knowledge

And the letter goes out to....

Dear Bear,

You are now a kindergartener.

Your life from this moment on will never be the same.

You will learn,

you will grow,

you will meet new people,

you will do new things,

you will have a new environment to shape you,

you are out in the world without me right beside you to protect you.

To protect you from all that is wrong in this world.

Remember that there is more good than there is bad.

Remember that with work, determination, and fortitude dreams come true.

Remember that you really can do anything!

(Except fly like the Superman on TV, lets be realistic here)

So, you can do anything that is humanly possible.

Always strive for more.

More knowledge,

more friends,

more happiness,

more joy.

Know that school is something that can be used for your advantage.

Work hard, do your assignments, learn all that you possibly can.

Don't worry so much about your grades, worry more about how much you are learning.

In the end of everything all that really ends up mattering

is family, friends, and how much knowledge you've gathered.

Knowledge will get you where you need to go,

it will help you find your way when you are lost,

it will map out your future,

it will make you stronger,

it will make life easier,

it will make you happier.

Knowledge is the greatest thing you will ever pay for.

Knowledge is something you can never lose,

it's something that is priceless.

Hold onto it tight and gather all you can.

Most of all make learning a fun and enjoyable thing.

Love it and it will find you.

the end of summer

It is the end of summer.

The air has turned cold here in Utah.

Even though technically it is still summer, I can feel the bite of fall.

School, football, pools closing, fall flowers, and the slow demise of my summer garden all lead me to believe that the fall season has begun.

Although I do prefer summer, I love the heat of the sun, the endlessly long days, swimming, picnics, BBQ's, running through the sprinklers, and sliding on a slip n' slide.

Fall has its good points too.

The fiery leaves, the fashionable sweaters and boots, (not that I have many)

the smell of pencils and new clothes, the roar of a crowd at a football game,

hot meals that warm up the house.

And yet...

The end of summer is a sad time of year, like listening to laughter being carried away with the wind. There for only a moment and then gone with the lingering scent trailing behind.

The end of summer brings with it memories of the fun that was had throughout the season and promises of doing them again the next summer.

The end of summer might be filled with regret for those things we didn't get to do, but it comes to an end anyway and we make plans for the fall and soon forget about what we never did.

I will take just a moment to morn the end of summer.

Only a moment...

Because there are things to enjoy,

places to go,

games to play,

and life to live.

So long summer, we'll look forward to seeing you next year.

And Lyon says...

"I want a little pickle in my sandwich, and a little pickle in my hand :)"

Triplets!!!

Yes, you read that title correctly.

Triplets!!!

I am up this early AM to tend to some Triplets!!!

No, not mine.

There is a family nearby who have recently added a group of triplets to their family.

How awesome is that?

Totally awesome :D

Any of you out there who have twins, triplets, or more....

I salute you.

I am up at 2 AM getting ready to head over to this fine families house and help them with the early AM feeding and changing of these babies.

Oh, it is worth the loss of sleep.

Those sweet little darling babies are quite new, quite tiny, and quite cute.

And I get to hold them!

How lucky am I to have the privilege of helping with these triplets.

So lucky!

And the best part is, after three hours I'll have had my share of baby holding, feeding, and changing and I won't have to worry about having to do it all night.

All day.

All night.

All day.

Without any sleep.

Oh the sleep deprivation!

And even better, because there is a whole army of kindly folk like myself.

The mom and dad of those triplets won't be suffering sleep deprivation either.

How awesome are us kindly folk?

So awesome!!!

:D

And Bear says...

"Huh, the Mona Lisa stares at you when you look at it."

How does he even know what the Mona Lisa is?

Sore bottom

Any Mom could tell you that one of the best things you can do for a sore baby bottom is to let said baby run around without a diaper.

Any Mom could also tell you how easy it is to forget that, that little sore baby bottom is bare.

Any Mom could tell you what happens when you forget about that little sore baby bottom.

