Mom and Dad Vehar's Christmas gift

For all of Ryan's siblings, I wanted to post this video so that you can all feel like you were here as they received their gift. As far as I am convinced, they loved it. Well done everyone, and we hope you are having a very merry Christmas morning and have a terrific remainder of your day!

We miss you all and wish we were all together. Here's to a summer reunion...just not in Phoenix!!!!

Christmas greetings

Am I the only one that puts off pictures for that PERFECT CHRISTMAS CARD PHOTO until about November...just so that the kids don't change too much between picture take and delivery time? Maybe I started this bad, horrible, procrastinating, NEVER. GOING. TO. HAPPEN. habit as my kids came closer together. It seems we've had babies for a long time in this family and everyone knows that 2 minutes later, a baby looks much different. They never stop growing and living farther from family and friends, I always think I am going to get them their most up-to-date look.





Well, since Halloween, we have had nothing but fat lips, goose egged foreheads and black eyes! I know my Mom always just took the picture because with seven kids, there is never NOTHING wrong. Problem being, it was always me that had something wrong in all the pictures. With my VonWillabrands, I always had a bruises or a black eye (Luckily, I think I avoided having two at the same time!)

Some pictures I had chapped lips down to my chin or a bad haircut (self-inflicted, oh wait...that was Amy! Just kidding.) Regardless...you get my point! So looking at all the pictures I HATE. SO. MUCH(!!!), how am I supposed to do the same thing to my children of VonWillabrands heritage? I can't...or wait! Maybe I can because of PHOTOSHOP! I have located someone good enough to work my troubled family, but not till Christmas Eve morning...therefore, our card could be really late this year, or REEEEEAAALLLY early for next year.

For now, here's one of the kids and we hope that all of you are enjoying your Christmas season thus far. We are grateful for all our loved ones and terrific friends who love and support us. Here is Kaeleigh's elementary school chorus wishing YOU a MERRY CHRISTMAS!

The incredible, EDIBLE (by DEEGAN) egg:

Dear Eggnog, and scrambled eggs-with salt and pepper. Deegan REEEAAALLY likes you!

After nearly 4 hours at the allergist Monday morning, Deegan is free and clear of his egg allergy. He is still allergic to peanuts, but the Dr. is really hopeful that we are seeing good progress. We started by scrambling an egg in the microwave at the Dr.'s office and the nurse brought in maybe the amount of a teaspoon. She rubbed around the "pricker" in the egg to be poked on his forearm, and he had the scrambled egg rubbed on the outside and inside of his lips. Then he was supposed to chew it and spit it out. He got a little excited and ate some...immediately requesting more, with salt and pepper, PLEASE!

He got his wish (thankfully Mommy brought s&p from home since remembering this test last year). He started slow and worked his way to a larger portion every 15 minutes. He was just as amazing a little boy as I could have asked him to be. It's a good thing he's been desiring eggs for the last couple months. He just kept begging for more. When we were done, Deegan said, "I need more eggs."

What better way to celebrate than with a yummy cup of eggnog? Deegan's response..."MMMM! THAT. IS. GOOOOOD!" Our family has decided that Deegan must next try Cream Puffs, Angel Food cake, French Toast, omlettes, fried eggs, fried egg sandwiches, deviled eggs, and who knows what else! This is such a relief to our little man. He has not been able to eat ranch dressing, most salad dressings, mayo, miracle whip and on and on the list went! Not anymore. This makes our family so excited for Deegan. Even if he never outgrows peanuts, I feel like his world just got so much bigger! Looking at this list of food makes me realized that all those tears every time we told him "No" were really because he was honestly being tortured. Welcome to our world little guy-You're going to LOVE it!

Ancestors

Our family was talking about Family History tonight. We were trying to help our children understand what an ancestor is. Kaeleigh was sure it was only those who came before us, but they had to have passed away to be considered an "ancestor".

Kaeleigh and Carson have to debate on just about everything now days and we busted up when Carson fought back with this comment:

"No, Kaeleigh! Ancestors means....AND WE HAD ANOTHER SISTER (and sisters)!" Guess that means that Ashlyn is our first ancestor in Carson's book. Thank goodness she made it to our family. Better late, than never.

When it's reunion time

My kids heard this song from the primary children's song collection and they said we should make sure that we sing that song at our reunion because it would be a good song for a reunion---Really? They are very bright! (:

We head out tomorrow for this exciting adventure. I can't really remember how old I was last time we did this, but it seems like I must have been no older than middle school. Crazy! Back then, there were only 8 adults and 14 kids...TIMES HAVE CHANGED!!! This year, we will be packing in (literally) 25 1/2 (that's for you Trev!) adults and 19 kids right inside my parents house! This year, instead of no responsibility and just playing with the cousins, swimming in the pool and playing tennis all day we will have to work a little harder to feed kids, life guard pools and make sure everyone else is having fun. Don't worry...there's fun to be had by the adults too. Maybe our family doesn't want to know what crazies we have turned into. Won't they be lucky to see the grown ups we've become! Thankfully, the more boring one of us planned the activities so we won't have blue dart competitions and who knows what else?

