Chad with Ruffles

My Prince has come...his name is Daddy.

Tom Boy she's not.

I've got my straw hat for the beach; my baby and stroller for the mall; my pajamas for my nap; and my apron in case I want to do some cooking. You just never know what may come my way...got to be ready for everything!!

GO TEXAN!!!!

HOWDY! I don't know what's going on with the layout here, but I don't have time to mess with it. Here are my little cowboys and cowgirl. I do love a handsome cowboy, and female barrel racing does run in my family! Today is officially Go Texan Day. This means that we are celebrating Texas and the coming of the Rodeo. This is always an exciting day because the kids all get to dress up. Chase is actually wearing his uncle Kevin's shirt from when he was 4 years old. Aiden stole his hat before he could say "yonder". I remember Go Texan day when I was little too. The schools have a State wide Rodeo art contest as well. I always drew horses. I never won, but I always thought that I was going to...that this would be the year that my horses out shine the silly boots and cowboy hats and amateur cattle drive scenes, but no. I think I got honorable mention once...but who wants that? Not me. Not then...not now. Anyhow...I digress. Just thought Y'ALL may want to see how the Clarksons are celebrating Go Texan day. Have a great day...and y'all come back now, ya hear?

Soap Box

Enough is enough. I have been an American Idol watcher dating back to Kelly Clarkson. (People still ask me if I am her, by the way...for those of you that don't know...my first name is Kelly.) We have always watched it as a family and rooted our individual favorites on. However, last night I had my fill. I can no longer watch these kids, in most cases, be ridiculed, mocked and made fun of for a laugh from America any longer. I understand that they are going on their own free will and signing releases and so on, but in my heart, I believe that some of these kids are being hurt and damaged by the judges. The point of the show is to find the "diamond in the rough" who would not make it big in the music industry otherwise...not to make someone feel that they are worthless. I love the idea and the process and watching them compete and get the chances of a lifetime after it has been narrowed down to the final however-many. BUT, and I feel quite serious here, what I witnessed last night was painful and heartbreaking. There was one kid who had such a sweet spirit about him, who was genuine and kind (from what I could see) and one of the judges told him that he looked like a jungle animal. After he walked out of the room, all 3 judges proceeded to laugh at him hysterically. That was my breaking point. I will not sit by and entertain that. Now, I am aware that me no longer supporting American Idol is no skin off their backs, but I have to be honest and true to myself. I see no problem with telling them that they do not have the right voice for the competition, but to insult them to the core with cutting remarks that have no validity to the competition itself is wrong. Period. No one will convince me otherwise. We try hard to teach our kids how to treat people with kindness, and we sit back and wonder why bullying is so out of control in the schools, and why kids are committing suicide, and so many girls have eating disorders, and why our country is in the shape it is in. Well, I believe that becomming desensitized to stuff like this is part of some of our many problems. I can guarantee you this...NOTHING about the way that boy was treated last night pleased God on any level. Tonight, I looked at my own children and thought about how I would feel if I had to watch them being maliciously made fun of...one hurtful comment after the other...while they just stood there with tears welling in their eyes and realized that God must feel the same way when it happens to His children. I can tell you one thing...I would not take it if it were Colton, Chase or Aiden...and I'm not going to take it for anyone anymore. American Idol just lost a viewer.

Party On

well, we had colton's birthday party on sunday. there was a while there on sunday morning where we were unsure. colton said he did not feel good when he got up on sunday morning, and the weather was calling for freezing rain. i kept taking colton's temperature, and watching the weather forecast...going back and forth. is colton getting sick? is the cold front going to hit in the middle of pin the s on superman? how are we going to make this party work in the house? what to do, what to do? if we postpone until next weekend, colton will feel good, and the weather could be better. however, there is no guarantee of that. and, i did not have contact information for some of the kids in his class that did not rsvp...so i could not call and cancel. chad kept calling from chuch asking if we were on. i called and consulted with my mom and dad...which i tend to do in these situations. the counsel i got from everyone was to go ahead with it. so the party was on! and...it went really well and was really fun for colton and the rest of the kids. as some of you know, it was a superhero party. the kids came dressed as their favorite superhero and we were able to have it in the backyard, inspite of the ice storm that was approaching rapidly. the weather was supposed to drop 20 degrees in like an hour on sunday afternoon at some point, and the party was from 2:00-4:00. we were sweatin it, but it held out. colton dressed as superman, of course; chase was batman; aiden was lois lane; and chad and i each wore vintage style superman t-shirts. the boys were so excited. aiden was less thrilled, but enjoyed herself...mainly due to being spoon-fed cake and ice cream a lot of the time. here is what we did:

kids arrived and played in the batcave-(the fort that chad covered with black trashbags to make it into the batcave)

superhero training course-(my personal favorite!!) we made a phone booth out of a big appliance box and got clark kent glasses, an old dress shirt and tie. they had to put the shirt, tie and glasses on over their costume to start and run into the phone booth, take them off, and bust out a superhero. then, they had to climb through the spider web chad made with rope; dive through the hulahoop hanging from the swingset; climb up the rockwall into the batcave; drop the bat signal (we made that out of yellow and black posterboard) to let us know they made it into the cave; slide down the slide; run around the cones; tire jump through the batman inflatable intertubes; and then finish by completing the x-ray vision test. that was a mason jar filled with m&ms and they had to guess how many were in the jar by using their x-ray vision.

