Bedtime Is A Joke

It's almost midnight and I've still got three kids awake.  My husband is sound asleep and has been for a couple of hours.  I've gotten two kids to go to bed but that leaves three still up.  I feel like I am playing with one of these toys -

If you have never played with this, the little critters pop up and down as you hit them with the hammer.  They are on little see-saw things though so no matter how fast you work two of the little critters will still be up.

... two of the little critters will still be up...

Okay, now I'm laughing hysterically in a sleep-deprived fit of hilarity as I think of the image of my children popping up on the other side of the room as I put one into bed somewhere else.
Someone will always be up.  No matter how fast I work, I can't win.  lol... lol... hee hee hee... sigh

Kid Pictures (Mostly My Kids)

Jessica's hair, July 1st 2012, she's almost two, she's still working on that thick, full head of hair.

In the mean time, she's like a little Troll doll.

Krista got her braces off!  Yippeee!!  Here's the bag of banned foods they give them after the removal of the braces.  Also, sporting the shirt they give them, and pay them points at the orthodontists office (to trade in for gift cards) to wear for free advertising.  Lovely blonde blue-eyed girl.

Krista had a sleepover at our house.  Here is just a sample of the mess they made.  It was kind of a crazy party.  Not sure we're doing it again in the near future.

Krista getting ready for dance.  She's taking intensive training this summer in hopes of earning her pointe shoes.



Henry and Andrew and dirt and rocks and weeds and bugs and happiness.



and a BIG truck.
It's a guy thing.

Krista (far right) heading for girls camp for the first time.

I got my hair cut.  I don't love this picture but you can see how long my hair is.

Repairs

The sprinklers for our yard are pretty much shot.  Something underground has gone bad and now only some of the sprinklers work and not with the same pressure as other sprinklers.  I can only use a few of the automatic sprinkler zones because the others cause water to either shoot in random directions or just don't really bother turning on.
Bother.
I don't know anything about sprinkler repair and unlike closet door repair, the YouTube videos on doing it yourself are a bit complicated and involve shovels.  I own a shovel, but...
I did repair the bifold closet doors that had come off the tracks in my home.  Actually, I repaired two, or is it four if you count both doors? of them but the closet in the little kids room is actually easier to use without a door and I saw this great idea for hanging a curtain in front of it.  I won't do curtains while the little kids are still little but maybe when they get a bit older.
I don't know.
Anyway.
I fixed closet doors.  I was very happy with the results.
I don't know how to fix sprinkler systems.
Since we put a new roof on the house this year it looks like I'll just have to use the sprinklers still available and keep moving the hose around for the other parts.  The yard doesn't look that great but I'm very grateful for the rain we have been blessed with.
This post is very random.  I am very tired.  Ummm...

If You Give A Mom A Muffin

Because it made me laugh:



If You Give Mom a Muffin

Submitted by: Happytoscrapitall

Author: Beth Brubaker

If you give a mom a muffin,

She'll want a cup of coffee to go with it.

She'll pour herself some.

Her three-year-old will spill the coffee.

She'll wipe it up.

Wiping the floor, she'll find dirty socks.

She'll remember she has to do laundry.

When she puts the laundry in the washer,

She'll trip over boots and bump into the freezer.

Bumping into the freezer will remind her

she has to plan for supper.

She will get out a pound of hamburger.

She'll look for her cookbook

("101 Things To Do With a Pound of Hamburger").

The cookbook is setting under a pile of mail.

She will see the phone bill, which is due tomorrow.

She will look for her checkbook.

The checkbook is in her purse

that is being dumped out by her two-year-old.

She'll smell something funny.

She'll change the two-year-old's diaper.

While she is changing the diaper, the phone will ring.

Her five-year-old will answer and hang up.

She'll remember she wants to phone a friend for coffee.

Thinking of coffee will remind her

that she was going to have a cup.

And chances are...If she has a cup of coffee,

Her kids will have eaten the muffin that went with it.

Misc

Yesterday Jared went into the bathroom and one of the little ones followed him.  He started yelling that they had to get out.  I called down the hall in my calm-mommy-voice, "come here sweetheart, Daddy doesn't want any help in there."  Little voice from the bedroom replies in a wistful tone "Do you need help in there mommy?"  To which I must reply, "No dear, but I try to accept it gracefully."  Child was pleased and satisfied by this answer and all is well in our little world again.

This morning I saw the raccoon.  It was next to the back fence.  It was totally a raccoon.
This may seem like a ridiculous thing to be excited about, but I am.

I have a new piece of exercise equipment.  It is a gazelle.  I like it.  So far it has been great.  The only drawback I have found is it is a little tricky to get on it and if I get into the music too much I have a chance of falling off of it.  Possibly it will improve my balance however I am not keeping my fingers crossed as that is more of a personal issue than a fitness problem from what I have seen over the years.

Krista got her braces off this morning.  Yippee!!
She's very happy about this and so am I.
We are now accepting donations for phase 2 of her orthodontia and for the orthodontia of at least 2 of the other children.  Make checks payable to me or to Thompson Orthodontics.  Thank you for your support.

Whatever These Are, They Bloomed

April 'take a picture of me too, mom' Stone

Crazy

This made me laugh so hard I couldn't catch my breath.  What's the abbrieviation for that?  wol (wheeze out loud) maybe?  It just caught me at the right moment and struck me as funny.