Luckily we don't all have to sleep at Mom and Dad's, but none the less, it could be interesting!

I can't wait to see everyone. I will have to remember to take pictures for sure. Wish us luck...mostly my Mom and Dad though-what troopers!

TO potty train, or NOT to potty train?

I have exactly 6 days until I leave for CA with the kids for a reunion. My carpet cleaner is scheduled during our vacation and he'll have my carpets sparkling for me upon my arrival home...man, I love that guy.

Ashlyn will potty in the toilet if I put her there, but won't tell me when she needs to go. She will poo in the toilet, but same as above! She stays dry at night about 90% of the time. She is thrilled for anyone who she sees use the potty, so what do I do? She does tell me she needs to potty when she wants to get out of something like church and naps(...smart girl!) but if I take her, it's nothing. It's more like I am the one being trained to take her at the right time, so how do I make the switch to her being the one trained?

She's been in underwear and she's been allowed to run naked for 10 minute intervals...but today she had 3 accidents. I wasn't completely on top of it. I haven't done this in a while and got distracted and totally forgot she was in underwear. So, if I keep a close eye on her, is it worth it? My mother would tell me to wait until after we go to CA because she won't want accidents on her carpet, plus there is the 5 hour drive. Would 6 days of underwear (with princesses) confuse her if we suddenly switched to pull-ups (with princesses) a week later?

Help! Remind me what works for this age. She is very bright. She communicates well and can undress and re-dress with the best of them. Consider her Houdini! The only thing she can't really do is get on the potty by herself without scaring me to death. I got her a stool and that kind of helps but she hasn't mastered the turning around after crawling on.

Happy Birthday Ashlyn!

I cannot believe that 2 years ago I was snoozing through labor. I had just experienced my one and only Epidural and it worked just textbook! Literally, I slept right up until they HAD to wake me up as to not let her just fall off the table. Such nice nurses looking out for my babe.

Well, I haven't snoozed much in the last two years...that may have been the best sleep I've had to date in the time since Ashlyn's arrival. Would I change it? No.

My (our) sweet little Ashlyn has been the most fun of all four of our "babies", only because everyone in our little family enjoys her and she loves to ham it up for anyone giving her the time of day. She brings our family closer together as everyone wants a piece of this girl! She is a talkative, determined and hilarious little girl. Quite the firecracker when it comes to her will. If she wants something, look out, because if you don't help her, she will do it on her own. She loves to snuggle...the only problem is that she doesn't like to snuggle Mom and have to share her snuggles with anyone that is named Deegan. It's one of those sports things like "on the court/off the court" When Mom isn't involved, these two have quite the relationship. Definitely, everyone is under Ashlyn's spell around this place.

This little girl is just that... a girly, girl. It's all about the necklaces, shoes, chapstick, and dresses for her. Though lately, she would prefer to just run around in her swimsuit all day. Pair that with someone's shoes that are WAY too big and she's a happy camper!

Ashlyn likes to eat bananas, applesauce (which she always calls "ass". I don't know how she came up with that!) She really doesn't have a favorite when it comes to food. She's basically a Hoover. Anything in sight is for the taking. Her favorite is gum, by far...any flavor. Okay, that or maybe Bunny milk (chocolate milk).

Ashlyn likes to swim...in the pool or bathtub. She is a water baby. She likes the slip and slide, hose, fountain and has even discovered the bathroom sink. Now, instead of washing her hands all the time, she sticks her head under the water and "does her hair". Imagine what a beautiful princess she looks like.

She loves princesses, dancing, jumping on the trampoline and singing any song...especially if it is from a princess classic. Favorites are "So this is love" (Cinderella), "I know you" (Sleeping Beauty), Sunbeam, Twinkle Twinkle little star, and really anything you throw at her. Right now she sings "gotta get that Boom, Boom, Boom..." and "move over, move over"...from a library book with all the ducks on the tub and the blue one says...know what song I am talking about?

Favorite game? Ring around the rosies..."Ashlyn, Ashlyn, we all fall down." (Our family may never play it the right way ever again.)

Ashlyn is a smarty-pants. She can already count to 10 and every once in a while she will throw in an 11. She is desiring to wear panties and asked to poo in the toilet yesterday and was successful. I don't know that I am ready to visit every public restroom yet with her, yet I like the idea of no more nasty diapers. I am thinking I will let her continue to make requests at her own pace. A lot of times she will just say she needs to potty and we make unnecessary trips to the restroom. It's all practice I guess.

