What's Up With Those Yerger's ?????

Another year older....

2011-12-16T07:59:00.005-05:00

From a tiny (okay who are we kidding, she was never tiny at 8 pounds 12 ounces) baby to a tall, self assured, opinionated miniature of her mother. She keeps us on our toes, tires us with her endless dialogue (no really, it's constant from the moment she awakens to the moment her eyes shut at night), cracks us up with her funny little jokes

Knock, knock Mommy,
Who's there Savannah?
Apple.
Apple who?
Apple, strawberry head, hahahahaha, isn't that funny mommy?

We are blessed to have a little girl when we really didn't think that it would happen. From her birthplace of Japan, to sunny Florida, she brightens our days just by being alive. Happy birthday to my bubbly, full of life, 5 year old girl!

The Challenge

2011-11-16T11:31:00.003-05:00

Today I woke up and the morning turned into one of THOSE days. I felt like I was living last night's episode of Parenthood, except instead of locking my tantrum throwing child into their room, I had him trapped in the bathroom. I had insisted he brush his teeth to go to school, and he threw up his own challenge, to be mouthy, throw a fit, and tell me how much he hates school and that he isn't going. Well absolutely nothing gets to me like hearing one of my kids tell me they aren't going to school. I'm not sure why, maybe because I view it as my time to get as much done as possible, while trying to do something "me" centered, or maybe because I know he really does like school. At first I tried the calm parent approach.....Jack, I know you like school, is something bothering you? As he dumped toothpaste all over his shirt and the sink, I sighed, seeing the calmness make a U-turn and depart the scene. I told him I'd rather he just brush his teeth and comb his hair so he could get dressed, we were at our time already to leave and it looked like it was going to be a while until we actually left. At this point I probably would have been wise to go and get a bottle of wine and mull it over out in the hall, but no, I had to press my point of brushing teeth. Maybe if the child hadn't had so many cavities already, or didn't just have 2 teeth pulled due to a horrible abscess in his mouth I would have just let it slide....but Mr. Cavity needed to brush and so the line was drawn in the sand. A terrible meltdown ensued, on both our parts, and the wine would have been better, it would have at least kept my mouth closed and maybe given me a sense of calm. Finally, I had to drag, yes drag the child to his room to get dressed. Savannah has now missed her circle time, and we are really pressing our luck to get Jack to school on time at all. I literally have to undress and redress this 8 year old boy, sometimes it just seems to be easier. Finally I get to what I hope is the root of the problem....a boy is trying to be friends with Jack at school but is hanging all over him and he is getting mostly annoyed. I ask him if he wants me to email the teacher, he says yes, I do and magically the storm is over. We have both yelled, he has cried, punched the floor, his bed and gave me a once over which earned him an equally evil glare meaning "don't even try it buster if you want your butt attached to your body anymore!" I hugged this headstrong child and we all got into the car for school. He happily dashed out of the car and ran off to his class where hopefully the horror of being trapped in the bathroom with his mother is but a distant memory. For me it's fresh and raw and brings tears to my eyes, it makes me so sad when we have these starts. I don't feel like a good mother at all, not like the ever patient mom of Max in the show, or Sydney's mom who just sat outside her door listening to all the insults thrown her way, quietly downing a bottle of wine in her despair. Nope, I'm the mom who insists we don't wear our pj's to school, we must brush our teeth and at least tame our hair....well there are days we can let that slide. I sure do love that kid, for all his up's and down's he can bring me to tears of joy and sorrow, and do both in a matter of minutes. He is so unique though and I'm just glad he's mine, although I will sell him to the highest bidder on certain days!

My Kind of Girl!

2011-09-26T19:47:00.005-04:00

That's my girl! She's the one who is knocking your girl over, and stealing the ball from another. She has the concept of how to turn that ball and how to block out another player, even at 4 years old. She gets mad when the other team scores and even pushes her own players out of the way to get to the ball. I love that girl! I remember another little blond girl, many moons ago who loved to play the game, running over other little girls, smelling the fresh cut grass and playing in rain, torrential downpours, fog and even snow. I love watching her enthusiasm for the game and for scoring a goal. These are the best days around and I'm honored to be witness to the beginning of a new love, that of soccer!

Glacier National Park

2011-08-24T13:45:00.011-04:00

One day of vacation we made the trek from the folks house, left the dock and drinks to take on hiking and wildlife. It was a fantastic day and so worth braving the winding mountain roads with a car filled to the brim with wild children and the adults who were dying to get out of the enclosed space containing said children. We started off with a much needed caffeine break in the town of Apgar and let the kids visit the Wildlife Discovery Center. Here they got to see pelts, hold animal skulls and guess weights on animals and skulls alike. After that we were ready for an early lunch at the Lake McDonald Lodge. The lobby is huge and they have these wonderful red buses that transport guests throughout the park. After lunch we let the kids run by the lake and taught them how to skip stones. This is a lifeskill that every child should at least learn how to do just so that their Dad can show them up at every occasion. Yes, Jaesen, I'm talking about you! After that we braved those winding mountain roads to get to the top of Logan Pass where we went on a hike through the snow, and yes there was a lot of it. You wouldn't think that kids who have winter every year would be so excited, but snow is a novelty in August, and many a snowball was thrown. Mom and Bruce hiked a bit with us and then let the Yerger 5 head further on. I can't even describe the surprise on the kids faces (and ours) when as we were walking, or tromping, through the snow and a mountain goat walked across our path. The kids were literally shouting with excitement. Poor Savannah had trouble with the snow and kept falling down so Jaesen scooped her up and put her on his back, our own version of a pack mule. It was a 3 mile round trip hike, and fairly difficult with the snow, we all fell at one point or another, and we finally made it to the lookout for Hidden Lake which still had ice in it. As we were standing there taking in the majestic views and sheer beauty of this place, two mountain goats took it upon themselves to wander down the sightseeing path. We were rooted to the spot, not sure what to do. Would the goats attack, charge, eat one of the kids, chew off our shoelaces, making it that much more difficult to make the hike back? No, they could have cared less about us, they just wanted to climb rocks and meander on through. We finally decided, due to the huge storm clouds moving rapidly our way, that it was time to make our departure. We took many pictures on the way back down and even saw a baby mountain goat, and Jack's favorite, the chipmunk or ground squirrel. I don't know how many pictures I have of those creatures, he wanted to remember them all I guess. In the parking lot, after everyone used the bathroom, we were startled by the appearance of a bighorn sheep which started meandering through the rows of cars. With his big horns I was more worried about him charging a car and doing some damage, but in the end Jaesen got great pics of him and we chalked up another wild animal sighting. We started our drive back down and although we were pressed for time it was decided (okay by me, which later I might have regretted) to do the Cedar Walk. It is a fairly quick hike through a cedar forest on an elevated boardwalk. At the time we finished it was just after 6 p.m. and we had about a 1.5 hour drive to get to dinner on the way home. For those of you who have kids with ADHD and must remain on a schedule, you know that tweaking dinner to two hours late can be a hideous prospect. And so it was. Jaesen had a migraine which was causing horrible nausea. Translation-not in a good mood. Seven people in a car. Translation-way too crowded. Jack with no food and medicine worn off. Translation-one and a half hours of nonstop us telling him to stop whatever it was he was doing repetitively. By the time we got to dinner, after listening to the all the kids ask for the hundredth time, when are we getting there, I'm starving, I was ready to strangle them all, or myself, I wasn't sure which would be better. Fortunately, I got wine which put me at ease, Jack got two loaves of bread and a salad while waiting for dinner, which did him wonders, and Jaesen's headache finally started to go away, although he couldn't eat anything. All in all it was a great day of hiking and sightseeing in one of the most beautiful places in the world.

Lake McDonald Lodge buses.

Jaesen skipping rocks

Boys walking through the snow

Jack and a mountain goat

boys at another hidden lake

the bighorn sheep

The cedar forest

Summer is Over....

2011-08-19T10:13:00.008-04:00

And with the rush of school, new pencils, crayons and notebooks, we note the passing of summer into fall. This is a difficult concept when it's still beautiful outside and feels like summer. This year Tristan makes the passage into middle school which means a much earlier wake up call, 6:15. He has to leave between 7 and 7:15 to get to school on time so we are all having to adjust to life with an alarm clock blaring each morning. Meanwhile Jack doesn't even have to get up until 7:45 if he chooses since school starts at 9, but Savannah needs to be to her class by 8:45 so she can have circle time to get her day going. The scheduling is a bit of a nightmare, but next year she will be going with Jack, off to kindergarten and out of daycare! I'm am looking forward to that extra bit of money each month. So summer flew by, with visits to the zoo, Children's Museum, a lot of pool time, fishing with Dad, the library and our trip to Montana. We packed a lot in to a short time which is why the season just passed by so quickly. A quick recap of some our activities
Jack's birthday at the Stormchasers game: Getting to throw out the first pitch!

The 4th of July

Grandma Rudolph's 89th Birthday

Kids Triathlon

My Triathlon

So now we can dream about what we want to do for next summer, after all it's only 9 months away....and time is just flying!

Arbor Day in June

2011-07-02T08:19:00.004-04:00

And I still learn something new every day....did you know that Arbor Day officially began in Nebraska City, NE? I had no idea. Over one million trees were planted that first year, a pretty amazing feat for one guy with an idea. They have a farm here with tree houses, forest trails, and plenty of cool stuff for the kids. Plus they sell pie. I love pie so this place has to be wonderful just for the fact that they sell pie. Tristan got a slice of cranapple pie, it was so great and immediately I felt like I was transported to the fall, even though it was a smoking 93 degrees outside. We love the outdoors and all it offers, but I suppose it is always a good idea to be reminded of the importance of nature and all that it does for us, humanity. All in all it was a wonderful day. On our transit to the Arbor Day Tree Adventure though we were witness to the power of Mother Nature and the flooding of the Mighty Missouri River which has broken it's barriers and flooded massive amounts of farmland and towns all up and down this region. At one point, the road we were driving on was sandbagged so that passage would be possible. We even saw several houses that were islands in a newly formed lake, even though the river is supposed to be several miles from that point. A reminder that nature is more powerful than us at times.

And Let the Summer Begin....

2011-06-02T10:53:00.005-04:00

The dog days are upon us, and I am so excited for this summer. Last summer was tough, moving across country, getting settled in and all the house problems we barely had time to enjoy the calm that summer can bring. This year I plan on enjoying it to the max with the kids. We had last soccer games, lots of fishing already, karate and we have even ventured to the pool once. Tristan is off on his wonderful 10 day Lewis & Clark trip and has driven a truck and a tractor, ridden horses, eaten in spaceship restaurants, and watched calves get castrated (that last one he was not as excited about!). The weather has turned warm and the kids are into their water balloons, chalk and enjoying not having to get up for school. Secretly I am too, I love not having an agenda each day and being able to go do what we want. So bring on summer, the grill, firepits and smores and the pool!

Time....

2011-04-30T12:11:00.005-04:00

It seems like it's trickling by and I am unable to slow it down. With so many things happening in my own life, school seems to encompass the majority of my time, I am having trouble to sit and watch my kids and to appreciate them on a daily basis. It doesn't seem like 4 years has passed since Jack made funny faces whenever the camera would point to him, today he tests for yellow belt in karate. It's something that he really wanted to do and opted to forgo soccer for. He has excelled, something which Jaesen and I had questioned due to his ADHD. Although we have always known his potential, even we were pleasantly surprised by how well he has taken to the repetition of this sport.
Tristan, little Mr. Serious, and it's hard to believe he is off to middle school next year (here he will attend a magnet school where it starts at 5th grade). This year he tackled the violin, along with soccer and was finally placed in gifted and talented for math and reading. His imagination stills run rampant, from Harry Potter to Star Wars, he is still just a little guy in a body that is slowly growing. He used to have his imaginary playmates, "the boys", that rode everywhere with us and hung out with him until Jack was big enough to join in the fun. The kid who could navigate through Tokyo station with the best Japanese businessman or climb Mt. Fuji to the top. His nonstop monologues on whatever interests him at the moment can be taxing on a person, but the amount of knowledge in that great big head of his is enormous, and he so wants to share it with everyone.

And then there is Bean, little miss Savannah. How can it be that over four years has passed since her birth? Is time really passing that quickly? I look at her and now she is not a toddler, or a baby, but a strong minded little girl. She can ice skate, battle the other girls in soccer and kick their butts (making her mother oh so proud!), wield a lightsaber with the brothers and write her name. It was just yesterday that the midwife surprised us by saying, it's a girl, when we thought Charlie was going to be born. Just a moment ago when her funny faces could make us all laugh, she waited to walk until her Daddy came home from Iraq, almost like she knew that he needed to be a part of that moment. It's like trying to hold sand in your hands in the ocean, the surge of the surf keeps dragging the sand away, time is moving on no matter how hard I try to slow it down. The best I can do is capture the moments one at a time and enjoy them in the moment.

My Grocery Bills are Through the Roof!

