Boy oh Boy

Paul was known as the Destroying Angel in my family.  Gabe is a close second. He gets into everything faster than I can clean.  Here are some examples. 

Gabe pulled the lid off my honey and put both his hands in it then walked all the way over to where I was in the living room- leaving a long sticky trail of honey.

He didn't like it!  Get it off mom!

Wait, let me put my hands in it one more time.

Any time I try and take a picture he refuses to look at the camera.  At least he is still cute!

Our neighbor gave us a chocolate fountain, and my kids have been DYING to try it.  I have been putting them off for a year.  Finally I could delay no longer.  So we pulled it out for Family Home Evening on Monday. 

Hmmm, what is the best angle?

The kids were cracking up at this one!

Look at that cute little body!  I love it! Even with toothpaste and marker all over!

This was my favorite.  So the kids were just laughing so hard at Gabe.  He started to get into it and ham it up a little.  He turned to the mirror and was totally showing off.  It was hilarious, he put a show on for us!

Everyday I remind myself- I am getting something done.  I am raising kids, I am raising kids, I am raising kids...  And I love it.  I really do.  The time goes by faster with each one.  It seems as if Gabe has just grown before my eyes.  For now I'll let him smear honey, chocolate, marker, and toothpaste all over himself.  Because he won't be doing it for long.

Bathroomitis

Have you ever heard of Bathroomitis?  It is a serious medical condition when kids suddenly have to go to the bathroom when it is time to do jobs.  For example- its time to clean up after dinner and all your kids desperately have to go to the bathroom.  You get home from the grocery store and ask kids to help bring in groceries and everyone needs to use the restroom.  Thus the name, Bathroomitis. They all just disappear for 20-30 min.  Maybe your kids have bathroomitis too.  

I have come upon the discovery lately that Bathroomitis must be a gene.  It runs in our family.  What leads me to this conclusion?  Well, Gabe, at the early age of only 19 months suddenly needs to go to the bathroom whenever I am putting him to bed.  It's always the same.  We do our before bed routine and then seconds before I place him in his crib he points to his diaper and desperately yells, "poo! poo!"  I fell for it the first couple of times, but have learned this is a simple trick to get out of going to bed.  Was he taught this behavior?  No, its imbedded deep in his gene pool.  A natural instinct my kids have been born with to get them out of work.     

When I was a kid my dad would always accuse me and my  brothers and sisters of having Bathroomitis.   The thing is, when I was a kid- I really needed to go!  I wasn't faking it the way Mark was!  Or the way my kids do now.

Do your kids suffer from Bathroomitis?  This may be a much more serious problem than people realize.

Happy on The Inside

 Today was a good day- better than that, today was a great day.  Having Darren around makes everything better.  We went to the beach as a family this morning about 9 and spent the whole day there.  We planned on leaving around 1, but didn't leave till after 4 because we were having such a great time.  One of Paul friends (a boy in our ward) had his birthday party on the beach.  We are good friends with his family-Doug and Jill Lewis.  They are a great family, we love hanging out with them.  They had their Hobie Cat, 3 paddle-boards, footballs, frisbee, tubes, floaties, and some other fun beach stuff.  There were some other families from the ward there.  We started out fishing, snorkeled a little, played in the sand, played games, ate and just felt happy.  

I loved these cool pelicans hanging out.

And this cool bird

Gabe's beautiful face

Kyle!

Look at those swimtrunks!  He loves them! LOL

A cool needle fish we caught with a cast net.

Gabe!

 

Kyle and Ellie being cute

Ellie

What a life! 

Gabe is inseparable from Darren.  It is hilarious.  If I try and take Gabe when Darren is holding him he will push me away and say, "Don! Dont!"

Birthday boys on one of the paddle-boards

Paul getting ready to throw his cast net.  He has caught so many cool fish with that thing!

Good job buddy!

Gabe taking a much needed nap

We saw a sea turtle!  You can't really see it in the picture.  But it was cool.  It kept coming to the surface- and we would try and swim to it- then it would come to the surface somewhere else- and we would swim to it- and it would come to the surface in a totally different place.  So we never got really close to it.

Birthday party! Gotta love the shade tent- it makes me feel right at home!

Darren and the kids with the Hobie Cat

  A couple other fun things today:  Ellie stepped on a stingray and it swam away!  We saw some dolphins pretty close.  None that looked like sharks today thank goodness:) 

Here is some video of the dolphins swimming close to Darren

http://youtu.be/lsYYF4jAMFE

And Dolphins by the kids
http://youtu.be/q4FS1UiP3-Q

Cool seashells digging down in the sand with Gabe watching:
http://youtu.be/KFtgmNPyecI 

Gabe being cute:
http://youtu.be/DkFFE0aGcNQ 


You know, I am really falling in love with the beach.  It is going to be so bitter sweet to move.  For now- I just try to soak it all in. 

Sea Slugs..Dolphins, and Sharks. Cool!