We hope she will have a happy birthday this Saturday. Sadly, we will be so busy that it is good she doesn't know any better. But either way, she's totally worth celebrating. We love you Ashlyn!

Childrens' view of relationships...uh-oh!

Yesterday I got the whole house clean just in time for the doorbell to ring. It was my cute little neighbor girls. I invited them to jump on the tramp with the kids and they were all having a ton of fun. They got to eat little mini pizzas made on English muffins. The chocolate chip cookies were just about done as the fun began.

So I slip outside to check on the kids...I walk up behind them to hear my Kaeleigh and the rest of the kids talking out their play situation. Carson was supposed to pretend he was married to one of the girls and then the "ewwe's" came. So they compromised...

J-"It's ok...they can be separated!"

A-"No, they'll be divorced."

Kaeleigh-"Yeah-She never loved him...she just loved his money!"

Maybe we have a little work to do. Let's just say I was a little surprised to hear this out of Kaeleigh's mouth. I hope she only got these ideas from the good 'ole media. I promise I am not just married to Ryan for his money...he'd need a whole lot more for that to be the case!

Last week of school!

This may be one of the craziest weeks of my life. Why do we insist on filling up every minute? I love every single thing I have this week whether it be helping out with school, helping friends, being involved with my kids. Did I mention that the bug guy even gets to come back? Gotta love that! We get to go to California this weekend and I must say that the only sad (for me) thing is that my not-so-little Kindergartner is "graduating". The funny thing is that Deegan is having a "graduation" from preschool as well! I am trying to figure out how they figure he is graduating when he is supposed to come back next year...and he has 2 full more school years until he can start Kindergarten himself! Aren't we a funny people? At least he will enjoy treats and a party and it doesn't matter what or what "not" for.

I am feeling like my Mom a little as I mentally mark off each day until Kaeleigh's last day of 4th grade or Carson is no longer a kindergartner. It's a very pathetic way of torturing myself. Somehow, Kaeleigh really will be the top dog at school next year...a 5th grader! Uhhg! Ryan has been working on her pinewood derby car and he is stressing on getting it right! Why? Because "next year will be her last year in activity days doing the derby race." What? As much fun as Ryan has making fun of me, he does it a little too. Maybe I am rubbing off on him. However, I am depressed this week that somehow my little ones are turning into "big" ones.

...and my baby is turning 2 in 3 weeks! I am going to go cry myself to sleep now!

Life is TOO busy!!!

Obviously I can't keep up on too many things at once, and this "little project" is one that always hits the brakes first. Kind of sad seeing as I give Ryan the "it's basically my journal" excuse every time he needs me and I need "just a couple more minutes" on this thing. Oh well...sooner or later I'll be more like super woman and I will get everything done.

I feel like updating on my family, just because it's been forever. Ryan and I have been working hard getting things done around the house and yard as much as possible before the heat comes...oh yeah, that already came, so we're working through the heat like the pros! Ryan has been keeping busy with church and work duties and planning parts of scout camp. Unbelievably, he still finds time to keep the kids entertained when he gets home from work. Luckily, the sun stays up longer this time of year, so that kind of helps give him more time. Unfortunately, that also means that my kids have missed their bedtime every day for over 2 weeks.

Kaeleigh is counting down every day until she can rub in my face that she is a 5th grader. Carson has caught on and he likes to remind me that he won't be a kindergartner anymore. Haven't they figured out how to freeze time yet? Well, we have 2 weeks left of school now and I feel it will be very bittersweet. I would like to do a "Summer of surprises" jar for my kids. I want to do more than sit on the couch watching every re-run of Hannah Montana and whatever else my kids will veg out to. I know it is hot here but that won't stop us from frequenting the pool. So, in this jar, I would like to have enough to draw at least 2 days a week a surprise (previously approved by yours truly) that is as close to free as possible. I thought of things like :

• a slush run to Sonic (Large for $1, every hour, every day...the kids can share! That makes it almost free)


• a trip to the library


• red box rental


• swimming


• water gun fight


• slip and slide


• camp out in the loft, forts included (we could spend part of the day building the fort)


• trip to the dollar store. The challenge will be leaving spending no more than $4 plus tax!


• Scavenger hunt at Target. I don't know what we will be looking for other than someone else's air conditioning.


• I think we will make it educational and go play the alphabet game one day too. Maybe we will hit Wal*Mart for that one.


• Thanks to all of my children's good grades, we will go bowling, chuck E. cheese, peter piper pizza...anyone know where else I can take those glorious report cards? Isn't it great having more than one kid in school? Too bad Deegan didn't get a report card in preschool.

