Looking back on 2008....

What a year it was. It was full of ups and downs BUT the good thing is, we made it through and are much better for it.

Looking back, we are blessed with our health, and especially our kids health. And in this tough economy, we are both blessed with stable employment (thank goodness for education!).

I am especially thankful for my boys, all three of them! DH is a wonderful, kind, generous guy, I was truly blessed when I found him (although I call him my third kid, he really can be mature, he just has fun with life, which is good for the boys!). He will cook, clean, do laundry (even though he thinks washing, drying and throwing it in a pile on the floor is completing the task!), takes care of the outside work, watches the boys without hesitation so I can go shopping without kids, he will shop for groceries, he can maintain the cars and is an all around Mr. Fixit, I don't think there is anything he can't do or fix.

My two kids, WOW. They, on a daily basis, amaze me. I get lots of cuddles, kisses, and "I LOVE YOU, MAMA." They can play very well together and I love watching the bond they have. While shopping, they love to hold hands. This is Max's way of keeping his brother safe!

Max is very protective of me, he doesn't want me to disappoint me, he has a very kind heart and good spirit. He lets his brother punch and kick on him and just says, "stop." He loves to clean and be a helper. He is an awesome reader, he took to that really quick. He wants to please everyone. I can still remember the day he was born, the dr had to pat his rear a couple times before it made him mad enough to cry! That's pretty much been his temperament since.

Todd, well, love the little ALL BOY aspect of him. He is afraid of nothing. He is very protective of me and gets very upset if he sees anyone giving me hugs. As he says, "Mama, you are the love of me!" He is definitely more of a cuddler than Max, he loves to "cuddle hugs" on the couch and takes a while to tire of just being there with me. He has a very good heart and is thoughtful of his friends. Being all boy, he tends to forget to listen A LOT! He loves to wrestle with his brother and dad, LOVES to run, and play in the sand. When Todd was born, he came out SCREAMING, he was mad, MAD I tell you! He didn't want out that place he was comfortable in. His temperament has been the same as well, he isn't afraid to tell you what he thinks and angers very easily.

So as we go into 2009, I pray that the health of all of us continue, we grow more as a family, and the boys continue growing that bond between them.

Shopping with a 7 Year Old

I have said this before, and I forgot it obviously, so maybe if I repeat it, I will remember it - DO NOT SHOP WITH A SEVEN YEAR OLD, really, ever, don't. I was heading out to pick up dh's Christmas present and a few odd and ends and wanted to take the 4 year old, he is a better shopper, but he emphatically told me he was shopping with daddy. Ok, so I bribed the seven year old to go with me, we would go to Build A Bear if he came with me. Fine, he guessed he would go.

We were headed to the mall to only go to four stores, all within the same area. We didn't have to wonder from one end to the other. We start at JC Penny's, from there went downstairs to Christopher & Banks, Disney Store (boy is daddy going to be happy with the Christmas pj's this year, but that's a whole other post!), Build A Bear and then out of the mall to WalMart. Before we had made it out of JC Penny's the whole "I am tired, how long, how many things are we getting" started. We trek on and four bags later and two build a bears, we are leaving the mall when we walked by the box lady. I stopped because who can wrap a pair of jeans without a box, well, it's certainly not me. This is where I just about lost the last nerve I had woke up with. This is how it went "MOM, how long are we going to be here. I am tired, my back hurts, my legs will break if I walk another inch, I swear mom they will, my back OH MY BACK, I am dehydrated, I want to go home, I can't walk to the van, how long is this slow lady going to take, MOM MY BACK HURTS, my arms are cold, it's hot in here, I want to go home. I know dad is already home and Todd is playing the game. Great, my back hurts, I want to be done with this mall."

The poor girl, I think, she felt sorry for me. I was going to ask her if I could leave him there to help hand out boxes but I don't think she could be very patient with him and somebody would be in jail for taping his mouth shut! Anyway, we make it to the van and I assured him that what he was doing was being plain lazy. We didn't really do that much walking and maybe he needed to do more exercising if he was exhausted after that short jaunt. He then says, "I already exercised enough, I walked around that mall, that was more than enough." I told him I had to do shopping all the time, did he hear me complain? I do this several times a week and if I didn't, there would be no presents under the tree for him.

