Riddle of the Day!!!

What do you get when you have three freshly bathed kids...
(Landon not pictured)

Taco Tierra nacho cheese...
Toilet water with squishy bug... AND
Exhausted mommy with throbbing teeth??? (Braces put on 7 hours ago)
One big mess and...

Three little angels all snug in their beds!

The Verdict Is In...

Well, we have been waiting for over a month to get Ethan in to see the Allergy Doctor. Since he was born, he has coughed constantly. He can't run, skip, jump, rough house, or do anything high energy without coughing. The poor guy, every time the weather changes he starts in too. He coughs so hard it hurts. When we got to the doctors office he was a little nervous.

We waited for quite a while, so I gave him my camera to play with. I NEVER give them anything important to me to play with. My phone and camera are absolutely off limits. Since it was just Ethan I wanted to calm his fears so I gave him my sacred camera. He embraced his artistic side and began snapping away. He was such a trooper when they brought the white prongs out and pushed them on his back. It itched and hurt and he didn't shed a tear.


When Dr. White came in we found that Ethan is not allergic to anything inside. Praise God!! The cats can stay! He passed with flying colors on everything but one thing. Outdoor Mold!! The bad news: Outdoor mold is in the air 10 months out of the year. The two months it isn't, January and February, everyone is sick anyway. The good news: Its treatable!! Pulmicort breathing treatment everyday. Bath everyday. Every time he comes inside he has to wash his hands and face. Hopefully he will grow out of it in a year or two.

Dorothy, Lion, Monekys and Giraffe!! Oh My!!

We got home the other day and I was busy making supper when the kids decided to pull out their old costumes out. It was so funny. They had monkeys, a lion, and giraffe. First they practiced their biggest ROARS, followed by their best monkey impersonations.

Princess Dorothy!

Then they proceeded to pull each others tails. That was what they did for the next hour. I have to say, it was nice to fix supper in peace for once.

See Mom! This is how monkeys do!

RRROOOOOOAAARRRRR!!!

Landon's best monkey impersonation.

How do we...

discipline Ethan without breaking his spirit?? That is the long time question we have wrestled with. He is our most difficult and disruptive of the bunch. Rob and I look back to when they were just little babies. He was our best baby. Easily the most laid back and happy.Its funny, I can see the character traits he's inherited from Rob and me. From what I've been told, Rob was a very goofy little boy. He did everything in his power to annoy his sister. He did things like, throw a croquet ball in the air and miss it and knock himself out. He was just GOOFY! Always into something he wasn't supposed to. Ethan is the same way. He doesn't play with things like normal people. He breaks stuff or hurts himself because he doesn't play like a normal kid. He takes toys and causes turmoil and disruption. Ethan is similar to me in his lack of imagination and enjoyment in playing. I didn't like playing pretend or barbies or dolls as a kid. I was more task and goal oriented. Give me a task and I would work on it until I completed it. He is just like that. He doesn't know how to play pretend. Ethan gets bored with toys and activities quickly.

He may not have the knack of playing, but he has been given an ear for music. That is definitely a trait not inherited from myself or Rob. He can hear a song one time and practically have it memorized. He even puts the vibrato in his voice when he sings. I pray he has a good voice when he gets bigger. Every second of his day he has a song going through his head. You know how you hear a song and it drives you crazy because you can't get it out of your head? Ethan can learn anything by music. That is his niche.
So, how do we try to reign in his outbursts and disruption without breaking his spirit? He is in trouble for screaming and yelling songs, teasing and disrupting the other kids. He is ALWAYS in trouble. Its been rough, I feel like he likes getting in trouble.

This week has been particularly bad for Ethan. He was very disruptive and blatantly disobedient. He ran out in the drive-thru at McDonalds, turned around and smiled after being told seconds before to stay on the sidewalk. Stuff like that all the time. So, I made the tough decision to keep him home with Rob and me Friday night instead of letting him go with the others to Grandma and Papaw's house.

We spent the next 24 hours working with him and trying to start a new strategy. We went to Walmart and bought 5 rain gauges. They are the perfect size for pennies. So, now we are earning pennies for any good behavior. We are going to reward pretty much anything good. Once they get pennies up to the 1 they get in a treasure box. Once they fill their gauge up to the 5 they will go to Walmart to pick out a (cheap) toy. Ethan picked up on it right away.

Hopefully this will give him something to work towards. We will see!!

PIZZA!!!

We had a fun filled evening at Sandy's Pizza tonight. Our long time friends Brian, Ashley, and soon to be big sister Trisha met us at our favorite pizza place. We both have been really busy and have looked forward to getting together for a loud, rowdy, but fun time. Any time you get my five little ones together with their best friend Trisha there is bound to be lots of shouting, running, laughing, playing, and loads of fun. Sandy's has buffet on Tuesday nights and kids under 6 eat free. That is right up our alley!

It has been a really cold, dreary, rainy day. The rain has set in and is going to be here until morning I think. I'm hopeful for warmer weather soon! The kids are itching to get out and play.

I can't wait for the time change this weekend. I'm trying to train for a half marathon on April 30th. It gets dark so early we haven't been able to do much running outside. With the time change we will have another hour of daylight to get in some miles.

Sorry I haven't posted in a while. I haven't taken any pictures lately. I hate to post without pictures. That's partly the reason I haven't posted lately. I kept telling myself to take the camera with me so I can snap some here or there. So, I decided to go ahead and post anyway. I promise I will try to get some new ones up soon.

Nothing new really going on. Hopefully we can fit something fun in this weekend that I can report back with.

Have a good week!