Anyone else have any good ideas? I beg you to pass them on. I had my first "rough" day today. I made the mistake of trying to plant some pumpkins and watermelons (seeds...doubt they will work, but it sounded interesting...I will show you why later) at high noon. I don't think I cooled back down until after 7pm. I know something is wrong with me because I get hot and worked up just watching my kids run around in the house. I think their body heat is working my air conditioning hard. I don't think I can make it this summer with all 4 kids leaving the doors wide open every time they pass one...they don't even have to go outside. I get drafts of 120+ degrees flowing in from my garage that Ashlyn and Deegan have claimed as their personal playground. They always leave the door stop down, so who knows what that is costing me in addition to my sanity. Well, as you see, I am already losing it just preparing for it, so really...give me ideas how to make it, and a special request that October/November will come very fast this year!

Mother's Day picture spoiler...Ryan just bought me 2 things I have been begging for for YEARS...I will show you one later, but for now here is one:

It's scorpion season and so far we are at #4...since the end of March. After a week of battling ants inside the house and having them all over outside and myself in tears every time we find one of these critters...Ryan has succumbed to the pest control sales man. I am so glad that guy came to my house when Ryan was weak! It doesn't happen all that often. Yeah for me though. He said they guarantee against these evil creatures! That's right, I called them evil. I know Heavenly Father created them, but even my children question Him on this one!

Really though, thank you to my sweetheart...I feel a very happy weekend coming on! Yeah!

Still waiting for Wisdom...

So they told me that the "usual" time of eruption for wisdom teeth is about 18 years old...the so called years of wisdom. Well, mine were impacted! Getting them removed must count as cheating because I haven't gained any new found wisdom. I was hopeful, but oh well.

I can give my bit of "wisdom" to those ever facing wisdom teeth removal in the future...

~plan on a non-chew diet for several days. I am on day 5 and still can't chew down, let alone open my mouth too big still. I can barely fit a spoon in my mouth dang it. What tastes good? J-ello (make it from the box. Eating it cold feels better than the room temp stuff!). Pudding, again...cold. Yogurt, a large chocolate Frosty from Wendy's or a slush from Sonic. If you are nauseous, don't do a cream slush because dairy will be harder on the tummy. Smoothies galore and maybe tonight I will finally get my pina colada. Make sure to use a spoon and no straws for a week! (Dry sockets-yuck!)
~talking still hurts! Don't answer the phone...unless it's Mom, of course. Keep conversations short.
~Don't yell at your kids...totally not worth it! (This is a good plug to get wisdom teeth out before having a family!)
~If you do have kids, send them away! Every noise pains my ears and made me nauseous.
~Watch run ins with elbows and heads to the cheek area...like moth to a flame I tell ya'!
~Keep up on the pain meds until you are SURE you can handle none. It's like having a baby...once you realize you are in pain, then you have to wait for it to kick in. No fun!

Here's to waiting to get rid of the chipmunk cheeks still. At least my lips aren't totally lop-sided anymore. Good thing that wasn't permanent.

I miss good food and uneventful snuggles (see above) from my kids. I miss being able to rub my lips together to smear my chapstick between my lips. I miss being able to kiss my kiddos (Ryan will kiss my anyway-what a guy!) I miss being able to bend over without the blood rushing to my face.

The good news is, it should be over very soon! Thanks to all who helped my family and especially Ryan for staying home and taking care of me and to Kaeleigh who makes the cutest ice packs a Mom could ever get! I should have taken a picture of them, but really, I was way out of it! I promise they were cute...all wrapped up in paper towels, held together with heart stickers with the happy face and googly eyes and all. She would make a great nurse. Love to my family...for sure. They deserve to have me back.

Note to self...

"Remember to at least read comments if I am not in blogging mood...that doesn't mean everyone else took a break too!"

So to all those still salivating for a yummy cake as last posted. It's totally simple:

Bake a chocolate cake (this one was Devils food. That's what my mom always used. Next time I am trying the Triple chocolate fudge.)

I used dental floss to slide right through the middle of each circle layer, making 4 layers.

For the frosting, use 3/4 of the box of chocolate frosting mix and whip it into a pint of whipping cream....you know how to make whipping cream, right? (stiff peaks)

Start frosting each layer and then cover entire cake. Then comes the part where I messed up...the remaining frosting mix gets "a little water at a time" as my Mom says. She said to add a teaspoon at a time. Ryan says I can't ever do anything without "cranking" it first. He was right. I got frustrated and just went for it and added too much water making it too runny. Then we tried this again with my Mom and I made her stop the water too early and it was too thick! Oh well. It will taste good...promise! Just be patient and remember you can always add more water, but you can't take it out. It is supposed to drip down the sides...stopping somewhere before the puddles. Then for an added treat, I just used the potato peeler to shave the long edge of a Hershey bar.