Lately, we have been going to the beach early Saturday mornings.  It has been awesome and some of the best beach trips we've had.  It's usually Darren's day off work so we pack up the car the night before and try and be to the beach by 8.  The mornings at the beach are always amazing.  The water is so much more clear at 8 than by 10 and by noon it's not even worth snorkeling.   We have been snorkeling lots and seeing so many amazing things!   This last Saturday we went to Clam Pass.  Clam pass is the kids favorite beach.  You have to ride on a golf cart down a board walk to get to the beach.  It is really fun.  The kids love it.  The beach is close to a river so there seems to be more wildlife.  There are always people fishing- once we saw someone catch a shark.  (just a 4 foot Nurse Shark).  Once we went and there were thousands, yes thousands of Fighting Conch Shells crawling all over.  It was so cool!
This last week did not disappoint.  We saw thousands of cool sand dollars.  Darren and Paul saw 5 sting rays.  We saw some really cool fish, my favorites were ones with long noses that looked like they glowed. 
We also saw one of the freakiest things I have ever seen.  I was finishing up snorkeling when I started heading back to the beach and Darren. I was in water about chest high when I noticed Darren was already right by me- he said, "dolphins are right there by you!"  I turned around and sure enough about 20 feet away a dolphin fin came up out of the water.  And then another fin, that was defiantly not a dolphin fin came up out of the water.  Now, I have seen lots and lot and lots of dolphins.   I am telling you- this was not a dolphin. I quietly said to Darren, "That looked like a shark!"  Darren said, "I know, that's why I was coming to get you!"  We kept watching,   The fins came up again further away, one a dolphin, one a shark.  The strange thing is, that they were swimming together!  Paul yelled, "That's a Black Tip Shark!"   We watched them for a while as they swam further away.  Then they circled around and came back- but further out.  It was pretty much the strangest, freakiest things I have ever seen.   Dolphin fins are curved- kind of like a crescent moon, and they come up and down out of the water in a curvy formation.   Just like they are playing- or getting a breath of air for their blowhole.  This shark fin was like a triangle with a black tip on top, and it slowly came up, and slowly went down, just like in the movies.  AHHHH! When I got home I did some research and found out that sharks and dolphins will actually swim together sometimes- usually when hunting.  Which would make sense why they were circled around.  I guess we got to see one of those times.  Unless we were mistaken, which I highly doubt me, Darren, and Paul were.  I mean, it was pretty obvious.  The fins were completely different, and they way they came out of the water was completely different.   It wasn't really scary though- it's not like they are hunting for humans- they were just doing their own thing. 
Another really cool we saw were Sea Slugs.  I probably would have never known they were there if Paul hadn't pointed them out to me.  They are camouflaged as seaweed- and it is pretty awesome. 

When you take them out of the water they curl up and their spikes disappear.

Here is Paul holding one under water.

Look how amazing!!!  It looks just like a piece of seaweed.

They were everywhere.  Darren said there was a Sea Slug convention. 

I had to add this picture from the tram ride to the beach.  Notice what the sign on the top says.

If you want to see some fun video footage check this out

Paul with a Sea Slug:
http://youtu.be/5fSoyA5rmig

Here's some video of the Fighting Conch Shells.  It gets me in the end!
 http://youtu.be/Xr9mY8GNGvc

More Sand Dollars
http://youtu.be/jVFNqOInJBw

Sea Slugs snorkeling with Paul
http://youtu.be/Ci5VRJJKV9w

And one more cool video of Sea Slugs
http://youtu.be/BXnmfcFXzWA 

Overwhelmed, Potty Training and Homeschooling

I haven't posted for a while- not because I haven't wanted to, but because I can't seem to find a spare moment.

It seems as though Gabe is starting to move faster than me and it's really taking it's toll.  The baby gets into and destroys EVERYTHING! everything. He is almost as destructive as Paul was. almost.  I can't do anything without him making a mess faster than I can clean up.  If I am trying to load, he takes out the dishes and throws them on the ground.  If I try and do laundry, he insists on putting the clothes in the washer and putting in the detergent.  He is constantly trying to escape out the front door, saying, "side, side, side!"  I spend about an hour everyday walking down the street gutters with him while he plays in the puddles and jumps off the sidewalk.  Cute little baby.

 I started potty training a couple weeks ago- which has gone surprisingly well.   I can't believe how smart he is!  I really wasn't expecting him to pick it up when I bought him his own little toilet.  But every day for the last 2 weeks he has informed me when he has to go to the bathroom by saying, "poo, poo!"  And I put him on his little toilet and.. he goes if you can believe it!  We all stand around and clap our hands and cheer and give him 5.  It's so funny the things you do when potty training.   It takes a lot of time though, I probably spend an hour or two a day undoing diapers, helping him sit, then sitting there waiting, dumping out the potty, cleaning the potty, flushing, washing hands, doing the diaper back up, and an hour later going through it all again.

  Tonight he started for the first time trying to get out of bed time.  When I was about to put him in his crib he shouted "poo, poo!" I said, "do you need to use the bathroom?"  And he vigorously shook his head yes.   So we went through the whole schpill for 15 min.  Then I was putting him to bed and he said it again.  I told him to go in his diaper or hold it till the morning.   How can a little baby know so much??!! 

