Mom! Don't touch my stuff!

I love yard sales; just the thrill of finding a bargain or something you've wanted always makes it worthwhile for me. With that said, I don't like having one myself. Maybe I'm lazy, but it involves way too much work to get ready for than I'm used to. The Crack Monkeys didn't make it easy either, but I did manage to get my act together for our community yard sale. We didn't do too bad, either; almost half of our stuff was sold and we just donated the leftovers to the DI. Not too shabby.

But, I really wanted to write about the events that happened while getting ready for the yard sale. All this past week, I tried gathering unused/unwanted items to sell. I also tried getting the Crack Monkeys involved, but that proved  useless, as they answered the question "Keep or sell?" each time with "Keep!"

One particular instance comes to mind. While I was going through Vanessa's toys with her, Jeff asked what we were doing. When I told him we were looking for things to sell, he immediately grabbed his plastic bucket full of Hot Wheels and yelled, "No, Mom! Don't touch my stuff!"

It was hard not to laugh.

After that, everytime I walked into the room, Jeff would stop playing, clutch as many toys as he could in his hands and yell, "No, Mom!"

He's such a weirdo, LOL.

So there, Random Jogging Lady!

It's been a week since we took the training wheels off of Vanessa's bike, and about 5 days since our run-in with the Random Jogging Lady....after watching the video below, you tell me if Vanessa is still pathetic (as RJL said) for not learning to ride earlier!

I think she's doing great for just beginning! Granted, she needs practice with the brakes, but overall, so proud of her! ^_^

Happy NBA Draft Day!

Apparently, today is a BIG DEAL for sports fans, but since I'm "just a mom", Ryan had to remind me about the NBA Draft happening today. Not that he hasn't been reminding me all week (he even wrote it on our family calendar in the kitchen!), but one more reminder won't hurt, right?

I blame Scott for the level of fanaticism our eldest child has towards sports in general; he was the one who introduced Ryan to the Pittsburgh Steelers when he was just 5 yrs. old, and he was the one who showed him the correct way to throw a basketball. So it's only fitting that he's the one to take Ryan downtown to the Energy Solutions Center to watch this year's NBA Draft, LOL.

And, boy, is Ryan prepared! He even made a poster to hold up during the event. I'll post a picture later, but the poster features Jimmer Fredett (naturally!), a Utah Jazz logo and the plea, "Draft Jimmer!" Very creative, don't you think? He also promised me to get the Jazz Bear's autograph, but I told him not worry about it; I'm sure there will other things to occupy his time besides trying to get his clueless mom a mascot's signature.

I probably won't see the two until later tonight, which means I have to occupy the other 3 Crack Monkeys. They've already thrown suggestions at me (one included grand plans of tearing apart Classic Skating!), but I'm thinking of letting them loose in the McDonalds PlayPlace and maybe going for a swim in the neighborhood pool afterwards. At any rate, it sure beats sitting at home eating something I cooked, LOL!

Wondering if Ryan is counting down until they leave? ;-)

Father's Day 2011

Happy Father's Day!

I won't lie, yesterday started off on the wrong foot.

I wanted to make a good breakfast for Big Poppa for Father's Day, but totally spaced it this past week on going to the store to buy his favorites. So after waking up late (9am), I set out to cook. Did I mention the kitchen was dirty? Well, it was. So I had to clean up first to make room on the counters.

During the cleaning and the cooking, the Crack Monkeys were being unruly, which frazzled me. Sunday is like the day for them to go all out on trying to annoy each other to death. And, of course they had to do it in the kitchen, while I'm trying to cook.

So by the time breakfast is eaten and all gone, it's a quarter after 10am. Church starts at 11am, so you can guess I went into panic mode, as I hadn't taken a shower yet. The kids took their time getting upstairs to brush their teeth, but luckily I had ironed their church clothes the night before; one point for me, lol!

Amazingly, we got to church just as Sacrament Meeting started, which is a miracle for our family. Granted, my hair was still damp and I had no make-up, but everyone else looked good, so that was all that mattered right?