When the poor boy found out we were going to WalMart next, I nipped the poor pitiful shopper in the bud. I informed him that he would go in with me, he would be HAPPY and be the best shopper ever OR he would not play his video game AT ALL, he would be working out so he could build some endurance to be able to do a little shopping at a time. May I just say, I had the best shopper EVER with me?!! We must have went from one end of the store to the other at least four times and he never got tired or complained! Mind over matter, mom will ALWAYS win!

First time for stitches

Well, for Todd at least! He is such a rough and tough boy, I am truly surprised this is the first time for stitches. He was at school and was in line waiting to go somewhere, and he tripped and hit something (he knows, I know he does, he just isn't sharing!). I was in the manager's office downloading pictures from the Christmas Program when I heard her say, "His mom is in here, we will be right there." I turned, looking for another parent, and sure enough, I was alone! She said Todd had cut his chin.

We go in there, and sure enough, a pretty good split in the chin. We go to have it looked at by a nurse to see if it needed stitches and yes, he needed to have it looked at by a doctor. Todd was more concerned about missing his party than what was going on with his chin! Daddy took him to the doctor and would only say, "Wow, I got weak in the knees." I knew I should have gone with him but I truly had too much work to get done (I was on hold with the dr's office and working on the deposits so I could leave immediately if needed) and all dad's need to experience those things, right?

They both faired ok, Todd came back with a slushy for being so brave and showed off his battle damage to all his friends! He is doing really good but insists he has to sleep with brother because he is afraid of the monsters the doctor stitched in his chin!

Happy Birthday, baby boy

It is so nice to have a birthday in November and still have nice weather where they can play outside and burn energy. For the second year in a row, we rented a bounce house for the party.

Todd was very adament that I was not to be in the bounce house. After some talking to, he saw things my way and I could be in there if I wanted to!! I love it when they can see clearly!

Todd had a great time at his party and was very excited about every present. The most important one was a skateboard. You see, in his now 4 year old mind, this is what he wanted so he could hang on the the side of the van and ride his skateboard to his school. I asked him why he wanted to do that and he said "Because that's how skateboards work!" I asked him where he should ride a skateboard (thinking maybe he wanted a bike and was confuded) and he said "On the street holding onto the van, with one foot on the board and one on the ground pushing." Ok, think he has it figured out. He also told me that we had to go to Lowe's to make said skateboard.

I was very relieved when we left for school the next morning that there was no mention of riding the skateboard to school because a fit was sure to follow when he was told no! All in all, he had an awesome birthday. He can't wait until he turns five because brubber (brother) will then turn three so he will be the little brother (again, it's all in how his little mind works!)

Happy Birthday, Todd. You are all boy but you love to have cuddle hugs with mama :) You are very protective of me and your brother. Your eyes light up everyday when I come pick you up and I know that you will run with arms stretched to give me a hug. You are strong and very inquisitive. You love playing monster with Daddy and racing cars and wheel barrow rides in the backyard. Thank you Todd for being you, mama's sweet baby boy!

He's cute BUT...

So on the way home today, Todd decides he wants the spiderman game for the Playstation 2. I tell him when we get home he needs to ask Daddy to get the Playstation 2 out of the garage. He gets all excited at the possibility of this and asks if I will buy the game now! I tell him maybe for his birthday, now he's even more excited.

We carry on the conversation about this and he keeps calling it "station 1" and I keep correcting him "playstation 2". This goes on a few more times, then Todd tells me "You're wasting your breath mama, you need to stop." Ummmm....did a three year old really just say that? So, he looks cute, right? He gets by on his looks (well, and all the cuddles and kisses and I love yous and....)

A mom and son moment

It seems just like yesterday you were born. Where have the past 7 1/2 years gone? You, son, are a true blessing. You are growing into quite the little man. You love to be a gentleman when we are out by opening the doors for me, both the car and store doors. You love to sneak a hug and kiss, so long as no one is looking! You love the Saturday morning cuddles on the couch, even though it makes your little brother jealous! This was the highlight of your day:

Helping daddy put bug killer on the lawn. You love to help, whether it's vacuuming the carpet, sweeping the kitchen floor, mopping the kitchen floor or spraying bug killer on the lawn! However, you did tell daddy that this counted as a chore and you thought it was worth a dollar! Then you continued with you would only be able to do this for 30 days, long enough to save for a Nerf Longshot. You certainly have your priorities set! Love you son, thanks for being a good hearted, good spirited and good helper!

