Treadmills Are Not Toys

I have to offer this disclaimer before you read:

At the bottom of this post is a picture that may offend some.  Grace just wanted to show her owie, like she has to the former Stake President, everyone at the bank, church, grocery store, and Target.  It happens to be on "the special finger", and she has it in "the special position" when showing it.  So, read on if you dare.

At dinner tonight, Joey pulled up his pant leg to show us what he does in his down time.  We were surprised (but why was I surprised?) to find an almost-complete game of tic tac toe right there on his knee.  That was a new one.

Now, for the story of the dangerous treadmill.  The other day I was working to clear off the shelf that has been dirty since we put in our built-in cabinets downstairs (with the help of the ever-so-handy Uncle Sam.  Thanks, Uncle Sam!)  Grace had been bugging me about wanting to play on the treadmill, which I let her do as long as I am standing behind her, ready to catch in case she should biff it.  So I told her to wait just a minute while I ran some books upstairs.  While putting away said books, I hear Joey screaming at me that "Grace is dead!"  At least that's what I thought he said.  He actually said, "Grace hit 10!"  I ran down as fast as my slightly overweight legs could carry me, to find her slouching at the bottom of the stairs with her pouty face on.  The treadmill had been turned off, and she was okay. 

That's what I thought, anyway, until I saw the blood.  So here's a rundown of her owies: she skinned her chin, above her lip, her upper arm, and her ankle.  She crushed her "special finger" and skinned it as well.  She had a paper cut looking thing on the underside of the same finger.  Bandaging her up was quite a treat.  We kept checking the finger to make sure it wasn't broken.

All is well now, except she still can't wear closed shoes or socks, because the owie on her ankle sticks to them and peels off when we remove them.  She also still can't take a bath (it's been a week) because the owies sting.  But she'll be fine.  She has been busy, as I said above, showing the world her owies.  Luckly, people see how cute she is and immediately forgive her crude behavior.

Oh, by the way, the true story about how the 10 got pushed came out later that day.  Grace told me that it was Joey who hit the 10.  When I asked him about it, he said he was trying to get it to "go up" (the incline), but by mistake hit the speed.  Poor kid felt awful.  But not awful enough to tell the truth:)  We had a quick discussion about lying, but I could tell he learned his lesson.

That's the story of our week, but I also wanted to include a link to a blog (you've probably already heard of it -- it's pretty popular, and the story has been on Oprah, the Today Show, newspapers, and many other places -- but I wouldn't know because I don't watch any of those!).  My friend just told me about it on Saturday.  So I looked it up and now I want to share it with you.  It's truly an inspiring story about a completely amazing mom who got into a small plane crash (a very sore subject with me anyway), and ended up burned terribly, but alive.  You should give it a read.  Here's the link to the blog, and also a link to the whole story in an Arizona newspaper.

http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/stephanie-nielson-chapter5-121309.html

http://nieniedialogues.blogspot.com/

We Love our Troops Day

We had a great ward activity today.  Actually, our ward put it on, but we invited all three wards in our building.  We wanted to start the year off with a service project, so we decided to make care packages for the troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.  I contacted an organization called Operation Care Packages.  It was started by three ladies who had sons and brothers in the military.  They are located in Illinois, so everything we collected today will be shipped there on Tuesday. 

We collected over 5300 items to send overseas.  I'm so excited!  We also made 75 Valentine's Cards and 81 Cool Ties (they are ties with a polymer in them - the soldiers soak them in water and tie them around their necks to keep cool in that horrible heat). 

It was a really fun day, and I was surprised when about half way through, I thought, "I could do this all day!"  It really was pretty easy to put together.  The hardest part was getting the other wards to announce it! 