kryptonite pass-we had a superhero music cd with all the songs from batman, superman, etc. and we had a plastic kryptonite toy that you put a glow stick in. the kids stood in a circle and passed it. when the music stopped, whoever was holding it was "out".

pin the s on superman

find green lantern's ring-chad got 40 of those ring pops from sams, and hid them all over the front yard. each kid got to find 2 of them.

balloon game-we took the bat signal down, and put it on the ground. the kids stood in a circle around it, blew up their balloons and then let them go. whoever's balloon landed closest to the bat signal won. i had my doubts about this game, but the kids went crazy and loved it.

the superman and batman pinatas-these things would not break!! finally, on 2nd, or 3rd go-around, superman got beheaded. i had to run over and take down the crime scene really quickly to avoid nightmares for life. i literally threw my body in front of the pinata to keep the kids from really seeing what it looked like. let me remind you...it was hanging with rope.

superman cake and ice cream-colton got a little aggitated that one of the other kids blew out his candles before he had the chance, but decided that it was o.k. in the end.

presents-by this point, everyone was screaming...the kids, who are jacked up on cake, ice-cream, poweraide, and pinata candy at this point...and the adults who were trying to talk over the kids and keep them in line.

all and all...it was a great party. i highly suggest the superhero theme. the girls loved it too.

that was sunday. monday...colton came down with strep throat. we went to the doctor and they did a strep test which went way better than i expected...however i had to do it first to show colton that it was "no big deal". now i HATE strep tests. i would rather have a shot. but, anything for your kid...right? after seeing me do it, colton decided that he could do it better. and he did.

last night, i was making an early dinner for the kids because chad and i had a meeting we had to go to. they were having a babysitter, other than my parents, which rarely happens. colton was being a bit demanding in his tone of voice yesterday afternoon and evening and i reached my limit. i was at the stove and he came in demanding that i open something for him. i said, "i would appreciate it if you would change your tune." to that, colton SANG, "mom...would youuuuu...open thisssss...for meeee?" then he laughed and said, "you said to change my TUNE." all these commedians out of work...and he makes jokes!

expect a montage coming soon!!

Meal Time Bites...

...get it??? bites??? meal times at my house are not my favorite thing. i feel that there are 2 kinds of people in the world...those that live to eat and those that eat to live. i am the latter. i eat to stay alive, not because i enjoy it. don't get me wrong, i have a sweet tooth that wont' stop, but meals...not my favorite thing. and cooking...HATE it! well, colton and chase are similar to me. they don't particularly love eating meals, but snacks...keep em comin. anyhow, i have been having trouble getting all three of them to eat the same thing and making 5 different dinners definitely does NOT float my boat. chad likes meat; i like fruit and veggies; colton likes mac and cheese; chase likes pizza; aiden likes yogurt...and so on. i decided a while back that i was not going to be suckered into trying to please everyone, so i set rules. rule number 1...you eat what is in front of you. rule number 2...you take the number of bites of how old you are. (however, i don't make chad take 34 bites of broccoli.) january 1st, i added some new rules because, let's face it, it was not going well. new rule number 3...if you complain about the food that i prepared, you must help clean the kitchen. (this means pulling the chair over and washing all the dishes that go in the dishwasher and loading it...they already had to clear the table.) new rule number 4...you must ask to be excused before you can leave the table. making our children aware of the fact that there are many, many kids in our world that do not have food at all is important to me. i will not stand for complaining about the food that we have. chad let colton see some of the kids on the compassion international website that did not have enough food and water, shelter, clothing, toys, etc. and it made a difference for him. we had always told him that there were these kids out there...but until he put a face with it, he didn't really believe us. anyhow, here is how it is going...as soon as we sit down at the dinner table, chase says, "i clean kitchen tonight". colton says, "i'll help." then chase says, "no eat this" and colton makes some excuse about why he CAN"T eat, like it's "too spicy." while paying attention to them...trying to "remind" them about the number of bites rule...(refer to rule number 2) aiden has separated all her food in to sections and has thrown the "undesired" portion of the meal on to the floor. while i clean that up, colton and chase have managed to smear their food around and tell me that they have, indeed, taken their number of bites. how do i argue? maybe they have...i don't know. i need a video camera because i know as well as you do that i am getting played. i look to chad to see if they have eaten their bites or not and he normally just shrugs an "i don't know" shrug. he was busy eating his number of bites. i can't remember the last time i ate a hot meal. i am learning to prefer luke warm. i was thinking the other day about their different tastes and reactions to different kinds of kid friendly food. here is what i came up with...

