Trevor's Knock Down Drag Out Tooth Fight

*Do not read if you are squeamish or do not like the words tugging and twisting when talking about teeth*

Do you think that teeth secretly want to stay in our mouths and perhaps, don't want to come out? I am thinking Trevor's tooth planned on being a permanent resident of his mouth and it took almost everything in the world to get that tooth out. We have been working on it for over a month. Zane would have me pull on it because I had smaller fingers and I would try my hardest (I was a bit squeamish as I did this) and it would twist and turn, but not come out. He would pull on it, we tried dental floss, and Trevor would give it his all at least once a day. Well, we ate corn last night and I am thinking that might have had a little bit to do with why it was ready to come out by nightfall. Zane, right before Trevor went to bed, gave it one last tug, and it finally let loose of it's cozy little spot in his mouth. Trever ran in screaming (an excited scream, not a tragic one) and couldn't believe it was finally in his hand. Whew, I am glad that is over and I am sure that Trevor is as well!

She's Walking....Almost

I've Caught Up With Them

Well, I finally caught up with the older boys as they ran out to play. They didn't get very far making the catching up with them rather easy on my part. This is what they like to do - collect bugs. They were collecting rolly poly bugs (we called them potato bugs) this day and they only found five. I think they could have found more if they would have dug a little further - ha - well five was enough and kept them busy for the afternoon.

Mother's Day

Yes, it's Mother's Day and it has already been such a treat. The breakfast in bed was the ultimate this year with Panera cinnamon sugar bagels, scrambled eggs, bacon, and a bowl of Kashi cereal. Yes, I shared with the troops because a) they expected it and b) that was a ton of food. I downed the chocolate bar given out at church while I was in the hall with Mallory during Sunday School to help me cope. And, now I have been served a Califonia Pizza Kitchen BBQ Chicken Pizza as an appetizer as the boys prepare dinner with dad. I have been given a fryer as a gift so that they can cook me some homemade corn dogs. While that may not sound very good to everyone, you have to know my love of corn dogs. And, not just any corn dogs. They have to taste like the ones that you get from the state fair or Hot Dog on a Stick. Yes, they have to be deep fried. And, so as I type on this computer, an attempt to mimic those famous dogs is going on in the other room. I am so excited. I thought I would also share these two photos of Gage taken yesterday. I was lucky enough to be an apprentice to the garage sale queen, Kristi, yesterday and I am still giddy about my finds. One of them was this stroller for Mallory which I was informed that every little girl needs and for $1 - Mallory was in need. Gage came in with it, with sunglasses on, and a baby on board to inform me that he was taking Mallory's baby for a walk. After I relented, I decided that the least I could do was walk with him to support him. Later, after wearing shorts that were a little too big all day, Gage came in with some new ones on. I kept looking at them and thought that they looked tight and a lot like a pair of girl's capris on him. Finally, I realized that he had put on a pair of Mallory's jeans and thought they were his shorts. I couldn't convince him otherwise because I think he was so happy that they weren't falling down that he didn't want to give them up. The snug fit felt good. Well, as long as he wasn't going out in them pushing the baby in the stroller, I was okay with it! Happy Mother's Day mom and Betty. I love you both!

Randoms

Yesterday in the car I heard Gage say, "Get off of me dirt. Get off." Then, about 5seconds later he said, "Oh... it's a freckle!"

Last night I told Boston and Trevor I bought them some fabric to make them each a pair of pajama shorts. Ya know, it's too hot for pajama pants in the summer and they tend to wear their boxers, which is fine until someone comes over or they get invited somewhere. So, I'm making them pj shorts. Well, I told Boston I got him some baseball fabric and he was excited. Then, I told Trevor I bought him camouflage fabric (I know - I never thought we would go there but they love it). To which Boston said, "Trevor, I am still going to be able to see your legs even with the camouflage." It's our family joke that whenever anyone has on camo you can't even see them. I just thought it was a funny response from Boston.

Hello Operator...

Gage is our operator here at the home. He is always (almost) the first to answer the telephone to which he says, "what is your name... I am Gage." Then he ALWAYS tells them that he has either Mario Kart Wii or Super Smash Brothers Brawl. When he talks about the game Super Smash Brothers Brawl, people think he is talking about my bra. So, that is when I quickly take away the phone to repair any damage that has been done. I just wish that he could read caller ID so that he didn't tell phone solicitors about what they think is my bra!

