Rest In Peace

Wow. I am so saddened by the recent loss of life throughout the world. Plane crashes in South America and Greece. Famine in Niger and Africa. War in Iraq, the Stampede. The Gaza Strip Conflict. Louisiana (especially New Orleans), Mississippi and Alabama hit by Katrina. Natural and Manmade disasters everywhere.

You just never know when your time has come. There are constant reminders to live life like each day could be your last. Be thankful for what you have.

I pray for the families that have lost someone recently. I hope everyone can find peace.

It's Only Tuesday

But it seems like it should be Thursday. Technically I am writing this Wednesday morning, but it is really still Tuesday since I haven't gone to bed yet. lol

Well, Kevin and Kyle both had high fevers today. I finally broke down and gave them Tylenol when they were really uncomfortable. Not that I was waiting for them to be miserable, I was waiting for the fever to break. It didn't by 2pm so I gave they meds and it worked. The fevers reduced and then I gave them more before bed so that they could sleep.

But, we tucked them all in and then Kaela started making whiny noises. When I finally brought her downstairs at about 10pm, she had finally gotten a fever. She was her self the entire day and I thought for she was going to be fine, but I was wrong. She is now asleep in our room at the foot of the bed. We have trouble sleeping with her in the bed because she moves around a TON.

With the boys being sick, it made for a long long day. Keith came home right at 6pm and made dinner for us. I got a huge headache trying to deal with the sick boys and the baby (who I pray doesn't get a fever). I called Keith around 2:30 to see if he was going to make it home at a decent hour. Well, he did and for that I was so thankful.

I am up late tonight because I wanted to order groceries. But, there is a problem with the website and now we won't have any milk or bread for tomorrow. Oh well, I guess I have to haul the kids to the grocery store. Maybe I will just buy overpriced milk at Target as I have to go there to buy Kenna more formula. It is worth the extra money not to have to go to two different places.

Arugh, Joann's is having another 50% off the clearance price on fabric and then there is an additional 10% off coupon on your entire purchase. Of course I can't pass this up. But why can't I??? It is a sickness I tell you!

I read The Kite Runner. It was a great book and I finished it in less than a week. Big deal you say? Well, it is a big deal when you have four kids to manage! Anyway, I am sad. I am always sad after a good book draws me in. I always want to know more. How does it go from there? What does the character move on to? I feel like I will never see an old friend again. That's what a good book is to me.

Back to The Kite Runner. I must've cried at least a dozen times. It was a well written story. I hate to write much more about it as I don't want to give anything away. I hate knowing too much about a book or movie that I want to see or read. I want to form my own opinions.

My big disappointment for the evening. Well, a company that I shopped online with through eBay is the fastest growing store on eBay. They are trying to be the first eBayers to get 1 million positive feedbacks. Well, I was so excited that their tally was getting close to 1 million feedbacks. Whoever gives them the 1 millionth positive feedback wins a trip to Hawaii. Well, I had been watching over the last few days and noticed their feedback was getting close to 1 million. Wouldn't you know it, today was getting close to the 1 million mark. So I am gearing up to be the millionth person to leave them feedback. Well wouldn't you know it - I left the 1 millionth feedback for pugster on eBay. I was so excited and I couldn't believe I actually won! Woohoo! Keith and I are going to Hawaii. But, alas. The finer print. They are looking for the 1 millionth positive feedback. I entered the 1 millionth overall feedback (includes neutrals and negatives). Boy was I bummed when Maria pointed it out to me. Keith said he wished that he got me on video how excited I was. Oh well. I will win when the time comes. Maybe I'll write to them and see if the overall millionth feedback is worth anything. But, if it did, it might make me ineligible for the real deal! lol

Okay. It is now past 1am. I should head off. Good night!

Fischer Update

Well, as you can see, I have posted new pictures. What have we been up to?

I got Kevin's school info and he has an assessment with the teacher in the morning. He is going to meet with her (I am assuming the teacher is female) and she is going to evaluate his "strengths and likes". What ever that means! We shall see. Kevin also got his first haircut for school. He looks older. We got his school supplies and of course he picked out a green binder. He is excited about school and is looking forward to meeting new kids.

