Frustrated!

So, I am feeling slightly frustrated. And I am sorry in advance, but this post is going to be descriptive. If you have a queasy stomach, I suggest moving on.

I am hoping that by posting this, someone can give me some helpful ideas.

Remember when T got his adenoidectomy? Before it, he kept having one sinus infection after another. I could tell not only from the goop in his nose, but from the mucusy-gurgley cough that seemed ever stuck in his throat. He seriously sounds like someone who has been smoking for decades (even though he is never even around ANYONE who smokes) and he just needs to cough up some phlegm.

Gross.

Well, after the anenoidectomy, he got one more sinus infection... sort of... we think. His nose was just a little yucky, but not as much as normal. Still, he had that awful sound in his throat.

That was a couple months ago.

Now, he is sick again. Well, not sick, sick. He is playing and otherwise healthy, but he has that nasty mucus build up in the back of his throat. As much as he tries to clear or cough it out, he can't get it. And it seems to gag him while he tries. But, thanks to the adenoidectomy, his sinus's are clear. No goop. No congestion in his nostrils. Just plain goopy gunk somewhere in the back of his throat that not even the doctor can see.

With his adenoids enlarged, the doc says, his sinuses were getting infected and the most obvious, so that is what was treated.

Now, we are back at the doc with the same gurgley mess in his throat -- minus a sinus infection -- and the doctor has no idea what it is. He says he is going to treat it as bronchitis because that is his best guess even though his lungs were clear. Because of how T sounds, he really felt there was a bacterial infection to treat. And I agreed.

T has a history of Asthma, tested negative for all allergies, and blood work has come back clean. Thank goodness.

But my frustration is with the fact that NOBODY can seem to figure this out. Thankfully, his sinuses are ok. But why is he getting this? What on earth is it? I don't even know what kind of specialist to take him to -- its not his sinuses any more. Its not his lungs. My pediatrician -- who I have always thought was super -- has no idea.

If I just knew what to Google, I could research this. But I don't even know where to begin.

Any ideas?

Success!!

Remember this?
Well here is B on her last day of swim lessons.
She is doing amazing!!!

Ready to go...

Sorry Babe, I couldn't resist...

Jumping...

1...2...3...

I love this picture! To me it shows how much B LOVED her teacher and trusted her so much.

Look at those blue eyes!

OK, this one was taken by a friend while B was swimming at their house (just today)

Here is the video from our friend today... I love how she looks underwater.

Sunday will come

Friday won't last forever!

Vote for your favorite!!

OK Friends...

I have been playing around with my camera down at the Mesa Arizona LDS Temple. Aside from being an architecturally amazing structure, it holds sacred meaning for me.

So, I have been wanting to capture just the right photo to display in my home. (about 20x30)

Will you all take a look at the photos, then respond with which one you like best?

(The number is for the photo directly under it)

And take my poll on your right!

For all you photographers, and I know you are out there, I would love (LOVE) to hear any suggestions you have. I need all the tips I can get.

1.

2.

3.

4.



5.


6.


7.


8.


9.


10.

When the Sun Wakes Up.

My daughter discovered Sunrise this morning.

It’s the dread of Arizona Summers for me. In their early years, I tell my children, "You sleep while the sun sleeps." When it hits summer, I do my best to black out their rooms so they don’t realize the sun doesn’t go to bed until 8:00 and begins to rise at 4:30. Because once they discover it, they don’t want to sleep.

You would think that after five children, I would learn my lesson and come up with a better explanation as to why it is time for them to sleep. It just has worked so well – until about 2 ½. Then they draw the correlation between their sleep and the sun’s sleep.

The last few weeks, B has begun to wake off and on, shortly after the sunrise. Giving her reason to believe it is time to wake up. This morning, she wandered into my room at 3:48 AM! I knew I had little more than a ½ hour to get her back to sleep before she realized all nature was beginning to awake.

I failed.

Between her growling tummy and desire to color in her princess book, she couldn’t get herself back to sleep. I did my best to pretend I was sleeping, all the while listening to her excited jabbering about what color she was going to color Ariel.

Right about 4:30, she quietly slipped from my bed (where she had at least been laying down) and went over to my window. I dreaded what was coming next. Try as I might, I haven’t been able to eliminate the glow from the edges of my blackout curtains when the sun is up.She stood on her tiptoes as she gazed out the window.

With a squeal, she began to gallop around the room exclaiming “The sun is waking up! The sun is waking up!” She galloped over to the bathroom to retrieve her stool, galloped back to my window, and climbed up to give herself a better view.

The horizon was beginning to glow, chasing away the darkness of night. And B LOVED it!!!

“Mommy, look! It’s changing colors! The sun is coming up!” she would jump off her stool and run over to my bedside to make sure I knew the sky was changing colors. She giggled and squealed.

Part of me envied hubby’s ability to sleep through the excited jabbering of our two year old. But another part of me was so glad to be able to hear how excited she was at this discovery. After a while of B watching the sunrise, I knew that resistance was futile and decided to start the day.

A short time later, I was getting out of the shower. Of course, B was at my side, because really, who would want privacy in the shower? I put on my bathrobe and B looked at me inquisitively. “Mommy, why are you wearing that Superthing?” I never thought of my bathrobe as a “superthing” but I guess it could be. And it sure beats the “Are you growing a mustache?” comment I got yesterday (from an ADULT)

We made our way downstairs, coloring book in tow, and turned on Noggin. (because I really don’t function well early in the morning – maybe ever)

B sat down, began to color, and paused long enough to tell me, “Mommy, I woke up tired again.”