About the messes that can come about.

In some of the strangest places.

Like perhaps a kitchen cupboard.

That holds all of your tupperware.

Which will now have to be cleaned and sanitized.

Because that little sore baby bottom sat down in that cupboard and peed.

And then proceeded to splash in that pee.

Before I realized what was going on.

Yes, any mom could tell you....

My 2011 Toyota Sienna

I am a twenty seven year old Utah Mormon Mother of 3 and I don't own a mini van :(

How can I really claim to be a Utah Mormon Mom without a "Mormon Assault Vehicle?

Without a "Swagger Wagon"?

It's true though,

I do not yet own a 2011 Toyota Sienna.

When I do get my 2011 Toyota Sienna I will be rockin it Mormon Mommy style.

I'll drive my kids to soccer practice in my 2011 Toyota Sienna.

I'll drive my kids to school in my 2011 Toyota Sienna.

I'll drive all of the cub scouts on field trips to the grocery store or post office

in my 2011 Toyota Sienna.

I'll volunteer to drive the YW to girls camp,

they'll all fight over who gets to ride in my 2011 Toyota Sienna.

We'll blast the music of the Tabernacle choir.

We'll watch General Conference in the back seat on the way to church.

I'll stack my jello salads and casseroles in the cargo area, confident that they will not spill.

Yes, I will be the awesomest 2011 Toyota Sienna Mormon Mommy driver out there.

There is only one little tiny problem.

I don't make jello salad or casseroles....

;D

Wind shield wiper fluid...

The end of the story....

Imagine if you will that you have two of some of the cutest,

most adorable, little boys.

They are outside playing in the shade of the carport while you are inside tending to your brand new sweet baby girl.

You glance out the window or the door from time to time to check on them.

One moment everything is fine and dandy, and the next.....

.....there is an open bottle of wind shield wiper fluid open and in their hands.

Bright orange wind shield wiper fluid with a "child proof lid" and metal seal

(that is nearly impossible to pull off)

inside of that "child proof lid"

making it even more unlikely that a couple of little boys could open it.

You run outside panicked!

"Did you put it in your mouth!!! Did you eat it!!! Did your little brother!!!!!"

The older brother answers, "Yes, yes, nooooooo....."

So you grab your phone and dial poison control.

Figuring of course that all is okay, but you'd better call anyway.

Poison control answers and you explain that your boys have possibly

put windshield wiper fluid in their mouths. ={

Poison control asks you a series of questions,

What brand is it?

What are listed in the ingredients?

What percentage of those ingredients?

Then you are asked,

"How close is the nearest hospital?"

"Thirty minutes."

"Is there anything closer?"

"No."

Then you are told,

"Go to the hospital now, do not stop along the way! If your child is wet don't take time to change them, don't wait, go NOW."

So you go.

When you get to the hospital there is an army of nurses and doctors awaiting your arrival.

Your cutest, adorable, sweet,

little boys are put on monitors and given shots and blood is taken.

They have to stay at the hospital.

Because the wind shield wiper fluid they ingested is potentially fatal!

What do you do?

How do you deal with this?

You stay calm.

You keep yourself together so you don't scare your little boys.

You called poison control immediately making your worlds cutest little boys have that much more of a chance to be just fine.

And they are.

They are released from the hospital the next day.

They are lucky.

They are blessed!

______

Watch your children closely.

Keep poisons out of reach of your children.

Even if they are sealed tight.

Never underestimate your Childs ability to get into them.

And should they....

Don't hesitate to call poison control immediately!

***

(Just so you know the conclusion to my previous stories. My friend, who I served gasoline, was just fine, I really can't even be sure she actually drank any. My sister, who I sprayed ammonia into her mouth, also just fine. Fortunately. Oh, and also, this has not been a story about my own two cutest boys in the world, but of my sweet cutest nephews in the world.

Who I am so very grateful that they are just fine!)

***

And Rose says...