2011-02-10T14:31:00.005-05:00

I know you may say, well naturally you have three growing kids, a husband, two dogs and a cat, of course you will have high grocery bills. But now I am scouring the health food shelves looking for organic this and that, whole wheat and natural products, products without high fructose corn syrup and all those added, evil yellow and red dyes. No I haven't become a granola. But I have become the mother of a child with ADHD. I used to think that is was a convenient excuse for parents who wouldn't control their children and think evil things of them in my own head. And then one day I was that other parent. The parent of a non toddler who threw an absolute temper tantrum in the grocery store. Other people would stare and whisper while I tried to cajole, calm and eventually drag out a very strong 5 or 6 year old. We of course then didn't believe we should ever medicate our child, again another excuse for over medication. Sadly, after 2 years of trying different diets, punishments and many cases of wine, we realized our family was breaking and we needed help. At this point I begged on my knees for a doctor to find a medicine for our little guy (after all the blood work and such came back that he was perfectly healthy, other than this one little thing). After taking the medicine for 8 days we woke up to a child who could control himself during the 10-12 hours that the medicine works for him. Not a zombie, not altered, but a wonderful, spirited child that we knew we had but who was hiding within that horrible problem of his brain not firing on all it's pistons at all times. It's hard to be this parent. There are days I literally want to throw that child against the wall with his comments and frustrating behavior (and no I don't act on those impulses, although some days are harder than others). And then there are the days that he shines and makes us laugh and I feel horrible that we waited so long to get him help. These are the dilemmas of being a parent, nobody knows what it will be like for you, what cards you will be dealt, you just get them and have to plow on through and be the best you can. Some days that happens, and some days it doesn't and you feel like crap as you crawl into bed at night. But tomorrow is another day, another roller coaster in this crazy world of "life", and as long as I can keep my mantra that this too shall pass I know that I can get through it. So for now I scour for foods that will help him when the medicine won't, no fun cereals that contain all that sugar and dye, I have to up his protein, and try and keep him away from chocolate milk. Fortunately he loves fruits, vegetables, salmon and organic cereals or I would be in huge trouble! Whole Foods, Trader Joe's and the organic section of my supermarket are my new favorite places to be as I scan the labels for magnesium, zinc and calcium, just in case you are looking for me.

A Winter Wonderland

2011-01-15T09:27:00.006-05:00

Well the kids finally got what they had been hoping for, SNOW!!!! It even gave them two days off of school while the streets got all cleared off. So hot cocoa, snow pants, mittens and sleds were items of the day. For me, I had three hours of shoveling snow so that I could get my car into the driveway from work, and to get Jaesen out of the driveway for work. Because even though the kids have snow days, we still have work. At any rate, it was a lot of fun, we snowboarded, went sledding, drank hot chocolate, had lots of movies and games, built snow forts and dried endless mittens, hats and boots in front of the fireplace. I love winter!

A Year in Review of the Yerger House

2010-12-31T14:14:00.003-05:00

Ho, Ho, Ho, It's Gingerbread House Time!

2010-12-10T16:47:00.004-05:00

And it's that time of year again, gingerbread house day is one of the best day's ever! All the kids get to go to the candy store and help pick out at least 20 pounds of candy to decorate houses with. And every year the houses get better patios, ponds, and more houses are made. This year we even had sharks in the pond! Of course a lot of the candy is consumed, and everyone loves that!!!! It is just fun to watch the kids take charge and make their own version of candyland.

Waiting for that snow....

2010-12-03T15:53:00.003-05:00

I know everyone says that we won't like it come February, and you really aren't supposed to like it year round, but my kids have my love for the snow and are anxiously awaiting that day when the ground is covered in white and they don't have to dream about sledding and snowboarding, they can run out and do it. By late winter we will be ready for spring and the newness of that season, but for now, we are all waiting for those flakes to fall.

Tristan is 10!

2010-11-22T07:17:00.005-05:00

Holy cow, can I really have a child who is 10? Where did the last 10 years go? There was a time I wasn't consumed with math homework, wiping noses, getting up in the middle of the night to calm bad dreams, but that was before I was a MOM! Ten years ago I was experiencing that scared, excited, please let's get this over with nervousness, and we were blessed with Tristan. A non stop talker when it's about anything he loves-animals, sports, Harry Potter-he'll talk your ear off. He's smart as a whip and has a good heart. Happy Birthday Bug! We all love you so much.

The First Snow!

2010-11-17T19:56:00.003-05:00

There is really nothing like that first snowflake of the season. And thankfully my kids seem to have the same passion for it as I do. Last Friday night we ran into indoor soccer in the pouring, ice cold rain, and an hour later emerged into the fattest snowflakes that I have ever seen. It was that thick heavy snow that melts on you as it lands. It blizzarded all night long and we had 4 inches by morning. It was enough to sled, throw snowballs, and make a smaller snowman. It was wonderful and wet fun, topped off with hot cocoa and marshmallows, no better way to spend a Saturday morning!

Savannah the Ice Skating Wonder!

2010-11-13T09:38:00.004-05:00

She goes to ice skating once a week through her preschool and so far she is loving every second of it. She has had two lessons and I snuck in on her second one to take pictures and watch her. There are only 6 kids in the class with 2 instructors so there is a great ratio, geared towards really teaching them the fundamentals, like how to stand up after you fall-which seems to be about every 45 seconds or so. At any rate, she is having a blast, soon she'll be jumping and spinning I'm sure :)

Halloween Came and Left....

2010-11-13T09:33:00.005-05:00

Whether we are in a corn maze, at the Children's Museum, or ready to trick or treat, this is one of our favorite holidays. Maybe because Jaesen makes it so fun by decorating the house to the max, but along with our neighbor, our house was one of the coolest in town! Jaesen actually made a lot of our props this year and can only imagine that next year will be better. Savannah walked for the first time while trick or treating and did wonderful. It was a great holiday, now on the next one.....my birthday of course!

Halloween is almost here and we are running out of time...

2010-10-23T09:18:00.005-04:00

I feel like I have been running from one thing to the next and I mean that literally, not figuratively. Between work, school and it's assorted projects, getting the house ready for Halloween and a big party, getting the kids to and from soccer and school and still trying to be 100% settled in our house, my life has felt a bit chaotic lately. Today for example, we are going to a big Halloween party that we have heard stories about, heck I think there are legends about it, and Jaesen still doesn't have his costume. And so I fear I will be going as Morticia Addams while he has to choose something different than Gomez because he waited too long to pull it all together. Not because he has a lot of time in his life either. Work is consuming extra time lately, the other day I got home from my shift around 730 pm to find my mom still here because Jaesen had just pulled in. Good thing I had her cook the kids dinner or it would have been cereal for dinner. I know we are not alone in this thing called life, trying to fit it all in, although sometimes it feels that way. I look around and every one's kids are bathed, fed wonderful meals while mine cry and whine, with dirt stained tear tracks. Is that true? Well.....sometimes. Last week I was so tired that since Savannah looked clean and I didn't feel like giving her a bath I just wiped her face with a washcloth 3 days in a row. There are weeks where we have had cereal for more than just breakfast, but hey if it's good for breakfast, it must be just as good for dinner! So we are under one week away from our Halloween party and I shudder to think of all that has to be done, including 2 school projects for me, the last week of soccer (thank goodness) and just normal life. On the other hand though, this party should be fantastic, if you are here feel free to drop by, just come in costume-it's required! And check back for the pics, they should be great!

The Perfect Fall Day

2010-10-17T21:37:00.004-04:00

It seems like we have waited so long for the return of fall. Florida didn't really have a fall, not the kind where you wake up to that crisp morning where you snuggle back down into your bed and dream of someone already turning on your coffee pot so you have something warm to cling to when you do in fact tromp down the stairs. It is something that I have so missed in some of our travels in the Navy and this is our re-introduction back into the autumn. The leaves are turning colors, sprinklers are no longer needed, the kids cling to their short sleeves under their morning sweatshirts, smells of fires are in the air. I love, absolutely love, this time of year. Next to the first snow of the season this is one of my favorites, although I love the 4 seasons with such a passion that when each arrives I am so enamored in it's glory. So for us, it's soccer on it's last legs before the first snow, carving of pumpkins, Halloween (of which there will be soon much more to write as it's Jaesen's favorite holiday), all the smells, the wearing of sweaters and jeans, football and the anticipation of the next season right around the corner. So I raise my hot cup of coffee while I sit in my slippers, enjoying each wonderful color on my trees. Happy Fall!

Do You Just Ever Have "Those" Kind of Days?

2010-09-01T11:29:00.003-04:00

I don't know but lately it seems like I have been having a lot of "those" type of days. The kind of days that make you want to crack into that bottle of wine at 7:45 and guzzle like you have been living on a deserted island for a year and been thirsty that whole time. I am starting to wonder if it's not the animals or the kids, but rather....me. I get mad at the animals because I come down in the morning to find dog food scattered all over the kitchen. Why do you ask? Well simply because the dog at the cat food so the cat is trying to eat the dog food. She takes one piece at a time and crunches it up all over the floor, then does it to another piece. And no she doesn't try and clean up her mess. And oddly enough, our dogs will eat just about anything in sight, except for the dog food that the cat has touched. Does she have cooties? And what is worse, the cat food give the dog the worst case of gas imaginable, so bad I am thinking of investing in high quality gas masks for the family. That might quiet the fighting though, so it would be a doubly good idea. This morning the boys were fighting over a stuffed giraffe. They have been fighting over this giraffe for the better part of their lives, they have paid money to each other to reclaim it. This morning I had just had it with the giraffe so I took it and hid it away. That of course launched tears in both boys. Tristan, through tears, tells me, "But Mom, that giraffe is part of my family!" I just looked at him. Now I am all for stuffed animals, heck I used to make mine clothes and houses when I was little, but this was a bit much even for me. I told him in no uncertain terms who his family was and he had better remember it. Then he gave me that same look I had just given him-that look that says you can say whatever you want but I know I am right. Obviously, he has learned from the best. We have gotten the guilt trip now about moving so much and ripping them away from their friends. I want to tell him to snap out of it, but I miss my friends too and I don't feel like being too hypocritical. I wonder if I am doing this Mom thing right though when so many of these days string together. For now I will just go clean up the dog food off the kitchen floor, get the cat some more food, and remember Savannah's goodbye this morning, "I love you much Mommy!"

Happy Anniversary

2010-08-15T09:07:00.008-04:00

12 Years, it just seems wrong. How can twelve years just slipped on by? Three kids, two dogs a cat, and more houses and states (and even one other country) lived in than can be counted on one hand, it almost fills up two. I am just happy to have found someone where 12 years feels like a blink of an eye, rather than a dreary, horrible road trip through life. So happy anniversary to my Ba, my shmoopy-I Love You!

I love you LLTTFEAADTTSTIABWACOT!

Baseball and Balloons

2010-08-14T09:22:00.006-04:00

Well the summer fun isn't quite over just yet. I took the kids out to Rosenblatt Stadium to see a baseball game before the stadium is no more. Next year the Royals will be playing in a new stadium and the College World Series will be downtown at the new ball park. So we ventured out to a day game in the 100 degree heat to watch some ball and have some fun. And a little food with that wouldn't be so bad. We enjoyed Omaha Steakburgers, cotton candy, snow cones, dippin dots, hot dogs, and of course peanuts! We had a great time. I love the minor league parks, they are so much fun for the kids.

And then last night we headed out to the Nebraska Balloon and Wine Festival. I saw the word wine and decided that might just be the place for me. So Jack and Savannah decided to come with me, Tristan and Jaesen stayed at home. The kids had fun riding ponies, doing a big bouncy slide and making Indian "hats". I enjoyed tasting wines from all over the region and they aren't too bad either. I wish we hadn't had a delicious dinner though as there were restaurants from all over the area serving up their food. And it looked and smelled delicious. The balloons were great and the kids loved watching them fill up and take off. They kept delaying the sunset portion where the balloons light up, due to the wind though, and so we finally left without getting to see that, but it was a lot of fun and didn't cost much, although if we had eaten there I could see that racking up some cost!

Summer Fun

2010-08-14T09:11:00.010-04:00

Well for us the summer has been shortened by the move and the fact that the kids go back to school here earlier than in Florida. All in all though we have tried to do some fun stuff for all of us and the kids. Last Sunday we went tubing, Savannah for the first time. I rode with her on the tube and she had a really good time, but by the end of once around the lake my arms ached from holding her up while holding on. The boys were their typical stuntman selves and loved getting thrown from the tube.

We have been to the zoo too and even though it has been scorching hot here, the kids still had fun. I'll wait to go back to the zoo though until it's a bit on the cooler side.

And then we had our family reunion up in Colorado. The kids played in streams, went fishing, climbed mountains and hung out with cousins, all in all it was a pretty good time.

So to recap, this summer we moved from Florida to Nebraska, unpacked a house, dealt with a house that has caused nothing but problems so far, met new neighbors, discovered fun stuff to do in Nebraska, Jaesen has been fishing many times, we went to Colorado for a week, hung out with my Grandma who lives here, been tubing, to baseball games, gone to the zoo and to waterparks. I would say it's been a busy summer.