Mac & Cheese:
Colton-loves it
Chase-hates it
Aiden-loves it

Pizza:
Colton-tolerates it (only without the sauce)
Chase-loves it
Aiden-loves it

Hot Dogs:
Colton-loves them
Chase-tolerates them sometimes
Aiden-throws them

Yogurt:
Colton-GAGS
Chase-loves the kind out of the tube
Aiden-will only eat it if she feeds herself (MESS)

Apples:
Colton-loves them (skin on)
Chase-tolerates them (skin off)
Aiden-loves them

Carrots:
Colton-tolerates them
Chase-loves them with ranch
Aiden-eats a couple and then throws them

Pasta:
Colton-only without sauce
Chase-CRIES
Aiden-throws

Cheese Sticks:
Colton-hates them
Chase-uses them for stirring his water
Aiden-throws

Scrambled Eggs:
Colton-loves them
Chase-GAGS
Aiden-pushes bowl away

Bananas:
Colton-hates them
Chase-tolerates them
Aiden-loves them

Here are the things they all eat without a problem:
CEREAL
PANCAKES
WAFFLES
BISCUITS
ANY KIND OF SNACK

i think i will title this blog...MEAL TIME BITES!!

off his back or over his head

well, we are busy getting ready for colton's birthday party this coming sunday. he wanted a superhero party so i guess the superman cake pan was worth the money. we are having the party in the backyard...i am praying for good weather, because he wanted to invite everyone in his class...and plan B is NOT inside my house. at first chad and i thought we should stick with the "1 kid per year" rule, but he was so concerned about kids in his class getting their feeling hurt that we decided to let him invite them all. i am busy trying to come up with superhero games to play and chad is developing the relay race as we speak. all the kids are coming dressed like their favorite superhero, so it should be pretty cute. i don't have anything for aiden to wear...we will have to come up with something. does super-pumpkin work??? how about super-christmas dress girl??? let's see...we have a tiger costume that i have yet to return to shannon...she could be super-tiger. well, we will see. chad was in iowa this passed weekend, so we spent saturday and sunday with my parents. that was fun. they have a game that the boys love to play. it is called A to Z Junior. it has 100 little red chips that you have to use to cover up letters, and you can imagine what chase's mission was. colton was totally into the game, and so was granna and i, and chase was too for the first 8 minutes. well, he got tired of waiting for his turn and decided to begin throwing the tiny chips all over the living room. i quickly put an end to that, but then we were all obsessively looking for all the chips so that aiden wouldn't get them and put them in her mouth. we found them all after a while. a little while later, they wanted to play the game again. i said, "o.k. but granna is in charge of the chips." colton said, "and colton...because colton is very careful." (he has started this thing where he talks in 1st person) and then he looked at chase and said, "but not chase...you're crazy...you're like a circus act," referring to chase's inability to control his impulses at times. lucky in that moment, things seem to roll right of chase's back. either that, or go right over his head.

To Be(lieve) or not to Be(lieve)...That is the Question.

A couple of nights after Christmas, the dreaded question came. We were going through our nightly routine...brushing teeth; going potty; washing hands; getting the last sips of water for the evening; saying prayers; singing lullabies; kisses and snuggles; saying i love you's; and so forth. I walked out of the boy's room to go tuck Aiden into her bed, and Chad stayed behind for the last few "needs" that the boys had before they were content to fall asleep. That's when the question came. As Chad was walking out of the room, Colton said, "Dad?" Chad said, "What?" And Colton said, "Is Santa real?" I can't believe it. I am so sad. Some of the magic fanished with those words. Now, I understand that the real "magic" of Christmas is the Christ child and what He has done for us, but I loved the excitement of Santa Claus and what he represented for me and my brother as children. I loved looking up the chimney when we were young. I love leaving the milk and cookies on the fireplace hearth...feeling content that we had done our part so that Santa would not get hungry during his long night's trip. I loved the anticipation on Christmas Eve...knowing he was coming, and the not being able to fall asleep that night because we were so excited. I still love it. I love that I feel the same feeling when I see the wonder in my children. Chad replied with, "We will talk in the morning." Now usually, this answer would never suffice for Colton. But this night it did. Chad told me to have an answer prepared for him in the morning...and I did. Colton has not brought it up again though, and neither have we. I am hoping that the magic will captivate him a little longer...that he decided that he wasn't quite ready to let it go. We shall see. On the flip side...Chase decided that this year was the year that he and Santa become good friends. He could not stop singing about him, talking about him, wanting to go see him all season. This was the first year that he was not scared to sit on his lap. Chase had been practicing his request for days before the big trip to the mall. "Hi Santa. I want a Secret I.D. Batman and Bruce Wayne." I never thought to warn him that Santa would not present him with his toy that night at the mall. That took some explaining after I pulled Chase from his lap. Well, tonight, Chase couldn't go to sleep. So we let him get in our bed. Chad was in the living room watching TV, and I was in our bathroom getting ready for bed. The door was closed most of the way, and I heard Chase pick up the phone by our bed and start dialing. I walked out of the bathroom and over to him, bent down and said, "What are you doing Chase?" To that, Chase replied, "I'm calling Santa." I love the innocence. Of course Santa is at home, in the North Pole, sitting by the fireplace, in a rocking chair, by the phone, waiting to answer a phone call from his new buddy, Chase.

May Your Days be Merry and Bright

Colton-51/2; Chase-4; Aiden-191/2 months & Chad didn't get the "wear red" memo

Tis the season to be in love

"HO HO HO"

Santa with Dimples

Miss Claus

"I love my new haircut"

Visions of Sugarplums...

"Hello. Honey mad this poncho and my mommy wore it when she was little."

"I think Santa will like it...don't you?"

"It is a rare moment when all three of us will stand together and still for a picture."