The other thing that has been taking a lot of time is Paul's schooling.  We decided to do Florida Virtual Online School.  It's a lot of work.  And takes a lot of time on my part.  It has been frustrating.  At first Paul was just skimming everything and taking the quizzes with out really paying attention.  So he was getting really bad grades.  Darren and I had a serious talk with him.  No Minecraft till he has B's in all his classes.  That's motivation.   I e-mailed all of his teachers and he is redoing stuff to help get his grades up.   But it all takes so much time and effort to help him.  It's worth it though.  It's the right thing for him right now.


So that's it.  That's where I've been.  Potty training and Homeschooling (on top of the usual laundry, dinner, dishes, homework, cleaning, bills, grocery shopping, church, FHE, etc. etc.) It just seems never ending!  I think having a 19 month old is fun, but it's exhausting!  I can't get anything else done.  Is anyone else feeling overwhelmed?  I keep telling myself we are just getting the hang of being back in school and it will get easier. I'm tired but happy.  I'm exhausted but still up.  So I think I'll go to bed.  

Primary Program

We had our annual Primary Program this past Sunday.  My kids did great.  Paul was asked to give a talk about Jesus.  While Darren and I were out I asked him to write it.  I was curious what he would come up with.  Here it is...

       Hello, and today I'm going to give a talk on Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is with us, even though it may not seem so.  He talks through the holy ghost to warn us, comfort us, or help us.  

Now I'm going to share a story.             

Jesus Works Miracles

While Jesus was on the earth, He worked many miracles that showed His power as the Son of God.

One day, a large crowd of people followed Jesus into the desert. They brought their loved ones who were sick, and Jesus healed all who came to Him. The people stayed all day to be close to Jesus and to hear Him teach.

When evening came, Jesus’s Apostles told him that the people needed to eat. No one had any food, except for one boy who had five loaves of bread and two fishes. Perhaps they should send all the people back to the villages so they could eat.

Jesus told the disciples to have the people sit down on the grass, and they would be fed. The Apostles were astonished. There were 5,000 men, plus women and children. How could they feed all those people? But the Apostles did as Jesus commanded them. They broke the boy’s bread and fishes into pieces and put them in 12 baskets.

The baskets of food were passed around the crowd. Everyone ate and felt full, and yet when they were done, more food was left in the baskets than when they began. It was a miracle. The people understood that Jesus Christ had the power to help them.

Later that night, Jesus sent His Apostles to the Sea of Galilee to get on a ship while He went alone to a mountain to pray. In the late hours of the night, the winds blew and waves tossed the ship. The worried Apostles saw someone coming toward them on the water, and they cried out in fear.

Jesus spoke to them. “It is I; be not afraid.” Jesus had walked across the stormy sea to get to the ship. It was a miracle. The Apostles knew Jesus was the Son of God.

Sometime later, Jesus got word that his friend Lazarus was very sick. Lazarus’s sisters asked for Jesus to come to Bethany to heal him. By the time Jesus had traveled to Bethany, Lazarus had already died. Mary and Martha were weeping. “Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died,” Martha said.

Jesus went with many people to the tomb of Lazarus. He asked that the stone be taken from the door. The people said that Lazarus had been dead for four days. But Jesus insisted, and the stone was moved. Jesus spoke with a loud voice and said, “Lazarus, come forth.”

Lazarus came out of the tomb with his burial clothes still wrapped around him. He was alive again! It was a miracle that taught the people that Jesus was the Savior, who had power over death.

The miracles Jesus performed showed His love for the people. They showed His power as the Son of God and Redeemer of the World.

 Jesus Can work miracles, and he works them in your live today. I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

I think he pretty much copied and pasted a talk from The Friend.  But that's ok- it was a great talk!  He looked so handsome up there in his suit.  The lady behind me said, "looks like you have a future General Authority living in your house!"  

Paul's Talk

 Paul gave this talk in church a couple of weeks ago.  I loved it.  He wrote it himself. 

Hello, and today I'm going to give a talk on baptism. Who here has been baptized? If you have, you must have felt the warm water touching your skin as you felt the holy ghost enter your body. And you have to remember being confirmed, as your dad and uncle and cousin and grandpa joe place their hands on your head. your dad says a prayer, and you are an official member of the church of Jesus Christ of Latter day saints. Now I'd like to share a story about being baptized. When I turned 8, I was really exited to be baptized. I asked my mom if I was going to get baptized on saturday or sunday. She said "Sunday, a couple hours after church." That sunday after church, i asked my mom if i should do anything before the baptism. She asked me "what are you talking about? You aren't getting baptized today! Your getting baptized with Grace!" My cousin, Grace, had her birthday a month after mine. "What do you mean?" I replied "Well, Honey," she started "Your getting baptized when Grace gets baptized. When i said sunday, i meant the sunday after Grace's birthday! Isn't that great?" "Um, ya, i guess." I replied " I just wanted to get baptized today. But, i guess it's fine." A month later i was walking nervously into the warm water of the font. I stepped out of the font feeling happy that I was baptized with my cousin Grace. Isn't that a lovely story? Everyone got grace and i presents, and someone even made us a cake! (We didn't get any of the cake, it was all eaten by the time we had given our talks)