Jack Makes it to 7!

2010-07-07T17:41:00.005-04:00

Somedays I think it's a miracle that this child has made it to 7. But, he is so funny. The kid who thought his chunky peanut butter had turkey bones in it, the little boy who called Dad, Nondy, for years. The crazy soccer player who scored over 25 goals last season. The child who cut the whole front of his hair off to avoid a haircut (no really he did and ended up entirely buzzed). The boy who is so full of life, to the point of popping out of his skin. You drive us crazy sometimes my son, but we love you oh so much and our lives would just be so calm without you in it. And how boring would that be? Happy Birthday Jack.

Our Trek From Florida to Nebraska

2010-07-06T16:26:00.004-04:00

The thought of a move lately fills me with a sensation of dread. Not because I'm coming upon one, but because I just did a move, and I shiver to think of another in my future. Our last day in Florida was almost upon us. We had our U-haul trailer which we thought I would tow with my car-well that didn't happen, too much weight. So we switched out vehicles at 11pm. Not good because Jaesen had to reweigh the empty trailer so we could get reimbursed from the military. So we hook up the boat to my car and all was right with the world, it towed it around the neighborhood just fine. We packed up the U-haul until 2 am when I finally keeled over in the garage with fatigue. Off to bed we went and got up at 7 am to begin the 13 hour drive to Louisiana. Except we forgot to take out the computer desk. So we are kicking it apart and dragging it down the stairs. The screws were still in place though and I ended up with screws through both hands, my new shorts and shirt and blood dripping all over. As we start the drive out of our neighborhood at 10 am, Jaesen says my lights aren't working on the trailer. We troubleshoot for an hour and I finally say we need to get started or we'll never go. I had no brake lights on the trailer and no running lights on my car thanks to U-haul screwing up the electrical wiring in my car. When we pulled into Monroe at midnight (1 am our time) we were on our last legs and thankful for no tickets. The next day Jaesen and his brother spent the whole day trying to fix the wiring, replace tires on the trailer (yes they were bald on the inside-don't even ask!) At one point, there were 4 men outside working on my car and Jaesen's ears just became more and more red as the day wore on. The next day we didn't get our early start as we were waiting on Jaesen to return from the U-Haul dealership with my car in working order. Finally on our way again we were excited when we finally pulled into Joplin, Missouri that night. After getting the animals settled (oh yes, did I neglect to mention in addition to my 3 kids, we had 2 dogs and one cat travelling with us?) we walked across the street to Ruby Tuesday. Once settled, Savannah said she didn't feel good. I took her to the bathroom and found she was burning up with fever. I got her back to the table and held her in my lap. She burped once and proceeded to pull an Exorcist move and violently puke all over her, me, the chair, the floor. And although she kept throwing up on me, she was extremely distraught about getting me dirty. Thank the Lord, there were only 3 other tables in the whole restaurant. I got her back to the hotel and washed her up and got her to bed, then hand washed all our clothes. The next day was the push to Omaha, and I can't tell you how ready we were to get here and not be in a car anymore with kids or animals. When we arrived my Mom was at our house, with food, drinks and more importantly, WINE and MARGARITAS!!!! Both of which I desperately needed. If I could have worn one of those beer hats with the straw coming out of the drinks I would have. All seemed great, we were at least here, no more driving. Then the air conditioning broke on the same day as the movers were here and Jaesen's best friend decided to stay here with his 3 kids. Not sure what he was thinking. David if you are reading this, you are a brave one for sleeping in the basement with 6 kids. Once we got the a/c fixed the disposal quit. Once we got that fixed the brand new washing machine quit. Once we got that fixed, the outdoor faucet snapped and we had the water shut off to our house for almost a full day. To say it has been an adventure would be an understatement. During all that time I have still had to find time for 2 classes and papers. To say that the papers are not my best would be an understatement, I was happy to just get a grade on them. Today was Jaesen's first day at work and things are beginning to calm down which is a nice change. And although we still have stuff to get done, all the boxes are gone except for the ones the kids begged us to keep. Now it's time for a deep breath and the next challenge-Jack's 7th birthday (for this special occasion he decided to shear off the front of his hair so we had to go get him buzzed! But that is another story for another day)

And Savannah is finally Baptized!

2010-05-31T07:55:00.004-04:00

Well finally! It's hard to have folks in the military be your kids godparents. Between both of the guys deployments, the freak trip to Haiti for Jaesen (when the original baptism was going to take place) and us moving in two weeks, we finally had a now 3 1/2 year old Savannah Grace baptized by the Chaplain on NAS Jacksonville. In a somewhat somber note, her baptism was moved to an earlier time due to an "angel flight" coming home. A Marine Corps LCPL was killed in action in Afghanistan and was being flown home. His parents were due at church at 9, our baptism started at 830, we made it out of there just in the nick of time. Savannah did great, although like every other child, freaked out with the water being poured on her head. Her godparents (and godsister Brittany) gave her a beautiful little cross which she virtually refuses to remove. She looked like a little princess in her dress and we were just so happy to have the whole ceremony completed. And on a separate note, I do have to say that wow, we sure do clean up nice!

Savannah's New Bike

2010-05-09T08:27:00.004-04:00

Well technically we have had the bike for about 2 weeks now, but she does love it so. We went to three different stores to find her the right size bike and it just so happened to be a Hello Kitty bike. She took to it like a duck to water and had no problem figuring out how to work it riding around Walmart with ease, even steering with no help. I have to say it was impressive, the boys both had a bit of a problem figuring it out when they went to big kid bikes from trikes, but not Miss Savannah. So everyday now we are outside watching her go to and fro and fro and to. Unfortunately, she has been watching her older brothers and is flying down driveways now, trying to make the turn to fast leading to a lot of skinned knees. But then again, she is a super tough girl, after all with Tristan and Jack she has to be.

Kids Triathlon 2010

2010-05-02T16:45:00.006-04:00

I just have to say that I couldn't have been a more proud mama than I was today. These two boys gave this race their all. I wasn't thinking that Jack was going to be very competitive about it, he had not talked about it really and was so nonchalant I was wondering if he even realized he was going to be in a race. But when he got into the pool he kicked it into high gear and was amazing. He rode the bike great and ran like a madman. Tristan was more competitive about it all and he did awesome in the pool, passing folks, the bike was his slow part (wouldn't have figured that) and then he did an amazing all out sprint for his run. They both got medals, ice cream, bagels and were so proud of themselves. Meanwhile, to get all the photos, Jaesen and I each ran about a 5K and I did mine with Savannah in my arms for a lot of it. We both were drenched with sweat by the end of the race and needed a break too! Jack came in 11th in his age group and I will have to wait for the race results to be posted online to find out where Tristan fell in his age group because the picture was too blurry to read of his race results. It was an incredible day and we literally all came home and fell asleep! Way to go boys, we are so proud of you!

Halfway Through April

2010-04-16T13:41:00.006-04:00

Holy Smokes, where is the year going already? Didn't we just celebrate Christmas? Well we are now halfway through the soccer season and both boys are doing fantastic. Tristan's skills are really coming along and those little legs are getting ahold of that ball with some power now. He typically plays defense and as long as he keeps his eye on that ball, he is pretty much a brick wall back there. Jack has been a scoring power house this year and his kicks can rival his brother's so watch out in the next couple of years. Savannah on the other hand may have the best skill set of any 3 year old I have seen and will probably kick her brother's butts here in a couple of years. Meanwhile, she just runs around dribbling the ball and looking cute. We are also in the full throes of getting ready for the next move, this time to Omaha, Nebraska, corn country. We went out on Spring Break, stayed with my folks and finally found a house, we are hoping to bring the caravan in to our new house by June 19th. Other newsworthy items, Jack has lost two teeth, Savannah thinks she has lost teeth, Merlin protected the house from a snake, Tristan is in full science fair project mode and Jaesen has an order for his custom fishing rod business. So it's pretty busy around here. I am still training for my first triathlon and the boys run a kids triathlon May 2nd, we can' wait!

Jack Lost His First Tooth

2010-03-11T10:13:00.004-05:00

I walked in Wednesday morning from work to the excited squeals from Jack, "Mom, Mom, guess what? I lost a tooth!" This poor tooth has been loose for so long I wasn't sure if the kid had actually superglued it in (which I wouldn't put past Jack) but alas whether glued or not, it finally popped out. That poor kid has watched enviously as his brother has racked up the dollars for all his teeth and we had caught him several times just trying to wiggle random teeth in his mouth. It's hard to convince a kid that eventually they will all fall out on their own and he'll be just as gappy and just as rich as his big brother. It was with great pride that he came and told me this morning that the tooth fairy had left him $2. That was weird I thought, as I was pretty sure that the tooth fairy gives a 5 spot for the first tooth. Well that had been deposited already into his little pouch and he had found a random $2 somewhere of which he was pretty excited. I'm not sure whether that means he thinks he got 7 in which case he will be extremely upset when the next tooth yields far less or does he think he really got $2 in which case he will be excited since that is about the standard for a tooth in this house. Guess we'll find out when the next falls out, he's already been seen wiggling the tooth next to the hole.

And Soccer Season Begins Anew.....

2010-03-08T08:43:00.004-05:00

Jack had his first game on Saturday and he must have been far too superior to the other kids his age because the other team failed to show up. Actually it was a stupid coach, but might as well let the kid think he psyched out the other players. Actually, if we could just keep him off the ground he would be one of the better players in his whole age group. But that Jack likes his theatrics and puts his whole body into play. So the big treat of his game was actually the donuts we brought for after the game. The kids were ecstatic to be able to choose from 4 types of donuts, even though they only scrimmaged for 30 minutes instead of whole game. You know sometimes it's all about the donuts!

A New Medical Breakthrough.....Frosted Flakes!

2010-02-26T12:34:00.003-05:00

Our exciting news began at 6:00 in the morning on Friday. Jack, woke me up, standing bedside, "Mom, I have a bump on my lip and it really, really hurts." Me being in no real sort of mind to any nursing heroics, "Jack when it gets light out I will look at it until then you need to get back to bed." Apparently he was also hungry because he just mumbled something about grabbing a quick bite before trying to tuck back in. I heard the cereal being poured, the refrigerator being opened and closed and the sounds associated with a kid getting a bowl of cereal. Good I thought and I snuggled back down into the comforter for hopefully another 30 or 40 minutes of sleep. No, that wasn't in the cards. Jack came back about 10 minutes later apparently refreshed from his two bowls of cereal and tucked right back in next to me, his cold toes curling around my warm leg. "Mom" he whispered, "my lip is okay. Did you know you can use frosted flakes?" For what I was thinking. Jack answered my unasked question. "I just pushed a frosted flake onto the bump really hard and it went away. It's all settled now." Then he rolled over to start a twitching cycle which eventually led to me finally getting up to get a cup of coffee. Now everytime I look at the box of cereal in the pantry I will wonder, what else can it cure?

What a Week!

2010-02-22T01:33:00.003-05:00

Well the last week has just been "one" of "those" weeks. You know, the kind that you would like to drink to forget, or forget before it happened. It started off innocently enough, just posing as a regular Monday, other than the fact that it was a holiday which always puts a bit of a crimp into my sleep schedule as I am working nights. Fortunately, Jaesen was actually home, and no he actually didn't have to work, I'm not sure how those stars aligned but they did, so he took over the parental duties. Then Jack decided to shave himself. Not bald exactly, but he did shave about half the hair off his arms and legs. We got off lucky since it's winter most people won't see that and he should be all grown out in another week or so. This of course led to another discussion of not touching razors and why we don't shave unless we are professional swimmers, or Mom. This must have displeased him because his behavior took a downward spiral and his brother got caught in the current and swirled down with him. The two of them finally drove us so crazy with the fighting that Jaesen went Marine Corps on Jack and I actually felt like I was back at OCS. I had to catch myself before I started walking on the right side of the hallway with my fists clenched at my sides. He lost all of his stuffed animals and still had problems. It all culminated in a slapping match in my car and I finally lost it. Jaesen grounded them for the whole entire weekend to include no Pinewood Derby race. When he said that my head snapped around, I mean I love doing the whole derby car cub scout race. Tristan naturally burst into tears and Jack sat in stunned disbelief, staring at us like we had suddenly grown extra feet. So in addition to punishing them, we got to punish us, no derby cars which we had worked so hard on, grounded to room which meant that they had to actually be in the same room with each other the whole weekend and we had to be with them the whole weekend too. Not altogether pleasant when they are driving to want to drink the whole entire contents of your wine refrigerator. The bonus, I got a clean car, the house is looking good and they finally started to act civil to each other, well at least for 20 minutes out of every hour. I am so glad this week is over and we can move on, I can only hope that we move up and not down from here because I can't stand to be cooped up indoors with my kids for another week. I learned that we are all a bit better if we all have our own space.......to space, to wine, and to the kids getting along.....okay maybe just the space and the wine.