Merry Christmas from Texas!!

my name is mindy clarkson, but you can call me charlie

this year's tv show of choice is A Charlie Brown Christmas. i think we've watched it 18 times at least. chase wakes up in the morning asking for it and goes to bed asking for it. he can repeat most of it, as can colton and they simultaneously laugh at all the same parts. they really love it when lucy asks shroeder (sp?) to play "jingle bells...you know...deck them halls and all that stuff." we own the video, however we get so excited when it comes on tv that we dvr it and act as if we have never seen it before...making cookies or popcorn and sitting on the floor together for the duration. i have decided this year that i can really relate to some of the characters in this flick...specifically charlie brown and lucy...on 2 accounts. for those of you who know me well...you will easily see what i mean.

ACCOUNT 1: YOU CAN CALL ME CHARLIE

LUCY: "May I help you?"

CHARLIE BROWN: "I feel depressed. I know I should be happy, but I'm not."

LUCY: "The mere fact that you realize you need help indicates that you are not too far gone. I think we better pinpoint your fears. If we can find out what you're afraid of, we can label it. Are you afraid of responsibility? If you are, then you have hightengeophobia."

CHARLIE BROWN: "I don't think that's quite it."

LUCY: "How about cats? If you're afraid of cats, you have anoraphasia."

CHARLIE BROWN: "Well...sort of, but I'm not sure."

LUCY: "Are you afraid of staircases? If you are then you have climbacaphobia. Maybe you have phalaciphobia. This is the fear of the ocean. Or, chepharobia; this is the fear of crossing bridges. Or, maybe you have pantephobia. Do YOU think you have pantephobia?"

CHARLIE BROWN: "What is pantephobia?"

LUCY: "The fear of everything."

CHARLIE BROWN: "THAT"S IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

ACCOUNT 2: YOU CAN CALL ME LUCY

LUCY (after being licked by snoopy): "UGG...I'VE BEEN KISSED BY A DOG...I HAVE DOG GERMS...GET SOME HOT WATER...GET SOME DISINFECTANT...GET SOME IODINE!!!!"

well, that is how i feel that i relate to A Charlie Brown Christmas. let's see, we have 6 more days until Christmas...i bet we'll watch it about 16 more times. i'll try to keep track and keep you posted. there is redeeming value in this show. we've learned some good lessons this year from linus. he does make sure everyone knows what Christmas is all about. and like linus, i do think chase has decided to make his blue "blankie" into a sportcoat.

The Most Important Night

Tonight was the most important night in Colton's life. At dinner, we explained to Colton, Chase and Aiden that we were going to have a birthday party for Jesus on Christmas Eve. I was telling them that we were going to make a birthday cake for Jesus...(I'm fairly certain they will decide on a superman birthday cake)...and that instead of bringing wrapped toys for Jesus as his gift, that we are going to answer a question for his birthday present instead. The question is, "What are you willing to give Jesus this year?" Colton, who was wearing the batman costume...mask and all...thought for a minute and said, "I know what a good thing to give him would be...we could give him our hearts." At that, I melted. I told him that he had a very good idea and we talked further about what it meant to give Jesus our hearts. We told him that Chad and I had already given Jesus our hearts but that we were praying that he, Chase and Aiden would too. He asked several questions and also made several statements that let Chad and I know that he knew more about it than we thought. He talked about God being Jesus' father and that he knew that God was his father too. He said that he had two fathers. We talked about how it is even more important to follow his Heavenly father than it is for him to follow his dad. Then I saw him begin to cry. I saw his chin quiver and he wiped his eyes through the batman eye holes. He said that he was scared to go in the water and go under the water backwards. I got up and went over to hug him and explained that he did not have to go in the water in order to give Jesus his heart. I could feel the relief in him. He lifted his mask and his body relaxed as he wiped his eyes. About 5 minutes had gone by and the subject had been changed...(by Chase, I think)...and Colton said, "I have a secret that I will tell you and Dad on Christmas. Or I can tell you now." I asked him if he wanted to tell us now or wait until Christmas and he said, "It's your choice." I said, "Tell us now." He said that he would whisper it in my ear. I leaned over the table and he whispered the most beautiful words..."I want to do that tonight. I want to give Jesus my heart." We prayed together and tonight Colton gave his heart to Jesus for his birthday. I don't think Jesus would have wanted anything more.

Just the Goings On

well, i don't really have any great stories or funny antecdotes today. i just thought it was time to blog again and thought i would let everyone in on the goings on at the clarkson home. i just took chase to school and then came home to put aiden down for her nap. some days, when i take chase to school at noon, colton's class is out on the playground for recess. the door that i drop chase off at is right next to the playground, so he gets very excited on the days that we drive up and see colton's class out there. he always wants to jump out and run to say hi to colton. usually colton and some of his friends come over to the gate to say hi to us, but today he pulled this "run by the gate and pretend not to see us" act. now, this is fine with me because i understand his need to be silly and and act grown up...and most of the time he is really sweet and gives chase hugs through the gate, but poor chase did not understand why his big brother could not see him. there he was, clenching the gate while standing on his tippy toes to see over it yelling, "colton...here i am...colton...i'm over here." then chase looked up at me with question in his eyes and my heart broke for him. i just grabbed his hand and said, "look at colton being so silly. he is pretending he does not see us." we told his friends, who did see us, bye and walked back to chase's door. finally, colton yelled from the gate "hi" to chase. so all is well with the brothers again. tomorrow is "polar express day" at the school and all the kids get to wear pajamas to school and they are watching the polar express. chase and colton are very excited to wear their pj's to school. they have matching ones that i happen to find on sale. i was just going to have them wear their christmas pajamas from last year, but colton's didn't fit him anymore. so then i was going to have chase wear colton's old ones, and i went to get colton some for this year. they did not have any at gap or the children's place that i liked, so i reluctantly went in to gymboree, where i usually don't buy anything because it is too expensive. i saw 2 pair of plaid pj's...the big boy kind with the button down top and matching pants...hanging on the clearance rack. why they had christmas pj's on the clearance rack, i don't know. my thought was, there is no way one of these will be a size 6. i looked at the first pair and it was a 4 (chase's size). then i looked at the second pair and it was a 6! yea! so i grabbed the 6 and went to the register, and they rang up even cheaper than they were marked...only $16. so, i figured that this was an obvious sign that i was supposed to by the 4 for chase as well. so i did. and boy are these boys cute in their christmas, plaid, big boy, polar express pajamas. the only problem is that they are a tad big in the waist. after i finish this, i am going to break out the needle and thread and try to sew a little tuck in the waist so they will be a perfect fit for school tomorrow. maybe aiden and i will wear our pajamas all day tomorrow too. i vote that chad wear his pajamas to his all day meeting tomorrow in celebration of polar express day at bauerschlag elememtary. who's with me?