"Sometimes the hardest things, are the things no one else can see."

Poison control

The idea for this post came from my Mom.

Moms always have the best ideas.

Or at least my Mom does anyway.

If you're a parent chances are you've had moments of,

"Should I call poison control?"

I've had these moments more times than I wish were so.

I am not pushing poison into the hands of my children, but they find them anyway.

They find the sweet smelling hand sanitizer.

They discover the tube of sunscreen.

They grab a handful of laundry detergent.

And for reasons I can't understand they put them in their mouths.

It takes all kinds of techniques to just get them to eat their dinner, but they don't hesitate to gobble down dirt, bugs, floor crumbs or whatever is under the kitchen sink.

Of course a child's mind works much differently than an adults.

That much has been demonstrated in my previous posts this week.

The first time I called poison control I was in tears, panic and hysteria moments away.

My child had ingested something he was not to ingest.

I did the only thing I could think of.

I called my Mom.

"What should I do!" I sobbed.

My Mother calmly, "Call poison control and then call me back."

I was terrified to call poison control.

What would they think of me.

What would they think of my carelessness.

Would they tell me I was a bad mother?

Would they tell me I shouldn't be one?

The well being of my child won over my fears.

I dialed the number.

I fumbled over the buttons and had to start over.

I listened to the phone as it rang.

"Poison control this is ______ how can I help you?"

"Waaaahaaaahaaa, ble gle diddle he psn de daaaaaaaaaa!" I bawled.

"Excuse me?"

"My son ate something and I think its poison!"

Calmly and comforting the person representing poison control talked to me

asking me a series of questions.

Things like:

What brand is it?

What is listed in the ingredients?

How much might he have eaten?

Etc.

Then with all of the information, I was told my child ought to be fine, that I should keep a close eye on him to be sure he wasn't acting strangely and that they would call me back in a few hours to be sure he was okay.

A couple hours later they called back.

My son was fine.

Each time I called it got easier.

Not the fact that my child had ingested something potentially hazardous, that is never easy,

but being afraid to call was no longer an issue.

The poison control operators are very friendly, professional, knowledgeable, and comforting.

I've always gotten off the phone with a smile on my face knowing my child will be fine.

I no longer hesitate to call worried that they'll think I am a bad mother.

Though, sometimes in the back of my mind I think,

"Well, my child always seems to be fine, I would hate to be a bother to poison control."

Fortunately, I lean toward being overly cautious when it comes to poison.

Because suppose this time my child isn't fine,

suppose this time the substance is extremely hazardous

suppose this time that substance could be fatal......

**To be continued, one last time....

And Lyon says...

"Knock knock who's dere?"

"Knock knock who's dere?"

giggle :)

"Knock knock who's dere?"

giggle :)

"knock knock who's dere?"

Out of the mouths of babes, and Bear says...

He wanted to watch some TV.

Then he thought,

"Wait, if I turn on the TV my brain will not be smart,

and my brain is still halfway not smart!"

I'm really not sure what he meant, but the TV stayed off so, score ;)

And Lyon says...

While munching on some steamed broccoli at dinner.

"Mom, I wove bwokwy, do you wove bwokwy? Yeah, we wove bwokwy!"

:)

Was it poison control or 911....

When I was 4 or 5, maybe 5 or 6,

my sisters and I were at home by ourselves.

My oldest sister C. was our babysitter.

It seems like we were doing some cleaning or something

because I sat on the counter top with a spray bottle.

My hands were just itching to spray that spray bottle for no other reason than the pure joy of squeezing that pump and watching as a stream of cleaner soared across the room.

I gave in to my temptation.

I aimed for the refrigerator, an easy target.

It was like my, just older than me, sister CH. knew what I was going to do and in all her loving kindness she jumped in front of the refrigerator saving it from my blast.

I remember the look on her face.

Her mouth open wide like she is about to laugh.

Her eyes filled with glee.

