CATCH UP!

I'm playing catch up with EVERYTHING right now. Cleaning my home, doing the laundry, visiting with friends, doing my church calling, and writing on my blog! First, there was spring break. We were very busy during the first week and then I had horrible back pain.....

that got worse.....

and worse.........

and worse!!!!!

I've been out of it while I waited and waited and waited for things to get better. Finally I turned a corner and have been getting so much better. Last Friday I started physical therapy. I felt so good afterwards....and then it hit me. I was so worn out! Crazy!!!

So, this morning I posted 4 new items. Make sure you read all of them so you can see a really embarrassing photo at the end. Before my back pain, we picked out matching ties from The Matching Tie Guy (www.thematchingtieguy.com) The ties come in every size - newborn to adult! There are even some ties that have matching hair ties for girls - way cute! Here's the boys springtime tie. Kyler picked one out for the summer.....you'll have to wait a couple of months before we debut them. What a good looking bunch! (yes, I'm fully aware of the haircuts that they're in need of)

The boys....just being themselves!

The last item has no photo.....no hard evidence......no visual proof.....but it happened! It took nearly 40 years and an ambulance ride to the ER for it to happen, but

MY

MOM

MADE

ME

RICE

KRISPIE

TREATS!!!!

(maybe my canopy bed is next.....I just hope it's not on the 40 year plan too!)

HANGIN' WITH MY PEEPS

Last year we went to Provo, UT to visit my baby brother at BYU during Easter. We had such a fun time visiting him, touring the campus (Colton even went to a Biology class with him), shopping in the bookstore, eating at the creamery, etc. Lots of fun! Well, Austin will be reporting to the MTC on May 5th and we wanted to see him again before then. As we thought of going up to Utah, we had a great idea.....why don't we just fly him down here! Easy and much less expensive!!! Austin came out on Thursday, April 1st and flew back Monday evening. Here he is -

hangin' with his peeps!

It was cool that General Conference was on Easter weekend. Austin went with Tony, Colton and Asher to the priesthood session. This picture reminds me of that song from Sesame Street.....
One of these things is not like the others, One of these things just doesn't belong, Can you tell which thing is not like the others By the time I finish my song? Did you guess which thing was not like the others? Did you guess which thing just doesn't belong? If you guessed this one is not like the others, Then you're absolutely...right!
Austin should have gone to The Matching Tie Guy (www.matchingtieguy.com)

And then.......we celebrated Easter! What would it be without Peeps?!? Look at these cute, little, innocent peeps. Are you confused? Aren't all peeps innocent?

NO

Behold

EVIL PEEPS


(Someone forgot to position the eyes properly....oops!)
These may be evil......but not as evil as.......

DARTH VADER PEEP!


Let's move on to something happier.....

EASTER BASKETS!!!

Austin

Colton

(poor Roscoe, no basket for you)

This is where Asher's picture should be

SNEAKY

KID!!!!

He escaped the camera!!!!!



Kyler and Austin......with conference in the background

(these photos are not out of order......we didn't color Easter eggs until Sunday morning - AFTER they received their baskets) I love how Tony's the only was smiling in the picture. We normally don't color eggs, so I was just proud of us for doing it at all.

Our traditionally colored eggs

Our not-so-traditionally colored eggs!

Darth Vader

and Yoda!

The time flew by too quick! Before we knew it, it was time to take Austin to the airport. We love you, Austin!!!!! We can't wait to see our first pictures of Hermano Mulleneaux from the Roseville, CA mission (spanish-speaking).

COLTON'S BIRTHDAY!