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DADDY!

The kids had some special things to say to their daddy on his birthday today. Here is how the question went, "What would you like to say to Daddy on his birthday?" Their answers are as follows...

Colton: "Happy Birthday. Tomorrow will be December! I wish that you would feel good and I wish that you would have a good time and I wish that you would feel very special. I love you. Love family."

Chase: "No...it's Thursday. Happy Birthday Chase. Give me a hug."

"Aiden...what are you doing?"

Aiden: "Just a second Mom. I am calling my Daddy to wish him a happy birthday."

ashes, ashes, they all fall DOWWNNN!

well, the past 4 weeks or so has been very enlightening for me. i have learned quite a bit about myself, my strengths, my weeknesses, and then those little aspects about yourself that you don't even want to admit are there. expectations and perfectionism gets me every time. it is always better to admit. only then can you make any changes...or should i say, only then does God have any room to make changes in you. even though there are always people who have it easier and better than us, and there are people who have it a lot harder than us...there are still times that we just don't handle life with grace and ease. the past month has been that way for me. i spent a lot of time and energy on things that don't really matter in the long run...like cleaning, organizing, trying to make things perfect for company, typing up very detailed menus and such. do you think my kids care about any of that? NO. all they care about is that i am spending quality time with them. even the things that i had to do that was very much for them did not seem to be what they were craving from me...such as the 8-10 doctor's appointments, christmas shopping, cleaning their rooms, doing their laundry, bathing, feeding, making pilgrim hats for all the kids in colton's class, organizing the thanksgiving feast for colton's class, going to the school to have thanksgiving lunch with colton in the lunch room, etc. etc. etc. needless to say, i got a little overwhelmed. i needed to be getting the house ready and grocery shopping and getting all the christmas presents ready for chad's family to come in, yet wild horses couldn't keep me away from the yummy thanksgiving meal from the caffeteria at bauerschlag elementary school. there was a moment last week...friday to be exact...when i realized that all the balls that i had been attempting to juggle had just come crashing down on me and were bouncing all over my kitchen floor. i had agreed to make the pilgim hats for colton's class despite knowing that i did not have the time for it. (i am the room mom, and everyone knows that the room mom can't say no to things like pilgrim hat design.) anyways, they were to be delivered with colton on friday morning for the kids to do a pilgrim project and guess were i found them friday at 11:30 when i went to feed chase and aiden lunch? sitting on the bar in my kitchen...very definitely NOT at the school where they were supposed to have been. the kids were getting out for thanksgiving that day, and i quickly realized that there would be no way to make them work when they came back to school after the thankgiving holiday...i mean santa in a pilgrim hat just doesn't work. so, that was my moment. that was when the balls fell. that was when i realized that my brain capasity was full and that what was happening was that every new piece of information was kicking out something stored in there. i had received a new demand, and sending the hats had been kicked out. it was sort of freeing actually. with chase and aiden standing at my feet, waiting for their lunch, i just put my face in my hands and let the balls fall. i had taken on too much. it just wasn't gonna to happen. i took the hats at noon when i took chase to school and only 1 kid wore one at the feast. i had to hold my tongue when i walked in colton's class. i wanted to scream...EVERYONE IN HERE IS GOING TO WEAR A PILGRIM HAT AND LOVE IT!!!! but that's o.k. colton, along with everyone else wanted to be an indian. oh well. chad's family is getting here today, and guess what? the house is not decorated for christmas like it was supposed to be, food is not prepared yet, the kids are running wild, chad just got home from new york, the phone is ringing, i have to go to target, i am still in my pj's at 12:26...oh great, i just looked at the clock and realize lunch time has come and gone...my poor kids, and i am spending time blogging instead of all those needed things because i knew i needed a break. and i'm smiling...happy...and at peace because at least the balls are on the floor and not over my head anymore.

TIMMMMBERRRR!!!!