The Circus is in Town

2010-01-27T18:38:00.005-05:00

The Greatest Show on Earth, and it was. The kids had Friday off of school and rather than sit idle I up and bought us tickets to the zoo. I can't even remember the last time I went and only Tristan has ever been before so I figured it would be a great adventure. One of the coolest things that Ringling Bros does now is allow folks to come down onto the main floor before the circus starts and get up close and personal with their performers and animals. We started off by getting our hands tattooed with their trademark phrase. Then we saw stilt walkers, jugglers, clowns, horses, llamas, dogs, trapeze artists, got to try on ringmaster jackets and pretty much have a great time before the show even began. I was torn between 3 things being my favorite. I love the elephants, there were also these great trampoline performers-up to 10 guys on the trampolines at the same time. And I loved the Torres Family dirt bikers. They (all 7 of them) rode their bikes in a metal sphere, it was really cool. Savannah also loved the elephants, Jack's favorite thing was the juggling clowns and Tristan liked the tigers and the dirt bikes. We had a ball and I tried not to think too hard about the fact that I paid $12 for a bag of spun sugar (yes really, $12, I couldn't believe it, but it was good), $9 for a box of stale popcorn and then other assorted snacks and drinks. We had a great time and for a couple of hours were dazzled by the Greatest Show On Earth. Thanks Ringling Bros.

And Christmas is......over!

2009-12-26T07:48:00.006-05:00

Well as fast as it comes it seems to go. We actually had Christmas at our house for the first time since Japan. It was a bit lonely without all the family but we were so busy that the day passed in a blur. Tristan was up at 6, Jack at 630 and Jaesen and I finally got out of bed at 715 followed by Savannah at 725. Before we really did anything Jack wanted to ride his new bike from Santa. Always a bit concerned with that since the brakes are no longer on the pedals and I really didn't want to be visiting the ER so early on Christmas morning. But, he took to it great and rode up and down, up and down the street with no problems. Tristan received an iTouch from Santa and pretty much was glued to all the cool apps that Santa applied to it, man that Santa is a rockstar. Savannah only wanted Dora videos from the man in red and she was granted her wish too. I figure it's close to the last year that Santa will get off so easy for her. I went above and beyond in the food department and cooked for an army, 20 lb. turkey, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, green beans, stuffing, cranberry sauce, pumpkin and key lime pies for dessert. It was all so good and I think I will run to the fridge to make myself a turkey sandwich (my favorite part of Christmas, the leftovers!!!!).

We Like to Move It, Move it!

2009-12-24T09:32:00.004-05:00

Miss Savannah requests this song constantly and dances in the kitchen. She likes to "move it!"

Happy Birthday Savannah!

2009-12-16T08:52:00.005-05:00

Happy Birthday to you my big 3 year old girl!!!!! From Japan to Jacksonville you have blessed our lives and we will never be the same because of you! We are better and more fulfilled. Happy Birthday beautiful girl. Love Mom, Dad, Tristan and Jack

Our Weekend in Orlando

2009-12-14T14:26:00.007-05:00

Well we travelled back to Orlando for another weekend and although we did use our passes to hit Disney once more the big draw this trip was the ICE Festival. It is 2 million pounds of Ice carved by a team from China. They create different scenes every year and this years theme was the North Pole. We stayed at the hotel where it is located and they really put on a good show. There were musical events several times a day, huge decorated trees, dozens and dozens of pointsettias, a hidden gnome hunt. Tristan loved running around pen and paper in hand to search for these hidden gnomes-20 of them. We ended up finding a total of 12 I believe so not too bad. Our balcony opened up into their atrium where the Christmas Tree and daily shows were conducted so we sat on our balcony and enjoyed. All in all it was a great weekend, I had been dying to see the ICE for the last couple of years and figured we had better do it or it wouldn't happen. The kids favorite part was the ice slides. I personally liked the nativity scene and the 30 foot tall frozen Santa.

A Visit With St. Nick

2009-12-10T14:03:00.000-05:00

The kids finally got to visit with Santa Claus and ask him for all those things that they want. Tristan of course took his list which consisted of mostly Harry Potter items, Santa commented that he must indeed like Harry Potter. Jack didn't ask him for fairy dust (thank goodness) which is what he had been wanting for the last two months and instead asked for things like a mechanical dog and cat, a certain Transformer and a Nerf sword. Savannah surprised us all first off by sitting in his lap. She insisted that she would not but as soon as she saw him, that magic overcame her and she just crawled right up. Secondly, she didn't ask for the pink skateboard (another thank goodness) that she has been talking about for a month. Instead she asked for Dora movies. I think old Santa can handle that request no problem. And although they are all dressed in sweaters it was almost 80 degrees out and they were all sweating! What they have to do for Mom and her Christmas moments. Merry Christmas to all of you and to all a good night!

Thanksgiving in Louisiana

2009-11-29T19:56:00.000-05:00

Aaaahhhh the joys of traveling! Last Tuesday night I worked the night shift, getting off at 715 in the morning and then came home to have a quick shower and help pack the car. We were off officially at 815, ready for a 12 hour drive (or at least we told ourselves we were ready for a 12 hour drive). Our little Bean (otherwise known as the "mad puker") actually made it for 8 hours before she blew!! When it happened Tristan threw her a bag and leaned as far away from her as possible. I pulled over at the first gas station which was really close while Jaesen tried to get a bag under her chin. We pulled into the parking lot of this fine establishment and both boys bolted out of the car. I took over cleaning the seat and getting her undressed, yes she was standing in the middle of some gas station parking lot in the middle of Mississippi with nothing but her Hello Kitty undies on. Jaesen meanwhile got the new clothes and got her cleaned up and mouth rinsed out. The boys decided to play tag around the oil slicks in the parking lot and we were just lucky noone fell into one. Finally by Vicksburg we ran out of steam and had to pull over for food. We ate Mexican at the cheesiest restaurant I've ever seen and my dreams of having a margarita were quieted when I saw what they passed for a margarita in Mississippi. It was the most neon green thick and icy type drink that had no liquid content to it whatsoever. I settled for a coke and some caffeine to get me through the rest of the trip. We finally pulled in and the family visitation began. The kids were so excited to see "their Roxanne" again and the boys fought over sleepover spots at Aunt Jan's and Uncle Charlie's. We had a blast but being already sleep deprived we never did manage to catch up and the exhaustion is winning right now. We got to meet our new nephew and niece and I got my baby fix. We went to a Neville High School football game, a playoff game at that, and the kids had a lot of fun cheering on the team where their Dad and Uncle both played. Savannah just had fun in the acorn pile, you would have thought she had struck gold. And then, the dreaded ride home. I found some Dramamine and drugged up the baby and she slept hard (and did not throw up!). Originally we were going to stop in Pensacola but my hardcore husband decided to drive all the way through. We got home at just after 4 am. Although it was nice to be in our own home and beds I would have rather been in a hotel bed by Tallahassee, I was pooped out. Thanksgiving was fun, but I am definitely happy and thankful to be home in my own house and sending the kids to school tomorrow!!!

Happy Birthday Bug!

2009-11-22T21:21:00.000-05:00

Happy Birthday to you! Who can believe it's been 9 years since this wonderful little boy blessed our lives. We love you to the moon and back Tristan. Happy Birthday, hope it was a great day for you!

Happy Halloween

2009-11-04T15:48:00.000-05:00

This Halloween was so much fun. All of the kids decided to be something different this year. Tristan was Harry Potter-Quidditch Player, Jack was a vampire and Savannah decided she liked Snow White's dress at Target and so she was the Queen of Seven Dwarves. We went all around our neighborhood and although Bean was pooped out, Jaesen took the boys onto the next neighborhood for some extra treats. They all had a good time and the only Halloween sore spot was Savannah's feet as her Snow White shoes gave her some of the worst blisters I have ever seen. All in all, it was spooktacular!

Disney Getaway

2009-10-27T16:43:00.001-04:00

Well our Disney weekend has come and gone. It started out with great weather although it was a bit hot, 90 to be exact. We got to see Snow White right away (Bean is going to be Snow White for Halloween), she was a bit shy though but we got a picture with her anyway. We rode tons of rides and even got the boys on the coasters this year. In a completely cool coincidence, Jaesen's best friend David and his family of 5 were at Disney at the exact same time and we were able to spend the next day at Epcot with them. All the kids are about the same ages so it worked out really well and the adults were all able to actually have conversations and catch up since the last time we all saw each other. It was too quick of a trip to really enjoy, we were trying to hit all the attractions that everyone wanted to see so it was power walking while towing children. We got some great pictures though and the kids got to meet and greet some of the characters (and we got to drink in Epcot) so all in all it was a fun trip. It's always more fun to go with friends, thanks Ackels for being there!

Performances at church

2009-10-13T14:40:00.000-04:00

Well it was Children's Sabbath at church on Sunday. The boys had been assigned the task of passing out cookies. I thought to myself that this might not be such a good idea, I mean my kids and cookies usually means consumption, not sharing. They did great though and passed them out with big smiles. They moved down the aisle so fast though I was hoping they wouldn't miss someone. Our big surprise was bean performing with the other toddlers in front of the church. By her expression I don't think she knew what to make of it, but she did great, blasting away at that tambourine. We were so proud of her!

Homecoming 2009

2009-10-02T11:21:00.000-04:00

This video just says it all. Jack had rockets in his shoes, he made it to Dad in record time. Although Tristan was helping Savannah so she wouldn't fall over in her pretty black shoes. Jaesen is home and everyone is happy again. The boys tried to pull the old, "I think I am going to throw up" trick this morning so they wouldn't have to go to school. I told them unless they were puking on my feet they were going to school, and off they all went. All I have to say is that it sure is nice to have my tag team partner home again, you can definitely take them for granted when they are home everyday but doing the job of two on a regular basis puts a dent in your patience level (not to mention sleep deprivation). The plane ended up being 40 minutes late due to weather between here and Key West so the kids ended up playing tag on the flight line. Only in the military do you see kids running around in nice clothes on a flight line. I always end up with tears in my eyes on homecoming day to watch everyone reuniting, it doesn't have to even be my own family. You watch a Mom or Dad come home and their kids running up to them and everything else in this world just seems so secondary. Welcome home Ba.

Opening Day of Soccer Season

2009-09-13T07:43:00.001-04:00

And the madness has begun!!!! Jack started off our Saturday with back to back games. Before we even left the house he was a bit down and said to me that he isn't a very good soccer player and probably wouldn't score any goals this year. Well that boy scored three goals in the two games. Rock Star!!!! He did great even though he was getting used to the bigger fields this year. Both boys moved up a league and were a bit nervous about the size of their new fields. Jack's team, The Dragons, went on to tie one game and win the second by a large margin. Tristan's team, The Strikers, tied their first game. Most of those kids were intimidated by the size of the field as well as the size of some of the kids on the other team. It was a hard fought battle and our goalie who has never played before saved us. She was a rock star. Tristan played both on the offense and defense and I think after another week will have the idea down how to play on a bigger field. It's just going to take some getting used too. Savannah came prepared for the game and was dressed to the nines for soccer.

I on the other hand am hoarse from all the screaming. It was a great first day of soccer for us. I love fall!!!!

Labor Day at the Beach

2009-09-11T16:33:00.001-04:00

Somehow I always think that these trips are going to get easier, but they never seem to do that. I picked the kids up early on Thursday for our drive to Pensacola and everyone was excited. Well until Savannah threw up about halfway into our drive. That put a damper on the driving real quick. We made it to Vickie and Jay's house (where we were spending the night) and dumped the kids inside while I scrubbed the car seat back into cleanliness. Vickie and I were able to do some good catching up that night and the next day she went off for a flight while we were off to grocery shop and check into our condo on Gulf Shores Beach. We got there early, unloaded and hit the pool before the group from New Orleans showed up. I had to sleep with Savannah in bed so that made the word "sleep" a play on words. I was steamrollered a lot though. We had fun catching up with the group from LA (good friends of ours that we have seen occasionally over the years) and the kids had loads of people to play with and then some. We made sandcastles, buried each other, the kids went on a crab hunt, we played Frisbee, caught jellyfish when they swarmed the beach (definitely not my idea of fun), swam, hot tubbed and drank copious amounts of wine and margaritas. I forgot to mention that during this time Savannah had also decided that she was going to potty train so we spent a lot of time running back and forth to various bathrooms. But she was 100% for the whole vacation though so we only do diapers for night time now, yea us! The drive home proved to be too much for the little girl as well and she puked in my car again, by the time we pulled into our driveway she had fallen asleep with her head bobbing in a plastic bag. Getting home was a relief, to sleep in my own bed, and breath fresh clean air again without being cooped up in a car with someone who repeatedly throws up. All in all it was a great vacation but doing holiday with only one parent is a whole lot of work. Can't wait until Jaesen gets home!!!

The First Day of School!