CALGON..........

Have you ever had one of those weeks where you said "What else can happen?" WELL.....I am soooooooo there! This all started 2 Saturday's ago, we went to the pumpkin patch and all of a sudden I started feeling terrible pain, which in unusual for me, so I say it's time to go. Pain is gone, but it's in my right side so I ponder and worry "appendicitis". With my high tolerance for pain (go ahead, you don't have to believe me, the dr's don't either, seriously, but I gave birth to 2 kids and felt no labor pains) and being the right side, I tell DH I think we should pull into the Urgent Care Center. Well, HA!, that's a joke. The dr says "think you might have a kidney infection or kidney stone." Sends me out with a script to fill, a strainer to "catch" the "possible" stone, follow up on Monday for a CT.

We head to Target to fill script, pharmacy is closed. No problem, head to Walgreens (home of the 24 hr pharmacies right!) CLOSED because they had no Pharmacist on staff - WHHAT?. Head to WalMart, pharmacy, closes in 5 minutes, to late to fill a script. UGH, DH says "ever feel like this wasn't meant to be?" Um, YES! I take them home, it's past bedtimes, and head for another Walgreens, who thankfully was staffed with a pharmacist AND got the script filled in record time for them, 15 minutes!

On to Monday, call my regular dr, get an appt. She agrees with the Urgent Care Dr, they will set up a ct scan, stat mind you, and I had it THURSDAY! Some fubars on the dr office part, a lot of persistence on my part, calling the insurance company and staying on top of it. Oh, and mind you, during this "waiting" I am not eating breakfast or lunch until late, around 3 when I decide it's not happening that day, or drinking POP, all of that equals an irritable person!! Anyhow, I go for the ct scan (turns out it's without dye so them telling me not to eat or drink was POINTLESS) and go on.

Monday (it's now been a week!) the dr's office calls with the results - sure enough, kidney stone on the right kidney. They are referring to a urologist, who might set up another ct scan, this time with dye (contrast). Umkay, thanks, that's another $100! Go to the urologist on Tuesday - WOW is all I can say! I walked out with my head spinning and more confused than when I went in. I felt like the dr had Alzheimer's or was thinking out loud and only hearing what he could when he wasn't thinking! So when he walks in, he asks where I hurt. I point to the upper right part of my back and smarty says "Well, that's funny you hurt there, that's not where your kidney is." To which I say, "That's where it hurts, don't really know where the kidney is, don't care, that's where I hurt!" To which he came right back "Well, your kidney on the right side is in your pelvic area." OK, and I am guessing it's not suppose to live there, right?! He asked when I had my surgery did the dr tell me that my kidney was down there, no not really, didn't think to ask that!!

So we go on to talk about other things, well I was talking, not sure what he found so interesting in that paperwork, and I asked about always having to go to the bathroom. Mr. Cool says "Well, has your bladder moved?" "Well, if it did, it didn't leave a forwarding address; so I don't know if it went North, South, East or West, BUT it could still be right where it's suppose to be!" Hmm...he asks if they did bladder repair, nope. "Hmm....surprises me," he says. Ok, well, I get an exam to see if it's moved - FUN. Do I know if it's moved, NOPE, but the medical assistant knows my right kidney is hanging out in my pelvic area!

So, with a kidney stone on the right kidney (which is hanging out in my pelvic area) there also seems to be 2 kidney stones on the left side that "might" be blocking the urethra tube, they will set me up with a ct scan w/ contrast so he can see more. I really think he just likes to see things in color, after all, black and white gets pretty boring! So, out I go, confused and well, dumbfounded.