DUE TO POPULAR DEMAND......A PICTURE OF POOR McQUEEN (as chase likes to call the accord).

hum-drum...for a second

well, a few minutes ago i came up to check e-mail, and do the limited "computer things" that i do every day and i thought to myself, "it is about time to post another blog and interestingly enough, i don't have much to say." it has mainly been the same ole, hum-drum stuff that i have been talking to friends about for the last month it seems...(aside: i want to write a children's book and so i am always in search of a good title. it just occured to me that "hum-drum" might work in a title someway.)...back to life...back to reality...who remembers that song? random. anyhow, kid's ear infections, trying to finish organizing the house, painting rooms, cleaning, laundry, trying to get ready for chad's whole family to get here for thanksgiving, etc. etc. etc. so, i thought i would just not write anything until i had something interesting to write about. well, something that i thought was interesting anyway. and then who should call...as if hearing from a little angel perched on his shoulder saying, "pssst...hey....mindy needs something interesting to write about...hello...call her now..." the telephone rings while i sit at the computer pondering the un-eventfulness, and i hear chad on the other end. the first thing he says is, "i have bad news." now, the thought that entered my mind first, and i don't know why... except for it was the last conversation that we had...was that he did not have the receipt for the vacuum cleaner that i wanted to return to target today. but no. very quickly he interupted that thought with the following words. "a tree fell on the car." i don't know the details other than he was at lunch, and several people...3 to be exact...called him to tell him the news. my maroon honda accord that i got for my highschool graduation from my parents was parked in the church parking lot, surrounded by huge oak (i think) trees. we are having an extremely windy day...although beautiful and a whole tree fell on top of the car. windows smashed and all. a little worse than a missing receipt, but not as bad as it could have been. i am very thiankful that no one was in the car. i am very thankful that it was not the van...the only way i have to get the kids around. i am very thankful that no one is hurt. i am very thankful that it was chad's voice on the phone instead of someone else calling to tell me of something happening to chad. does anyone know if we will get a new car out of this deal? one can only hope.

Ode To Colton Lloy

colton - kindergarten; age 5 1/2

in celebration of colton's 1st official school picture, i thought i would let him be the star of the blog today.

First Live Performance and a Standing Ovation (from mom)

colton had his official first live performance not long ago. i mentioned that he and i are taking guitar lessons on saturdays, and i guess he had learned enough to feel pretty secure in his ability. this past saturday morning, we were practicing before breakfast. he was supposed to have learned twinkle twinkle little star for that week, but his reading of the notes had progressed farther than we anticipated and he learned happy birthday as well. he played both twinkle twinkle and happy birthday all the way through for me without missing a note. now, granted, he took it very slow...looking at the sheet music very carefully before he strummed each note...but hit the right notes none-the-less. after he finished and i went wild with applause, it hit him that we were going to a birthday party that afternoon before his lesson. he said that he wanted to play happy birthday for his friend at the party. i said o.k. as long as it was alright with his mom and he was sure it would be. now, i was a little unsure if he was ready for this because he has always been very shy when it comes to ANYONE looking at him...never wanting to be on "stage" for any reason. however, if he was ready...i didn't want to stop him. so, long story short...after many of the guests at the party had left, and colton asking me several times if it was time to get his guitar out of the car, i timidly asked the mom if it was o.k. she was very gracious and said of course. so, we went to get the guitar and pulled a lawn chair up for colton to sit in. (the party was outside). colton got out his purple pick and everyone gathered around. well, you can imagine what happened next. it got quiet. that was enough to bring on the stage fright. i pointed to the notes, and he started to play. he got the first 3 notes correct, but then missed the 4th one...then proceeded to lose his place because he wanted to start over again and i kept going (to which he blamed me for the whole catastrophy). he kept playing...trying to get back on track for a couple of seconds...which seemed like hours for the two of us. finally, the nerves and silence got the best of him and he smiled humbly, shrugged and said, "that's all." everyone clapped and cheered and said that it was great, but he knew the truth...that what he had played perfectly just 2 hours prior, he failed to do when he thought it really mattered. he held it together while saying our good-byes, but as we walked down the driveway toward our van, with guitar in hand, he looked at the ground and said, "i messed up. i lost my place. i didn't even get to finish." we had one of our long, encouragement talks on the way to the lesson where i told him all the "mommy things" like...i was more proud of him for trying, and it was the first time and it is so normal to get nervous...and the story about the first time i sang silent night in church by myself and i got so nervous that my voice trembled and i looked down the whole time. (that did make him laugh and feel better). i have to say...even if he got stage fright, i give him a standing ovation for just getting on the stage. as soon as we got to the lesson, i whispered to the instructor, "have him play happy birthday first." sometimes we all need a little help getting back on the horse. i bet you can guess how he did...yep...didn't miss a note.

Coltonisms

here or some of colton's funnies from over the years

mommy: "i can make free-throws."

colton: "i can make 5 throws." while holding up 5 fingers (age 2)

colton saw a cute little girl on tv who was an expert in history facts...after watching her he said, "i'm impressed about that girl." (age 3)

if colton wanted us to watch him, he would say, "all the people look at me." (age 3)

after his cousin sneezed colton said, "bless you my child." (age 3)

we were leaving iowa, and we were telling colton to give hugs and kisses bye and he said, "don't rush me." (age 3)

we were visiting iowa, and colton had trouble going to the bathroom. i gave him a child's laxative that gave him gas. he came to me and said, "a storm came out of my butt." (age 3)

colton was bothering chase and chad kept telling him to stop. chad finally took him upstairs and asked him why he didn't listen to daddy. colton said, "it just didn't make sense." (age 3)

i told colton to eat his carrots, to which he replied, "no, and you're making me crazy." (age 3)