If any of you want to read the article they put in the paper, here's the link:

http://billingsgazette.com/lifestyles/faith-and-values/religion/article_ef2a233c-024e-11df-9b80-001cc4c03286.html

Here's some pictures of our busy bees working:

Some kids in the ward making Valentines:

Our busy sewing bees (yes, that's me there in the front.  I can sew a straight line, so I was sort of useful)-

Our collecting bees:

Our sorting bees (we collected crayons and beanie babies for the soldiers to give to children in exchange for information on where IED's are located).

During our cleanup, Matt got bored and made a home in this box.  He was quite pleased with it:

Here's our 28 boxes to send.  They are absolutely filled to the brim with great stuff for our soldiers:

This was an awesome thing to be a part of.  It's amazing how much people can do in just 3 hours!

If anyone wants to learn more about Operation Care Package, here's the link:

http://www.operationcarepackages.org/index.html

Mr. Busy Pants and our Little Speller

Mr. Busy Pants found my un-folded laundry basket today.  He's been pushing it around the house all day.  Gee, maybe I should just fold it and put it away?  But he's having SO MUCH FUN!  I guess I could wait awhile longer and let him keep playing. 

He must have gotten tired of pushing it around at dinner time, because as I was cooking, I heard him yelling "Dee Dee!  Dee Dee!"  That's what he calls his blanky.  So I picked it up and found him laying in the laundry like it was his little crib.  I complied and gave him his "dee dee", and then snapped a few pictures.  He was so happy about his new little spot!

Okay, speaking of Mr. Busy Pants, I just heard a crash from his room, then crying.  I went in to discover that he had once again tried to climb out of his crib.  Only this time, he tried to climb onto the shelves next to his bed and everything came crashing down.  I really need to put that kid in a big bed.  So long crib!  We don't want any more head injuries!

Now onto the next little stinker...  Joey has been learning to read, and with that comes a love of spelling, I guess.  He has been spelling things lately (in fact, I just overheard Grace ask him if he knew how to spell Mario Cart, and he said "Yep.  S-A-N-T-A.")  Last week at Grandpa Day, he and Grandpa were sitting at McDonalds.  Joey said, "Grandpa, I know how to spell garbage!  P-U-S-H."  Hilarious.  Thanks, Joey.  We can always count on you for a good laugh!

Recap and Piano Lessons

I just want to recap what happened the other day.  Sometimes it's just one of those days.  After cleaning the massive diarrhea spray from the tub, the baby then decided (after his nap) to pump hand soap all over the bathroom.  Not just the counter, but the floor and walls as well.  I guess it could have been worse, right?  Although cleaning up a large, soapy mess isn't that much fun.  This happened, by the way, while I was doing the dishes, deep in my own pleasant bliss, ecstatic that I was accomplishing something.  So you see, these things happen because of a gross lack in parental monitoring - yes - but at least I'm not sitting somewhere eating bon bons at the time.  I am actively engaged in my work. 

Then, during dinner, Joey decided to once again gag himself on his food, and proceeded to lose his dinner all over the kitchen floor.  It didn't splatter all that much though -- he hadn't had much water to drink.  It's funny how one can be happy about the little things, isn't it?

And then, as I was cleaning out the hallway closet (See?  Doing my chores...), the baby came up to me and was acting like he had something on his tongue.  I thought he wanted me to fish a hair or something like that out of his mouth.  But as I bent down to rumage through his out-stretched tongue, I smelled it.  He had gotten the diffuser oil and tried to drink it.  I panicked as I ran to the bathroom (I knew that was the only one that was in his reach - but only if he pushed the stool over and climbed up on the counter), but was glad that I found it pretty much as full as I left it.  There were diffuser reeds all over, and a little spilled, but I decided just to watch him and make sure he hadn't injested more than I thought.  He didn't.  Everybody's fine.  But see what I get for trying to be productive?

Joey just started piano lessons.  I'm the teacher, and he has informed me that he expects a lesson every single day.  He's doing really well, and practices at least 4 or 5 times a day.  We were watching TV and he just jumped up in the middle of a show and said, "I'm going to practice my piano!"  Okay, then!

