in it.

Pretty Princess??

Ah, the joys of having a boy after two little girls. It is amazing what Kaiden gets himself into. He came down the stairs the other day wearing this pink skirt, plastic dress up shoes, and holding a purple purse. Jason would be so proud! I think I now have Jason convinced that we need to buy Kaiden a football and try to steer his interests to more manly things. I figure that he is okay to be a princess for another couple of years before we have a problem. Afterall, we have this game called "Pretty, Pretty Princess" that the girls force Jason to play with them. It always makes me chuckle a little when I walk in seeing them play this game and Jason is winning. I guess I should explain that in order to win this game, you have to collect and wear your necklace, bracelet, both earrings, and a beautiful princess crown. Poor Jason cringes when the girls choose that game to play but he is always a good sport and the girls get a laugh out of it.