Kaela has been doing really good with the potty training. Keith just laid into her about how she had to use the potty because we knew that she could do it and had no trouble doing it before. So, that night before bed she asked for underwear and hasn't had to use a Pull-Up since. That was last Monday, or was it Tuesday? When she was in the spa this weekend, she hopped out and used the bathroom upstairs (as opposed to the spa). We thought that was really good.

Kyle is skipping naps more these days and continues to say more and more. Kenna is wearing Mickey Mouse PJs tonight and Kyle exclaimed, "Mickey!" Kyle also knows how to climb right up into hi high chair. It has an extra wide base, so we aren't worried (too much) about it tipping. He climbed right in tonight surprising Keith. I had seen him do it once before. He also just climbs right of out his pack and play in the morning. Good thing Kenna wakes up early too. I don't like Kyle wandering the house while I am asleep. He likes to get into all kinds of things.

Kenna is sitting up. Well, not full straight back, but she sits up by herself if she has her hands out in front of her on the floor. It's a funny sight. But, I remember taking a picture of Kevin like that and that was in October of 2000. Kenna is just a tad more developed than he was. The doc told me she was read to try solids, but honestly, I am not up for trying it yet because that would mean I would have to stop to feed her. The bottle is so much easier and less messy!

Keith's program went Beta. So far everyone seems to like it. It is so exciting. I am so proud.

Julie, Emily and Andrew visited this weekend. It was a nice visit. Kaela adores Emily. Did you know that Emily and Kevin are going to be married someday? Emily has been saying so for a couple of years now. She is exactly 5 months older than him. They play together well and she is a tough chick! She can handle any roughness that Kevin can dish out (which isn't too bad!). Emily takes soccer and karate and is musically inclined. She was in a Stomp band. Kevin wants to play drums, soccer and take karate. They sound like female/male clones. And my goodness are they both the cutest things. They make a cute couple. lol

Keith was brave enough to watch all six kids while Julie and I ran some quick errands. He said they were all really good while we were gone. The kids went into the spa and played for a while.

Well, that's it for now. I am sure I left something out. But, I will try to get back to it soon. Bye!

Kevin Got a Buzz

Kevin Got a Buzz

Kevin got his first preofessional cut today. Keith brought him to place he usually goes to. Kevin did really good and sat still for the Stylist. He wasn't scared at all. I think his haircut makes him look older.

Kaela Smiles

Kaela Smiles

Kaela is so so girlie these days. Her hair is getting really long. Emily was with us this weekend and Kaela wanted to do everything Emily did. Emily brought along some cute hair stuff and Kaela got her hair done quite a few times by Auntie Julie.

Kyle Gets Bored Computerizin'

Kyle Gets Bored Computerizin'

Keith took this picture of Kyle. I was out running errands. Kyle was playing on the computer and decided that he was tired. He just laid down on the chairs and fell asleep.

Kenna and Her Scooter

Kenna and Her Scooter

Kenna has been scooting around in her walker. She can go really fast, especially on the hardwood floors or when we are hanging out in the garage. She can maneuver it pretty well. She can go around corners and around obstacles. She hasn't figured out how to go backwards yet though!

My Hidden Talent

Found a cute little website. Try this one too. These are my results.

Your Hidden Talent

You are both very knowledgeable and creative. You tend to be full of new ideas and potential - big potential. Ideas like yours could change the world, if you build them. As long as you don't stop working on your dreams, you'll get there.

What's Your Hidden Talent?

Linguistics Quiz

Okay, try this. These are my results. (Can you tell I am surfing?)

Your Linguistic Profile:

60% General American English

20% Upper Midwestern

20% Yankee

0% Dixie

0% Midwestern

What Kind of American English Do You Speak?

Okay, More Stuff to Mention

1) Our darn lights are flickering again!

2) Keith is pretty much over the cold that he got from us.

3) Keith was impressed at how well Kyle did while we were out today. He was really easy.

4) Kaela is weepy and having accidents and I am not sure why. We have tried to be really nice to her and talk to her in a soft voice, but she is going through another one of her weepy stages.

