Logen's Soccer Season

I'm so proud of Logen this year, in soccer...he did such an awsome job! He averaged about 4 goals a game and seems to be falling into the "forward" soccer position. His coach and team have come to rely on him to get the ball away from the other team and take it down to score. Although he has missed a few balls coming his way while flashing us his dimpled little smile, his confidence level is gradually improving...with the help of soccer and school. We are so lucky to have Logen in our family and hope he knows how much we love and adore him! WE LOVE YOU LOGEN! (Below is his very first goal...he's in yellow)

Pumpkin Carving

Halloween isn't my most favorite holiday of the year, but it seems to be a hit with my kids. I'll take a shot and guess the candy has a lot to do with it! I do have some good memories of Halloween though. Like the costume parades at school where my mom came to help, and the kick I got out of finding my dad in the crowd. And eating chili and bread sticks every Halloween before going trick or treating with my dad...too bad my kids don't like chili! Although Bob thinks I make way too much of holidays (which I don't), I hope that my kids get as good of memories that I have. I hope Bob knows how grateful I am to him for being willing to please me and go along with my holiday festivities which (hopefully) give our kids such great memories. And although he doesn't hide in trees to catch the punks who take and smash our pumpkins against our mailbox, like my dad did :), I know that he is making just as good of memories for our kids by humoring me and taking part of these fun holiday traditions. I'm grateful for my dad and mom and all the good memories they've created for me. As my kids get older, I'm beginning to find out how much work they really did around the holidays to make them so fun! So, when I'm up late picking up pumpkin seeds and guts off the floor and baking salted seeds (that they wanted, but will never eat), I will continue to tell myself that it's all worth it...I know it is, by the pictures and memories.

2008 slide show

Sawyer's rough day

Thursday, October 16Th, began as a nice, UEA break day. It was warm and sunny outside and since I was able to straighten up the house and get a couple loads of laundry done, I decided to give in to my kids' pleads to play outside. Logen helped me cut back the daisy bushes...me, with scissors and he, with his pocket knife. We even were able to pull some weeds out, too, by the time Sawyer found Logen's golf clubs and balls in the garage. Being the good big brother he is, Logen decided he needed to show Sawyer how a correct swing was done. I can't tell you how many times we have told Logen to make sure there is no one around before he swings a golf club, and why should now be the time for him to actually listen? Of course, he didn't and as I bent down to pick up some weeds, I heard Logen swing the club...and then heard a dull thud. I quickly turned around and saw/heard Sawyer on the ground screaming...about 2 feet away from Logen's horror struck face. Within seconds, Sawyers left cheek began to swell and ooze blood. I, of course, panicked and swooped Sawyer up and rushed him inside to examine him closer. It looked horrible! I was certain he had a broken cheek bone!

I would like to say that I calmly called Bob to see if he was available to come home and give me a second opinion of what to do, but I didn't... I called him in a full blown panic and demanded he get home as fast as he could!! (Good thing he works 5 minutes away). I tried to put ice on it...but Sawyer would have none of that, and I was trying to calm him down, not irritate him more. By the time Bob got home, I had calmed down a little and noticed Logen standing in the background with tears in his eyes. He is so tender hearted and I knew that he didn't mean to hurt his little brother. I told Logen that it was okay...I know he didn't mean to hurt Sawyer, but that he needs to remember to make sure no one is around when he swings. He nodded and moved a little closer and kept saying over and over "I'm sorry Sawyer!". Bob confirmed my decision to take Sawyer to the ER, although he couldn't go with me because he had a meeting to go to. I am so thankful to have my sisters live so close!! So, Tamie went with us to Alta View Hospital's ER. They x-rayed his cheek and checked him out and found out that he didn't break or crack anything...thank goodness! One child's surgery is more than enough...I don't think I could handle another one! As we were about to leave, the paramedic/fire men showed up with their fire engine and even let Sawyer sit in the driver's seat and honk the horn. If his poor little face hadn't been so swollen, he would have had a smile from ear to ear. With a couple of new stuffed animals (one from the hospital and one from the paramedics) and a fist full of suckers, we headed home. And by the time we got home, the IBprofin had kicked in and Sawyer was back to normal...well, almost. He couldn't talk very well with his swollen face or suck on his suckers very well. But that could have been from the big sore in his mouth he got 2 days earlier from, you guessed it...Logen, goofing off and shoving him, smacking his head/face into the bedroom door frame. I swear, Logen tries so hard, but trouble and accidents always seem to find him! Don't get me wrong, Logen is a wonderful kid with a big heart, and I love him dearly... but sometimes I think he's cursed or something! Anyway, Sawyer is doing much better now! I'm sure it won't be long before another accident comes...not counting the bike crash he had yesterday. I do love my boys to pieces and am grateful nothing more serious happened!!

