Arg

My boys have always had Pirate tendencies. Davis only said "Aye" for "Yes". He was 3 and still said, "Aye." It was too cute to put an end to, but I eventually taught him the more understandable "Yes."

When Noah was born, cute 2-1/2 year old Jag said,"Him a pirate. Him have only one eye." Yes, the baby was squinty and only opened one eye at a time. So him was a pirate for at least a month. Jag was disappointed when him started opening 2 eyes.

Today I realized that Pirate runs in the family. On 3 different occasions today Christian referred to me as a Pirate. When asked to clarify, he just said, "Aarrggg." I must have been growling quite a bit in frustration. So yeah, I was a Pirate for the day. Arg.

Just Eat

Me: "Noah eat your lunch."
Noah: "No lunch. I make birthday cake."
Me: "Eat your birthday cake."
Noah: "No like cake."

I looked later and it was gone. Hurray he ate! Nope found birthday cake sandwich all over the floor. Stinker.

Cleanliness Counts

Ada.

To say that Ada LOVES Jag may be putting it lightly.

Jag met Ada at baseball. Her sisters happen to be on the teams of both of his brothers. She is 4 and reminds me of our friend Emma Russell, she has a great voice and smile. Ada spied Jag and instantly decided that he would be hers forever, Jag is taking a bit longer to come to that conclusion. The first time she sat next to him, she sat as close to him as she could. He turned to her, she smiled, and he said.... "Your face is filthy. You have hot chocolate all over it. You should go and ask your mom to wash it." Dear Ada just tried to wipe her face clean with her hand. Her mom never has wipes.

They have grown to be buddies. Ada wants more from the relationship. Every time she shows up, she'll tell him, "Oh, I just need some hugs." Then she'll grab him and squeeze, he'll stand like a statue and let her love on him, then he'll just kind of give me a grin that says, "what's a guy to do?"

We just saw Ada. She sat as close to Jag as possible and he turned and once again said, "Your face is dirty again. You have orange all over it." She once again told him they didn't have wipes and then gave him a hug. The things she is going to have to put up with if she is going to win him over.This is a blurry picture, but it shows how Ada is always looking at Jag.

Sand Devil

Sand Devil, our long lost lizard, has been spotted in the yard. His forked tail is the guarantee that it is him. Davis is determined to get him back. He is just waiting for the lizard to fall into his trap.

My Scouts

Christian is now old enough to be a cub scout. We had Pack Meeting last night. Although he has attended Pack Meetings for a year now, I'm Asst. Cub Master, this was the best one ever. Must have been the new uniform.

Noah likes to wear his "scout shirt" too.

Bad Connections

I am not whining here. I am merely stating the facts about our sorry "connections" here in the desert.

Once on Sunday and then again today I could have used someone to call and dump 4 lovely little boys on. I had a dentist appointment (again) and had to take the angels with me...sorry, boys. [OK, I do have a neighbor that I call on a very rare occasion, but it is always a big inconvenience.
She puts her kids in their PJ by 5 and to bed by 7. She had an appointment and couldn't help out.] Darin and I have realized that it is really sad that we haven't made any real connections here. We haven't found friends that we can turn to when we need a hand, or to hang out with and have a BBQ. We've never lived somewhere like this, a place in which we never find our long, lost friends. Everywhere that we've lived, we have collected life-long friends, friends that we were sad to leave. Not here.

Maybe we are just getting to be too old for the crowd we are living around. People just don't know us. We spoke in church on Sunday and afterward I had comments like, "I didn't know that you homeschooled." "Your husband is a JAG?" You know the basics that you figure out after 5 minutes of talking to us. Actually even the Bishop didn't know that Darin had been gone since mid-February. I guess he just thinks I ditch Darin and run to church so that I can sit and wrestle 4 boys on the pew by myself.

Like I said when I introduced our family on Sunday, in my talk, no need to know more about us, we are just going to be moving in 2 months. (Maybe it's my attitude?:0)

In some ways, I am looking forward to moving.

A Fair County Fair

Look! Fair Hair!

Welcome to the Pima County Fair. It is a regular old fair full of smelly animals, bangal tigers, expensive rides, and strange carnies. Darin hates carnies as much as he hates clowns. He says that they are creepy.
Jag wanted to touch everything! Noah wanted to touch nothing! He would get close to an animal and then say, "I no like pigs." "I no like sheep." When we got to the bunnies he finally said, "I like bunnies." I drove his stroller closer for a better look, nope "I no like this bunny." Then I decided it would be funny to torture him with the petting zoo...ha, ha funny mom. He screamed and hid from the little goat that ran everywhere. He was willing to stand next to the cute little pigs. We had a great time and the kids thought the fair was fabulous!