Maybe she really didn't know I was about to spray.

But I filled her mouth with a squirt of what was in that spray bottle.

After that I only remember panic, fury, and my confusion.

My oldest sister C. called poison control, or 911 I am not really sure.

I just remember I was so scared I ran out into my yard and hid in a group of trees that grew just to the side of our house.

I watched as a big red emergency truck pulled up to our house,

paramedics, or firemen rushing to my sisters rescue.

I was terrified.

In my little girl mind I remember crouching down in my not so well thought out hiding spot as a fireman walked past me and looked right over at me.

He didn't say anything, didn't even stop,

but in that moment I knew what would happen.

The rescuers would take me away in the back of their big red truck because of what I had done.

In this case I was the bad guy.

I thought that maybe they would give me glass slippers so it wouldn't be so bad.

(I was 4 or 5, 5 or 6 remember)

It turned out they didn't carry me away,

( I didn't get any glass slippers)

they finished tending to my sister CH. and then they left.

Why was it such a big deal?

Just what had I sprayed into CH.'s mouth?

Ammonia.

**Stay tuned for the poison finale on Friday.

And Bear says...

"Huh, if someone had 10,000 pounds of poo in their body they would have to push a lot a long time to get it out."

My 2011 Toyota Sienna

When I get my 2011 Toyota Sienna:

My kids will no longer miss out on park day.

I have several friends that meet every week at a park.

The Moms get to visit with each other while the kids play.

Nice.

Sad though, because every week my kids and I miss out.

The park our friends go to is approximately 2.7 miles away from my house.

I wouldn't normally mind walking that far.

However:

It's a very busy road to walk.

It's all down hill getting there, but all up hill getting back.

Lets face it walking home from the park is always harder than walking to the park.

Add an uphill climb to that and it becomes nearly impossible.

In my 2011 Toyota Sienna it would be a brief jaunt in luxury.

We'd probably suggest to our friends that we should be going to a park further away

just so we could enjoy a bit of a longer ride.

My kids and I, we are missing out!

All I need is my 2011 Toyota Sienna to remedy the situation.

It'll happen :D

PS-If you are looking for the conclusion to yesterdays story come back tomorrow.

And Bear says...

"Huh, all the blue stuff on the earth is water and all the other colors is the land."

After the tea party...

I was probably 3 or 4 maybe 5 or 6, I can't really be sure.

I was just a little girl.

Playing outside with one of my little friends.

I played as children do with my mind not entirely in the then and there and my imagination taking over the world as I knew it.

From my point of view my friend and I were not playing in my backyard in shorts and t-shirts,

we were lovely ladies walking through a delightful garden.

As we enjoyed the sights and scents of the garden we came across a tea party.

Set up just for us.

There was no thought as to who might have set up a tea party for us,

just the pure joy of, "Oh what fun!"

"Come on," I insisted to my friend, "We'll have a lovely tea party."

We sat down and I serve my friend a lovely cup of tea.

There was only one cup, and I playing hostess knew better than to take it for myself.

I don't fully remember if my friend actually drank her tea,

I don't fully remember what happened after the tea party.

I only remember that suddenly it wasn't lovely anymore.

After the tea party I was pulled back to reality surrounded by panic.

After the tea party I realized that what my friend and I had thought was a lovely tea party was actually an old metal gas can filled with gasoline.

The one cup was the lid to that gasoline can.

I'd served my friend gasoline!

To be continued....

blog design

Yeah, I've changed my blog design again. The previous blog template was just to busy and bright for my liking. I prefer the template to be a bit simpler. I hope this blog design bodes well with you ;D

Because this blog design bodes well with me :D

Out of the Mouths of babes Meme, And Bear says...

Bear got a small cut on the side of his hand. As I doctored it up this is what he said,

"This hurts so badly! But not as bad as your legs broke."

"Huh, my skin is only supposed to rip if I'm getting new skin

and I'm not even getting new skin today."