Possibly due to the high level of insanity in my life...

TV

More Summerfest Pics

Andrew at the parade

Jessica at the parade

Andrew by the firetruck

Pictures I finished retrieving from Jared's phone.

Orem Summerfest 2012

      We went to Orem Summerfest on Saturday and enjoyed ourselves at our city's big shindig for the year.  We went over to the park around 11am for the carnival stuff and to see what the vendors had out.  It was 80+ degrees, sunny and only a slight breeze.  The kids rode one ride at $1.50 a ticket that was pretty much all the cash I had left after a couple of $3 bags of cotton candy.  $20 just doesn't go as far as it used to and five kids can use it up in seconds.  So anyway, we toured the firetruck,

April in the firetruck

did the free craft activity,

Andrew with the foam hat he decorated

ate some cotton candy, debated whether or not to play the game where "everyone wins a real live frog!"  (please mom, please mom, please mom, please mom, please mom, please mom, please mom, please mom!), rode something called the Vortex or the Tornado or the Twister or the Swirler... something, anyway, it went around really fast and made April cry but thankfully not throw up, and then we went home for lunch, mostly because I was out of cash and starting to get a little sunburned.
      I took the older girls to a play at BYU and then we went back to Summerfest for the parade and the fireworks.  Remember how nice it was in the morning?  By time for the parade in the evening, 6:30-ish, the temperature had dropped to somewhere around 50 and a very strong wind came up.

Kylie in her blanket

Kylie sharing her blanket with Clara from next door

    Just to give you an idea how strong the wind was, the kids jumped out of those metal folding chairs to go grab some candy and a few seconds later a gust of wind came through and blew the chairs over.  Middle of June and I've got the baby in her winter coat and the kids are so cold they gave up running after candy to huddle in blankets on the curb.  Ha ha ha.
     I've got more pictures but they're all on Jared's phone so I have to e-mail them to myself one at a time (there's probably a faster way...) when he's not using his phone and none of the children are playing games on it.
      We were a bit worried the fireworks wouldn't happen but as the sun set the winds died down and with everyone huddled in the van for warmth we parked in the Target parking lot across from the park and watched an excellent fireworks display.
      Thanks City of Orem, that was lots of fun and everyone slept really well that night.

Contents Under Pressure

One of the most amusing facebook shares I've seen in a long time.

It does, it scares me EVERY time.

Inside My Head

Yeah.

Possibly a lot darker and more dangerous as well.

Children

At first I thought this was funny.

My amusement only lasted a moment.

Then I was sad.

Very, very sad.

That's me on that exam table.

Sad, sad me.

Nice Kitty...

Kinda having one of those days/weeks.

At least the angry puffball made me smile.

Now on to the available chocolate...

Losing My Mind

Yes indeed, Summer Vacation has begun with a vengeance.

This made me smile today.



We're All Kids At Heart

LA Times Cartoon

Maybe a little out of date but it made me laugh.

I do like Ron Paul.

Expeditiously vs. Exhibitiously

I was helping with the younger children at a rehearsal for a dance recital coming up and one of the teachers came into the waiting area and announced "If you're in the next number get into the studio expeditiously!"  I was thinking to myself, 'great use of a big word' when one of the teens standing next to me asked her friend, "What does 'exhibitiously' mean?"
Mwahaha! (but I only laughed way down deep inside)
I turned to the two confused teens to explain 'expeditiously' means to hurry and go into the room quickly.  'Exhibitiously' is an entirely different matter.  It's not exactly a word but if it is taken in the context of doing things as an exhibitionist would then you would go into the room nude or flash the people in the room.  The two girls seemed satisfied with this answer.  I thought about it a bit more and decided 'exhibitiously' could also possibly be understood as to make an exhibit of yourself as you enter the room which would be easy for the teens as they're all about attention most of the time anyway.
Yeah, so they hurried into the room.

Mothers Day

My mother sent me this one.

I have to agree with it.

HAPPY MOTHERS DAY

The Foundling by Georgette Heyer - loved it!

This one is going to go on my top picks or must reads or whatever that list in my head is where I keep the books I really liked.
The Foundling is a great adventure story with a little bit of romance and a cast of very entertaining characters:

The Duke, he's super rich and a nice guy but he's short and he was sickly as a child so everyone bullies him and he runs away from home for a few days on his own just to see if he's really a man or only a Duke.

Tom, the crazy kid who gets into trouble constantly but isn't such a bad guy.

Belinda, the ultimate dumb blonde who will do anything for a purple dress or a ride in a fancy carriage.

Harriet, (I like Harriet) who seems to be turning out very well despite external forces.

Gideon, the soldier that could kill someone with his bare hands but mostly just laughs off the insanity around him.

Liversedge, the bad guy, he'd hate to kill anyone but maybe for the right price he could overcome his sensitivity to violence and in the mean time he likes to manage the kitchen with his excellent skills.

      There's a few more besides these but you'll have to read it to meet them all.  The story is great, lots of twists and turns and plenty of comedy and drama to make it seem very true-to-life.  I laughed right out loud a couple of times.  I'm going to have to read this one again and find a website where they tell you what some of those old expressions mean.  For example, I know "pockets to let" means out of money but there were a bunch of other ones I had to guess at the meanings from the context, especially when the bad guys are all plotting together.