Allergy Shots

This past spring Luke was tested for allergies. We found out that he is allergic to every common tree, weed and grass in Utah. He is also allergic to indoor and outdoor mold as well as cats and dogs. So this summer we started allergy shots. At first we went twice a week for a total of 4 shots a week. Luke has been incredible! It has been a tedious venture to go twice a week until this fall when we started going once a week. And this week will mark the last of his once a week shots! We are so excited. He now will only go once a month!! We don't make an appointment for his shots but just kind of "show up" at Jason's office when its works into our schedule. Most of time we hardly wait at all, but there are those days when we have to wait a little longer. Luke and Gray usually entertain themselves with the rolling chairs but this past week they decided to decorate my hair with random office tools. Luke took this picture of a tongue depressor and a cotton ball in my hair. I think there is an ear curet in there too! Don't worry, we threw them away when we were done!

Octoberfest

I usually get a lot of good ideas of stuff I want to do with my kids around holidays, especially Halloween but for some reason life doesn't stop long enough for all my creative ventures. My laundry room counter is stocked full of things to create all sorts of fun stuff with my kids this month. So on Monday we went to the cemetery and did a scavenger hunt. Luckily for me I get to be Nate's bear cub scout leader so it made for a great outing with our scout group as well. I gave all the kids a scavenger hunt of items to look for in the cemetery along with paper and crayons to do a rubbing. A few of the scouts had relatives buried in that cemetery so that was neat for all of us to find. I find cemeteries (in the daytime) fascinating! I love the historical mysteries that lie there. The oldest tombstone we found was from 1871! The boys did some neat rubbings of soccer balls, the Angel Moroni and some even found their first names. I think it was a fun "Halloween" inspired activity but I also think it was good for my children to have an appreciation for those that have passed on. I can't wait to do this again next year.

4th and 18

This year Nathan decided to play tackle football. The commitment has been crazy, especially for a bunch of nine year olds. They started practices in mid July four times a week, an hour an a half each day, two days with full pads and helmets. After the second or third day Nathan didn't want to go anymore. But because he made the commitment to his team, we told him he had to finish out the season. Jason has never tried to pressure our kids into playing any specific sport and Nathan has pretty much tried them all. But I know that Jason was pretty excited about Nathan playing tackle football. The first game was the end of August and the last game was this past Saturday. They have only lost one game this season and most of their games have been blow out wins. Nathan has played center almost the entire season. This is a pretty tough position to play when you weigh a whopping 68 pounds. But he has persevered and done better each week. On Saturday they were playing to be division champs and a chance to play in the playoffs. Early in the game Nathan got knocked pretty hard and scared us half to death when he was still laying on the field when all the other players cleared off to switch positions. A coach finally ran out to get him and hardly beat Jason who was already down to the sideline. He ended up getting a good knock to the earhole that gave him a pretty good headache. Jason gave him some motrin and told him to sit down for a little bit. After a while he told him to "get back on the horse" so to say and don't be afraid to play again. Well, apparently that knock in the head did something to him because after that it was like he was a whole new player. Toward the end of the game the coach put him in as defensive end, a new position he had been practicing for a couple weeks. The opposing team was on their fourth down (they don't punt in pee wee football) and was going for the endzone. Nathan lined up as defensive end and when they snapped the ball he ran off the line like I'd never seen before. Next thing we know he is taking down the QB! BY HIMSELF! NO BACK UP! NATE SACKING THE QUARTERBACK! I'm sure I was in that moment one of those moms that people are embarrassed for but I didn't care. I was screaming, jumping up and down, going crazy like a mad woman. I was half tempted to yell "That's my son!" but I resisted. Luckily, I had finally given in to Lauren begging to use my camera. I had brought my huge lens to the game that day and was tentative about her handling it. I told her she could use it if she went and sat on the grass by the field. Best decision EVER. Lauren caught the blessed moment on camera. Sometimes giving in is a good thing! Nathan was on a total high after that. In the car he told me he was so happy he was going to cry. Let it out little man, let it out! I went to bed smiling that night thinking about that play over and over in my head. It still makes me smile to write about it.