Baseball Night

Just a few photos from Boston's Monday night baseball game.

It Was 12 Years Ago Today

What was Zane doing 12 years ago today? If you ask him, he will tell you exactly what he was doing. You might guess that he was meeting his lovely, soon-to-be-bride at the San Diego Temple ready to go in together and get sealed. That was what he was supposed to be doing. But, he had another idea and it involved going another few rounds at the breakfast buffet at his hotel. He said the strawberries were "sooooo gooooood." I was at the Temple at the appointed time and waiting outside. He thought it was okay that I was there earlier than him because I probably had to primp and get all dressed and didn't realize that we needed to go in together to get some "talkings to" by the temple workers. But, he did make it and all was saved! On May 3rd, 1996, we were married and it was a gorgeous day in San Diego. I remember thinking that was probably the best day of my life (up to that point) and I loved it all. Well, to the man who just had to go a few more rounds at the buffet - Happy Anniversary and I didn't and still don't mind waiting for you. It was well worth it!

So Lucky

We are so lucky to have a lawn that has so much clover because if we didn't, then it would be much more difficult to find four and five leaf clovers. That's what Trevor and his friend, Cameron, found yesterday in our front yard. So, if you need to have the opportunity to have luck come your way, then you can come and check out our front lawn!



I have helpers in the kitchen often. Yesterday Gage put on his apron when he found out I was making blueberry muffins - you can find the recipe here. Well, Mallory wanted to make sure she wasn't forgotten. So, I put an apron on her as well and she was right up there with us trying to help. I was in a non stressful mood (you know the once in a blue moon kind) and was having a great time having them help. Gage loved telling Zane as soon as he came home from work that he made blueberry muffins.


A few weeks ago I was helping Boston brush his teeth and it was then that I realized my child's potential to be a shark! That's right - a shark. He had two sets of bottom front teeth. I knew that his bottom fronts were loose and he was so excited for them to fall out. What I didn't realize is that the other teeth had fully grown in behind them. It was so wild to see four teeth in the front of his mouth where there should have been two. Well, we tried to bribe them for the last two weeks with money, candy, or a good word in to the tooth fairy for extra change, but nothing could get Boston (and mind you Trevor - who also has two teeth where one canine should be) to twist their teeth hard enough to get them out. Every morning before we leave for the bus stop, both Boston and Trevor would pray that they would lose their teeth that day. Finally, it came down to a dentist visit for Boston (we are still working on Trevor's situation) early this morning and he is now just down to 2 - like any human non-shark should be. Thanks to a kind dentist, Boston said it didn't hurt and was pretty proud of himself for being so brave. We all know that the dentist was good at what he did for Boston to feel like that. Boston is so excited for the tooth fairy to come tonight.

One Year Olds

Don't you wish your one year old had a kazoo like mine? Pretty pretty music all day long!

Sunday Night Cravings

Every Sunday night Zane and I crave something sweet. This can be dangerous because you never know what me might end up making. It's been everything from cream puffs to snickerdoodles (his ultimate fav). Well, this Sunday was no different than those in the past and we started craving something way too late. That didn't stop us because we were up watching the Star Wars Weekend on cable and we needed sustinance to make it through Episode II. Zane wanted Buttermilk Pie - you know the kind Mark's Feed Store is famous for. Could we find a recipe that was even close to the famous one? OHHHHH YES! So, at 11pm (again - way too late) we began baking our Buttermilk Pie and with a 1 hour baking time, we were eating it at midnight just as Episode II ended. It was delicious. I would not reccomend starting the baking soooo late - well, actually, it doesn't matter when you make it, just do! Here is the recipe:
INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup margarine, softened
2 cups white sugar
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 eggs
1 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 (9 inch) deep dish pie crust

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C.)
In a large bowl, cream margarine and sugar. Beat in flour and salt. Blend in the eggs. Stir in the buttermilk and vanilla. Pour into pie shell.
Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes, then reduce temperature to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C) and bake 45 minutes, or until filling is set.

I got it from here at AllRecipes.com! Let me know what you think. I wish I had a photo of it, but it was gone way to fast to even think of getting the camera out.