Tuesday night, I am sitting on the couch and my palm starts itching. I think, hmm, weird, wonder which one means I am giving or receiving money! Then, my head starts itching, then my arm. I give up and go to bed. Well, about 1 am I am up, miserably itching like crazy, goes on for hours, I go back to bed. Wednesday, well it only gets worse, and on Thursday morning, I am in tears it is sooooooo miserable. The kids are out for fall break, Max has a dentist appt so off we go at 7:50 am. I bribe the kids telling them if they are good we can go somewhere special after the dentist. Both do amazingly well, so we go to IHOP to eat! Well, I start feeling the need to itch BADLY while in IHOP (I think it put my senses on sugar overload!) and I am sure I looked like a freak trying not to itch. I would tilt my head to the side and rub, ok, now the other side, oh now the back itches, so I rub on the booth, now my foot, so I take off the shoe and rub on the floor, GREAT now the top of my head itches. What to do, oh well, people will just think I am a freak with head lice! We get out of there, come home and call the dr. Thankfully she can see me in an hour, I might have skin left in that short amount of time!! Go there, both kids in tow, bribing them again, this time its a drive thru car wash!. HIVES, but no, I of course can't have "normal" hives, NO, it looks like a rash until you scratch and it raises the skin. Well, special! I get a steroid shot (in the hip) both kids laugh because I have to pull down the pants, get stuck and get a bugs bunny band-aid. Max says, "Did it hurt Mom?" I tell him no, then he says "Then why did you move when she stuck you?" Always on top of things that kid is! I say because she snuck up on me when I wasn't ready! So now we go off to get the car washed and fill another script. I am SO ready for this to be over!

To summarize, I have a total of 3 kidney stones, a swollen left kidney, hives, a kidney in the pelvic area and still have no noticeable pain. I think that's why the drs don't really get in a hurry! They look at me and think "HA! Pain, don't think so!" Nice, I love the pain tolerance I have (thanks mom and dad!) but sometimes it can be a pain in the rear!! I think I am looking up an actor's guild to see if I can take some classes on "how to act in pain".

Oh, and what might dh be doing during all this? Glad you asked! Mr. Search A Lot has already been scouting out what terrible things I have. Mr. Glass Half Empty thinks I am going to the hospital ANY DAY now. Mrs. Glass Half Full assured him that I would already be in the hospital if they thought this was life threatening. Mr. I Have My Mind Made Up isn't buying that story. So, daily I assure him I am ok, as I scratch my head like crazy, itch the dickens out of my legs, twitch my head from side to side - I REALLY AM OK!!

Changing Rooms

With Mr. Fall blowing into town, it was time to buy jeans for the 7 year old. He is in an awkward stage, very tall and it's hard to get jeans that fit him in both waist and length. I simply had to take him shopping with me so he could try on the jeans. I HATE changing rooms, I will not try on clothes when I am out. I won't even get started on the people watching me (it's probably all in my head, it's full of weird things!)

So, off to Kohl's we go. I pick out two sizes of jeans, send him in to try them on. I hear this MOOOOOOOOM so I walk to the doorway and he's not in the same stall he started in. I say what and he pops out of the end stall, laughing at his prank! He says they are too long (only by 3 inches!!!) so I tell him to try on the other. We go through the same thing as before, he starts in one and winds up in another. He had clothes in every dressing room in there. I finally gave him the same size he was wearing last winter and I hear MOOOOOOM these are really tight. I walk over and the boy has put the jeans on BACKWARDS and not only that, he has buttoned and zipped them. All I could do was laugh. Poor fella! I explanied they were on backwards and told Mr. Clown to turn them around and see if that helped him any! Finally, score, we have jeans for Mr. Fall and Winter and thank goodness there was no one else trying on clothes that night, that would've been hard to explain!

Mr. Room changer probably just gave me another reason not to try on clothes, you never know what might slide by you!

NOT a morning person

Definitely, without a doubt, not a morning person!! I think my brain may kick in and start thinking the right way about 9 am (seriously, ask people around me!).

This morning I had to stop and get gas before work, I like pushing it to see just how far I can make it with the light on!! As I pulled into QuikTrip, the three year old says he wants to go in and get a cheese stick. I say yes we can hurry in there and get that while the gas is pumping (when you let it go that far it takes a long time and raises your blood pressure when you see just how much it cost!). I flip the button to open the gas door and unlock the doors and push the button to open Todd’s door, we are in a hurry so I told him to get out of the cars eat while I get the pump ready. WELL……..seems easy enough right? HA!