5) We bought Lego 50th anniversary buckets (filled with 500 Legos). And each bucket includes a free child's admission to Legoland. The buckets were $9.99, the tickets are $37.95. Quite a bargain!

6) I have signed up to become a Stampin' Up! Demonstrator. "Finally" is the comment I have been getting.

7) Kenna is drooling like crazy, but still no teeth.

8) Kyle is talking more and using sentences. "Down Mama" "More please" "Blue's Clues" ball, bird, star, car, milk, juice, cheese, bread, owwwww, and lots of other things I can think of right now.

9) Kevin starts school on the 8th. Oh my! Kaela starts on the 13th. I haven't gotten any info for either of them regarding things like when school starts, who their teachers are, what supplies they need, what is appropriate to wear, etc etc. Nothing! You know me. I hate to be so unprepared. I have to know everything that's going on. I am anxiously waiting. I should be getting something this week.

10) School hasn't even started and I am already looking forward to putting up our Halloween decor and our Christmas decor. I love having fun stuff like that in the house. I still haven't completely taken down Keith's birthday decor. It is so much fun to have up.

11) Good Night (again!)

What A Great Day

Today turned out to be a lot better than I thought it would be. With it being Monday, I had decided that it was going to be the same ol' same ol'. Well, I got a call from Keith around 11:45am today. He asked what I was doing. I said that I was cleaning the garage (which I was actually doing!). I could tell he was in the car which I thought was odd (he never calls me except on his drive home). So, I asked what he was doing. He replied, "I am on my way home. They kicked us all out."

Well, with the departmental changes going on, my heart sank. The first thing that crossed my mind was that they decided to can the entire department. I further pressed, "What do you mean?" trying to remain calm. "They asked us to leave." So I press on, "Just you?". He replies, "No, the entire building. There's been a bomb threat."

Whew! What a relief. Just a bomb threat. No biggy. Suddenly my panic lifted. All was well.

So, yeah! Now, Keith was coming home early. He wanted to go out and do something fun. So, we all piled in the car and went out to lunch. Then, we headed to the mall. The one with the Ferris Wheel and the Carousel. Of course we did all those. The train was not running though. They are expanding the mall and so things were a bit shook up there. Stores moved and closed and new ones opened and opening. We tried to look for new shoes for Keith and some pants. We ended up not getting anything. I shopped yesterday and went to six different places looking for shoes for Keith and no one had his size.

So anyway, back to our day. After shopping, we had ice cream and then took the kids to the park. They had a lot of fun at the park. We discovered that dinner time is a popular time for the park. It was filled with kids and parents. The most I've seen there at one time (barring there being a party). After the park, we stopped at the grocery store and picked up some steaks.

We gave the kids PB sandwiches and watermelon then packaged them off for bed - which was really easy tonight. Then we cooked up our steaks and Keith and I had a quiet dinner together. And now, I am talking to you fine people (Titanic).

So, that was our pleasant day. Oh, I forgot to say something about yesterday. Keith went to get his hair cut and came home with some beautiful flowers for me. Pretty daisies, a sunflower and other flowers that I have no idea of their names. But they are so colorful and beautiful. Then, Keith watched the kids and I went out to run errands. So not only was today good, but yesterday was nice too!

On a side note, I went shopping at Target and bought Kaela Pull-Ups. We have suffered some potty training set backs. She is wearing them to bed and during the day for now because she has been having bee accidents. She says, "The pee just wants to come out!" I guess for some reason, she all of a sudden can't seem to sense when she needs to go. Thank goodness she is still doing #2 really well! Okay, TMI. But, I shall leave you on that note. Goodbye!

Lego Creator

Lego Creator

Kevin created this from the Lego set Keith got him after our vacation. This wasn't the one from the instruction booklet, but something Kevin built on his own. I think he did a great job for his age!

The Big Sister

The Big Sister

Kaela loves to get her picture taken with McKenna. Kaela is always holding her and talking to her. She is a great big sister.