Jessica

Jessica seems to be growing up waaaaay too fast! She'll be 9 in 2 months, but I swear she was just born! Lately she's been in to my earrings and necklaces, pleading with me to wear them. One evening as I was taking my contacts out in my bathroom, and she came in and asked if she could wear some of my earrings. First of all, she was so cute in asking me which one's would look the cutest on her. Secondly, (she's gonna kill me for writing this!) I smelled body odor. At first I thought "is that me?!", then realized it was coming from her! My little girl needs deodorant! She's growing up...NOOOO!!! What happened to my little girl who used to dance and sing on the coffee table?!... actually she still does that, but now I yell at her for it because she's big enough to scratch or break it. I'm happy and sad at the same time because it's so much fun to see her grow, yet sad to realize she's not my little baby anymore. And that also means I'm getting old. Being the only girls in family, I hope we will always be as close as we are right now. And I hope she continues to feel comfortable enough to come to me for anything and everything. She's also doing great in school. Her teacher told me at parent-teacher conference, that she's starting to open up and talk & participate more in class. That's just funny to me, because we can't get her to shut up at home! But I so relate...I don't think I ever talked in school until I was in the 6th grade! She's actually doing tons better than me! And other than that little incident at school when some little brat (just kidding, I'm sure she's a nice little girl, maybe) hit Jessi on her pacemaker... which made her dizzy, she's doing fine...health wise. Her next check up with her cardiologist is next month, ugh. Her teacher also told us that she needs to work on her math, but is doing great in reading and language arts...again, just like me (not to brag or anything). All around, Jessica is such an enjoyment. Even her little tantrums are quite humorous...she breaks down into tears like it's the end of the world, instead of screaming and throwing things like the boys do. And her self choreographed dance moves are both humorously entertaining and yet shockingly good. I hope she keeps her love for life and self confidence as she continues to grow older. I love her so much!!!

Mischievous Logen

A few days ago, I found a trail of some kind of white substance on the kitchen floor that led to the back sliding door and onto the back porch. Seeing that it happened while Jessi was at school and Sawyer was taking a nap, I questioned Logen about. At first he said he knew nothing about it and even displayed an amazing talent of acting (for a six year old) by seeming to be grossed out and stumped about it. Bob said it looked like mud, so Logen quickly picked that idea up and said, "yeah, it's mud". But having the experience I have of mopping up mud on the floor, I knew it wasn't mud, yet couldn't figure out quite what it was. But trying to identify it wasn't as important as finding out why and how it got there. So again, I questioned Logen about it. He told me that he was playing with mud outside. I scolded him for lying to me first of all, and then made him clean it up. I thought the matter was closed until the next day I found our old/broken salt shaker out on the counter with water and salt mixed in it. Ah ha! That's what the white substance was! (I knew it wasn't mud!) So again, I questioned Logen about it and this time he told me the truth (but not all of it, as we will find out later), that he got into the salt and was making potions with it. The fact that he lied AGAIN to me upset me more than him ruining the salt! So, he got a talking too and lost his pocket knife for a day. Again, I thought that was the end of it, until today when I fixed myself a hard boiled egg and put what I thought was salt on it. I could smell onion somewhere, but assumed Bob had cooked something with seasoning or something. So then I take a bite of my salted hard boiled egg, but something didn't taste right. Then I discovered where the onion smell was coming from... onion salt...on my egg. And yet again I questioned Logen... "Did you pour onion salt into the salt shaker?!" He just gave me that little dimpled grin of his that tells me he know that he's in trouble... the one that melts my heart. Enough said. He knew what he did was wrong, (that grin of his saved his ears and my voice) and I calmly told him he lost his pocket knife again for another day. That better have upset him as much as my onion breath upset me...for the whole day. On to the next adventure with him... I'm sure it will be soon!

Changing seasons...you gotta love them!

I can't believe it's already October! I'm not complaining though...I love this time of year. Despite the fact that I still need to trim the flower bushes back, sweep the porch, or get the shoe off the roof (thrown during a temper tantrum), I love the beauty of this season and really need to start enjoying it. Just like I need to sit back and enjoy my beautiful growing children in their "seasons" rather than be so hard on them. Those moments that, at the time, make me want to pull my hair out, soon become the moments that keep me up at night laughing. And I need to learn to enjoy them and correct them calmly rather than let them drive me slowly insane. And realize that just because there's Popsicle juice stained on the carpets, or boogers running down faces, or mixed-matched clothes on with high-heeled boots, it doesn't mean I'm not a good mom. Keeping up appearances is just not worth the work, or my sanity! Life is just too short to not enjoy!

Speaking of that... The other day an hour after I took the kids to school, dropped Sawyer off at pre-school, and put Gavin down for a nap, the door bell rang. Much to my surprise, it was Sawyer...all alone! A million things went through my head... where did he come from?! Did his teacher know where he was?! How did he get here?! Why was he all alone?! Come to find out, he told his teacher he had to go potty, but instead of using the toilet, he decided to ditch pre-school and walk home, alone...three streets away. He now knows (I hope) that he cannot go anywhere alone or without telling an adult where he is going, at least he did a few days ago. Who knows what goes through his little three year old brain?!

Would it surprise you to know that I have a kid who talks too much at school? It did me! Logen got his mid-term progress report and his teacher said he talks during instructions, although she's happy to see that he makes friends so easily. I'm glad she finds the good in it! I thought that was one area in school that I wouldn't have a problem in with my kids... with Jessi's melt downs in class because she was too shy to ask for help with anything, I thought "woo-hoo!", at least my kids won't be one of those disruptive brats! Makes me wonder what I'm in store for with Sawyer and Gavin. Although after Sawyer's little disappearing act the other day, I probably have a good idea! Ah, but yes... I've got to enjoy these moments and not help but love my kids for them!