chase had a pencil and a part to the computer. i told colton to get them from him. he was chasing him around the room trying to get them from him and finally he said, "chase, chase...please...cooperate!" (age 3)

chad flew home from atlanta and hugged colton. colton sniffed him and said, "dad, you smell like a goat." (age 3)

i asked colton one day, "when are you going to start listening?" he said, "Next Thursday." (age 3)

colton bit his tongue and it was bleeding everywhere. the next day i was trying to figure out whether i should take him to the dentist. i asked him if it hurt. he said, "yes". i asked him, "when does it hurt?" he said, "on tuesdays and thursdays." (age 3)

colton was playing catch with his grandpa rod. he caught the ball a few times and said, "i'm good." then he caught the ball a fiew more times and said, "i'm fantastic." (age 4)

i heard colton and chase bickering in the other room. colton ran in and said, "chase just hit me in the brain." (age 4)

i was in much need of a break and at dinner that night, chad said that i could go take a hot bath and that he would get the kids ready for bed. next, chad said to colton, "could you bathe chase and aiden and then feed aiden?" colton's eyes got really big and he said, "WHAT...i'm not even a mom...i don't even have milk in myself...i don't have those milk holes...you know those little bottles that sneak out." (age 5)

well, that concludes my ode to colton. thanks for taking interest in our lives. i can't believe he is getting so grown up. it seems like just yesterday that he was a tiny baby. he has a cough and i had to give him cough medicine late last night. i rocked him back to sleep...which i don't get to do that often. he is almost too big to fit in my lap. i loved every minute of it and that experience is what inspired this blog post. we are so proud of him. just this week, he won a character/citizenship award at school. we go tonight for him to receive his honor. all i know, is i'm the one that feels honored...honored to be his mom.

Beautiful Day...and it is

well, so many stories...so little time. here is one for today. i've decided there are music people and non-music people. i am definitely a music person and chad really is not. not that chad does not ever listen to or appreciate music at all, he just doesn't really seek it out or use it to alter his mood. for example, after i get out of the van, the next person who enters will hear whatever cd strikes my fancy that day blaring as a reminder of my last venture. after chad has driven the van, i always have to change it from the am sports channel when i get back in. that's what i mean...music person...non music person. now that we have that settled; my children take after their mom and love...i repeat...LOVE music. i must admit, i am proud of their taste as well. currently, both colton and chase request u2's beautiful day and elevation the minute we get in the car. and of course, i happily meet their request to "turn it up mommy". aiden usually dances and claps to whatever is on but seems to already have an appreciation for the magic that is u2. colton knows every word of elevation which may or may not be a catalyst for some of you questioning why my kids are singing to u2 instead of veggie tales or cedermont kids...but, it is what it is. while elevation is ringing through my blue minivan...which certainly does not scream u2 from the outside like it does from the inside, the boys can be seen jamming out, hands in the air, head keeping rhythm, and singing every word. aiden watches and claps her hands over her head, not to be left out of the experience. most of you know that colton has been musical from the womb, and hears instruments in a song that others don't even know exsist...such as a mandolin, etc. etc. so, the other day, while listening to none other than elevation, i explained the bridge in the song to colton. the next time we listened to the song...chase, not to let one get passed him...said, "let's go over the bridge mommy!" i said "o.k. baby...here it comes!" colton's response was, "Go Bono!" with rocker fist in the air. at dinner last night, chase...who has seemed to always have a heart for prayer and will melt you with some of his very honest and insightful words to God...prays, "God...thank you for beautiful day and elevation." i smile now and ponder the words quietly to myself...beautiful day...and it is.

It's a Bird...It's a Plane...It's the Great Pumpkin!

Make photo slide shows at onetruemedia.com

"it's broken mommy...need cast"

extra, extra, read all about it...some of you are asking how chase is after the long, drawn out, middle of the night ramblings of 2 or 3 nights ago. i can't remember and don't have the energy to go back and check. but, after being at the doctor's office twice in 2 days, we now know that he has bronchiloitis...otherwise known as the dreaded RSV. those of you that are moms, and probably some of you that are not but are medically aware, know exactly what that is. it is a horrible respiratory virus that attacks and causes inflammation of the bronchiloes (the tiny tubes that connect the bronchials to the lungs). this virus is especially dangerous for tiny babies and young kids with asthma. after the night that i posted (an attempt to stay awake to monitor chase's breathing), his cough and asthma got worse quickly. he was not able to go more than an hour or so without experiencing some respiratory distress (nostrils flaring, intercostal spaces between ribs sinking in with every breath, grunting with every breath). i was on the phone several times with the after-hours nurse line in an attempt to avoid the er. this was especially bad the night before last. at the doctor on monday, they said that he could go trick or treating if he was not coughing and responding to the breathing treatment...which he was halloween afternoon. so we let him wear his batman costume and go to a couple of houses and he was totally fine. however, when we got back inside, he started having trouble again. that night i was up all night with him. he was getting breathing treatments every 2 hours (the maximum amount he could get) and at 12:00am, it did not work anymore. i was getting ready to take him to the er, and then he got better for a while. then it got bad again, followed by a breathing treatment, followed by it not working and me getting ready to take him again. i finally realized that he could sleep and breath better if he sat in my lap, leaned back in the recliner in the living room. so we did this from 3:00am on. i could not sleep anyway. i did not want to take my eyes off of him. we went on like this until i could get him to the office the next morning. needless to say, i watched everything i had recorded on the dvr that night. luckily, they figured out what the virus was that was causing it and know that it is a very difficult virus to treat...that is why it was not responding to treatment. but, now he has turned the corner. he is able to go 4-6 hours between treatments now, occationally only 3, and is feeling much better. chad did all the breathing treaments last night, because let's face it...i was 1 night of no sleep shy of completely dropping my basket. i am somewhat worried about aiden getting it too because our house is one, giant germ at this point. but, if i let myself go there, you will all be contacting me at the local loony-bin. cute thing about chase though...ever since he broke his arm, he says that anything that is wrong is "broken". when his nose is runny, he comes to me and says, "nose broken mommy." if he gets a scrape on his arm..."it's broken mommy...need cast." and this week, his chest is definately "broken and needs cast."