A Sports Story

I am a huge fan of the, sports hero out of nothing, kind of movies. You know Rudy, Remember the Titans, Radio...I love them. But tonight was my favorite sports story yet.

Davis has been frustrated with himself and baseball. He is athletic. He is competitive. He is driven. He is playing his first season of Minor League Baseball. He tries, but there are a lot of boys who have been playing for years on the team. He has been intimidated with the pitchers, and has stood frozen on the plate or ran while swinging wildly. He just had his second game. First time up, strike out (he did go down swinging). Second time up....

Full count.

Pitch... foul ball... finally he felt himself hit it, he would get it next time.

Last pitch... HIT!! Right to the shortstop. Davis is a super fast runner and made it safely to first.

Now this is my favorite part of the sports story, already my heart was leaping out of my chest, but then he turned, caught my eye, and raised both hands above his head and cheered! He wasn't going to be acting too cool, no he was as proud and thrilled as can be. And as in all of my favorite sports stories, I ended up crying. I was so happy for him, I just sat and cried. In fact I am crying right now.

His team lost, but it was our favorite game yet.

Forgotten

As a mother, it isn't unusual for us to put the needs of others before ourselves. This is true for a number of situations, such as our children always being clean and fed while we don't remember combing our hair or eating anything more than a handful of Easter candy that was left lying around. It is also true for doctors appointments, always on time well-baby check-ups for them...
an ignored kidney infection that makes it so I can't stand upright, but blame it on camping and sleeping in a tent for 3 days, for me. My teeth have been the next body part to take the backseat to real life. Now I am paying the dear price for that which was forgotten.

I can't remember the last time I went to the dentist for preventative care. After Christian was born, we moved to law school and the poverty that came with that, put dental care on the frivolous items list. After 3 years at school, I got my first root canal. I was able to put off the pain for a long time, but when during the windy season, I was unable to smile without the throbbing pain. We didn't have insurance, so it was still frivolous, I think we may have called it my birthday present. Turkey was next and I didn't know the limitations that came with dental care in a foreign country with the military deciding what the dentist can and can not do. Dear Dr. Russell did his best to help me out including fixing my broken tooth. Tucson should have brought an immediate dental visit, but once again it just didn't make my list. Instead I flew to Washington to Dr. Russell and let him crown a few teeth, this would put off a dental visit for a year and a half... at least. The boys had check-ups every 6 months. BUT who was going to watch the boys so that I could go to the dentist in the middle of the day, and who was going to help them with their math at the same time?

It was time to change my ways (still having problems with my teeth) and get a check-up. I waited until Darin had finally gotten home from Alabama and was home with the kids. What a can of worms I have opened! The dentist was a bit shocked an disappointed to see the x-rays of my neglected mouth. Mind you I brush all the time, but I do come from bad dental genetics and I have had 3 children since my last visit. I was instantly given a Rx for fluoride toothpaste and have appointments set up from here until I move to get the teeth back in order. It is an expensive and painful lesson that I will not soon forget. I will promise to find a dentist first thing when we move and set up appointments for preventative care!

On the bright side of this ordeal, I am now getting my teeth filled with white. I have had a silver mouth for as long as I can remember. [I have an aunt (slightly crazy) who has had all the mercury fillings removed and replaced because she is sure that it is poisoning her body.] I am going to be doing that the old fashioned, new improved way... filling cavities.

This is a call to all the mom's who have neglected their mouths and dental care, Call the Dentist Today! I am an expensive example of what not to do! But hey, my kids are clean and fed and have done their math.

6th Folder 6th Picture Tag

OK, so Brooke "Tagged" me with this last week. I wasn't ignoring her, it just took me some time to find the 6th folder 6th picture. (You are supposed to just open your 6th folder, find the 6th picture and then write about it, THEN tag 6 people.) My computer is new. I have only been putting photos on since I started blogging, so all my photos are ones that have already been posted. I therefore had to pull out our other "folders" we would always take all our memory card and have them put on a CD for safe storage. I picked the 6th one and here is the photo.