Colton turned 14 this past St. Patrick's Day! It fell on a Wednesday, which was perfect since Tony has Wednesday's off. Colton picked the places he wanted to eat during the day and all the boys had a great time together. The best part of turning 14 was that Colton was ordained a Teacher in our church. It was a beautiful Sunday and just look how handsome all my men are! Don't you LOVE their matching ties!!! (just visit www.thematchingtieguy.com Ties in Every Size - from newborn to adult!!!) This is their spring tie.....in a couple of months I'll show you their summer look! Colton, we are so proud of you and the choices you make. You're a good example and we LOVE you!
Now on to other important things about turning 14.....THE PARTY! Colton rolled out of bed on Saturday, March 20th and typed a message to some friends about a party at 4:30. THAT'S IT! A party......4:30........NO DATE, NO STOP TIME, NO EXPLANATION. I asked if he could get some more information to everyone. He typed that the party was from 4:30 - 9:00. After he sent it off I mentioned that he might want to say that the party was for that day. He rolled his eyes and said "They know." Apparently they did! He had almost a dozen kids....excuse me, TEENAGERS at my home that afternoon. I ran to Costco and grabbed a cake and a veggie tray....Tony ordered pizzas and crazy bread and rented 2012....and VOILA - the party was ready! I teased Colton that they only had princess cakes left at Costco (since he gave us practically NO NOTICE). This was the most masculine cake they had left. For all intents and purposes, Colton thought this WAS a princess cake!

A shot of the aftermath of pizza boxes and Mr. John Cusack on my TV.

As I called all the kids....oops, TEENAGERS over to sing Happy Birthday to Colton I said "Come on, Schmoopie!" Everyone laughed and Mitch sang Happy Birthday to Schmoopie to him. Colton couldn't stop laughing to blow out his candles.

More laughing.

After this they all went to play 007. Even though it's his favorite game to play, his favorite part of the party was probably ALL THE GIRLS that attended. I'm so mad I didn't get any photographs of them.....grrrrrrr! I'm sure it will just give Colton another excuse to host another party soon.

SIDEWALK CHALK, MOP TOPS & "IT DOESN'T EMBARRASS ME!"

Here's a pretty self-explanitory blog post. Tired of using sidewalk chalk on the sidewalk?

How about a trampoline?!?

My three mop tops!

(ok.....technically Kyler doesn't have a mop top.....but we couldn't leave him out!)

And now for the infamous line from my curler-wearing-in-public mother......

IT

DOESN'T

EMBARRASS

ME!

So glad it doesn't embarrass you, mom.

A CONVERSATION BETWEEN BROTHERS

Tuesday, March 2nd was Dr. Seuss' Birthday. Kyler was SO excited for the big day they had planned at school. The kids went to school in pj's, brought a pillow and stuffed animals and Dr. Seuss books. They had snacks and activities and made their own Cat in the Hat hat's. They also invited a few parents to come and read a Dr. Seuss book to them. I read the last book of the day. My selection: Oh the Thinks You Can Think! In the van on the way home, I told Asher about Kyler's favorite page in that book. "and think of Kitty O'Sullivan Krause, in her big balloon swimming pool over her house" Kyler said he would love to have that swimming pool. Here's the conversation that followed:

Asher "Kyler, what would you do if that big balloon swimming pool popped?!"

Kyler "I would jump down on the trampoline."

"And what if the trampoline is broken! Then what would you do?

"I would have you or dad or Colton catch me."

"And what if we weren't there......and the trampoline was broken. What would you do?!"

"Then I would yell really loud 'HELP' - and then mom would save me."

"And what if she wasn't there! What if the trampoline was broken and you were the last person on the planet!!!!"

"Then I would jump on the roof and find a safe way to climb down."

(Asher is very annoyed that Kyler keeps coming back with answers, but he continues to press his little brother...and a little more heated) "What if there's no trampoline, you're the last person on the planet, and the big balloon swimming pool breaks free from the house and floats out to the desert and then pops. And the only thing underneath you is the HARD, DRY GROUND!!!! WHAT WOULD YOU DO?!?!"

(Kyler - still not phased by his brothers questions or impatience - calmly answers, without hesitation) "Then I would try to fly."

(an exhausted Asher says) "And what if you can't fly?"

"Then....I would pray."

Mom's Note: I love that Kyler would think to pray. Of course it concerns me that it would only be attempted if flying didn't work out!

DENIED!

Colton will be 14 in a couple of weeks. He'll move up from a Deacon at church to a Teacher. He'll be able to attend stake dances, youth conferences and EFY (especially for youth) this summer. That's where I'm taking you.....to the whole EFY thing. It's 5 days of gospel based fun! He'll get to stay in a dorm, eat in their cafeterias, spend ALL his time with kids his age. They have tons of activites and lots and lots of fun. I went to Youth Conference at BYU-Provo when I was a teen and really want him to enjoy EFY every summer he can! I was sent the information from a friend (thanks, Deanna!) to preregister Colton. I went to do it and found I needed his social security number. I didn't happen to have that handy and made a mental note to finish this process. Well, let's guess how sharp my mental capabilities are these days. I had the mental note on the Jan. 21st slot when it needed to be on the Jan. 19th slot. I went to the computer on Jan. 20th WITH the social security number in hand only to find...

