Where to start…today was BUSY….got up, brushed teeth, ate breakfast, got dressed and headed off to swimming. Today was even fun at swimming for Trey because Nana went in the kiddie pool with him while the big boys had their lessons. He’s been so patient during the lessons but he wants to be in the pool so badly.

Came home shortly for a bite to eat and a little lie down (or supine….that was for you, Allie!) before heading off to speech. Dee came with us to speech today and she was glad she got to meet Julia and B. Carlos was his now-typical goofball self and didn’t really settle down and get work done. He did get homework to do so hopefully we can get things done during the week. It was the last time Carlos gets to see B, unless she does some private speech therapy !

We stopped in at Steelhead to see Gay’s new office and chatted with the ladies there for a few minutes. We’d promised to take them to Coldstone Creamery for some green apple ice cream with gummy bears, got there but Trey and Carlos couldn’t settle themselves down long enough for us to order. It was quite traumatic when we told them all we were leaving without ice cream. The van ride home was not pleasant, as they were all crushed that they didn’t get their treat. Levi was a rockstar at ice cream, and was going to get some cookies in the car as a reward since he shouldn’t have been punished for the little boy’s behavior BUT….he was bawling and couldn’t pull it together so he lost that as well. That lead to a chorus of bawling and screaming. It was lovely…not so much.

We came home and got to have dinner with my cousins, Nathan and Andrew and Andrew’s girlfriend, Mindy and Nana and Papa. Andrew and Mindy live in Montana so we don’t get to see them all that often and the boys were showing off in a gigantic way. We got out the parachute and I don’t know if the boys had more fun or the grownups. You’ll see by the video. The other video is the boys running in circles, this will prove just how amped up they were. Nathan’s watching in the background…is this how he babysits? 🙂

Parachute Play –

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=885110474806987344&pr=goog-sl

Wild Boys –

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-9044640618112027563&pr=goog-sl

Exciting day tomorrow, our friend Jani (who moved away a few months ago) is coming back to visit us. I just can’t wait, we have missed her SOOOOO much. She ran the Parent and Child Center and we got to see her a couple of times each week when we took the boys in to play. It was so nice to have someone to chat with about parenting and life, I do miss our talks and friendship but realize that people have to move on in life sometimes. It will be great to see her and catch up and see what’s been going on with her since her move.

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The big kids were up from nap and hanging out on the front porch this afternoon waiting for Trey to wake up so we could go out and play on the bounce house. Well, I’m sitting here try to pick out stories for the cd compilation (see previous post) and in run Levi, Carlos and Alice all SCREAMING and freaking out. Apparently there is a wasps nest in the side of our house…and they had disturbed it and all got stung. Dee ran around front and I got the kids into the kitchen, stripped them down and started taking stingers out of them. They were all hysterical and crying and telling me how mean the bees are and wanting to be hugged (which I can’t do until I get stingers out and clothes off and am sure they are bee-free). I kept trying to reassure them that we’d make it all better…but it was hellish. Poor babies. We got all the stingers out, ice and baking soda paste on the stings and a dose each of Benadryl and Tylenol. Carlos ended up getting stung TEN times, Levi twice and Alice and Dee each once. NOT FUN! They were all fine, no allergic reactions…shocking with Carlos getting stung so many times and Levi being asthmatic and so sensitive to all bug bites. Alice had lots of drama, they all did but she took the cake, but this was her very first bee sting and it hurt.

After all had calmed down and everyone was medicated and redressed and calm, we hung out inside while “Mama Dee the bee killer” took care of the nest. The kids were fascinated with her spraying and felt better knowing the bees were no longer going to be there. Poor Alice, she had calmed down about the sting but when Mary came in, she was hysterical…you know that feeling when you think you are ok and then you see your mom and you just lose it!? That was Alice today. She pulled it together and the kids all told Mary all about the bee experience and then we took them outside while Dee made dinner and Mary and I weeded the garden.

The rest of the evening was, thank God, uneventful. Hoping the boys all sleep well tonight and wake up and forget about the bees. Not going to happen, but a mama can dream.

Started the day like we do most Sundays….coffee at the Bakery with Margaret! It was fun, the boys know our routine and love going to the “pull-apart house” to get, you guessed it, pull-aparts and juice while Mamas get their morning coffee.

We had a real treat today and went on a blueberry picking adventure with Holly and Gabe. It was super fun, the boys were great in the car (Levi rode down with Holly and Gabe) and really helped with bluberry picking and we came home with a couple big bags full. Hoping to make a pie or some jam or who knows what. If you have any great bluberry ideas, please pass them along.

Came home and the boys are hanging out awhile before bedtime and I’m heading out to do the weekly grocery shopping. Tomorrow Levi starts Future Stars camp and Carlos has speech therapy…another Monday!

So there are times in a mom’s life when it seems that you are a complete failure. That came on Thursday for me…it was the last day of gymnastics camp for the boys and Alice and Nana and I went for the “performance”. All the kids were doing the movements to the song they had been rehearsing EXCEPT for my boys. No, seriously, it was only them who were misbehaving. I have video to prove it. Check the boys in the bottom right corner of the video, there are two parts. At one point I thought Levi was going to redeem himself, but that was wishful thinking.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-578683871016223987&pr=goog-sl

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6374155515528412654&pr=goog-sl

We had a long talk with the boys, they seemed to think it was hilarious to not listen to the teachers. We were not amused. They got a chance to redeem themselves at soccer today and did a great job, best ever, and listened to the coaches and did all the drills perfectly. There is hope….

Carlos had a doctor appt today (just a 3 year old check up) and he is now in the 5th percentile for height and the 9th for weight. Grow, grow, grow dude! At this rate he will be about 5′ 1″ tall when he is 20 years old compared to Trey’s 6′ 6″!

Nathan wants to me tell you all that he stopped in the other night for a ride in the new minivan….there ya go, there’s your shout out!

This weekend will bring some house cleaning and tidying, it’s a pit again and I just can’t live like this. So much clutter.