The gas door is on the side that I opened the door and, do you know where this is going? The door is covering the gas door and I can’t get to it so I can pump the gas. OH NO, my heart is sinking as I am trying to think (bad at this hour of the morning) and figure out what the heck I am going to do? I try to shut the door and all it does is beep at me, so I try to make it go all the way back, it beeps at me again. FINE, you want to play hardball, I’ll play with you. I try again to make it close and then it gets mad at me and all its doing now is one LOUD continuous beep. I try to slide my hand between the door and the side of the van, no luck. Hmmm……I can’t call DH because his hands are much bigger than mine, AAA will probably laugh themselves silly, I look around at the gas pumps trying to find someone that may be able to help. NO LUCK…think, think, you can do this. Ok, I need a ruler, it’s thin and long so I should be able to slide it where I need to BUT who carries a ruler in their car? (I will be after today). I am beyond frustrated now and grab the door and slide it back as far as it possibly can go, hold it and cram my hand in between the door and the gas door and bingo, I got it to shut. My hand is a little sore and I am not sure what kind of damage it may have done to the leather on the inside of the door, I figure if I don’t look, there will be no damage thus all is well!

So, finally, I start the gas pumping all the time telling myself and reassuring myself that at that moment, that had to be one of the stupidest things I have done. WHY on earth did I not think before pushing that button to open the door, well, I know why, it was the hour of the morning!! I think I am going to contact Honda about that, surely that’s a safety hazard and I am not the only moron that has done that.

Yes, he did get his cheese stick and when we walked out, the pump had just finished pumping. I put the nozzle in the gas pump, the 3 year old in his car seat, myself in and took a big, deep breath. Hopefully that will not be a sign of how my day will go!!!! I think I should move to Oregon where all the stations are full service!

Reason #1 not to shop with...

A 3 year old! Went to Lowe's on Sunday looking for bolts for DH to fix the easel (it's only been broken since Christmas, but really, who's counting!). I took the 3 year old (because I am a nice person and forgot why I like to shop without the kids) so that Mr. Clutter could make a path in the garage to the breaker box. There are many reasons why I should not be sent to a hardware store looking for items, the first and foremost one, I haven't a CLUE about screws, bolts or whatever it is you sent me after.

Anyway, in my being confused and trying to figure out what bolt I needed, the 3 year old was in the cart playing with the bins of bolts, I told him to quit and to not put those baggies of bolts in the basket, we didn't need them and they were the wrong size.

Finally, SCORE, I found the right thing just as he says "I need to go to the bathroom" (paybacks I know from when I was little, there wasn't a store that I didn't know where the bathroom was!). Off we go to the bathroom. When we get there I go to grab my purse and as I am doing so, I see many packages of bolts IN MY PURSE, yikes. I panic, I know for sure someone is on there way to nab me for shoplifting. I quickly pull them out of my purse, put them in the cart and very sternly tell the 3 year old just why we don't put stuff in mommy's purse. To which he replies "I was just borrowing them. You told me not to put them in the cart" UUUUUUUUGGH, yes your right BUT you could've made mommy go to jail for stealing. Don't think he fully understood the whole thing but was very upset that those packages of bolts weren't making the trip home with us!

And this is why I don't shop with the kids, especially by myself!! At least with another set of eyes, things like this probably would not happen!

Marriage...according to a 3 year old

Driving home from work the other day, the 3 year old says "Mooooooom" (always a sign that he has something BIG on his mind, something that is bothering him). I say "Yes" and he goes on a ti rate about how one of the girl's in his class told him he was bald, this upset him. He says "I am NOT bald because I'm NOT married and I WON'T ever get married because I don't ever want to be bald". So, according to this 3 year old and his dad (because you know that is where he got the idea), when you get married you go bald!

I assured him that going bald had nothing to do with being married, mommy wasn't bald. He didn't agree and then said "Mom's have long hair, yeah huh, because when they have long hair then they have babies and you have long hair mom, see!" I wonder what else goes on in that mind that is constantly working, you look at him and can see the wheels spinning and occasionally you get the full story with the wheels squealing and the smoke coming from the tires!

