SHHH!

So RD and I had decided a few years ago to be honest with the kids about the big guy in the red suit. We decided to do the normal traditions for Christmas, but if the kids came to us and asked a direct question, we would tell the truth. ID asked a couple of years ago. It was not easy but we of course told him . We also gave him strict instructions to not tell any of his friends because their parents may not want them to know. He still struggles to understand why parents would want to teach their kids about the big guy. (Of course he just recently put together that the tooth fairy is not real!) He tells us that it is very hard to not tell and has admitted to telling maybe a kid or two. But he has for the most part been very diligent in keeping quiet.
Now AD is another story! (is it because she is a girl or just forgetful?)She has still believed in him--until yesterday. Apparently yesterday they had a bit of a discussion about SC in class . So she came home and asked the big question. I reluctantly broke her heart and stressed that we don't tell other kids. She must have stopped listening to me before I said the latter part. Today around 9:00am I received a call from her teacher. Mrs. S was very cordial and said that she just wanted to let me know what had happened. Apparently the conversation from yesterday continued and AD had some new info to share- "My mom says there is no such thing as SC!" Apparently mayhem broke out after that. Imagine 19 five year olds hearing that news all at once! I believe Mrs. S handled it appropriately. I'm not sure what she said to them, but she did reassure them. I'm not sure what kind of backlash this will create for me- I am the room mother and have just started planning the class Christmas party! I guess only time will tell. AD was very upset, I guess because kids weren't believing her. Mrs. S said she is doing better now. I must apologize to any parents who have explaining or patch up work to do! I am truly sorry! Maybe now she will remember to keep secrets!

Irony

I think it is quite ironic that the first post I publish since I renamed my blog to leaky faucet would be all about my leaky tub. I guess it was ment to be. We discovered a major leak in our tub/house a week ago while my sister was bathing her children. Remodeling the bathroom was actually the first project we wanted to tackle when we moved in 8 1/2 years ago-alas has never happened -till now. Since our wonderful brother-in-law Adam (master of remodeling) was in town we thought it was now or never. So this is our progress. I am excited to have it finished -somtime this decade.

This is the old leaky bathroom

Removing the old heavy tub. Demolishun was definately the funnest part! I wish I had more pics of this.

Foot through the floor

This was probalby the original wall paper. It was on wall that

had been covered by another piece of dry wall. Can you say- hideous! I had hoped to find a million dollars stuck in the wall but this is all we found!




Before grout





Almost there!

I think Sam approves

Just some Pics

Just some random pics of the kids and the recent family get together

AD playing on PBS kids.org

He will be 4 months on groundhog's day!

Playing with Grandma D

Grandma M left a surprise in our freezer when

she left. JD, aka: soda-aholic, of course found it and this is what

happened when he opened it. Thank goodness he was at

the table!

Blessing day! Oh so cute-SD looks pretty cute too!

I just love this pic-my brother the oh so happy husband oblivious to

family in chaos!

I can't decide which one of the following

I like the best.

"Dish'n" it out

You know how you spend the first few years of your marriage gatheringhousehold items, particularly kitchen stuff? Why do we buy so many glass things, especially when we plan to have kids. The following image is a good example of why we should buy plastic. The boys have had the chore of unloading the dishwasher for a while now. They do a pretty good job, especially considering they're boys. But they do tend to put things away in the wrong place at times. (This is where patience on my part has to come in everyday!) Many times my larger serving bowls (a bowl that is 3x the serving size of a regular cereal bowl) will be put away on top of the smaller cereal bowls, they are bowls after all. This is precisly what happened here. I opened the cabinet, got a plate, closed the cabinet, and a few short seconds later this serving bowl came flying out of the cabinet, bounced off the counter, hit the table, and finally shattered on the floor. It was the most impressive shattered glass I have yet to see! Of course I was standing right there bare foot. RD was across the kitchen and was hit by shards of the bowl. I was just observing today how few matching glasses I have in my cubburd since the kids have been using them! The pictures really do little justice to the actual scene.

We were finishing dinner the other day and JD exclaimed-"there's

a dinosaur in your cup!" Sure enough the left over foam from RD's

root beer had a skeletal look of a T-Rex skull. The kids were super impressed. It was

sadly washed away seconds later.

We had to document it, no one would believe us.

Some things we've been do'in

We have recently discovered a game the kids are crazy about.

Niether RD or I can play it worth a darn!

JD with his incredible flexability wins every time!

A recent trip to Lone Elk Park.