Ah, the memories...

I am sure there are many pictures like this one from my childhood. I couldn't resist a second generation re-take. The only difference is the lack of black eyes, bruises and I was a lot fatter than Ashlyn...REALLY! People don't believe me when I tell them I was a fatty, so I will have to document that later (my Mom hates it when I say I used to be "fat", but we will let the unbiased decide. For the record, Ryan has seen the photos and agrees with ME!)

I wanted to make a cake for a friend's birthday and just couldn't decide on the right cake. I didn't want to do an easy-peasy original, cause I just love Katie! After looking through all my cookbooks of favorites, I remembered THE CAKE that Mom used to make for our b-days growing up. When I called her for the recipe/instructions, she said she hadn't made it for years because she hasn't been able to find chocolate frosting mix in over 10 years. Well, I knew I had seen it somewhere! Don't you hate it when you've seen something but can't remember where? Well, I ran out to 3 different stores until I found it. I think the reason I took note of this mix was because it is for those of us families with allergies. I'll tell you what...I haven't tasted this cake yet (remember...it's Katie's cake~) but, if I find that it turns out resurrecting the infamous cake of old, then the nearly $4 box is well worth it! Here's the box, Mom:

Dear Mom...I didn't do you justice. Good thing this was practice. I added too much water to the glaze and my children thank me because they got to "snitch" the glaze from the puddles on the paper towel that saved my refrigerator shelf.

I am considering which cake recipe to put up for auction at a scout fundraiser. To make it "fancier", I added chocolate curls on top. I don't know what I think. This will sound funny, but the chocolate curls are the wrong color brown to me. What do you think? By the way, there are four layers of yummy goodness inside this little beauty! Maybe Katie will cut it open and I can snap a photo(:

Ps...thank you cherrybrook kitchen for making frosting mix for my favorite birthday cake from my childhood and for looking out for my son. I will buy your mix often! (found it at WalMart...the big one, not the neighborhood market.)

Deegan's "SHOW" and "TELL":

Deegan has been very excited about HIS own "baby bi-oh-lin" since I got mine for Christmas. He has always been over-the-top-obsessed with LITTLE EINSTEINS and I sware to you he can pick out any melody that they have ever featured on that show...he has them all memorized! He has been able to name instruments and pick them out of a song on the radio (yeah, I love to drive around listening to classical music! It calms me and the kiddos.) Anyway, I started to consider whether or not he would really be able to take lessons yet, and Ryan and I decided to give it a go...My (OUR) teacher is affordable, and I was able to pick this violin up on e-bay for a whoppin' $25.50...I got it for $10.50, but my s/h was $15. Still a good deal! Supposedly, it is a $500 violin, so we are VERY careful with it because who knows if I could replace it for that cost later? Anyway, he has wanted to take his baby violin everywhere we go, so we arranged to take it to school for show and tell. He starts lessons on Tuesday, so cut the beginner some slack...he'll get better-promise!

I showed Deegan a bunch of you-tubes of 3 year-olds playing violin and he just kept saying "Me too! Me too!", so we figure he really wants to do it, plus we have all his Dr.'s saying no contact sports, so if this is going to be his "thing", why not get started? I'll keep you posted on his progress.





(Notice Ashlyn's feet? I think she's made of rubber...)

One of T.H.O.S.E. kind of days

Every Sunday is different not having Ryan sit with our family because of his church calling, but today...THIS is how I felt too, Ashlyn. She sure did look darling in her new dress and shoes though. Now-off for my theraputic Sunday nap. (She sure didn't want her picture taken...that's unusual, oh well.)

8 THINGS: (I've been tagged...)

Here are the Rules:
1) Post rules on your blog
2) Answer the six '8' items
3) Let each person know by leaving them a comment

8 FAVORITE TV SHOWS
1-American Idol (yeah, I've been hooked since season 1. Ryan made fun of me and I missed a bunch of season 2. I hated that I missed so much and found my way back in time for the finale. I wish they had two seasons a year! I hate waiting so long between them.)
2-The Office
3-Dancing with the stars
4-Even Stevens. An old Disney channel show. Ryan and I loved watching it before Kaeleigh was old enough to understand it. Great laughs! (BACON!)
5-Everyone loves Raymond (re-runs are AWESOME!)
6-Extreme home makeover...when I get to watch it
7-Monk...was raised watching Matlock and Murder She Wrote...this is a hilarious murder mystery show!
8-Wipe Out!
We (Ryan and I) really don't watch a lot of tv "SHOWS". Ryan watches a lot of sports, and I don't have time to sit in front of the tv, but I never miss #'s 1-3!)