2009-08-24T12:17:00.000-04:00

The first day of school. Jack was totally excited. He has about 7 or 8 friends in his class from last year. I am not sure if that is good or bad, bad if he does a lot of talking but good to make him feel comfortable. He got the teacher that I requested for him so that takes a load of my shoulders. She is great and will be hard on him and will discipline him when necessary (notice I didn't say if.....). Tristan also has several kids he knows in his class and is out in the portables this year and splits his day between two teachers. So a new setup all around for him. He was a little less enthusiastic about the first day of school but hopefully that is just left over from the remnants of the bad year he had in second grade (his teacher passed away and he was bullied by two kids in his class). Bean was excited to go to school too, she was just excited to go because we made a big deal of it all. She is going to start wearing undies instead of diapers and pull ups, the class she moves into today is potty training them and hopefully it will happen in a couple of weeks for her. Please keep your fingers crossed. So in anticipation I bought about 20 pairs of panties and 10 pairs of shorts, a bottle of wine for me (or 5), cause once we start there is no turning back. So off we go! Happy first day of school to everyone else out there.

My New Favorite Dance Craze

2009-08-23T21:11:00.000-04:00

Savannah just makes me laugh. She has taken to wearing headbands on the back of her head, dancing and shaking her booty and in general just making me laugh. Since she is so much fun I couldn't keep her a secret but had to share her with our family and friends!

Happy Anniversary!!!

2009-08-15T11:19:00.000-04:00

From then to now. Eleven years in the making. It's hard to believe we have been together for 12 and married for 11. Twelve years ago I was preparing for the knee reconstruction surgery from the injury that Jaesen caused during a soccer game. He's been stuck with me ever since :) So many things have happened in those 11 years, the end of one career, the beginning of a new one, 3 kids, moving around the world. And it's really only just the beginning. I love you Ba, wherever you are today. Actually I know where you are and am insanely jealous. I would love to be in Aruba drinking fruity drinks with you!!!! Love and miss you, hurry home.

Today was Fire Alarm Day

2009-08-03T18:28:00.000-04:00

Well really the whole thing was my fault. I was in a cooking mood. I made Basalmic Chicken with Wilted Spinach and White Beans out of Rachel Ray's cookbook, plus a fresh batch of chocolate chip cookies. Unfortunately for me, when I decided to wash the hot pan that had vinegar and oil in it, the wave of smoke set off our smoke alarm and ADT's fire alarm. Well we have never had our ADT alarm go off before. So I ran in and reset it and then went about my business of waving the towel in front of the smoke detector and having the boys fan the doors at opposite ends of the house. All of this occuring as Savannah has decided to poop and Tristan kicked Jack. So I go back to the alarm panel and it still says "Fire Alarm". Well alarm bells go off in my head and I grab my phone to call ADT. Sure enough, fire truck on the way. It seems that you have to double reset the alarm so the fire department doesn't receive the call. Things you learn through experience apparently. Well finally I get it all resolved and sit down to our wonderful dinner. Jack ruins the chicken by putting ketchup on his plate for chicken dip. But first he decided to pour half a bottle of it onto the tablecloth and floor. Sigh! I guess that is why we have dogs, they happily licked up all the ketchup, what a treat. I am sure they will throw it all up later, about 3 in the morning is my guess. So now I worry about the dogs as I swat away the flies that are swarming through the house since we had open doors during the fire alarm. I guess another glass of wine is warranted!

The Tale of the Pink Toenails.......

2009-07-28T18:14:00.000-04:00

Ahhhhh, I wish that I had a picture to post to commemorate this tale, but alas the culprit got away without a snap of the camera. It was at dinner the other night when the middle child decided that he needed to use the restroom, if you know Jack then you know that this is a common occurrence, and off he went. About 10 minutes later he still hadn't returned. I sent Tristan off to knock on the door and hurry him up. Finally I got up and went to check on him myself. I knocked and opened the door to find him opening it as well. "Hurry back to the table and eat the rest of your food please," I said. Off he went and I walked off to find Savannah so that I could get her bath running and clean her up. As I walked back into the bathroom an odor overcame me. "Jack!" I shouted. He came running. "What did you do in here? And own up to it because I can smell it!" His face exhibited nothing but fear as he meekly pointed down to his feet. My eyes were drawn down and lo and behold, the child had pink toes. Not just pink toenails, because that really does take more skill than a 6 year old can handle, but the whole toe was pink, except where he had obviously tried to scrub it off. It was then that I noticed pink on the white bathroom rugs. I ran to our dining room chairs, which are covered in white upholestry (don't get me started on that stupid decision!), but his chair was not dotted in pink nail polish. I ran back to the bathroom to find him sobbing onto the counter. I started to laugh uncontrollably. I just could not help myself. I knew I was making him more upset but still kept laughing. He had used his cousins pink nail polish but got scared and tried to get it off and was completely mortified when it would not come off. So I took him to my bathroom and proceeded to explain the wonders of nail polish and nail polish remover. His crying eventually subsided and I told him that he needed to ask if he ever again wanted to paint his toes (or anything else for that matter-because with him, there really is no telling) and I would help him and then we could take it off too with no problems. However, I think that he has been scared off the toenail painting binge (much to Jaesen's delight I am sure), but with him who knows what lies around the bend.

Soccer Camp Kids!

2009-07-25T13:44:00.001-04:00

Well our week long soccer camp is over. It was a great camp and the kids had fun, but I am glad it's over. Camp meant eating at 4 in the afternoon, then getting everyone dressed (the kids still have issues pulling those socks up to their knees over shin guards), going to camp, keeping Savannah happily occupied for 3 hours for 5 nights in a row, keeping mosquitoes at bay when the sun went down, keeping the boys hydrated, getting everyone home and into the tub to wash away the sweat of the evening, then feeding everyone a second dinner, and trying to get everyone to bed by 10 at night. I would try and stay up to consume one much needed glass of wine, but most nights that didn't even succeed. So tonight we can once again eat at a normal time, although if we eat any later than 530 I am sure I will hear the grumbling from the kids, as well as my own belly which is on a much earlier eating time zone. Hats off to our two British soccer coaches, cheers mates, we had a blast!

A Mom's Gotta Brag.....

2009-07-18T20:01:00.000-04:00

Well it has been a rough couple weeks around here. Jack has been on his worst behavior. No matter what I do to him, spanking, standing in the corner, taking his favorite toys or loveys, he is on a continued path of annoying me to the max. This ended abruptly yesterday when the boys played terrifically together, no fights, no arguing over who could be a wizard, or a pet, or a dragon, or whatever, they just played together. That even extended until today. Jack got several gift cards to Target for his birthday and today was the day to go and spend them. Tristan lost a tooth and had a couple more dollars saved up so off we headed to the store. Transformers are the toy of choice this month in the Yerger house and Jack knew exactly what he was looking for. He got himself a Transformer and then a semi truck that towed along a couple race cars. And lo and behold what he did with his leftover money shocked me to the core. He gave it to Tristan so he could get a Transformer too. Tristan pitched in his little bit of money so Jack was left with some in his wallet, but he ended up paying about $7 on Bug's toy. And the rest of the day was spent in the imaginary world of Transformers blowing up our shoe rack, the dining room table and total destruction in their bedroom. It was a sight to behold. Of course I won't be surprised if tomorrow they are once again arguing over who is the better wizard, who is taller or has the bigger feet (they actually have the same size feet now) or who likes such and such food better. But at least tonight this Mom can just rest easy knowing that her two boys are actually getting along, and for 48 hours, who knew???

Happy Birthday Jack Riley!!!

2009-07-10T15:38:00.001-04:00

It's hard to believe it has been 6 years since we added Jack to the mix. I have to say that he has added so much personality to this family. He is either making me laugh until I cry or I am screaming at him. Never in my life did I think one of my kids would take me from one end of an emotional spectrum to the other in 3 seconds flat. And yet, I can't imagine our lives without this crazy kid. We sure do love you big man, on to bigger and better things, like first grade, losing teeth and another year of soccer. Happy Birthday big man!!!

4th of July

2009-07-05T10:59:00.000-04:00

A Happy 4th of July to all! It's hard to believe that 233 years ago 50 some odd men sat in a bar, drinking beers and planning our country's freedoms. So we honored them today by marching around our house, waving flags, listening to patriotic music, eating a lot of BBQ and lighting off our own fireworks. All in all it was a good day. The kids helped make our patriotic dessert, angel food cake with all sorts of berries and whip cream. Sounds so good think I'll go have another slice. We ended our evening with a lot more laundry when Savannah decided that she was going to sit on the big person potty and ended up peeing all over her stool, feet and bath carpets. After a quick bath, and stool washing and carpet bleaching she was ready for her good job snack. Jaesen was able to call from out in the big blue ocean somewhere to wish us a happy fireworks day. They also had a steel beach picnic which is a BBQ on the flight deck, but today was back to the daily grind. No one got burned with fireworks or sick on food so it was a good day in our books.

Minor Potty Success

2009-06-29T19:43:00.000-04:00

It seems that Savannah is more keen to use the potty once she has gotten herself all clean and is playing in the bath. A week ago I was called from the other room with a most alarming battle cry of, "Poop, poop, I poop!" You can imagine my distress as I replay in my mind all the things that could be in that tub. Fortunately, when I arrived in the bathroom, I only found Bean standing in the tub, knees squeezed together as tightly as they could go. She asked to sit on her potty and I left to the hall to give some privacy. I didn't think much of it when she announced, "I pooped in potty." I had heard it all before. Lo and behold, the child had indeed pooped though. I hugged her, got her cleaned up, dressed and we flushed the poop. That's when the real fun started. She had pooped so big it clogged the toilet. How does a 2 year old clog the toilet? It took a full 10 minutes of plunging, Savannah cheering me on the whole time and wanting to assist in anyway possible before the toilet was unclogged. Tonight she also said she had to poop, but instead got out of the bath and peed in the potty. It's going way slow but at least we are progressing towards that land of rainbows and lollipop trees, someday we will be in underwear and diapers will be a thing of the past. Until that day, at least her daddy can be proud of the two year old who clogged the toilet.

Bug's Baseball Party

2009-06-29T13:18:00.000-04:00

And they finally got around to having poor Bug's baseball party. (so it was a good thing that the boys came home early from the in-laws or he would have missed it.) The coach told him that he just needed to keep doing what he was doing but that he was a great all around player. Bug was on cloud 9. And of course Savannah found the cupcakes, so life was grand. They swam at the pool, played a couple rounds of baseball, played on the playground and in general had a lot of fun until the thunderstorm broke up the party. Congrats Bug on another spectacular year of ball.

Naval Aviation Museum

2009-06-20T17:19:00.001-04:00

Well I thought I would finally take the kids to the awesome museum there in Pensacola. We were there to drop the boys off with Jaesen's family so they could go and spend some time in Louisiana, but I detoured them to the museum first. The kids took off running, not sure if they were excited to see planes or just excited to get out of the car after a 6 hour drive. At any rate, it is such a great museum and there are plenty of hands on activities to keep them occupied. With my kids right now we can only attend museums that allow touching the pieces or we would all be promptly arrested for dismantling a museum. All in all it was a fun day of planes and helicopters, guns and the Blue Angels!

USO Military Appreciation Night

2009-06-15T11:55:00.000-04:00

Well we got a really nice treat last week. The USO bought out Adventure Landing and all active military could purchase tickets for only $2.50 (a huge deal!) We focused on the water park and the boys were out of the gates early, Jack dove into the lazy river immediately and we didn't see him for about a half hour and Tristan hit the water slides. He and Roxanne (Jaesen's cousin who is staying with us for the summer) went on a water slide that goes uphill

And then it dumps you out into the lazy river. Savannah hit the little kids slides and the wave pool, which was intensely frightening for me as she was happy to walk right in over her head time and time again. We finally decided we were ready to head over for some laser tag once we got dried off. I think in our family that means something like: no really go ahead and spend 30 more minutes on the water slides, because we couldn't find the boys and then Savannah discovered that she really does like water slides and I couldn't get her to come off of them. I finally persevered, we all changed and Roxanne and the boys played laser tag. We got home just before 10, pooped out, but an awesome night. Thanks USO!

School's Out For Summer...

2009-06-08T16:33:00.001-04:00

I was fortunate enough to get to see both boys awards ceremonies for school this year. Tristan got straight A honor roll for the whole year, citizenship and a multitude of others, I think 7 in all. Jack on the other hand got perfect attendance for the last 9 weeks. After all he couldn't get citizenship after the whole duck incident thing and he didn't have straight E's this year in kindergarten, but on the other he learned to read and just the other night read Put Me In The Zoo to me. And really that is more important. I am glad that he at least got one award though or he would have been sad. And now we get to hear everyday, "Hey Mom, are we going to do something fun today?"

And Baseball Season is Over!

2009-06-02T11:58:00.001-04:00

And now we have a couple months off, before we start the insanity of soccer season. Tristan had the first game of the day and the coach played them all in different positions and Tristan even got to pitch. Obviously, we didn't care whether we won or lost based on where they played the kids, though that was hard for me to deal with. I am way to competitive and what is the point of playing a game if you aren't at least trying to win? We did not win, although we did lead for a great portion of the game. Tristan did not have a good game which was a bad way to end the year and hard for him. Alas, he has many years of baseball left to redeem himself. Jack had a pretty good game, but it was 95 out when they played at 330 and all the kids wanted to do was sit in the shade and drink Gatorade. Jack's baseball party followed the game and they had a bouncy house for the kids and a cookout. Unfortunately, Tristan came down with a fever so we didn't stay late but got him home and too bed. I will save oodles of money without having to visit the concession stand now, no more ring pops, hot dogs, cheese fries or nachos with jalapenos on them. Maybe I can afford gas for my car now. Until next spring and we start it all over again!