Kyle Protecting the Cooler

Kyle Protecting the Cooler

I snapped this picture of Kyle right before our vacation. I put the cooler next to the counter thinking we were going to use it on the trip. Kyle could not keep off of it. He was always standing or sitting on it when it was there.

Smiley Girl

Smiley Girl

Finally a good picture of McKenna smiling. She usually stops once the camera comes out. I caught her at a different angle so she didn't see the camera. She is always easy to get a great smile out of. She can turn any bad day around.

Our Vacation Pics

Cape Lookout, Tillamook, OR

View more vacation pics here.

Okay, So It's Been Awhile

So I haven't posted in forever. Well, after returning from our vacation, I had a lot to do to get the house put back together (which still isn't completely done). We got a new housekeeper and I wanted to get some things fixed up before she first got here. Then we went to Oakland to help Maria get rid of some of the clutter in her house. Now we are home and I have a sore throat and the kids (yes, all four of them) all have runny noises.

I am still working on a journal of our vacation. I have gotten to about day three and it is already three and a half pages long. We did have a lot of fun. I will post a picture with a link to the album I created on yahoo albums.

The new house cleaner. Well, she was late (which I hate), but she said she was confused as to the time she was to be here - even though she was the one that picked it! Anyway, she did a fantastic job and really did clean up a lot better than the other service I used. I didn't realize how dirty it was until she got it all sparkly clean! She spent about 45 minutes in the master bath alone fine cleaning the cracks along the walls and counter tops. Like I said, I didn't know they were dirty until she fine cleaned them! Well, I am sending her a reminder e-mail as she is coming tomorrow. If she is late again, out she goes. I hate waiting around when I am paying for a service.

Maria's. Well, we left here early Wednesday morning (10th). Dad came with us to watch the kids. He was a huge help. He took care of all the kids, but Kenna most of all. She slept in the same room as him and he was the one that tended to her in the middle of the night. I had the three olders in the same room as me. Kyle finally figured out how to climb out of the pack n play and didn't want to go to bed the same time as Kevin and Kaela did. So, I ended up rocking him to drowsiness every night and then I would have him walk to his bed, then he would sleep. Well, it has carried over to home. He doesn't want to just get put to bed and I have to rock him. Last night, Keith did the SuperNanny thing and just kept putting him back in bed every time he got out. Well, Kyle finally gave up and fell asleep. Well, Keith and I watched "The Wedding Date" last night and Kyle came down stairs during the last half hour of it. He crawled into my lap and fell asleep. He woke a few more times throughout the evening. He isn't the only one having sleepy problems. Kaela has cried two nights in a row now about sleeping and she keeps getting out of bed. Last night we just let her fall asleep on the couch while we watched the movie. Tonight she has been told that she is expected to go to bed when we say and that she can not keep getting out of bed. She says she will be good about bed - yeah right, we will see.

Anyway, back to Maria's. All the kids had loads of fun playing together. We stayed home the entire time except on Saturday. They played in the backyard and ran around. All my kids have scraped knees. Kaela has it the worst though. She biffed it pretty hard on the bike. She had a huge scrape on her right knee, left shin and her elbow. But she was pretty tough about it. Kyle got his scraped knees from pushing the dump truck at full speed and then falling. It looked painful to me, but he continued to do it all week.

On Saturday, Joann's was having a 50% off clearance fabric sale. So, of course I couldn't pass that up. We loaded the five oldest into the Expedition and Dad stayed home with the baby. Maria waited in the car with the kids while I picked out fabric. I got ten really pretty designs. This Joann's was about a third of the size of my regular Joann's, so the selection was tiny. But, I was very happy with what I got. After Joann's Maria had to run into Office Depot. After that we went to Ellie and Colin's new preschool.