But the kids' antics during the morning and my panic paved the way for a massive anxiety attack, so I went home after the sacrament had been passed and the Primary kids sang their Father's Day songs. By the time I had to pick up Big Poppa and the kids, my anxiety was considerably less, but I still had the shakes. Did some breathing techniques and then we left for Big Poppa's parents' home.

I also have to mention and that in the hoopla of buying my dad a Nook (he actually answered when we asked what he wanted!) for his birthday/Father's Day, and taking Big Poppa to the Nike Factory Store to buy some sweet cross-trainers, we didn't buy Big Boss (Big Poppa's dad) a gift.

Oops.

So while I was home trying to breathe through my anxiety attack, I made a simple card, then searched for the gift card to Outback Steakhouse that we got Big Boss for his birthday in May but never gave him. Yes, I'm a horrible daughter-in-law, but in my defense, Big Poppa told me that he would think of a gift for his dad!

Anyway, I didn't hear if he liked the card and GC when the kids gave it to him, but Big Boss didn't throw it away in disgust, so I think we're alright. Note to self: remember to get Big Boss an AWESOME gift for Father's Day and his birthday next year.

All in all, it was a very nice day to be able to spend the day with three of my favorite men: Big Poppa, Papa & Big Boss. Each one of these men have been a great example to me and have taught me so many things in life, each in his own special way. I love that we have a day set aside to honor fathers, as they are important figures in anyone's life, but I hope we can remember to honor these great men everyday instead of just one day of the year!

Dear Random Lady Jogging In My Neighborhood,

So what if my daughter is almost 7-yrs old & just learning to ride a 2-wheeler; big deal! There are adults in the world who don't know how to ride a bike; are you going to scold them & make them cry, too? Now get away from my yard before I punch you out for making my daughter cry!

With No Love,
Me

Say "AHHH!"...wait, what?!

Took the Crack Monkeys to the dentist today. Total anxiety about it the whole morning because Scott is in California on a business trip. Which means crazy mom plus four Crack Monkeys at the dentist isn't a good idea.

Well, in my mind, anyway.

I envisioned whining and reluctance as soon as we got into the car, and maybe a little hysterical crying from the princess because she gets really nervous whenever we get near the dentist's office (sidenote: the kids' dentist is in a building in the parking lot of Target, which we shop often at; whenever we pull into the parking lot, Vanessa will ask, "Are you taking me to the dentist?!").

The kids, however, behaved perfectly and eagerly fol,lowed the assistants when they were called back. It was quite the smooth visit.

Well, sort of.

Because of Scott's job change, we switched health insurance. And, although I was really excited when we were signed up for dental (100% coverage on exams and cleanings, wahoo!), we found out Scott missed reading an important clause: kids 7.5 years and up aren't covered when seeing a pediatric dentist. If we insist on taking them to our current pediatric dentist, we have to get a referral from a general dentist first.

So we have to pay for Ryan and Ethan's exams, cleanings and x-rays, because they're older than the cut-off date. If we can get a referral before they submit the claims, then it'll be covered.

I am so confused.

First of all, why is the cut-off at 7.5 years old? Why the half? Second, they're still kids, so wouldn't it make sense to send them to a pediatric dentist instead of a general one? Isn't that why there are pediatric dentists? Because they specialize in children? Third....never mind, I can't think about this anymore because my head hurts!

Besides the aforementioned snafu, the kids' check-ups were good: Ryan, as usual, has the perfect mouth with no cavities or potential problems. Ethan has a giant cavity on one of his upper molars that the dentist recommended having pulled since it's not his adult teeth and will be coming out soon, but it's the only one and he had almost non-existent plaque; his teeth are also growing in nice and evenly spaced. Vanessa has no cavities, but a tooth is coming in sideways because her two front teeth refuse to come out. The dentist is concerned that these teeth haven't come out, despite the four bottom ones already being gone. He took an x-ray and it showed the two teeth basically blocking the ones that are trying to come in. Jeff has no cavities and the dentist and assistant were really impressed with how well he did during the exam and cleaning; wasn't scared, no crying or complaining, just content with watching Cars while the dentist did his thing.