If You're Happy And You Know It......

2009-05-28T17:19:00.000-04:00

This is Bean singing her happy and you know it song. It just makes me smile, hope you enjoy it too!

Any Day at the Waterpark is a Good Day!

2009-05-27T18:18:00.000-04:00

My Dad and I took all the kids up to the Saint Mary's Aquatic Center for some much needed energy exertion. After 8 days of straight rain, not sure why we decided on more water but it seemed like a good idea at the time. The kids had a blast, the park was not crowded and we all got a bit of sun. Tristan last year was not tall enough for the waterslide, so he made up for lost time and rode it maybe a half million times. Savannah was all of a sudden afraid of the bucket that spills water on the big playground, and Jack made friends with another little boy and they played nonstop in the lazy river. On the way home we stopped for ice cream because I was craving a soft serve. Fortunately, we found a Dairy Queen so I wouldn't have to be grumpy. There is nothing worse than a grumpy Mom after the waterpark! :)

Feeling Moldy

2009-05-21T18:58:00.001-04:00

It has rained here for 4 straight days, the pond is over the willows, almost to the fence, roads are flooded and closed, creeks are overflowing and my toes are getting moldy. It has rained well over 18 inches in Jacksonville, with some of the surrounding areas getting more than 29 inches of rain. We are in a several hour dry spell at the moment which is bliss, the street actually looks dry but the ground is full of squishy. Life here has been normal, as normal as Yerger fashion is for this family. Savannah has a horrible busted up lip from falling on her bedpost. Jack has a black eye from going to Pump It Up to play yesterday (had to try and get out some of our wiggles), and Tristan is doing well save for his 8 year old attitude getting him into trouble. We went to the boys art fair this evening and bought some of their Picasso pieces they have been working on. My Dad bought Tristan's and I bought Jack's. We will get more as the school year wraps up and I will send those out to all you other grandparents out there so don't worry. We are hopeful that we will see the sun again soon, I mean after all we don't live in Seattle or Portland, we live in the sunshine capital. I can only hope our house doesn't decide to float away in the middle of the night or we are in trouble.

Another Big Hit By Bug

2009-05-12T13:11:00.000-04:00

Well now everyone can see Bug hit a great pitch. Unfortunately, you can also see Bug get yelled at by the first base coach because he stopped at first base when he had been told to run through to second. I think he was too excited to go any further. At any rate it was an awesome hit and I am counting down the games we have left. I am ready for a break, that is always how it goes. We are so excited for a sports season to begin to dread the nightly games as the season goes on and on and on. Mother's Day was fun, I got flowers, cards, bookmarks, handprints from Savannah, and what was left of the peppermints that Jack brought home. I think he ate most of them. We started our day off at church and finished up with a play, The Magic Treehouse Musical downtown. Tristan loved it and tried to keep telling us that this part and that part were all in his book, blah, blah, blah. And Jack kept folding himself up in his seat. And Savannah decided to eat every snack in the backpack. And I decided I needed a glass of wine at intermission. Everyone did well and we decided that the dragons and the Dancing Curse were our favorite parts. And then we came home and the kids had the nerve to ask what was for dinner. I think we had cereal, but I can't even remember, guess it wasn't too impressive! And our last news was that yesterday Tristan's second grade teacher passed away. She was sick but this was unexpected and Tristan ended up calling me in tears wanting to come home. And of course I had picked up a shift and had to tell him no. Fortunately a friend of his was able to take him home for a while. He needed to vent about it and have some extra hugs and we had big prayers last night, but he was ready for school today. That is a traumatic thing to happen to 8 year olds, fortunately, kids are highly resilient and they can process, deal with and move on without too much chaos.

A Mom Has To Brag

2009-05-03T19:27:00.001-04:00

Well I have to say that this was the best game that our little Orioles have played and it was actually the kind of game that you really enjoy watching. Tristan was second up to bat and hit a ball into the outfield that made it to the fence. He got a triple off of it and scored a run. I was jumping up and down screaming, total hysteria. I think Steve Martin said it best in the movie Parenthood......isn't it weird how a grown man's happiness can be tied to something as simple as his kids baseball game....or something to that extent. I completely understand. I have felt poor Bug's frustration with not getting a hit yet. He has hit the ball but they have all gone to the pitcher or first baseman and he has been thrown out. He has made it to base many times on walks and usually makes it around to home, but this was his first legit hit, and a magnificent hit it was. He walked the next time up to bat and made it around to score again. And then the final touch on his day of glory. A line drive was hit between first and second bases (he plays second) and he ran, knocked it down, twirled around, picked the ball up and threw the kid out at first. It was one of the most amazing plays I have seen and coming from an 8 year old, even more amazing. They ended up winning the game, coming from behind to beat the number one team in the league. I was ecstatic.....that's my kid I kept shouting! But the whole team did well, kids hit the ball who haven't been hitting, there were catches from kids who couldn't catch a ball to save their life, it is finally coming together as we are beginning to count down the games left in the season. And of course as proud as I was of my little Cal Ripken I did have to turn and look at the other two who were covered in watermelon, popsicle, cheese fries and dirt. And again am reminded of the movie Parenthood, we are on the roller coaster because the Merry Go Round is boring, it just goes around, if we didn't have the downs we wouldn't be excited for the ups!

Where Did the Last Two Weeks Go?

2009-05-02T07:04:00.000-04:00

It's seems that I have blinked and now it's May. It shouldn't be surprising really that time has passed so quickly, I mean I do have 3 kids, two dogs, a fish tank, a house, a new job, two kids on baseball teams which consumes about 5 days a week, cooking, cleaning, laundry (dear me, the laundry) and trying to take a deep breath and not forget anything important, like writing interesting and informative emails to my husband who is out chasing drug bandits. And on top of all of that my father in law was here to help out. And help out he did. He carted those kids back and forth to school, to haircuts, numerous trips to Walmart and Target (their favorite stores to go too with a grandparent because there are toys), and helping out with the baseball games. By the middle of the second week here he was exhausted. I told him that he would go and take a two day nap when it was all over and he was home. Every parent does this, gets the kids up and out, is a homeroon parent or team mom or dad, carts their kids around to sporting events, and the list goes on and on, but I think that they forget as they become grandparents and have been out of the cycle for a bit. Well poor Cappie, he got a taste of it firsthand. We'll be lucky if we see him again. :) Just kidding, they are taking the boys for a couple weeks this summer. Other than that we are working hard on potty training, Savannah actually had her first success in the potty the other day and I am dreaming of days without diapers. On a totally separate issue my job is going great. And to make it even better they found me a day shift position from 7-3 working with a 4 year old boy in his house. And it's only three days a week. Just enough to get the hang of it all and still be Mom, life is great!!!! So until the next drama in my house (which should be in about 5 minutes), like Savannah climbing a cabinet, getting the paint blotters down and painting my upstairs carpet green and orange-no it doesn't really match my decor- or Jack running around in a Batman mask and princess dress, or the dogs throwing up God knows what downstairs, well maybe after all of that I will go and drink a mimosa. Cheers!

Bug's First Pitching Experience

2009-04-17T14:25:00.000-04:00

Well let's just say that they didn't light off the fireworks after the game! Bug did great though for his very first pitching experience. He walked a number of kids and some got hits but he never wavered and always looked confident. The first kid that hit off Tristan, he was able to field it and throw him out at first base. I was so proud! The other team did score 5 runs though which is the limit although not attributable to Bug, the kids in the infield couldn't throw or field a ball to save their lives last night. He was up first and got a hit but was thrown out at first, but it was a hit and a confidence booster. From there though the night pretty much went downhill quickly and left up parents wondering why they don't serve hard liquor at the snack shack. I think we lost 18-4, it was one of those nights where nothing goes the way you want, not a hit, a throw, a catch, a rundown to first where Bug lost a ball out of his mitt and the runner ended up scoring.....it was not our night to play baseball. Fortunately, tomorrow there is another game. Losing is something new to bug and he is handling it rather well, he gets upset but we talk about it and he sees he is improving this year and they are clearly playing some teams who have been together for a year or so. Last night he admitted to me that pitching is harder than it looks, but he is all ready to try it again! Go Bug!

Ahhhh, Wouldn't You Know It, Life is Just Not Always Easy.

2009-04-14T08:39:00.000-04:00

For those of you who don't follow facebook at all I have been enjoying some quality time in the Emergency Room as of late. Yes I know, usually once Jaesen leaves the washing machine breaks, a kid breaks an arm or needs stitches, dogs throw up on the carpet. This time it is me. I developed this rash on my lower legs last Thursday and thought to myself, "What a dork, can't I shave without giving myself razor burn?" As the day wore on the rash got more intense and started creeping up to my knees, by the time I went to bed at 10 my ankles hurt so bad I couldn't rotate them and the rash was mid thigh. By morning my knees ached along with my elbows and hands. Of course it was Good Friday and all the kids were home so I had to find someone last minute to watch the kids while I trekked to the ER. Thank goodness for our German neighbors down the street who took on my 3, plus their 2 for 6 hours. I was diagnosed with vasculitis, which is an inflammation of the blood vessels. I was given steroids and told to come back the next day because my blood work was quirky. By this time it was moving to my lower back and was painful as the capillaries started exploding leaving mass quantities of blood under the skin, fortunately it was not itchy!!!! I got a sitter the next day and headed back to the ER where my blood work was still not great and they wanted to admit me for IV steroids. Well let's see, I thought, husband just left on Monday, 3 kids at home, no family in the area, nope guess I can't do that, give me the oral steroids. They have been helping, no pain, the rash is starting to subside, my joints are not painful anymore and I had another blood draw yesterday that shows my levels finally coming back towards normal. So there will be several more follow on visits for me, to make sure the blood tests return to normal and to figure out why I got this. It is an immune system disorder so can be quite serious, causing kidney failure, aneurysms, hopefully I just had the dermatological type and I just get to look like a leper. I'd rather look like a leper than have kidney, heart or brain issues though, so bring on leperdom!! I have to say that it is much harder to deal with the cruise emergencies when it is you, I am much better at dealing with the kids, dogs and appliances, I have to many other things to take care of for me to be sick. My little secret though is I have nothing to do this week other than take naps, scrapbook and prepare for my new job, so relaxation is on my plate.

Imagine my surprise!!!!

2009-04-04T09:04:00.001-04:00

I was out checking out my gorgeous jasmine plant as it is getting ready to bloom and something caught my eye out of the corner. It was this enormous black racer sunning on the upper fence. It scared me to death and I am not scared of snakes. I ended up a foot and a half away from it at eye level and all I could think of was if that's a water moccasin he is going to launch at me. He has been back out there on that fence a couple days now, we have had a lot of rain (8 1/2 inches of it) the last couple of days so imagine he is trying to stay high and dry. Good grief, snakes climbing the fence, what will we have next? Forget it, don't really want to know.

A Day at the Zoo

2009-04-01T19:33:00.001-04:00

We got a new Asian garden here at our zoo and we decided to check it out. It was one of the coolest places at our zoo. We love it and all agreed that it reminded us of Japan. The kids all had to have their pics taken in front of the bamboo and on the komodo dragon. They had a mist forest in the bamboo forest for kids to run through and they loved it. We fed the giraffes and the lorikeets and finally pooped out almost 4 hours later. It was a great day and a great way to start spring break.

Big Girl Bed

2009-04-01T19:30:00.000-04:00

Well it's official, Savannah has a big girl bed. We opted to do this now since Dad won't be here in a little while. She was so excited and had to get in the way every step of the way. She kept letting us know "my bed, my bed". Sweet dreams Bean!

If Only I Had a Camera.....

2009-03-24T14:05:00.000-04:00

Last night Tristan's baseball team had a game. The first time he was up he unfortunately struck out, but the second time, well let me tell you, that is when the real fun began. The pitcher walked him, which isn't unusual since Bug is so little and has a small strike zone. He stole second and third again which seems to be a running theme with him, and still gives me a coronary when it happens. Well there was a bad pitch and the ball hit the backstop, Bug took off for home. He was still halfway from the plate as the catcher was starting back towards home. The catcher blocked the plate and then Bug tried to slide, it was the most awful, pitiful slide I have ever seen. He started to skid, his cleats dug into the soft red dirt and then lo and behold he was airborne. He literally cartwheeled, with no hands!, over the catcher and landed on the plate. It was the ugliest slide but it resulted in the first run of the game for our Orioles. When that umpire called Tristan safe, his dugout went nuts, they were picking him up and carrying him, while I cradled my head in my hands and took a much needed deep breath (because I had been holding it). I was thinking about the money I had lost from America's Funniest Home Videos, because I know Tristan cartwheeling over that catcher and still scoring a run could have won us some college tuition money!