Boys and eating

I am one woman surrounded by three boys who LOVE to eat! The kids appetites go in spurts but I can't imagine what it will be like when they are teenagers!

Max is so very thoughtful with just about every meal I cook (and Todd also!). I can almost always count on "Thanks Mom for this awesome meal, it's so wonderful" but he can also be brutally honest and tell you that he "hates" it! While eating dinner tonight, he tells me what an awesome meal it was, what a wonderful cook I am, how thankful he was, where oh where did I learn to cook like that (he should've stopped there) and if I keep it up, I just might be a better cook than the chef at his school! Well, after he got "the look" he quickly, and smartly, starting back peddling and trying to correct his mistake! Smart kid, he must've known he was on the verge of having me on kitchen strike!

I also think they have to be lacking something in their diet, just not sure what it is, probably should google it. T pulled out a bowl of chopped onion and wanted to eat it (while I was cooking dinner), I said no you don't want to just eat raw onion without it being on food, it wasn't an apple. He gave me his "crazy" look and said yahuh I do, fine, enjoy it. He is eating it, hating it, but definately not telling me! In comes M and he must join in on the onion eating festivities, YUCK. I like onion, but it really is not a food to eat all by itself unless it's coated and deep fried! Needless to say, they got to swish mouthwash tonight, they had BAD breath!

Adventures out - kidless!

I am very fortunate to have a dh who is always willing to watch the kiddos so I don't have to drag them with me shopping or to run errands, it just always goes soooo much faster without the kids in tow saying nice things "how many things are you buying?" "when can you get finished" "I want that" "can we go yet" "how many things are you REALLY buying" and on and on, my favorite being the drag your feet on the ground all while crying to leave!! Anyway, with that said, I truly am blessed! I play volleyball on Monday nights and well, I never said the boys (all three of them) don't do "man" things while Mom is gone, but they are safe at home, or are they?!!

This Monday night I come home to boys that were breathing hard in the bed because they heard me pull up and rushed to bed! Busted, you really need to walk FAST, not run, so as to not wind yourself so I am not suspicious!! Anyway, dh tells me to look at the camera, afraid of what he might have taken pictures of (his little 3 year old laugh was making me VERY AFRAID). I see this:

Both boys up on the counter brushing their teeth, safety violation but ok, there is really a better reason why you don't sit your children on the counter to brush their teeth. Take a look at the mirror by T's head, notice the smile on the onery boy's face? Well, that's SPIT on the mirror and he's proud of it! I can only imagine the laughs that occurred between the boys (and when I say boys, dh is included, he is just a big kid!).

Every adventure out for me must be weighed with what I might come home to!

So how do you?

When you are a woman in a house full of boys, many things will surprise you. When our first child was born, we knew early on that his privates would not be referred to by it's real name, so in our wonderful wisdom, "it" became his "equipment". We continued with this when our second was born and they have always referred to it as their "equipment".

I became very confused when we were in the pool the other day and the 3 year old started talking about pirates. This made no sense, there were no pirates in the pool, no one was acting like a pirate so dh and myself just looked on with confusion while trying to figure out the babbling of the "pirates". This was all directed towards his brother but what the heck?

I finally figured it out when he cries out "Brubber is splashing my pirates" and puts his hand in front of his equipment. AH HA (light bulb moment) his pirates are his privates!

On the note of the boys referring to their parts as "equipment" we've had one teacher just about fall out of her chair with laughter when the oldest boy referred to his "equipment". She said she had to turn around in her chair so he couldn't see her laugh! She had never heard "it" referred to as equipment!

The second was the 3 year olds teacher. I warned her at the beginning of the school year (after this taking the oldest son's teacher by surprise) what he calls "it". Today she tells me that they were outside playing and she tells the 3 year old "You need to get off the equipment and leave it alone." She said he looked at her with a very confused look and says "I wasn't doing anything with my equipment". She realized what she had said and corrected herself! She is going to have a fun year trying to avoid using the word "equipment". Sorry, well, not really, I just would absolutely cringe and turn into a horrible nasty monster if the real word ever popped out of their mouth (especially at their ages).

Armpit advancement

So if you have read the "road trip - armpit fart" this story following will make all kinds of sense!! If you haven't, read it first so this makes sense!!