8 THINGS I DID YESTERDAY
1-Took care of sick kids
2-Talked to Amy on the phone
3-Went to Lowe's
4-Took a drive with Ryan (he stayed home sick)
5-Practiced my violin
6-Played trains with Carson and Deegan
7 & 8-Clean, Clean and Cleaned the house again.

8 THINGS I LOOK FORWARD TO
1-No more diapers!!!
2-School being out so I can sleep in, I hope!
3-The new temple in Phoenix
4-A bigger car that the kids don't fight about the back seat (I hope Ryan reads this!!!)
5-A clean house
6-Valentine's Day
7-My family not being sick anymore
8-Faylor Family Reunion...July 10-12th!!! (I promise I will send announcements soon, but save the date!)

8 FAVORITE RESTAURANTS
1-EASY...CARRABBAS, HANDS DOWN!
2-The old spaghetti factory...who doesn't love FREE dessert and milk with your dinner?
3-Olive Garden
4-Ruth's Chris Steak House...only been there once, but HOLY ....(good thing we had a $100 gift card. We still had to pay about $13. I am sure we won't ever go back unless Ryan is feeling CRAZY later in life. Right now, he's pretty sane, so bye-bye Ruth's Chris! The best $10 broccoli (single serving) I ever paid for!)
5-We loved Bobby McGee's, but they are a BBQ Grill type of place now and no more performers...so sad!
6-In-n-Out

I can't really think of anymore. We must not eat out enough (kidding!)
8 THINGS ON MY WISH-LIST
(ooh! let me think...)
1-The bigger car. Right now, I want a Toyota Sequoia, but I have my eye on a little piece of eye candy called a Lexus IS. I told Ryan he can drive the kids and have the Pathfinder. Compromise, right?
2-Granite countertops
3-Double ovens
4-Ashlyn to potty train herself
5-Deegan to not have accidents in the potty training arena
6-Unfinished projects in my house to magically finish on their own
7-A beautiful master bed and bath that NO KIDS ARE ALLOWED IN!
8-Peace and quiet. Kids have been home from school all week, Ashlyn's sick AND teething. Too much crying and fighting for this Mom.
8 PEOPLE I TAG
I am not tagging anyone only because Ashlyn is STILL crying and the kids are hungry...gotta go.

Introducing...Kaeleigh, Student of the month

(K-getting her award...those are her chorus peep behind her)


That's right! She would probably start this by saying, "FINALLY!" Either way, we are proud of her for her accomplishment. She sure is a very bright girl. Mrs. Mahoney moved her up in math and is considering moving her up again. I am not at all ashamed to admit that she gets the smarts in this department from Ryan. I can't compete with his wicked math skills-I've never tried. I couldn't beat him with a calculator and it's getting to be the same way with Miss Kaeleigh. I already have to get the refresher course from Kaeleigh so that I can figure out how to help her with math and by the time she has taught me how to do "the problem" she has solved the problem. Easy enough? I will say that I sure am looking forward to Ryan's shift change in March so that he will be home in time to help with some homework.

Kaeleigh was very cute at the assembly, of course. She always shows school spirit. It is a competition at the kids' school to get the SPIRIT STICK each month by wearing something school colored...shirt, hair ties, bracelets, etc. Mrs. Mahoney is such a cool teacher...she shopped Oriental trading and has found teal wigs, beaded necklaces, pom poms, etc. Mrs. Mahoney's class has won back to back months, but they lost the stick (politics!) so Mrs. M. is stepping up her game! Now, that's school spirit! Go Thunderbirds!!!

(top:)Kaeleigh and Mrs. M. (bottom:) Kaeleigh and her principal

After the assembly we got to have doughnuts and juice with Kaeleigh

In 4th and 5th grade, the students choose the student of the month, so we know she must be loved by her peers. Way to go Kaeleigh...we love you too!

Oh Ashlyn!!!

So, Ryan and I have been going back and forth a little bit about Ashlyn's "size". We keep using the word "diet", very lightly, wondering if we ought to be more careful of what our mini hoover eats. Obviously we wouldn't put her on a real diet. I just need to feed her the right foods. She doesn't suffer at all for loss of food. She scrounges all day long. I am thinking about counting how many times in one day she makes her one-word request to "EAT". So I googled her weight percentile today. I got my number back and she is in the "healthy" 87th%.

Taking that info...I decided that maybe I shouldn't cave every time she asked for a cookie, marshmallow or fruit snack today. I tried to opt for more healthy snacks like apple sauce or carrot sticks-seriously. I cannot even recall how many times exactly, but she literally asked to eat ALL day today. So, this is what I found...

Ashlyn was seriously eating the corn bread mix by the handful. Totally gross, I know. She obviously can get into the pantry now, so I will be locking it full time. She literally ALWAYS has food in her hand or mouth. Half the time I never even know where she found it. I did catch her opening the fridge the other day. Isn't it nice having advanced children?