This was the cutest preschool I have seen! We went to the open house. It is brand new and just opened. The owner/principal has launched preschools before and decided that she should launch one herself. She did a great job. It is in a residential neighborhood, but with the high wooden fence, and the surrounding buildings, it is like in its own little world. The front yard is nice and big and there is a huge sand box. When you walk in the front room on the right is a play area. The room on the left is the science room. There is a kitchen and bathroom and a dress up/reading room. They are going to learn a little bit of Spanish as well as music once a week. There were all kinds of learning games and cognitive thinking games. It was so neat. The kids had a lot of fun trying everything out. Kaela cried when it was time to go (her new thing. She bawled when we were leaving Ellie and Colin's house to come home - I don't want to leave! She says). After the preschool, we had lunch (you don't even have to ask where!). Then to Uncle Dan's fire station. They got to climb on the trucks and see the station. They even got to ride the truck with the ladder. Uncle Carlos drove and Uncle Dan drove the rear section. They all got fire chief hats. It was a fun afternoon.

Okay, the progress on Maria's house. Let's see. Well, we mostly worked on the guest room where lots of clothes were stored. We got rid of all the baby boy stuff and sent a lot of it to Maria's friend Liz. Maria got rid of a lot of her older clothes and a TON of toys. She took two full car loads of things to the Goodwill. We rearranged her front living room so now there is actually room to sit and spread out. When we first got there, there was just a narrow pathway to get through. We also cleared out her hallway. It is completely bare. The kitchen counters are cleared off and the house is somewhat straightened out. There is still a lot to do, but Maria says she is now motivated to clear out more stuff on her own. Yeah! Now, I am going to start working on our house. It isn't cluttered, cluttered, but I want to get rid of some of the stuff that we haven't used in ages.

We got back on Monday afternoon and yesterday I spent most of my day on the computer (was having internet withdrawals). I am going to straighten up today and then back to business as usual.

Okay. Was that a good update? I know, not much on the kids. I have some pictures to upload (just have been to lazy). I will try to get some pic kids up. Bye!

The Fantastic Four

No, not the movie. The Kids. They are such a joy.

Well, we came back last weekend from our vacation and we had a great time. I will tell you more about the vacation in a separate post. This one is about the kids.

They were well behaved and had a great time at Grandma and Grandpa's house. They got to eat all kinds of yummy treats. Grandma even made them Rice Krispy Treats. They got to have ice cream every night!

They had fun with their Auntie Ris and did all kinds of neat things. They swam everyday in the backyard. They have some serious tans going on. Auntie Ris even took a dip a few times. Kyle was not as adventurous in the water. Kevin and Kaela were too rowdy for him. Kevin can hold his breath for "a long time" and Kaela can swim around the circumference of the pool without stopping. Ris took them to the park and the beach. Kevin, Kaela and Kyle all ventured into the water (waded). Kaela said the water got into her mouth and it was "yucky".

Kevin made all kinds of neat Lego creations while on "vacation". Keith said Kevin has been a really good kid - which he has - and so we got him a really nice Lego set. Iron Predator vs T Rex. Kevin has made some really sophisticated looking things with this set. Maybe he will be an engineer or designer.

Michaela is officially potty trained. She wears her undies to bed and even when we go out. The day before we left for vacation, she announced that she had to "pee and poop in the potty". And she did! Well, at Grandma and Grandpa's she didn't need much prompting and was able to go all by herself. I guess she will be going to preschool in the fall.

Kyle is more vocal. Today at lunch he held up his french fry and said "Broken". It had a snapped tip. He sounds like he is saying all kinds of things including "Ghost" for every weird noise he hears in the house. He is saying no whenever he objects to something. Time for nap nap. "Nooooooo". He is communicating very well these days and is taking commands/requests really well too. He is pointing to more pictures in his books. If you point to a dog, he'll bark. A dinosaur, he'll roar. A cat, he'll meow. He is going to be talking in no time.

McKenna is now four months old. She had her well check appointment today. She got another round of immunizations (the same four as last appointment). She is 13 pounds, 4 ounces and is 23 1/2 inches long. All her siblings were 25 inches at this age and one or more pounds heavier. She is doing well after her shots. She is sleeping them off. She has gotten really strong and is starting to roll over. She can do it in her bed if she has something to push against, but is getting stuck on her side if there is nothing around her.

Well, that's it for the kids for now. I am working on what to write (a summary) of our vacation and will probably make up an album of pictures. Signing out. Bye!