So, the 3 year old has continued to try and master the armpit fart and hasn't. He doesn't look like the crazy chicken with a wing problem anymore, just a boy trying to flap his arms to get some air in the pits! Until.............................dinner time. Ever had the privilege to eat dinner with 3 boys, er, I mean one grown man and his two sons? Come over, it truly is a pleasure!

We were eating dinner and the arm starts flapping. I don't pay much attention to it and just let him get the air he thinks his pits need. Then it all made sense, if you can't make the armpit fart using your arm, you just make the real fart sound while flapping the arm. So, now he has become an official man, can he really do that at 3 years old?, and can fart on command. Just be warned, anytime you are around him and the arm starts flapping, he's going to let a real one rip so be ready to hold your breath! Can't wait to let his cousin know this and see if she can do it as well (I am sure she has already!)

Road Trip - armpit farts

So, this summer my niece graduated from high school in Oregan. We made the journey two years ago with a two van convoy. This year, it was a one van convoy with two adults, myself and my mother, and 5 kids, yes, you read that right 5 kids (not all mine!) ranging in age from 10 to 3 years old. I really meant to call the dr for some prozac to make it through the long days in the car with the kids, did I mention 5?, but really they did very good.

Of these 5 kids, I've mentioned that right?, only one was a girl, although a tomboy at heart, she can be a princess also! Well, it seems somehow the "armpit" farting came about, we've all done it right, come on! You are a really talented "fake" farter if you can do the kneepit fart, what is that?, the kneepit is the crease in the back of your leg. She is a master at this! Really, a master of the armpit fart as well.

The funny thing here, besides 4 kids making fart noises and the giggles that go along with it, was the 3 year old who just couldn't get it! He tried very hard but really just looked like a wild chicken with a wing problem! He couldn't get the "put your hand in your arm pit and push your arm down" so he just walked around flapping his arm and laughing. To us who knew what he was doing, he looked normal, but to everyone else, well, a wild chicken flapping! Maybe he will get the concept down and will become an official armpit farter!!

Ever tried chaning oil???

Let me prefice this by saying that DH has changed his oil MANY times, never having a bit of trouble.....well, until....

Mr. Auto mechanic was having trouble with his oil filter and Mr. Organized wound up buying two different pliers to try and help Mr. Auto Mechanic get the oil filter off. So, when having trouble, Mr. Einstein called the store to see if the experts had any suggestions, they told him to put a screw driver through the filter to try and get it off. Mr. Einstein does and well, doesn’t work. So with the wrench, it still didn’t work and wound up tearing the bottom part of the filter off. Mr. Grumpy Bear comes inside all torked off because Mr. Auto Mechanic couldn’t get the filter off and Mr. Einstein put a hole in the filter so now Mr. Steve couldn’t drive it to WalMart to get it fixed. So he wanted me to call Mike and see if he could tow him there. Well, when you Mike didn’t answer, Mr. Incredible says “Well, I will just push the truck to WalMart”. Mr. Incredible’s nice wife is in the chair looking at him with the “are you really serious” look and trying HARD to control her laughter! Mrs. Brain suggested he utilize AAA as we have that service because of Mr. I lock my keys in the car. Mr. Macho says that’s ridiculous, he’s embarrassed to have to tell them why it needs towed so he will just push it. Well, Mr. Sherlock, you don’t have to tell them ANYTHING, you just simply need a tow. Well, Mrs. Macho asks "If you just need some muscle, I would be more than happy to go get the filter off for you!" Well, Mr. No Sense of Humor didn't find that to funny, wonder why?!!! Well, Mrs. Einstein decides to ask the auto mechanic teacher what to do and with his help, I was able to tell Mr. Auto Mechanic what he needed to solve his problem thus making Mr. Grumpy Bear into Mr. Happy Bear and gave him a sense of worth again.

DH then asks "Does your oil need changed, it does, right?" Ummm....no, thank you though, I am good to go!! The very next day, I begged the Auto Mechanic teacher to change the oil in my car because Mr. Auto Mechanic thought for sure it needed changed, and well, you know, if he thinks it needs done, he will check and we all no where that led to last time!