It seems that she is a cute little trouble maker. The other night, Ryan was so cute helping give baths and he took Ashlyn out first and we got her in her pj's. Ryan apparently didn't know what happens with Ashlyn if you don't let the water out. I usually take her out last...

Kaeleigh's 10!!!

Kaeleigh's favorite meal right now is Chinese Haystacks...or Hawaiian Haystacks (whatever your family calls them.) We think she likes this meal because of the fancy tray that spins, plus we let her help prepare it, which she thinks is cool. So this was her birthday meal.

She wanted Chocolate Molten Lava Cake for her special day. She sure does have an appreciation for most things "grown up". I think gone are the days of 9x13 sheet cakes with pink frosting and sprinkles on top for her. Honestly, these are my favorite though, so I will gladly provide them every birthday if that is what she wants. The only problem is that, as you can see in the picture, I gave up after 8 candles. The candles kept sinking in due to the center of the cake being hot and runny....MMM!

I couldn't resist putting the "blowing out" picture.

She was serious when she said she could eat the whole thing! I am glad she loved it!

This is Kaeliegh's reaction to Daddy's present...maybe not what he was hoping for, but it should be a fun night regardless. Ryan and I gave Kaeleigh two tickets to the High School Musical on Ice tour. We get to go (she and Mom) next Wednesday. I guess they really are growing up when they stop jumping up and down over HSM! So sad!

I thought I would do a little something special for Kaeleigh and list 10 of my favorite things about her for her big "double-digit" b-day:

1. Kaeleigh is the most tender-hearted person I know! She is always concerned about others feelings and puts them before her own...although we are trying to include her brothers in that "always" statement still. It would be easier if she feel like mothering them all the time.

2. She is the best big sister that Ashlyn could have ever asked for! Ashlyn totally loves Kaeleigh and follows her around and Kaeleigh wouldn't have it any other way. Kaeleigh loves to let Ashlyn sleep in bed with her and have sleep-overs, loves to dress her for the day, help feed her, and change "non-poopies". What a great helper! She treats the boys very well too, she is just working on the oil and water effect of brother/sister relationships. I think that most of the time she is very good to them too.

3. One of my absolute favorite things about her is that she has always known right from wrong. Kaeleigh will try and punish herself if she feels she has misbehaved. She has tried to ground herself for life on a couple occasions. She repeatedly sends herself to her room. She is very hard on herself for things that Ryan and I consider "life", like an accidental collision during more wild playtimes and someone ends up getting hurt. She could learn to relax just a little.

4. Kaeleigh loves the scriptures! She knows the Book of Mormon and Bible so well that she puts me to shame. I want to be as good as her and be able to put them in chronological order as easily as she does and know the names of all the persons like she does.

5. Kaeleigh is a brilliant child. She excels in spelling and math and the rest of her subjects in school. She will accept nothing less than a 100% on spelling tests...she used to get so upset if she got a 104% (highest is 105!) I had to explain the extra credit thing many times, but she wants to be perfect!

6. Kaeleigh is super forgiving! I am embarrassed to say that I hurt my daughter's feelings probably all too often, but she always comes and gives me a hug and we make up. She never holds grudges and is willing to forget anyone's offenses towards her.

7. She has always been more mature than her years in ways. I can talk to Kaeleigh about things and trust her that she will not repeat them. She understands that some "topics" are of sensitive nature and she is honored to be trusted with "information".

8. Kaeleigh loves to try new things!

9. Kaeleigh is stylishly modest. She is very creative in her wardrobe and willing to work with items to make them work according to her own standards. She hasn't worn a pair of shorts (not bermudas...finally, I got her to wear those last summer!) since she was about 4. She used to only wear capris...that was the "shortest" it got for her. She thought shorts were immodest! She wouldn't be caught dead in a tank top...it's so nice that she holds herself to these standards and I hope she holds on to them as she approaches her teen years all too soon.

10. Kaeleigh is a great 1st child. She is an example not only to our other children, but to Ryan and I also. I learn so much from her every day. I want to be more like her in ways...I so don't want to be 10 again though! I couldn't have chosen a better child too lead the way for our family. Her siblings look up to her and want to be just like her. She is absolutely the most beautiful girl I know, inside and out.

We love you Kaeleigh...Happy Double-digits!

Deegan is home and well

Before: with his new "friends" and After: vegging out to Sponge Bob.

What a day! Deegan never went back to sleep until we were about 10 minutes away from the hospital. It turned out OK that he stayed awake. He never had any problems not eating. I made him some lemon jello and that was quite a treat for him. Ashlyn didn't seem to mind it either.