We went to the Science Center (after a few children begged) the
day after Thanksgiving. We got to meet a real astronaut, Robert Behnken.
He went into space last March and spent a few weeks on the Space Station. RD
and I were more impresses than the kids. Maybe one day they will
appriciate it. ID told me he never wants to go into space because you can blow up when
taking off. I guess that was one story I should not have told him about.
We were so proud of JD, this is the first time in the many
years we have come here
that he was not afraid of the dinosaurs! He was quite proud of himself too.
He insisted on having our picture taken.
When I asked why he was afraid before. He said, "I was too little, now I'm not!"

Hallelujah- Halloween is over!

After a new baby, too many parties and way too much candy(which is already gone) we are happy to say that Halloween is over!

(I have no idea why it is all underlined! Can't seem to change it either.)

This is was our "haunted hallway". JD wanted us to do this. My mom was here waiting for SD to arrive and she did most of it. This is consequently one of the last things I was doing before I went to the hospital to have SD. It was much more impressive in person! ID and the cat had to pose for the pic.

JD as Optimus Prime.He was quite disappointed that he couldn't actually transform.

Maybe next year, I will be supermom and find a way to make that possible!

AD as Wonder Woman. I had no idea she knew who wonder woman

is. But once she saw the costume, she would have

no other. She wore the suit on and off for many days. I once asked her while she was wearing it to throw away a dirty diaper and she said, "I will throw it away because that is what superhero's do and I'm a good superhero!"

ID as a pterodactyl! He was a good sport and settled for this costume. He originally

wanted to be a scary pumpkin with long terrifying vines and a mean face. He was very understanding that mom was a little preoccupied this year.

Warning! The following images are not for the faint of heart!!!

AD has finally discovered the scissors (more like the butcher knife)! It was my first night alone with all four and it was a memorable one! RD went off to school and I went to work with homework, dinner, and bedtime. JD had a fever of 102.7 so I had him soak in the tub while the kids and I ate. (Luckily my wonderful friend Kelly had brought me dinner so I atleast didn't have to fix it!) Then I did homework with ID. I sent JD to bed and banished AD to the basement to watch TV till we were done. This usually is not a problem. SD was of course awake and hungry by now. After homework I called AD up and sent her and ID to get ready for bed. Meanwhile I made a phone call. AD popped out of her room, all smiles and so innocent wanting me to see her self "improvements." Needless to say I was struck dumb and could not continue the conversation on the phone. I did good- I didn't yell or get upset, I casually laughed. She assures me that it will grow long again and apparently that is why she did it. I still do not have a clear explaination to why she wanted to give herself a mullet. She was quickly sent to bed so I would not have a melt down. RD got home after school and found the pile I had rescued from the trash on the table before I could warn him. He actually took it worse then I did! He is quite saddened. I think when she wakes in the morning it will hit me pretty good. Not sure what we will do about it yet. I'll take suggegtions. She has deffinatly outdone me, I only cut my barbies hair and my own bangs off once or twice, not my beautiful curlly locks!

She left the back alone but you can see it shorter on your right hand side. The top is almost all gone
She actually thinks she is posing so we can see her good job
This is almost a layered look
I retrieved this from the trash

Our final addition!

Meet Samuel Alexander! Sorry it took sooooo long to get the pics to you all. I'm a bit sleep deprived and have a bit of a head cold. These two drags do not mix well (You can ask Frank)! Otherwise we are doing well! For those who have not heard yet, SD joined us last Thursday, Oct 2 at 7:43 p.m. Weighing in at 7lbs even and 20 ins. My water apparently broke at 5:30 p.m. and the hard contractions started very soon afterwards. Frank was working to 6 that night so I called him at 5:59 to see where he was. We had actually planned to go out that night since my mom was in town. I told him I think we have a change of plans and that he should get home as fast as he can. By the time he pulled up at 6:05 the contractions were pretty intense. He changed and we ran out the door. My friend Kathe was a lifesaver and showed up to take the kids. Mom (major lifesaver!) finished making them dinner and then came to the hospital too. We got to the hospital in about 20 minutes, though it was one of the longest rides of my life. Then SD arrived about 1 hour and 13 minutes later. The nurses said they were excited to see a mom arrive that was really in hard labor. Yah I was a wimp and had the drugs anyway. I really enjoy the experience much more that way. He is healthy and besides being a little piggy is happy. So here are some pics. I tried to get them in a slide show but have yet to figure out how to set one up. I would add more but the piggy is squealing!

Proud bro and big sis

Check out the hair!

Am I really that funny looking?