Just Photos

I just thought I would post a few photos from this weekend. It was such a nice and beautiful weekend. We attempted the Balloon Glow on Friday night, but it was cancelled due to the winds. We still had a lovely dinner with some friends and being with friends is always the best part of any event. Boston had a baseball game Saturday morning and I need to remember to bring my camera. As the other moms of the players can attest, I can barely get myself and the other kids there, so the camera hasn't been high on my list, but it will be. These photos, again, are of just Gage and Mallory. I usually can't catch Boston and Trevor in action because they are off on their bikes and scooters, but I can catch the younger two. I think I need to work harder on catching up those older two!

Crayola Fabric Crayons

These crayons are so cool. It would have been tricky if the boys had to color directly on the t-shirt, but with these you just have to color on a white sheet of paper and then iron transfer it on the t-shirt. The trickiest part was helping the boys write their words backwords so that when we ironed them they would turn out spelling the words correctly. It says to use synthetic, but we only had 100% cotton shirts and I still think they turned out pretty bright. Trevor asked me today if Seth's mom reads my blog because he wanted to put a picture of his shirt on here so that she could see it and show it to Seth. So, Seth's mom, if you are out there...this photo is for Seth!!! I told them they could color on as many of their white t-shirts as they wanted because they just wear them to bed and occasionaly under their long sleeves when it is cold, so it's a perfect medium for them and we have a ton!

Ties For the Boys

I got an awesome package in the mail today. My sister Tanya had sewn some cool ties for the boys. She and her girls are sewing these for a girls camp and traveling soccer team fundraisers. They are so cute and now I want to order some more
because we are down to 3 ties (not counting the 3 new ones) in this house and you can never have too many. Plus, they are just so GOOD looking! If anyone wants to order some she has them on her blog here. Because they are so light weight they only cost pennies to send (her pennies this time -thanks T) and she has lots of fabric to pick from. Just thought it was worth mentioning. Thanks again T!

Celebrate Grandma Julie

Today is my mom's birthday. I know some people like to brag about their moms. Not me. I don't think it's fair to let you know just how cool she is. I don't think you would like it if I told you how amazingly talented she is and all the many things she can do. That would be rude if I told you that she is so darn sweet, tender and funny. I think it would make you a little upset if I said all these things because then you might be thinking..."How did Traci get so lucky?" Well, that my friends is a mystery, but one we aren't going to solve. I will just count my blessings and let you know that I KNOW that I am blessed. Happy Birthday Mom!! In these photos she is hanging with Mallory last April and Trevor and grandma are playing an intense game of checkers last December.

This is the Celebrate Banner we made for her for her birthday. CELEBRATE GRANDMA!

Mario

Trevor and I made Mario today. We have no more red or black plastic pegs, but it is finished and Trevor is pretty proud.

Spring Break Adventures

This post was to be full of all the fun things we did during the boys' Spring Break, but by the Sunday night leading up to it I was sick. By Monday I had a fever and was quite delirious, but thanks to some of our dearest friends, my boys managed to have a great time anyway. They went to the park, played at friends' houses, had a sleep over, dad took them bowling, and went to a party at the jumpy jumpy place. Yeah, they weren't neglected, but we didn't get to do some of those outings we had planned. I don't think my boys cared one bit and I think they might have had a little more fun with the rogue schedule. Thanks friends for taking over and helping us through. I did attempt to craft with them Saturday evening, but I ended up making most of the plastic bead art. For the record, Gage did help. See our creations here. Here are a few of the photos taken when we did make it outside. Enjoy!



I just realized that I don't have any of Trevor or Boston. I guess they were off having fun and I only took pictures of those that were in my vacinity. I was too tired to wonder and find the others. Sad, but true. I guess I didn't dress Gage either because I think these were taken in the evening. I am sure that I was in my pj's as well!

Polar Bear of Soap

For scouts you have to learn to carve and one of the achevments you had to do is carve a bear (beacse i'm a bear in cub scouts)out of soap.So as you can see I did it today and well somthing happend.Mom was taking a nap andshe got mallory and was drowsey.At this time boston has stared baseball and his glove was hard to squeeze.It turns out that my grampa had glove oil.So we went there.I guss mallory was taller than I expected got into and well... she took a bite of his leg when mom wasent looking and she cried and throgh up.But at least you got to see it befor that :)

Constant Sweeping

Nah, there's no house work going on here. It's just a constant barrette sweep that's happening. Mallory has so many barrettes and bows, but continually swipes her hair to make sure that they are not in. Once in a blue moon (like Friday) she left a clip in all day - must not have felt it. Oh well, I still try.

Signs of Spring