I hate picture day!

My kids were scheduled to have their pictures taken at JC Penny's on Tuesday afternoon, so I had the added stress of trying to keep them clean until their 4:00 appt. It turns out keeping them clean wasn't what I should have been stressed about. That morning just started out horrible which should have been my first clue that maybe it wasn't the best day for pics. It began when I lost about half the eye lashes in my right eyelid because my stupid eyelash curler was a little stucky (it was brand new, what the heck would make it sticky?!), and then Rylee fell and hit her head on baseboard in our family room, and ended up with a huge red and blue bump on her forehead! I decided to put my kids down for their naps so they would be happy for their pictures, and apparently Rylee pooped in her sleep because she woke up with massive diaper rash and didn't want to sit up because it hurt too much (poor girl, I don't blame her one bit). On top of that, as we were walking out the door, Brandon decided to poop which I thought was going to make us late getting there- it's such a fight to change that boy's diaper! When we got to JC Penny's I decided that I only wanted a picture of my kids together, not individual pics, since I don't have many of my kids together. I guess Brandon had other ideas, because he refused to sit with Rylee- the photographer tried putting Rylee in his lap and he just pushed her onto the ground. My poor baby had already been through enough that day, so we decided that maybe individual pics would just have to do. Of course, Brandon would sit still for those when it was his turn. When it was Rylee's turn however, he took the time to try to break their camera and pull down their backdrop. Sigh! We did get some cute pictures of my kids, but NONE of them together. I guess I'll just have to wait until they're a little older. So on top of all this stress, when I got home I discovered a letter from our mortgage company saying that one of their former employees sold our identities (social security #'s, address, etc.) and now we have to watch our credit in case the above mentioned employee used our info to buy stuff. Tuesday just wasn't my day!

Fun at the park!

Charlotte and I took the kids to the park for some end of summer fun! The boys had a great time playing and chasing each other (and bubbles), and Rylee was happy just hanging out in her car seat. It was nice to have to some time to catch up with Charly since I don't get to see her very often any more! We look forward to seeing Brock and Charlotte again soon!

The happiest 50 years!

Last weekend we drove up to Sugar City (that's in Eastern Idaho) to celebrate my in-laws 50th wedding anniversary! It was a lot of fun to see everyone and only the second time since Richard and I have been married that all 11 (yep, they have 11 kids!!!) of their kids have been together at one time. Brandon made friends with all of his cousins that he's never met before, and Rylee was happy just sitting there taking in the scenery for the most part. I wish we had been able to spend more time with my in-laws, but what time we did have with them was really nice! They seem so happy and loving to each other, even after 50 years. I only hope that Richard and I can be like that when we celebrate our golden anniversary. Here's to the happiest years of their lives, with many many more happy years to come!

Good news for Brandon!

One of the ladies that we work with through the Infant/Toddler Program called me on Friday and said that they want to start doing Occupational Therapy with Brandon! This is awsome news for many reasons, but the main one is because they will finally be able to give us insight on whether he has autism or just a sensory disorder. This means that he will most likely qualify for a special pre-school were he will continue to get the help he needs with speech. YAY!!! She also said that they are looking into buying him a weighted vest to help with his sensory issues, but we'll find out more about that on Wednesday when the therapist comes. I'm so happy that we are getting the help that we need, this couldn't have come at a better time in our lives!!! Now we're just praying that Brandon doesn't have Autism...

Doctors must love us!

Our family has been trading off being sick all summer! I can't even count how many times we've all been to the Dr. in just the last 3 months. Between Richard hurting his ankle, me having sinus infections and asthma problems, Brandon repeatedly having pink eye, sinus infections, and allergic reactions to who knows what, and now poor Rylee has a UTI. We had to take Rylee in to Urgent Care last night because she's been running a fever that's been between 102-104 since Monday afternoon. I couldn't get her temp to go down at all last night, and she was starting to become lethargic. The Dr. and nurse we saw last night stayed way past closing time so that they could help Rylee out, and we are so thankful for that! The poor girl had to have an antibiotic shot, which we were told will make her very sore for the next few days. She is acting like herself once again though!
I'm crossing my fingers (but not holding my breath) that this will be it for a little while!

Things I never thought I'd have to say to my kids:

"Brandon, please do not drive your truck down mommy's shirt!"

"Please do not bounce the ball off of Rylee's head!"

"NO, babies do NOT eat banana peels!!!"

"We do not eat out of the dog's dish!"

"Stop eating out of the garbage!"

"We do not use Rylee's head to play golf with!"

Yes, we've entered the terrible two's, and they are very very terrible! It's a good thing Brandon is so cute, because I don't know how he or I would survive this if he wasn't! =) And poor Rylee is going to need a helmet to survive this, the poor thing (luckily I caught him before he actually followed through with his golf swing)!

Swimming... Part II

We decided to try the swimming thing again. Brandon was pretty scared last time, so we decided to ease him into the water by bribing with candy. Not my greatest parenting moment, but hey, it worked! =) He ended up loving the water (and his candy too)! He even started paddling with his feet! We had a blast this time, and didn't want to leave! But alas, it was closing time, so we had no choice. We will be back though!!!