"Huh, you sleep for a really long time if you're dead."

What are your kids saying?

American Fork Canyon

On Sunday I went up American Fork Canyon with my family.

American Fork Canyon holds countless memories for me and mine.

Good memories, the kind I like ;D

We gathered together to celebrate my Mother and my Aunts birthdays.

Born on the same day, seven years apart.

Do I have that right?

Some family member correct me if I am wrong.

I always loved that they shared the same birthday, I often wonder if it was purely coincidental or if the day of conception held some meaning for my grandmother, oh yeah, I went there.

So we went up American Fork Canyon.

We had a camp fire and cooked tinfoil dinners.

The boys went exploring and hiking.

And I sat there soaking in the laughter, cupping my children's happiness in my hands wishing for more room to hold it so it wouldn't spill over the side falling and spreading across my lap.

I hate driving up American Fork Canyon, or any other twisted, narrow, cliff trimmed road.

I 've found though, that the memories we make there are worth the stress of the drive.

I can tuck them in nicely and keep them there.

Hidden in the shadows of the canyon waiting to be rediscovered with blissful glee,

like any lost treasure is.

Superhero tee shirt...

I saw the superhero tee shirt at walmart.

I was lured over to the clothing section due to the precisely placed alluring items that caught my eye.

Seeing no way out I made my way in and through, and just as I was about to emerge unscathed the superhero tee shirt entered my line of vision.

Maybe it's not the cutest most fashionable shirt on the planet.

And maybe it was only $7.

But...

The superhero tee shirt has hit a homerun in the eyes of my boys.

They think it is the awesomest shirt I have.

And apparently (even though my Superman hates them) the bangs aren't bad either.

Precious moment...

Precious moment

They are sitting on the back porch eating popsicles.

Enjoying the morning sun.

The quiet solitude of the mountain in the distance.

And the precious moment of togetherness.

I am watching them and their camaraderie.

Knowing at any moment it could break out into a fight.

For now though, it is a precious moment.

I'm cherishing it.

Read me write right

Lately my writing has sucked.

I've gotten lazy.

Very lazy.

Can you tell?

I can tell.

I often go back to read what I've written and I must confess that I do enjoy what I've written,

I just don't know that it is good enough that others will enjoy what I've written.

I don't really believe that there is a certain way for a person to write right, but I do believe that there is a better way for a person to write right. There is most certainly many ways for a person to right rong, ahem, write wrong.

I have a writing style, I tend to lean more toward the funny, silly side of writing.

That's a style isn't it....

The question is, do I write it right?

Is it too much, too little, too hard to understand.

Do you even understand what I am writing right now?

Writing right, it's a difficult task.

One that I intend to take on.

I'm going to start writing right, right now.

Maybe....

;D

Airplane travel tips

It's summer time, people travel quite a bit this time of year, and although summer is nearly over I've decided it's about time I write this post as I have been planning to since I got back from our

trip to Disney World back in February.

My kids are 5, 3, and 1.

I've done a decent amount of airplane traveling in the last year, I think that qualifies me to give airplane travel tips. ;D

These are my airplane travel tips, for when you are traveling with young kids:

First airplane travel tip:

Prepare yourself mentally for the absolute worst scenario

(as far as having kids along)

Prepare for "accidents" including, but not limited to: Your kids peeing or pooping their pants, spilling food all over themselves, falling in mud puddles, falling in toilets, throwing up all over you or themselves, getting soaked with sweat, bleeding, etc...

Any or all of those things could happen, and if you aren't prepared they probably will.

Prepare yourself, and then stop thinking about it. Don't picture these things happening and don't worry about these things happening. Be prepared to deal with it and so you can with a good attitude and a sense of humor should it happen.