This morning I caught Gracie mimicking me being the teacher.  She had her trusty pen in hand as she pointed out the notes while Joey played them.  It was so cute, even when he was getting annoyed with her for not keeping up!

Ding and Dong and Donger

I had to put a picture of our little Donger on the blog.  I've frequently called Joey and Grace "Ding and Dong", but now we've got our Donger (our version of Dumb and Dumber, and Dumberer).  On Sunday, we started going to church at 1 p.m. again (my least favorite time).  And since that is the middle of naptime, I tried to give him a nap at 11.  He would have none of it.  So at about 12, I got him up and he glared at me.  He seemed to know that I was trying to pull one over on him.  Daddy came into the room, and since he was still mad, he tried to show Dad his irritation.  However, he was sitting too close to the counter, and as he hurled himself forward, he crashed his forhead right into it.  After he got over it, we snapped this picture.  You can't see it very well, but it turned into a good sized purple knot right between his eyes.

I thought I'd also send this tip.  When you hear laughing in the bathroom, go check it out.  That's my policy.  I've inturrupted many interesting endeavors, including tea parties (you all know about that one), boat races, "cleaning", and sopping wet messes.  Here's what I found when I heard laughing after I sent Ding and Dong in to brush their teeth:

Why on the counter, I ask, why?

Read of our latest adventure in Union/Management troubles below!

Memo From Management

I have to do a lot of disgusting chores every day.  But there are just no words to describe the Steward's latest move.  This time, he seems to have collaborated with Grandpa Jerry, who sent him back ready to blow.  After the youngest Union members were brought back from Grandpa Day, and after they had filled their stomachs yet again, I put two of them in the bathtub.  The water had finished filling the tub, and peacefulness followed.  For exactly three minutes.  The next thing I heard was and explosion, followed by "Oh no!" shouted from an alarmed 3-year-old little girl.  I looked over (because I was standing not three feet away) to discover a cloudy mist of diarrhea swarming in one side of the tub.  The Steward had been standing, and shot it all over the place. 

I quickly grabbed Grace, hit the drain, then attempted to save the toys.  I'm out of bleach, so they are currently sitting, waiting to be decontaminated.  That tub was draining while I washed the perpetrator in another bathroom.  Then, after I had dried, creamed, and re-dressed the Steward, I had the worst task in front of me. 

Being a mother quickly desensitizes you to an array of poop.  In fact, before I was a mother, I didn't even know there was an array.  I thought poop was poop.  But all of you mothers and fathers out there know that is just false.  And of all the poop options, bathtub poop is the absolute worst.  That is because it is not only an ordinary revulsion, but it is a warm, soggy dispersion of human waste.  Especially when it's not even in one piece.  Even after emptying the tub of the water, what you have left is just horrifying.  So with my paper towels, plastic baggie, and lysol in hand, I did the task.  I've done it several times with each kid.  They've got it in for me.  I hope I survive.  I'm going to bed now.

End of the Year

Well, it's been a great week visiting with family and friends.  We had our major celebration last night, because Eric left today.  We rocked out on the Wii, playing Guitar Hero for a very long time, ate too much.  I'm getting better at the drums, but they are not my forte. 

I've been feverishly going through closets, cupboards, and toys -- trying to start the new year fresh and clean!  I love getting rid of stuff.  It gives me a rush.  I heard a saying a while ago: "Less stuff, more life."  I think that is absolutely true.  So we're working on less stuff.  Hopefully, we'll have more life.  I'll let you know how it goes.

This week, besides playing with cousins, we had a visit from Grandpa Bob and Penny.  Here's some of the crew waiting for them to come:

I've spent the rest of the week trying to get my kids to do something besides play video games and watch our new giant TV.  Here's Joey and Andrew after we put a 100-piece puzzle together.  It only took about a half hour.  Andrew decided to count the pieces, just to make sure there was no false advertising going on.  There were 108 pieces, so he was happy!