SeaWorld Trip

2009-03-23T11:23:00.000-04:00

This picture just says it all! We pulled the kids out of school and used our free SeaWorld passes (the military is good for that) last Thursday. It was an early departure from our house, but everyone was excited, except for Jaesen, it was way too early for him. It was a beautiful day and Jaesen slept part of the way so by the time we got there everyone was excited. We stopped by the sea turtles first and they were very exciting to Savannah who kept yelling, "Turtle" at the top of her lungs. They didn't move much and so we moved on to the stingray feeding. Jaesen bought some fish and we fed the rays while trying not to feed the vulture like birds who swooped in on unsuspecting kids trying to feed the rays. Everyone got soaking wet but had a lot of fun. We just kept going from exhibit to exhibit and enjoyed the beautiful day outside. For lunch we decided to live it up and hit the restaurant that is part of the shark exhibit. With Jaesen greasing some palms we were able to get front row seats to the sharks and fish.

Our only disappointment to the day was we missed the Shamu show because we let the kids ride the roller coaster one extra time and the stadium filled to capacity 15 minutes before show time. Tristan was of course distraught and the day went downhill rapidly after that, but I try to keep in mind all the fun we had up until that point. It was a fun day spent together as a family which will be few and far between here soon.

Opening Day

2009-03-16T15:43:00.001-04:00

Aaaaahhhhhhhh, the smell of dirt, the crack of the bat, kids whining for Gatorade and Ring Pops from the concession stand, yes baseball season has officially kicked off. Opening Day was Saturday. It started at 7:45 (way too early) and it was foggy, gray and cold. We dropped both boys off at their floats and headed back to the baseball park with Savannah to wait for everyone to come our way. The fire truck was late though (they were on a call) so instead of starting the parade of floats at 9, it began about 9:30. Then they all get to the field and it's total chaos to get all the kids to the fields so they can be introduced and repeat the pledge, listen to the anthem, raise the flag and watch the first pitch of the season be thrown out. Jack didn't have a game, but Tristan's was scheduled to begin at 12:30. We got back at noon after a quick run home to grab a bite to eat, but because of the delayed start of the parade we didn't begin our game until 2. By that time it was sunny, hot and the bugs were swarming, it was really great. The nachos were good though, those drippy cheese with jalapeno nachos that are oh bad for you but taste like heaven. Our game was finally over at 4:30, we lost. Tristan was pretty upset, he didn't get to pitch and felt he could have contributed well to the team. I have a feeling we will have a lot of life lessons this season with him, the whole you win as a team and you lose as a team. On a personal note though he stole second and third, giving me an absolute heart attack and slid into home on a wild pitch to score the first run of the game. We aren't sure where he learned to slide since his other attempts looked like a sixteen year old trying to drive a clutch for the first time, a lot of stalling and not quite getting to where you are going. Monday, Jack has his first game against the Hurricanes, his team from last year, hopefully the Tigers won't resemble the Bad News Bears too much.....

Bicycle John!

2009-03-05T16:08:00.001-05:00

I just got home from New Orleans where I attended the funeral of one of my Mom's best friends, John. It was a day we knew was coming but always hoped would be just another day away. I lived with John and Chris after I graduated from school and was waiting to get into the military. In that short amount of time I gained a greater appreciation for everything Star Trek, he was a devout trekkie and of music. We would sit around at night listening to music, and not just one type, he loved all music and we would karaoke before it was in fashion. He loved LSU football, KC and the Sunshine Band, and as I was reminded at the funeral, he never said goodbye, he always said "Bicycle". I had forgotten that little piece about him. He loved cinnamon toast every morning for breakfast and he loved his job at TWA. It was a wonderful funeral and I was able to see all of my old friends, more like family since we have known each other for something like 25 years. I sit here crying, writing this little mini obituary for someone I hadn't seen in many years, but I know he followed us closely through my Mom as he was extremely patriotic and loved discussing the military. We will all miss him, there is definitely a piece of my heart missing, but for all the memories that he provided just by being Johnny, I am forever grateful. Geaux Tigers and bicycle good friend.

And So It Begins......

2009-02-28T08:13:00.001-05:00

Well we are fully into baseball season with each boy having three practices a week until the games start mid-March. It's a good thing I am not working right now so I can run my taxi service to the little league park. Jack has ended up with kids on his team which he knows which is sometimes a bad thing because he wants to play. He got smacked in the head the other night with a ball thrown from first (he was playing pitcher) which didn't faze him in the least. The coaches and other parents were freaking out, I didn't even flinch. I was calming everyone down, but I could see it on their faces, "Why isn't this Mom more concerned for her kid?" If they only knew Jack, they wouldn't be worried either. By the end of the season they won't react either when he gets hit in the head! Even though Jaesen has been home we have hardly seen him, gotta love those Navy hours. Although I have been so busy with my job as taxi driver, I have hardly noticed. Aaaaaahhhhhh, the smell of spring is in the air here, baseball has arrived!

It's Been Busy at the Yerger's!

2009-02-20T09:27:00.000-05:00

Of course when is it not busy here. When Jaesen is at sea, the craziness seems to multiply like rabbits. First and foremost though I passed my boards and am officially an RN!!! The stress level has decreased dramatically here and for the next month I plan on enjoying being with my kids again, instead of wondering who mothered these children who seem to just know how to push every button, turn every switch and inevitably turn me into a queen b****. Of course I can't just blame them, there is that husband of mine. Just kidding, he is gone so guess I have to look into the mirror. At any rate, it's time for fun and relaxation and then a job. We couldn't sit idly by though and just let me study, that would be far too easy. So on Valentines Day we headed off to a 10 Commandment Hike in downtown with the Cub Scouts. We saw some beautiful churches and learned about the history of Jacksonville and of course the 10 Commandments. Thank goodness my Dad and Karen were here or it would have been a nightmare. With 3 adults tackling 3 kids we managed to make it through the whole event, even though we all wanted to head for home early. Tristan went to his first sleepover party that night and had a ball. Then we decided to head for the beach, even though it was cold and windy outside. We stayed for about 45 minutes before the fingers and toes went numb, although Jack and Tristan even got in the shallows to get water for their sandcastles. Those boys are tough. Last night was Jack's Kindergarten night at school and they sang a bunch of songs and he had some lines to recite and did great. We were all worried since he hadn't been able to keep his hands to himself with all those other kids standing so close to him. I mean really, come on, if someone is standing right next to you, shouldn't you be able to tickle them until they fall off the bleachers???? We also found out Jack will be on the Tigers tball team this year and their first practice is Saturday. All I can hope for is that the boys will have a lot of practices at the same time. Here's to hoping....

Tristan's Tryouts

2009-02-12T10:44:00.001-05:00

Tryouts were last Saturday and I think I was more nervous than anyone. Tristan did great and got picked up by the Orioles and they even had their first practice last night. He is surprised by how different it is compared to t-ball. There is a lot more work involved and lots of running. He is the smallest kid on the team and all the kids are calling him Bug, as there is another Tristan on the team.

A First For Us....

2009-02-05T13:29:00.000-05:00

Well the ship pulled in yesterday to refuel and get parts. I didn't tell the kids since they would only be sad that they didn't get to skip school to see their Dad. I had a nice three hour visit with Jaesen, hanging out at the squadron so he could catch up on emails and business, followed by a quick lunch. I kissed him goodbye as he had to be back on board and I had school bus duty. At 7:15 the phone rang and when I answered the voice at the other end was him, informing me he would be home in about an hour and keep the kids up so he could see them. At 8:15 he walked through the door and all 3 kids and 2 dogs sprinted to reach him first. This was a first, the ship had failed to sail due to not receiving parts to fix a broken engine. I bet the Captain was fit to be tied, but I know a lot of families in our area got a huge surprise when their sailors walked through the door to tuck in kids, lounge on the sofa and catch a couple of zzzzzz's at home. Since he had to leave at 4 am we let the kids all stay up until 9, Savannah was first to request bed and actually got in and shouted from her room, night night. We took that as our cue and Jaesen spent a lot of time tucking the boys in, telling them a story and giving them their nightly bedtime characters (they always ask us who they could be that night.....for Tristan, it's Steve Irwin 99% of the time). Tristan was Wolverine this time and Jack has this fascination for Lord of the Rings characters lately which we can't understand since he has never seen the movie. At any rate it was a quick visit, but well worth it and we all enjoyed our moment with Jaesen.

Pinewood Derby Day

2009-01-31T15:37:00.001-05:00

Well today was the day. Cub Scout Derby Day. Tristan's car did great and won second place overall in the Wolf Scout race. He moves on to district in March. Of course there is always controversy. One parent stormed out after his son didn't place in the top three and he tried to protest. The kid wasn't even upset until his Dad went beserk in the church. There is always somebody....At any rate we had fun and we can check that off our things to do list now and focus on baseball tryouts for next weekend. Savannah had fun too, she took off her socks, shoes, pooped, ate candy and popcorn off the floor, ate half of her hotdog and then got to play outside on the playground. It was a banner day for her!

Day 1 Underway Crisis

2009-01-29T10:07:00.000-05:00

Well I have to say that this doesn't even compare to the Iraq deployment where we ended up with Tristan having a broken arm and my brand new washing machine springing a leak, no this was minor. Savannah found a tube of chapstick and decided that the wood floor needed smoother lips so she smeared the whole entire tube in the hallway and kitchen. And then picture poor Jack running up to me tears in his eyes, so upset he can barely speak. He is really upset or hurt and he won't talk so I can't figure out what could possibly be causing him so much anguish. Finally he chokes out toilet paper roll, toilet, flush. At which point I start screaming and run over Savannah on the way to my bathroom. Jack is on my heels sobbing. I get to the toilet, no overflow, just no holder for the toilet paper. So I sit down on the toilet and get him calmed down so he can tell me what is going on. Turns out he had used the last of the TP and took the paper roll off the holder which he promptly dropped into the toilet. "Why didn't you just grab it instead of then flushing the toilet," I say exasperated. "Well Mom, I pooped." So I explained that although I didn't necessarily want it back we should not flush things like that down the toilet. He couldn't stop crying and I told him it would be okay I would find another, he was not convinced though. I found one today at the store so he will feel better. And then lastly Jack sprung this on me at dinner. "Mom, I dare you to do sex with a boy!" I wanted to smack his little head so hard that it would spin around, but instead tried to maintain some decorum and casually ask, "Where did you hear that? Do you even know what it means? And don't ever say it again!" And all the while I'm thinking, little do you know pal, little do you know.....He pointed to Tristan as the culprit and turns out he heard it from another friend and decided to pass it along to Jack, thanks Bug, thanks. Since they still don't know what it means whatsoever, I have banned them from discussing it. I am just not ready for this discussion yet, give me another couple years of freedom from having to go down that road.

Bye, Bye Daddy!

2009-01-28T10:47:00.001-05:00

And another workup cycle begins. Now the really funny thing was we said goodbye yesterday, but the weather was sooooo bad that the ship couldn't even leave port. The fog was that thick. So he came home last night and left in the dark this morning, driving his own car so we wouldn't have the whole goodbye thing again, way too confusing for everyone. Jack in true Jack form went from blue at school to green. He broke his record of 30 straight days without any infringements. He didn't hit anyone though so that's a bonus, he was just too talkative. I think we'll let it slide.

Tristan was in Hog Heaven

2009-01-09T21:11:00.000-05:00

This first video is of two of the tigers as the keepers were beginning the process of feeding. Well tonight was our tour of the CattyShack Ranch. It's a wild cat sanctuary for wild cats who have been sold black market or animals that can't be taken care of by zoos, or the zoo goes under, etc. We got to tour the facility and then watch the animals be fed. Tonight was chicken dinners for the cats. They were loud and proud and Tristan couldn't get enough. I want to go back to do a day tour so we can really see all the animals, they were all so incredible. There are a couple who have been raised since infancy at the Ranch, one is a lion who was born to a mother that was supposed to have been spayed at her previous zoo, but obviously wasn't. Freddy is 4, still a young lion, and really a sweet animal, gives kisses and all. I was perfectly happy to stay two fences from him though, he is really big. Tristan got a shirt with "his adopted tiger", Nokia on the front. We figured Santa and Tristan paid for about a week's worth of food for his adoption price. At any rate we all had a great time and learned a lot more about big cats. If you ever want to know something about them, just call Tristan, he has a lot to share!
This was the cougars waiting for their food. They could smell it and hear the pans clanking, they knew what was coming.

What is there to really say?

2009-01-06T09:20:00.000-05:00

Savannah got some dress up clothes for Christmas from her Uncle Justen and Aunt Stacie and lo and behold, Jack has discovered them. The other day he was wearing camo pants with 3 dresses, a headband, wings and a magic wand. It's so funny that he dresses up in dresses because he is the toughest kid I know. Fortunately, he doesn't care what anyone else thinks. He went outside to ride his bike in these clothes and one of our neighbors came up to me to ask who this new person was and they realized it was Jack. His simple explanation to them, "I just like to dress up." And there you have it. It just makes me laugh, oh the parental ammunition we will have in the future. But then again, he may just not care then either. Hope this gives you a smile for today. Our Jack, the boy fairy.