Second airplane travel tip:

Bring a medium sized duffle bag as your carry on. In that duffle bag have an extra pair of clothes for you and your kids. If your kids still wet the bed when they sleep bring extra pull-ups

(that kid should really be wearing one for the whole trip)

If you have a little one in diapers keep a smaller bag in that duffle bag with wipes and diapers, this will make for an easy trip to change the diaper without having to bring the whole duffle bag. If you don't have a child in diapers bring a package of wipes anyway,

they come in so handy for so many things.

Bring a small first aide kit with Band-Aids and tylenol.

Bring snacks in that duffle bag, nuts, granola bars, grapes, crackers, water bottles, etc...

Make sure that you are all fed and that your blood sugars are not getting low.

Pack plenty of small and simple activities for your kids in your carry on duffle bag.

When I went to Disney World I brought several different coloring books, several different kinds of stickers, some small simple (no sound) dollar store toys, notebooks , small story books, crayons, markers, etc...

Little kids get bored with things pretty quickly (if you havent' noticed) so you will need plenty of activities to switch out each time your kids start to lose interest in the one they have. I placed all of my activities in my duffle bag vertically so I could pull out one after another with out having to take them all out just to get to the one at the bottom.

Which leads me to another airplane traveling tip,

don't show the activities to your kids before you go, let them be surprised.

It will make them that much more exciting for your kids when you pull them out. ;D

Third airplane travel tip:

Lavender essential oil.

Bring it along in your duffle bag. When you or your kids start to get stressed out, pull out the lavender essential oil and have everyone breath in its fresh relaxing scent. It will help everyone to relax. I've use lavender plenty of times to calm one of my kids from a temper tantrum or to help them to fall asleep when they just can't seem to relax. Note that I do not put straight undiluted lavender oil on my kids. I simply let them breath it in or I mix it in some unscented lotion and then rub it onto their hands or arms. Try it our before you go on your trip, its good stuff to have even if you aren't traveling ;D

Fourth travel tip:

This is important for the whole trip.

HAVE A GOOD HUMOROUS HAPPY ATTITUDE!!!

This will go a looonnnngggg way to making it a good trip.

Stay in control of the situation, show your kids that you are happy and unconcerned and they will be happy and unconcerned. I cannot stress this enough.

I am talking from experience here.

And Superman knows it, lol!

So in short have a

GOOD ATTITUDE,

lavender essential oil,

carry on duffle bag

with snacks and activities,

and be prepared, be prepared, be prepared.

It's an adventure, enjoy it, even the hard parts.

Make the memories good ones!

Most importantly have fun!

:D

I'm getting a 2011 Toyota Sienna!

This is my 2011 Toyota Sienna!

This is what it looks like, and yes it will be silver, and yes I am getting one!

I don't know when, but soon!

I don't know how, but I am getting one!

Superman doesn't want one, but I do!

I am getting a 2011 Toyota Sienna!

I am getting a 2011 Toyota Sienna!

I am getting a 2011 Toyota Sienna!

I am, I am, I am, I am, I am!!!!!

:D

Teaching my baby

I start young.

I start teaching my baby while she is still a baby.

I wonder though, if I've been teaching my baby the wrong things.

For example,

am I the one responsible for teaching my baby this:

First she gets caught being naughty

Then she tries to be really cute so she can get away with it.

She tries and succeeds.

Lesson learned ;D

And Bear says...

Bear was asking me who was the first baby born on the earth.

I know he wasn't exactly born, but I told him that Adam was.

He asked me who Adam was and I told him about Adam and Eve and the Garden of Eden. He asked me if Adam was still alive, I told him no.

He asked me if Adam would come back alive and if he would give kids autographs.

I didn't know how to answer that.

Lol!

Tomato picking

They've been tomato picking again.

Tomato picking was a big problem last year

and the goal is to prevent it from happening this year.

I couldn't even get a good crop of tomatoes last year

due to all the tomato picking that was going on.

It might be different if the tomatoes were red,

but they keep picking the green ones!!!

They like to hit them like baseballs.

Or apparently watch them float uselessly and uneaten in the swimming pool.