I can't say 2009 was my favorite year of all time.  I will not miss it, even though we had some great times.  I am really excited to have my kids getting to the ages where we can have a lot of fun, and go a lot of places.  Every once in awhile, I can get something done (when I'm not cleaning up something Matthew has destroyed).  So we'll keep feeding the kids, and they'll keep growing, and I'll be happy and sad at the same time.  Maybe they have medication for that, I don't know.

So that's the end.  There's nothing else to say.  Besides, everybody's waiting for me to get in the car. 

See you next year, and happy dieting, everybody!

Gem of the Day

We were playing with our new stud finder, a favorite toy of Ben's.  He likes to put it on his chest and strut around when it finds a "stud" on his chest.  So Andrew got going with it.  At one point, he put it on Ben's back, and it didn't work.  Here's the conversation:

Andrew: "Why won't it work?"
Ben: "It doesn't work on something that's too dense."  (I laughed, Ben glared at me:)
Andrew: "Why does Dad have so many dents?"
Ben: "Because I'm married to your mother."

The stud finder is now put away.

Christmas!

Here's two of my great-looking boys, ready for church.  Andrew has had his suit for the past year, but Joey got one from the Kazmierski Grandparents this year, and he has been dying to wear it all weekend!  Look how happy he was!  He was so exited to show everybody at church.  He wanted to leave it on after church, so Grandma Jane could see, but I told him I'd put it on the blog so he could wear play clothes.  Bye the way, this is the fourth or fifth picture I took.  The first few were pictures of wiggly little boys being silly.

Ben's Christmas Eve tradition is to wake up the kids really early, take them to breakfast, and then shopping for my present.  This year, everybody but the baby went.  Grace looks a little disheveled, but she had a great time.  They ate at IHOP then went shopping.  Grace picked me out some very beautiful, very colorful socks with pink stripes and hearts.  The other kids picked out a nice, warm, red bath robe.  Thanks, kids!  I love them!

Later that day, Matthew fell asleep while cuddling with Andrew.  He never does that!  He just snuggled right up and went to sleep.  Andrew was so proud of himself!

Christmas morning started officially at 7:30.  However, Joey had walked into our room at 3:30 in the morning for some reason.  We cuddled a little while in my bed, and then I took him back to his room.  I don't think anybody peeked early, but what do I know?  I'm sure they'll all fill me in later on all the stuff that got past me.  Just don't tell me now.  Wait about 20 years so I don't punish you!

Here's the boys discovering things:

Grace's favorite presents were her pink cuddly bathrobe and her new pajamas from the Kazmierski Grandparents.  Her favorite thing is to be comfy!

Matthew noticed Haley opening some good stuff, and he wanted some too.

This is his favorite toy: a top.  Remember those?  I love it!

Even Shoji got in on the action.  She got a giant bone that scrapes the walls when she walks around with it hanging out of her big mouth (tail wagging the whole time).

The boys enjoyed their Star Wars helmets and "guys".  They'll be busy for weeks.

We got Jerry vintage Red Sox and Celtics shirts.  What he didn't know is that we got the kids some to match!  We just had to get a picture.  I better have them washed again before Grandpa Day!

Eric got the kids this great building set called Toobies, or something like that.  We made a big house out of them, and the kids loved the fort.  Grace got comfy right away, and Matthew just put up with it, I think.

It was a great Christmas again!  We are enjoying the giant flat screen in the basement.  After Ben installed it, he was standing right next to it, and I noticed how the guy on TV was the same size as him!  So now we watch life-sized TV.  It's very interesting. 

I hate to say goodbye to the holidays, so we'll leave the decorations up for another week or so.  There's just something sad about putting them all back in the boxes!

Gem of the Day

My favorite thing that happened today was when Ben was leaving for work while singing songs from Sesame Street!  There's nothing like a grown man with a suit on going through the door singing Sesame Street songs!  Thanks for making me smile, honey!