Me too, sweetie. Me too.

Update:

Two hours later:

Metal Mouth No More!

Fewer days are more important than this one in a teenager's life. From the moment those metal brackets are glued to their teeth, they long for the day when they can eat sticky candy again...

The orthodontist is great -- gives the kids a bag of yummy treats that they weren't supposed to eat during the last two years. Of course, my sweet S kept going through the bag saying, "I wasn't supposed to eat this?" Or "I didn't know I wasn't supposed to have that."

Well, thankfully, we made it through and his teeth look awesome!!!

He's 10 TODAY!!

I should have known from the flips he did in my belly that R would be full of adventure. He is such a sweet, loving boy. Here's a little photo journey through his life.

R is always loving and tender

Even at a young age, R was always jumping, falling, or otherwise flying around the house.

Quite often I found him in a little bit of mischief (and still do)

Melts my heart!

First day of Kindergarten



At the beach



A typical pose around here for R



This boy was born to SOAR!

Um, yeah -- it was about this time, I realized he needed gymnastics.

If he's not contorting his body, its his face!

Just hanging around.

The reason why play equipment was invented.

R is always making new friends. He just has a knack with people and kids love him.

This is my all-time favorite shot of R because it is a rare moment in his life that he holds still. Somehow, I caught it here.

I sure love this kid!!!

Happy Birthday R!!!!

Happy Father's Day

I have been so blessed in my life.

I grew up with a kind father. A man who dedicated his heart to God and spoke gently to his children. There was comfort and tenderness in the shadow of my father. I loved him while I grew up and love him now as I remember him.

I remember as a girl, I wanted to marry someone like my daddy. Someone kind. Someone who devoted their life to God. Somebody who was tender.

And I have been blessed.

My sweet husband lives only to do that which is right in the sight of God. He loves our children and speaks kindly to them. He sacrifices so much so our family can live comfortably. He plays with the kids, sings with them, challenges them... He is the best father for our children and if my boys follow his example, they will also be fine men.

When I saw the following video, I immediately thought of Hubby. All he does is for the Lord and our family.

Happy Father's Day!

Perfect Climate for Pictures

Arizona is supposed to be HOT. This time of year, we are supposed to be well over a hundred degrees. Night time usually offers little reprieve, quite often staying in the high 90's during the night.

I have NO idea what is going on, and I am not complaining, but it has been WONDERFUL weather! Breezy. Cool (well, not over 100 anyway). Yesterday it was even overcast and I almost felt like we were in San Diego.

It was the perfect setting for some impromptu photos of all the cousins. I found out that it isn't that easy to pose 14 kids, keep them in place, and make them smile. Thank goodness for Uncle D the stylin' moves of his Dancing Pet Bunny (over my head I might add)

Check out a few of the shots we got in the amazing weather!

Caught. Up.

EXCUSE ME WHILE I SHOUT!!!

BUT MY LAUNDRY IS ALL WASHED, FOLDED AND PUT AWAY.

For at least 24 hours, I will be caught up on my laundry.

"But why?" You ask. "Why is all the laundry in the car?"

Because I was desperate! Desperate, I tell you. The laundry was taunting me. Haunting ever living, breathing thought of my disturbed mind.

It called to me in the middle of the night, daring me to catch up, all the while multiplying faster than our local jackrabbit population. It was time to put an end to the ridicule!

I took 10 (that would be TEN) washing machines at the laundromat and I attacked! I sorted, I washed, I sweated (pretty much like a pig, I might add) I folded and I stacked.

Two hours and twenty bucks later, with only one broken nail, I finished.

I discovered an interesting phenomenon. Evidently, removing clothing from the dryer while it is still hot keeps the clothes from getting wrinkly. I had heard of this, but thought it was only folklore... something crazy housewives created as a legend. But now, I know that it is real.

Clothes really have less wrinkles when they come straight from the dryer. Simply Amazing.

Oh, and I don't know who's poop went through washing machine number 7, but hopefully it belonged to one of my kids, because I had to remove it... yuck. Really? Can someone please teach my kids to wipe the right way??

And now, as I sit icing my horribly aching back, I have determined it was totally all worth it.

Because Chocolate is important

What do you do when it is too late for a nap and too early for bed???

Make brownies of course!!!

(And worry about cleanup later)

By the way, after the last post, you may think I never dress my boys in the summer. But I do. Every Sunday, for three hours, they wear a shirt and shoes (and pants, of course) to church. Any other time of the summer, they look like T in this picture. Just swim shorts.

Don't worry, there was some batter left over to bake.

SNOWBALL FIGHT!!!! In Arizona? In the Summer?

Only when Very-Cool-Super-Awesome-Auntie-L comes to town!!!

So my little sis flew in for a few days (YAHOO) and we picked up some snowballs at the Local Bahama Bucks (can I say AWESOME?)

But it raised a few questions...

If you are getting snowballs from a Styrofoam container while eating a Popsicle in your swim shorts, is it still considered a snowball fight?

Has anyone really ever had any luck deflecting an onslaught of snowballs with just a hand?

If you make a pre-teen boy scream like a girl, should you stick around to watch?

That answer would be "NO" (payback is mighty cold)





Does a snowball really hit it's target harder once you lick it?

Are you really ever too young for a facial?
(No, she wasn't crying. While crazy erupted around her, she stood in the middle, picking up "snow" and giving herself a facial)

Do you think these kids will ever forget the snowball fight?

Does it get any better than this???

I. LOVED. THIS. DAY!