i'm tired...i think i need a nanny.

it is exactly 1:00am monday morning. the time that comes up at the bottom of the blog is wrong for some reason. anyways, i am up because chase is having either asthma or a viral cough. the whole family just got over a bad cold/bacterial throat infection, so it being another virus would surprise me. however, i'm not a doctor and i don't play one on tv either. when his asthma acts up, he coughs like this and he was outside a lot today. they tell me his asthma is very mild and that he should outgrow it, which i really hope is the case. well, i noticed him coughing before bed, so i gave him the recommended 2 puffs of the inhaler. he went to sleep and i started to...only to drift off and wake up to him coughing pretty bad. we still have a monitor for the boys as well as aiden. i came and got him and tried to assess the situation...are his nostrils flaring? are his ribs sinking in with every breath? is that little space between the collar bone sinking in? all signs of respiratory distress and an asthma attack. well, none of those things were happening, just the terrible, asthma sounding cough. so, what to do? think. think. think. i'm doing the squint in the light, trying to wake up myself thing and he is none too thrilled that i am waking him up either. i decide to try and give him regular cough syrup to see if that will help. have you ever had a battle in the kitchen in the middle of the night with a 4 year old over which medicine he will take? i have. about 2 hours ago. technically it was not the middle of the night then, but it is now, so give me a break. he refused to take the red cough medicine that neatly and easily dissolves on his tongue, which was his medicine of choice last week. tonight he wants to use the inhaler again. well, this is where the mommy detective in me comes into play. do i trust him and believe that he is feeling a tight, asthma chest, or make him take the run of the mill stuff that will not work anyway if it is stricktly asthma? i quickly decide to trust him, only it is too soon to give him another treatment. you have to wait 4 hours. so, now what? well, i have a liquid steroid that is to be used if the breathing treatment does not work, so i go for that. luckily, he complied. at this time, if you are wondering why he had a say in the first place about which medicine he took, now is not the time to question me. today i was wondering why i feel so tired all the time. that seems like a very silly inquirey (sp?) now. the steroid worked and he was very opinionated about going back to sleep in his and colton's room. i wanted to put him in bed with us to monitor him. well, back to bed he went and after his lullaby of choice, he was asleep. in about 6.5 seconds...so was i. then, at 12:00am, i woke up to him coughing bad again. i looked at the clock, expecting to see 4:00am at least, but no. too soon to give a breathing treatment...too soon to give more medicine. now is when i call in the big guns. no, not chad...he is sleeping peacefully. i call the walgreens 24 pharmacy to talk with the pharmacist, who you would think i was on a first name basis with. he, so patiently, researches the meds and tells me what i already know...i can't do another treatment for 2 hours. he says to give robitussin dm...a plain cough syrup until i can do the treatment. i don't have robittusin dm. now is the time to wake up chad. he groggily rolls out of bed and puts his cute glasses on and shuffles out the door to the 24 hr kroger. he only asked one time if we really needed this. he gets back in about 15 minutes and i head upstairs to get chase. it is about 12:45 at this point. in the back of my mind i am thinking, chase is not going to take this. i know it tastes terrible. as soon as i get chase out of bed, still half asleep, he says, "mommy...cough medicine." i say, "we're gonna get you some cough medicine right now sweet baby." he takes it without a word, scrunches up his nose and sputters a little, but swallowed it all. "good job, chase. i'm proud of you." this time he wanted daddy...wanted to sleep in "daddy's bed". i wanted to rock him to keep him upright until the medicine took effect, but chase wanted daddy. for a split second my feelings were a little hurt...afterall, i was the one who had put this whole plan in motion. chad did go get the medicine though...i guess it's only fair. now i am just waiting to make sure the medicine works before i drift off asleep again, and there is nothing on tv. i was watching this candy castle compitition on the food network before chad got back with the cough syrup, and i totally forgot about that until now...i'm wondering who won. none the less, at this point it is better to be awake already than to be woken up after 10 minutes of sleep. my brain gets really confused when that happens multiple times a night. it is 1:33 now, and i have not heard any more coughing, so i think i will check on colton and aiden, and then head to bed. funny thing about colton...his shirt had a big hole in it at the chest the other day. i asked why. he said, "it was itching me, so i cut it." i said, "cut it with what?" he said, "scissors." naturally. we talked a while about not cutting our clothes with scissors, etc. etc. etc. then we talked about the appropriate action to take if our skin is itching. about an hour later, i catch him trying to glue his shirt (still on his body) back together with gum. i think i need a nanny.