So I'll admit that my kids surprised me and proved me wrong; I'll let it slide this one time. At least Scott didn't have to calm me down when I called him later to report. ;-)

P.S.-- The dentist has an ocean theme (think "Finding Nemo") so he has a treasure chest filled with small prizes that his patients can choose after their appointments. Jeff took a few minutes before finally picking....a plastic pirate's hook! As soon as I opened it, he ran to show his brothers, all the while exclaiming, "ARRR! ARRRR!" It was hilarious! ^_^

By the way, Mom.....

These are the blocks I made for the kids' teachers as an end-of-the-year gift. I had originally planned on buying them something, but the Crack monkeys gave me too much short notice (yesterday morning!) and I really couldn't find anything appropriate. And nothing can beat homemade, right? Or at least, I'm told, lol.

Along with the blocks, we gave each teacher a Barnes & Noble gift card and some really good chocolate. Ryan's teacher got a 2 liter bottle of Diet Coke because she loves it so much and he really wanted to give her something she'd appreciate (besides the block, which she did!).

BTW, two of the blocks were for Ethan's old teacher  and resource teacher before he transferred schools. He saw them yesterday when we went to Ryan's awards assembly and was really happy. So we decided to give them gifts, too.

So, did anyone else give their kids' teachers gifts? If you feel like sharing your ideas I'm going to file them away for next year....when the last minute request comes again, lol! ;-)

Ta-dah!

I finally made a new title banner!

It's not the best, but I really like it! ^_^

And now, back to your regularly scheduled program. ;-)

Birthday Adventure!

This past Thursday was my birthday and besides spending it mainly with the Fire Pig playing, it was also Ethan's last day of school (he was so sad because he already missed his teacher and classmates!) and Ryan's state fair at school. After picking Ethan up from school, we met Scott at Carl's Jr. for some lunch, then headed over to the school to see Ryan.

The classroom was set up with the students' desks and their assigned states along the room walls.It made it easier for the parents and other 5th grade students to view each display

Ryan was ecstatic that he got Pennsylvania; he's a Steelers fan thru and thru! He's smiling like that because he said he hates smiling for pictures; I told him to try, lol!

June 2 was also Free Family Skate Night at Classic Skating, so I thought it would be fun way to celebrate with the Crack Monkeys. While Ethan, Vanessa and Jeff zoomed around the skating rink on their scooters, I reacquainted myself with roller blades. I fell only once (and bruised my palm) and that was only because some kids thought it'd be funny to spill water on the track! Other than that, I had fun trying to keep up with the kids!

The Fire Pig in action! He impressed some middle-schoolers with how well he rides his scooter, lol!

Stopping for a photo op

This smile was his answer when I asked him if he was having fun

Off they go!

Keeping up with the big boys!

Just mosing along! ^_^

Ethan and Ryan were never around when I wanted pictures (they totally planned it that way, lol!), so I don't have any pics of them from that night. Ryan was too busy thrashing the Bounce Zone, while Ethan executed his mad Halo skills in the Blast Zone. They're such boys, lol!

By the end of it, the kids didn't want to leave (of course!), so we had to promise to go back another night. Not a bad way to celebrate my birthday....although my aching muscles definitely disagreed the next day! ^_^

Ninja Post!

I just realized I haven't blogged for several days, so I thought I'd drop a ninja post as sort as a catch-up.

With Memorial Day and the end of the school year approaching the Crack Monkeys have kept me busy. So this is to let y'all know I'm still here.





Y'know, if y'all were wondering. ;-)

Now, it's time for me to be a ninja and disappear....today is my birthday and the Fire Pig and I have a lot of fun stuff to do!

See ya later, alligator! ^_^