I MISSED IT BY ONE DAY!!!!!!!!!

Totally MY FAULT....and I accept it. I waited until open registration started...Today, March 2nd, 2010 at 9:00 am. I was ready. I was armed with back up resources. (I could tell you about them....but then I'd have to kill you) It was finally my turn to sign up my kid and fork over the $$$$$..........NO SPACES AVAILABLE!!!!!!!! DENIED!!!!!!!!!! I have not given up all hope. People will inevitably drop out and a space may be opened up here or there. Also, Colton could choose to go to another location this year, if he wanted. Either way, I'm still very hopeful that Colton will be able to have an EFY experience this year.

But this got me thinking. How much I want this for him......how hard Tony and I work to provide things that our kids want and need. (but no one seems to care too much about the needs around here!) No matter how well we're doing, there are going to be things our kids will look back on and feel they were denied. Don't you have your own memories of things denied, like.......oh, I don't know......just off the top of my head......perhaps a CANOPY BED you wanted with everything in your being! Ok, maybe that's not what was missing from your childhood, but the fact is EVERYONE has them. (that's my theory and I'm sticking to it!)

I guess all I can hope for is that my kids will remember all of the wonderful things they were able to do or have in their youth. For example......fruit-striped chickens! How many kids get to hold bright, multi-colored chickens in their childhood?! I know I didn't.....but Kyler has!
Here's something special from my boys....they were able to spell out I-C-U-P with french fries from FatBurger! Come on, not only were they able to spell it, but their mom even took a picture of it for them to remember. Fun times......oh, fun times!

THEY OWN A DOG!

They really were wanting a dog for a long time and thanks to Mita moving into Patti's home - their wish came true! Roscoe joined our family last summer.

Roscoe = Priceless Childhood Memories

How many parents let their kids eat Halloween candy until they........fall asleep at the table. These parents do! Aren't my kids lucky! Surely there can be no childhood memories of denial here.

Here's one of my favorites: the wax hand in the billiard table pocket! This hand was created from Asher's at a birthday party. It turns up everywhere in the house! Just when I think it's gone for good, it's recovered.....and in the strangest places. (unless you think this is normal.....and if you do, you probably call me mom)

I don't know about you, but I'm feeling better! My kids are having a great childhood! Why, there are so many memories made.....it will take them the whole of their adult life to recall all of it. Just in case they need some more good memories, I think I'll make them rice krispie treats today. You know, just the way my mom.................oh wait,

MY MOM NEVER MADE ME RICE KRISPIE TREATS!

SPOILED

First, this is the one of four posts today.....sorry it's all so long, I just didn't want to procrastinate any longer. Enjoy!
The other day Kyler had a complete melt down. It was over the fact that he felt he had to do TOO MUCH WORK and he felt his friends NEVER had to work. My spoiled little boy was very put out! We came home and he had to clean his room which completely proved his point in his head. A couple of days later I decided to clean the boys rooms as a surprise......and maybe a part of me didn't want to feel like the worst mom ever (even though I wear the title proudly 99.9% of the time) As I was serving my kids (AGAIN) picking up laundry, toys, trash, clean clothes.....I came across Asher's white board. Monday through Friday "chores" was listed. Sunday was the day of rest and Saturday.....JAIL! Really!?! Since he's never been grounded, what could he mean by JAIL.

I didn't ask.

I don't think I want to know.

I think I would again come out being the meanest mom ever again and I don't want to risk feeling anymore guilt. So I took a photo, cleaned the board and finished the room. By the way, all three boys were SHOCKED to see their rooms all clean and they even showed gratitude. HAPPY, HAPPY DAY!
Here's more SPOILED! It's a good thing he's clean and doesn't shed. Yup, that's Roscoe on my freshly laundered whites. Spoiled, spoiled, spoiled! I'll have to post a picture of him since he was shaved.....he's not fluffy puppy anymore!