I got Deegan there and I settled in to wait 2 hours and next thing I knew, they were flying through the process. The admitting lady gave Deegan 2 stuffed animals and when the next nurse met him, she gave him one too. They all thought Deegan was adorable.

When the surgeon came in to talk to me, I pointed out a "bump" that only can be seen when Deegan laughs or sits up. It was fingerprint size, about an inch above the belly button, but barely noticeable. Turns out he had an epigastric hernia as well. So, we got two for the price of one and were able to add on to our surgery...Lucky Deegan!

Deegan was given Versed to help him become loopy enough to prep for surgery. I tried to give it to him myself, but he got a taste of it and that started the war! 2 nurses and myself held Deegan down while the other nurse tried to squirt the Versed into his mouth. Let's just say that Deegan does not trust any liquid medications now. He actually spit it straight up like a geyser right into the unsuspecting nurse’s glasses and all over her face (the one who gave him a stuffed animal and thought he was so cute!) Plugging his nose didn't work and nothing else would either. They said he is a fighter and very strong...really? He seemed to respond how was expected to the drug so it seems he got enough.

He was funny as they wheeled him down the hall to the O.R. and he kept raising both hands in the air and squealing like he was on a roller coaster.

They were able to take him back 30 minutes early, so Ryan came over from work and we waited together. It took about an hour. When they called us back to see him it was really hard for me. He looked swollen in the eyes and lips. His lips were actually crooked to me. He wasn't out of the anesthesia yet and I was surprised to see a nurse restraining my little man. He was thrashing all over the bed, just a little at a time. He would throw a punch or kick a leg, or his head would fly at the bed rail. He looked like he was possessed and he'd go from laying to a full on sit-up and then he would fall back down. The nurse said she was just trying to keep him safe. She was very good and patient with him.

We decided that maybe if Ryan or I held Deegan, snuggled in his “off-get” (soft blanket), that he would respond better. The weird thing was that every time we would touch him or talked to him, or there was a loud noise, he would start going crazy again. It was very hard for even Ryan to hold him, so they gave him more Demerol and Versed to slow his “coming to”. He crashed in Ryan’s arms and snored for about 30 minutes. Finally, we got a more gentle awakening. He still wasn’t himself as he didn’t care for a Popsicle or juice. That was all he had to do and he could go home.

Well, he kept fighting the juice thing and wanted to go home and have his IV taken out but refused the juice and Popsicle. He stood up on the bed and his upper incision started to bleed. This was 15 minutes before we were supposed to go home at 3:45pm. The anesthesiologist ended up turning his car around and came back to the hospital and the hematology office sent someone over too. We had to wait until 6pm before all felt he was safe to go home. He wants nothing to do with his pain medication because it is liquid.

It is the next morning now. We made it through the night and Deegan is well. He wants to snuggle nonstop which is just fine by me. I am tired from yesterday and didn’t sleep all that well. Deegan doesn’t want me to close my eyes though, so he is on my lap as I type the rest of this.

Thanks for all the prayers and concern for Deegan. Thanks to "Pops" for coming to the hospital to be with Deegan too. We love Pops! Deegan is doing great and even responded that he is feeling “better” when I gave him the choice of hurt or better. Yeah!

Surgery Day

So, I was reminded that things you dread come much quicker than things you just can't wait for. Christmas never comes fast enough for little ones and this surgery is banging my door down, so to speak. All in all, I am ready to just be done and move on for Deegan's sake.

Today's surgery will be at 2pm, so if you remember, say a prayer for us. Mostly, I am only anxious for myself because of nerves. Deegan will have no clue until they will come at him with a little needle and he doesn't have any idea what will happen after that.

The hardest part today probably will be that he can't eat past 6am. He came to our room at 4am and we (Deegan and I) jumped out of bed and headed to the kitchen. He had a bowl of oatmeal and then we watched Little Einsteins for a bit. Then at 5, Ashlyn decided to join us...who knew we were having a party this morning. So, I pulled out the griddle and we made some pancakes. I will be feeding him right up until the last minute as I can't bear the fight I can imagine my later morning turning into. I prayed fervently last night that this fasting thing for Deegan would go smoothly and I am so thankful that Deegan woke up at 4 instead of my planned 5:30. This way, he ate more and he will take an early nap and sleep instead of starve. I know Heavenly Father is always aware of me and my family. I know he always knows better and that he helped me see a better way at 4am rather than me and my beloved heating blanket having to part bitter ways on a grumpier term. Who doesn't love waking up to happy kids anyway?

Deegan will be able to have clear liquids until 11am, so maybe if he wakes up starving we will take a field trip to the store and buy some Popsicles to fool him into thinking he is eating.

I'll update after his surgery. Thanks for all who have been so kind to offer help with the other kiddos, meals, prayers and blessings with this. We have the best family and friends!