Happy Birthday Jaesen!

2009-01-02T11:11:00.001-05:00

Happy Birthday Ba! Don't worry it's just another year. And remember, I'm always older than you, so you have that going for you! Love you.

Ringing in the New Year, Yerger Style

2009-01-02T11:09:00.000-05:00

That means big plates of nachos, loud horns, confetti poppers, watching LSU kick butt and of course, our personal favorite---glow in the dark necklaces! It just wouldn't be a celebration without them. And the dogs sported them too. Happy New Year to everyone.

Thank God I Am Sick!

2008-12-30T19:27:00.000-05:00

Okay normally I would never wish this on myself. I got sick in Omaha over Christmas because Savannah was sick and wasn't sleeping at night. I have had a head that weighs 80 pounds, a fever, aching body and slight nausea, which could be attributed to not eating. However, the key is the ability to not smell. This is a plus and a problem. I can't smell if Savannah has dirtied her diaper so she has been spending a bit more time in stinky pants. The plus side was when I walked upstairs yesterday and found dog diarrhea all over the floor. I couldn't smell it at all, so I voted myself carpet cleaner. Jaesen walked in the house and almost collapsed downstairs from the smell. He used a whole can of Febreze and opened all the windows, I still couldn't smell a thing. Needless to say the carpet cleaners are coming tomorrow morning to do a sterilization and power cleaning, maybe I will be able to smell the freshness by tomorrow, but I'm not holding my breath!

Christmas 2008

2008-12-30T12:46:00.000-05:00

With all the crazy weather I had no idea if our trip to Omaha would happen, but we got really lucky and made it with only an hour delay. Savannah who doesn't like to wear coats and always pulls off her shoes and socks was shocked at the super cold air that hit her leaving the airport and she snuggled down into her winter parka. The first full day we were there was "Gingerbread House/Candy Day". Pops takes all the kids to the candy store and they come home and consume ungodly amounts of sweetness while occassionally adding a piece or two to the gingerbread structure.

The day after that (Sunday) we headed to the symphony to listen to some really great Christmas tunes. Unfortunately, once Santa made his appearance all I heard was Savannah screaming (remember, it's ear piercing) "Hi Santa". She kept waving at him and shouting and I was really hoping he would look over at her and wave since it was not possible that he could tune her out, but he didn't, so she just kept screaming his name. Fortunately, most people thought it was really cute so they didn't kick us out of the theater. All in all we had 6 adults and 5 kids and they all did really great.

The day after that was sledding day! The boys had a blast. Savannah......not so much. I took her down one hill, she screamed, she threw off her mittens, fell in the snow, screamed some more, I tried to put her in the sled to get her back up the hill, she screamed yet again. So she went to the car and sat in her carseat while we finished sledding. She promptly pulled off her socks and boots so she couldn't have been too cold, she apparently just doesn't like sitting in a cold sled with snow hitting her in the face. Who wouldn't love that?

We always celebrate Pop's birthday the day before Christmas and this year we did something totally different, we went bowling. We had such a great time. And I would just like to add that I won the first game, with the adults, not the kids (although I beat all of them too and they had bumpers!). By the time we bowled the second game I had too much beer and came in second to my brother. Note to people: Don't call yourself "The Hammer" if you aren't going to win a game! The kids had fun too and Tristan ended up being the only kid bowling the second game so he bowled for all 6 of them for 8 frames. His little spaghetti arm was pretty pooped out by the end of the day.

And then Christmas Day. I barely caught Tristan as he dashed down the stairs at 6 am. I could have killed him, because he woke Savannah up then. So the rest of us got up and headed down. Tristan first saw his night vision goggles which are really cool and he is excited about scaring people in the dark. Then he opened his letter from Santa. Remember he asked for a Siberian tiger? Well Santa adopted a tiger named Nokia from a wildlife sanctuary for a year for him. Oh and the sanctuary happens to be 5 miles from our house and we get to go and tour the facility and watch a feeding, so he is so excited. Savannah got a pink scooter (so she will stay off Jack's) and a Hello Kitty tent which she loves. Jack finally came dashing downstairs and hugged his alligator that he asked for and promptly told us it's a crocodile and his name is Salty. I guess I would have to say Christmas was a success.

Savannah is 2!

2008-12-18T09:05:00.000-05:00

Well we said that we would never allow that purple dinosaur across the threshold of our house, but when Savannah came home infatuated with Barney, we crumbled and bought her a Barney singing stuffed animal for her second birthday. Her sheer joy at getting that toy made listening to that song 400 times already completely worthwhile (but check back with me in another week or so-if my wine runs out we may be in trouble....) It was a fantastic birthday and we just celebrated at home with us, presents and cupcakes and that was enough for her. Happy Birthday big two year old girl! Please stop growing up so fast, Mom can't handle it. We love you.

Nursing School Graduation

2008-12-18T06:53:00.000-05:00

And finally school is over!!! Thank goodness. It is worth it but I was about to the breaking point of having to fit everything in and that was getting complicated. At any rate it's over, the confetti has been popped (no really I popped some on stage and the boys helped pop a bunch at the house), the champagne is gone (was there ever any doubt that I would drink champagne?) and now I am waiting for some relaxation. That probably won't happen since it's the holidays and I am so far behind. At any rate, I will blow my own horn. Yay me!!!!!

Happy Birthday Savannah

2008-12-16T15:52:00.001-05:00

It is so hard to believe it's been two years since we added a girl to the mix here in Yerger central. She is a true blessing and she makes us laugh, which of course fits right in with our kids. Her big hugs, kisses with the dogs, telling Daddy no, no Daddy!, saying good night and hi each night and morning to the boys, we could just eat her up. Happy Birthday Bean!

In the wee small hours of the morning

2008-12-11T21:58:00.000-05:00

Okay so maybe it's not so late, but it's after 10 at night and I am still cracking away procrastinating. I have spent the whole week in a Kaplan program to help me pass my RN boards (from 9-5 every day-shoot me in the head). The one problem with that is that I have a project due tomorrow morning, the last thing to do before graduation....and here I am just typing away on the computer. Well I am almost done, poor Savannah keeps interrupting. She of course has a molar coming in on the top and one heck of a draining ear infection, plus the wind is whipping so hard it keeps shaking the house. We were under tornado watches today, but I digress, back to the procrastinating. I kept thinking I would get it done this week, but alas, no. Jaesen was of course out of town (conveniently), tonight he is at the command Christmas Party. Now that would have been the ultimate in procrastination-if I had gone..... wow, I wouldn't have even started yet. So this is late for me, I am worn out, school has completely drained me, graduation is around the corner, and I honestly don't care. I would just love a really good night sleep, no cries in the middle of the night, no Jack at 600 asking if he can have a piece of candy yet, no wet, cold Merlin nose on me at 615 begging for a bowl of food. A good night sleep.....well guess it won't happen tonight, crack the whip, it's back to work for me.

And the hits just keep on coming

2008-12-09T21:22:00.000-05:00

You know, it never seems like we have a dull moment around here. It was a week where I had 4, 12 hour shifts at the hospital so Jaesen was in charge of picking up kids at the daycare. It's about 6:15 and my phone starts buzzing like crazy in my pocket. I step out of my patient's room a couple minutes later and the words I hear on the other end are not what any parent wants to hear. "Savannah has lice!" Jaesen proceeds to tell me that it's not just one, her scalp was crawling apparently. I tell him to stop at the store and pick up a bunch of lice shampoo because we don't know when she picked it up and the boys have to be treated too. I promptly went to one of my classmates and had them look me over to see if I had them, because of course as soon as you hear the words lice, your head itches. Aren't you itching now? By the time I arrive home one hour later, everything we own is in the garage. The kids are all in tubs and life pretty much sucks. I spent four hours picking nits out of her hair and finally put her to bed at 11:15 that night. Noone else seems to have gotten it and the next day they found another child at the daycare overrun with lice and nits, yuck! I did a total of 21 loads of laundry on the hottest water setting and dryer settings possible and we still have stuffed animals in bags, fumigating. Savannah had 8 days straight of lice shampoo and gel and may get one more dose of it tomorrow night because I would rather be safe than sorry. I did have to cut her hair though, it was hard enough to clean her up with short hair, can't even imagine if she had long hair. Of course Jaesen wanted to shave her head, fortunately I spared the poor dear that humiliation. She seems fine now and only has one ear infection, a molar popping through and is constipated. We are all much happier with all of those things than those damn lice. I haven't stopped scratching my head in a week......

Kids Say the Darndest Things

2008-12-03T19:28:00.000-05:00

We were out to dinner at the Melting Pot a week ago and Savannah was feeding Jaesen mints after dinner and she kept dropping them on the floor, and finally Jaesen said, "Savannah, you suck." She promptly replied back to him, "you suck". We all about fell out of our chairs.

Jack was listening to Christmas carols on the radio and started singing, "Sally, Abby, a wonderful Christmastime." Instead of "simply having a wonderful Christmastime."

Tonight Tristan heard Feliz Navidad on the radio and said that it was his favorite Christmas song. He said, "I love that song Felish Mashitash." I think he lived in Japan too long and is giving everything a Japanese twist. Aaahhhhhh kids, they sure can make you laugh.

A Visit With Ole' St. Nick

2008-12-03T18:40:00.001-05:00

Well this turned into a whole family picture when Savannah decided she wasn't going to sit on Santa's lap. She was really quite flirty when I was holding her in line, calling "Santa, Santa" and blowing him kisses and waving, but as soon as it was her turn to go and sit on his lap, well you would have thought he was a leper. So the wonderful Santa bowed out and I sat in the chair with her and the boys and then Jaesen jumped in at the last minute. The boys had their lists ready to go, Jack wants a helicopter with a rainbow propellor, a toy jellyfish, a wooden snake and a huge stuffed dog. Tristan wants spy goggles, a giant stuffed Siberian tiger, a camoflauge 4 wheeler. I apparently need a job. Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!

It was a great birthday party

2008-11-25T12:23:00.000-05:00

Well all in all Tristan's party was a success. I worked a 12 hour shift the night before and came home, made pancakes, his birthday cake and thought I would catch a couple hours of sleep when Savannah napped. I got a total of an hour and 45 minutes until 2345 that night when I could no longer keep my eyes open. We had pizza, cake, presents, a campfire and smores, a movie, pillow fights, Wii games (then I bowed out) and Jaesen got them all tucked into bed upstairs watching Eragon in their sleeping bags. In the morning I made eggs, sausages and biscuits and the kids ran around outside until parents began picking them up. I was just worn clean out. Then I had a 12 hour day shift on Monday. Now I get a week break then in 6 days we have 4 more 12 hour shifts to do and we are complete!!! Jack was not allowed to participate in most of his brother's festivities due to what we are calling, "The Duck Incident." It happened at school. I can see you now wondering how could Jack get into trouble at school with a duck. Obviously if you are asking that question you don't know Jack! He had a rough week at school anyway keeping his hands to himself and I had told him he had to stay on blue (which is a good color at his school) if he wanted to hang out with the big kids at the party. Well I get to school to pick them up, I pull up and ask Tristan, "Hey, where's Jack?" Tristan nonchalantly replies, "He's in the office, I heard he killed a duck." My mind began racing, is it possible? Isn't this how serial killers get started, killing animals? Where did he get a duck? I get to the office and there is little Jack, eyes closed because he knows he is in for it, sitting in a chair in the back. One of the 4-H teachers comes up to me and begins to tell me what has happened and I just burst into tears before she got to how it happened because I didn't want to be the Mom of the Duck Killer. That's not what I signed up for. Soccer mom, yes, homeroom mom, sure, the mom who makes her kids scrub their bathroom, you bet, but not this. And once I started crying I couldn't seem to stop, guess I needed a good cry. Thanks Jack. So this is what really happened. He and another child from his class were walking to the library when they came across a duck nest. I know, what school has duck nests anyway. And why does a nest have eggs in the middle of November? Our school obviously. So Jack picked up an egg and threw it on the ground. It didn't break. Did that stop him? Of course not, so he threw it harder and it broke. All this was witnessed by the other student who was telling him to stop and 2 of the 4H kids. And if that wasn't enough, he decided to poke some kid and then hit him. So he was on purple (which is really, really, bad). Long story short (too late) he had a sore rear end, had to write an apology letter to the 4H club and will work for restitution money to pay for the broken duck egg in some form, whether he buys rabbit food or whatever. So it is a pretty funny story today, but it really wasn't last week. Yesterday he had a great day and stayed on blue and we all let out a huge sigh of relief. Now we are crossing our fingers for today, please cross yours too.......

And Happy Birthday Bug!

2008-11-22T13:16:00.000-05:00

It's hard to believe it has been 8 years since you came into our life, what an amazing little guy you are. We all love you so very much, Happy Birthday Tristan.

Happy Birthday To Me....

2008-11-18T08:49:00.000-05:00

And another year has flown right on by.........