Falling one by one!

Falling one by one!

Brutal doesn't really cover it.  I remember flu season always being really bad. BUT I though,  I keep the house really clean,  the kids always wash their hands, I keep the house REALLY clean, and I haven't been feeding them processed food, only healthy food that will "stick" to their bones and make them strong.  Then during soccer seasons Ainsley got the stomach flu...no one else did.  That is not our normal Griner thing.  I felt good.  Then during Christmas break Caleb got the stomach flu.  I contained and we moved on.  School was finally starting.  After a really really long Christmas break I was ready for everyone to go back and they were ready to go back.  After one day back it started...Ainlsey first.

 Of course, she missed hat day (OF ALL DAYS) and since I couldn't get her temp. down she had to take a bath 4 times that day.  Kind of like a sick holiday.  The final decision was that she would be wearing her swimsuit  because I couldn't get her temperature down and that would make up for missing hat day (kind of).  4 hours later Caleb's nurse called and I had to go and pick him up.  Same very high fever, aches, and his face was so bright red I wish there was snow so I  could put it on him right way.  

There isn't really a funny part to this but if there was.  The school is really far away so I told Tate to get his shoes on and get in the car so I could help Ainsley who was so sick she couldn't really walk or get winter clothes on.  He grabbed the hand-me-down size 2 spiderman shoes (more for an 8 year old), put them in the car, and buckled so when I got in the car and was driving (almost half way there I noticed) I was so embarrassed!  When Aubrey saw him she laughed right away.

Well, Tate (and wienie dog) finally came down with the fever Saturday.  It makes for an almost Month long winter break.  A sad one....I think the kids have watch every Super Hero Movie,  They have finally got to take baths but not the play fun kind, and we have gone through crackers like no tomorrow.  Tate does not like a disruption in his day and he just doesn't understand why everyone doesn't want to watch The Hulk over and over.

Caleb will have missed a full week a school and his class party.  Hopefully no more missed school, we got to work on those high frequency words.

In the mist of the sickness our dear friend passed alway.

When he first fell and got hurt my kids would make him pictures.  He help Caleb earn his Tiger Badge, he was so funny. He was such a big part of our daily routine, the kids were always so excited to see him every morning and evening and they loved watching him practice his golf stroke in the front yard.  He gave Caleb and Tate a couple of balls every now and then.  I went to his funeral on Saturday.  We were so luck to have lived across the street from him.

as a side note:  spending 5 days watching Tate cough all over wienie dog makes me need to wash it badly but he wont let it go

Ainsley is finally back to school

Aubrey went to her first 2013 party...big step for both her and us...we found out they were going to be watch a Taylor Swift movie so me and the kids spent an hour on youtube showing Aubrey who Taylor Swift was and trying to teach her some fun songs.  I think Caleb might kind of like country now.  (now I do not live in a barn but we don't have cable and the kids watch movies in the van so, my kids do not listen to the radio)

First week in 2013

Starting the New Year off independent and older!

So...if you do not know baths are not done here.  Those are more of a specialty once in a full moon, yahoo type of thing because I feel like it turns into a monsoon and nothing gets accomplished at all.  But that is just in my motherhood experience I am sure that if YOU are a mom YOU know how to do it right, with yourself dry in the end...floor dry in the end, and minimal towels used.  Oh, and happy thoughts.  It's just not on my bucket list.  So we do showers.  In the new house the 3 oldest are old enough to take this important responsibility and do it correctly, after which they can get dresses alone.  The problem is with Ainlsey the dressing part.  She often times gets lost.  I find traces of her down the hall.  It is like she get half way to me, very excited to show me her outfit and then thinks of something to add to it and leaves it on the ground and runs to get the next item.  When all is said and done I usually find her still naked deciding on the perfect socks or which princess underwear would be best for the day.

 I mean...it must be so hard to be 5.  Of course, she has a lid on her underwear box.  You wouldn't want anyone to know.  She is very seriously about these things.  

 Aubrey likes to write letters to us on her dry erase board.  It is really fun!  I am not sure why we are all riding camels.  My parents were in Israel over Thanksgiving again and Aubrey thought it was cool that they road camels.  We do not know but Florida is about as far as we travel.