Death Masks

A few weeks ago Lauren told me that her class was going to be making death masks in association with their study of Egypt. They needed parents to come in and death mask your child. I was super excited about the idea...Lauren not so much. I don't know if I have ever seen her so anxious about something. The teacher told them ahead of time that they would have their entire face covered with plaster of paris. It would require about 15 minutes to harden before being removed. Lauren is a mouth breather and a talker. So to not be able to breathe out of her mouth or talk for 15 minutes was absolutely terrifying for her. When we started she made sure I did everything except her mouth first. I got everything done and then started to cover her mouth. That's when she started breathing really heavy out of her nose. I could tell she was on the verge of a panic attack. So I had to talk to her and tell her funny stories to calm her down. When it was all said and done she did GREAT! And it was experience she will probably never forget.

Luke's Special Day

In Kindergarten each child gets a "Special Day" at the beginning of the year. So last week we got to fill out a book about some of Luke's favorite things. His favorite food is fish tacos. His favorite color is blue. His favorite number is 155. Don't ask me where that one came from, but moving on. His favorite day of the week is Friday because of our family movie night (a tradition we've had now for almost 6 years!) and his favorite team is BYU. When Luke was in Preschool he only knew how to right his name and BYU so every paper came home with "Luke BYU" on it until his teacher just had to teach him how to write his last name. She's a Ute fan I'm sure. Anyhow we started off the day by going to McDonald's for breakfast. I have to admit I seriously do not like McDonald's play places and rarely take my children there. I mean do they really clean those huge things? What normal size adult can fit in there to even wipe it down? And in the wintertime, ugh don't get me started. Thankfully I am sure that McDonald's play places are what keep my husband in business, so I'm glad some people are not totally disgusted by them. When his class started he was able to present his book and mobile (that hangs above his desk) to the kids. Then he choose to read a book to the class. I have almost taken for granted how awesome it is the Luke can read at a young age. The other kids in his class looked on in amazement as he read the book and the teacher had to tell them that he was reading the words by himself. I think Luke felt pretty special that day.

Grayden's Goggles

So much has been going on since I last posted (the reason I haven't posted again). There are some Sunday nights when I lay in bed and say out loud to myself "I'll be glad when this week is over." To which my husband replies, you say that every week. Ok, not every week but probably more than I want to admit. We try to be pretty conscious about our kids not being over involved so that school and church responsibilities don't get put aside for sports and other extracurricular activities. But a couple activities times 3 kids can feel pretty overwhelming some weeks. I was sitting in church a few weeks ago and the boys decided with about 30 minutes left that they were done behaving. Jason was rounding at the hospital so I was left to manage these maniacs on my own. That's when Grayden decided he was also done wearing his shirt. He kept trying to take it off himself but when he couldn't get it off he started having a meltdown wanting me to take it off. Instead of completely losing my sanity in front of 300 church members I just took off his shirt. That's when Luke and Nate lost it. They thought it was so hilarious that I was taking his shirt off in church. I was even having a hard time at that point to keep from laughing (or crying). The point of this story is that after a sister siting behind me (whose children are grown) leaned forward and told me how patient I was and how well I handled the situation. I wanted to hug her. Not only for what she said, but mainly for what she DIDN'T say...which was "they grow up so fast!" I have been told that so many times in stressful situations with my children by older adults that I want to scream back "NOT FAST ENOUGH!" Of course we always appreciate things more when we are not knee deep in laundry, dishes and children. What any of that rant has to do with this post I'm not sure. Except for the fact that I think having Grayden has finally made me chill out a little as a mom. Hence, the baby of the family syndrome. I am fascinated by birth order and how it effects families and siblings into adulthood. It is always one of the first questions I'll ask people when they are complaining about a sibling or friend or whatever. So when Grayden found these ski goggles in the basement last week and wanted them on to eat his lunch I was like sure. Then when he wanted to wear them to the grocery store, why not? Would have never happened when Lauren was two.

Really?

So today at Walmart the lady standing behind me in line told me how cute Grayden is. After I politely said thank you she replied..."He looks just like Brad Pitt. I've seen his baby picture.". Really? He's so much cuter than him. Just sayin'