 Ainsley got new running shoes...

 After a weekend at Grandmas and a trip to Grandpas office to check to make sure a tooth was under the baby one she lost her first tooth!!!!  Yay!!

The biggest thing to happen the first week of 2013 was for Tate!!!!  Our SUNBEAM!  This is BIG on a couple of levels.  First he was so excited and he did great!  Second that means we do not have any more babies.  Third now we have 2 in junior and 2 in senior primary.  BIG!  Maybe it wasn't a big deal for any other parent there on Sunday but it was a big deal for me because who would have thought....it wasn't like crowds cheering and bells ringing it was more like a peaceful, we have arrived we made it. We did it!  

New Years Eve 2012

New Years Eve 2012

 Not just the last day of a busy year but a morning full or endless cheering and excitement because snow!  Really, big, fun, fluffy snow!  Now we had snow a couple of week previous in the evening but it was more like ice and it cancelled their last day of school for the year, closed the roads and caused frustration.  Not to mention our lights flickering.  (super fun)   This...this was exciting.  Now, I have a 10:00am rule.  Just because they wake up at 6:00am doesn't mean the neighbors do.  If I was a neighbor AND was retired AND didn't have children I think I would like to sleep until 9:00, wake up to silence OR nice relaxing music.  Maybe have some hot chocolate, take a quiet shower....not hear a bomb of yelling.  So 10:00am.  It is the right thing to do.  They were pretty worried that the snow wouldn't make it, it would vanish but it just kept coming.  

 The kids were excited about the snow...lasted about one minute but not Tate.  He had to make his mark.  He found a bunch of sticks and stuck them in the ground all over the place.  "TATE WAS HERE" Aubrey, Caleb, Ainsley and I sat and watched him for over 10 minutes just talk to himself.  He meant business.
After they played outside I sort of, kind of tricked them into watching one of my favorite movies!  While You Were Sleeping is a classic.  I mean it has to be watched and I knew that if I didn't make it sound exciting that I wouldn't be able to talk Caleb and Tate into it.  Aubrey and Ainlsey would watch it because it was about LOVE but no way would Caleb and Tate so with my years of experience I showed them the cover and said, "Do you want to watch this?  It's about a guy who almost gets hit by a train!!!!!!!!!"  I had them!  I showed them the train on the cover and they were in.  They actually loved the movie.  I am pretty sure I can get them to watch Little Women next because "technically" batman is in it.  I mean not batman the character but batman the actor and he saves someone who falls into the icey water so...I'll have to work on that one.

 New Years Eve Night came. After dinner and some fun snacks we played twister.  Caleb was always out first.  He is not a stretcher!  Ainsley usually won or the game ended all of a sudden.  At "midnight" (Yes, this might be the very last year we are able to set all the clocks ahead 4 hours,  the kids are getting really smart) the kids were so excited they opened the doors and screamed 2013! 

Aubrey 

 Ainlsey

Caleb

Tate 

I am not sure what 2013 will hold for our little family.  What path we will follow.  What new friends my children will make, toys they will be introduced to, or sport they will play next.   How many time I will have to chase Tate with markers, ask Ainsley why she changed her outfit, tell Caleb "Manners Matter", or beg Aubrey to "just wear this today."  I would like to hope that I get my kitchen table out of my garage and into my kitchen and that I am able to avoid getting a pet for another year.  I've made it this long I can come up with a couple more good solid reason why, I hope!  In 2013 we will leave behind a huge part of our life, Ainsley will begin Kindergarten, Caleb will get baptized, and Tate will start Sunbeams.  It does look like pillow pets will be a big part of 2013 since Andy's aunt gave each of my children one for Christmas...funny how those things have stuck around.  The question is...will Aubrey and Ainsley both end up with a 3DS by the end of the year and will Beyblades still be so super fun to watch Caleb play?!  Who knows,  maybe next year?  I do have a feeling that the tooth fairy will be here soon.  Ainsley is such an over excited child when she looses a tooth I hope she is at home and not at school...oh boy!!!