This is in August 2006, we are in Germany. That is the Neuschwanstien Castle in the background. It has been raining our entire vacation, thus the lovely rain gear. Mine is the only jacket we had that would keep me dry, not a fashionable choice, but definitely works for European travel. We camped in the rain in the Alps for 2 weeks. I was pregnant and sick and needed to pee 5 times a night... outside, in the rain. Darin bought me a little pool floaty to sleep on and Jag crowded my sleeping bag. We had a fantastic and memorable time.

Now I am not good at picking 6 people, so Jay and Dez and Kim your turn. 3 more people please volunteer to play along.

Easter Outfits

My favorite picture. He looks so old.

The Family

My boys are so very handsome!

Why?

Why can't it be MY Birthday?

I want a Birthday!

Poor Noah.

This is the cake I made. It is actually brownies with mint frosting. I spent a bit o' time on it and think it deserves its own photo. :-) It is a lightsaber for you non-Jedi folks.

Jedi Training Academy

7 years ago a baby boy was born. He was named Christian and he was strong in the Force. Now he is ready to celebrate his 8th birthday and begin his training as a Padawan at the Jedi Training Academy. Welcome to Planet Fawcettween. May the Force be with you!

Welcome to the Jedi Training Academy. This was the basis of Christian's Birthday party. He invited his friends (and brothers) over for a couple of hours of Jedi fun.

They ate Padawan Pizza and had Yoda Soda (lime sherbet with Sprite floats) .

They made their own lightsabers out of PVC pipe and foam pipe insulation. Then they had Jedi Lightsaber training with Dark Side balloons for competition.

They played Pass the Deathstar (Hot Potato) and had a hunt for Droid Debris and lightsabers (think egg hunt with candy wrapped in foil as droid pieces and then small lightsticks as sabers).

They ate Lightsaber brownies.

They ran crazy with lightsabers and hit everything in sight! By the time the end came, I was thinking that I may have a few noise and chaos issues. Christian LOVED every part of his party.

I only have about 6 weeks before I have to come up with 2 more parties.

8

Today is Christian's Birthday. I can't believe that he is 8 years old, time passes so quickly. This is a list of some of the many things that make up Christian:
1) He is forever helpful and willing.
2) I often describe him as 'Vanilla.' He doesn't have any strong opinions or loves... he just goes well with everything. This makes him very hard to buy presents for.
3) He salutes Darin all the time. (We don't know why)
4) He has a smile that melts my heart.
5) He is goofy, always laughing at dumb things.
6) He is always last at leaving the house or getting out of the car (this makes me crazy).
7) He thinks that I make the best canned corn! I work hard on dinner only to be complimented on my canned corn.
8) He loves his back scratched and snuggling.
9) He has the most expressive eyes.
10) Christian is strong. Davis will want to wrestle and then will be man-handled by his little brother.
11) He is my Energizer Bunny, He NEVER quits at anything.
12) He loves to ride his bike.
13) Christian does better push-ups than most new military recruits.
14) He sweats! And gets red in the face.
15) He loves to read. He is almost finished with the 5th Harry Potter book.
16) He loves money and counting it. I always joke that he is going to be a banker.
17) He loves pizza.
18) Christian is giving.
19) He has always been his Brothers' Keeper. He watches out for the little guy (and Davis who will never speak up for himself).
20) He loves the color green.

Oh, Brother!

Jag has always had a "feisty" little mouth. It is one that will get him in trouble every once in awhile. School work is always stupid. Brothers are always lazy (he thinks that lazy is a really bad word :) ). People who are mean are maniacs. I could go on and on...

He isn't allowed to tell people to shut-up, he substitutes the phrase, shut your mouth, often.

Noah is a parrot. He is at the stage where he talks constantly and especially repeats everything that he has heard. He dared to cross into the FORBIDDEN ZONE! After I asked him to do something, he turned and responded with a shut mouth mom. Oh the poor kid, he is now learning what happens to someone who dares to cross the line.

Jag just sat and laughed while Noah was in trouble... what a sweet brother to teach him all he knows without teaching him when to use the appropriate phrase, just so he can have a few laughs.

How To Ride A Bike

Jag never wanted to ride a bike with training wheels. It is probably due to his older brothers and the fact that he has never seen them ride with the trainers. A couple of months ago, Jag convinced Darin that he would ride his bike if it didn't have training wheels, so Darin took them off.

Jag tried, but really didn't get the whole motion his legs were supposed to move in. Probably should have used the training wheels a little. So his bike sat untouched.

I had every intention of teaching Jag while Darin was gone, but you know about intentions... I think the cleaning and sealing of an entire house full of grout, ruined all my other intentions.

Darin got home and Jag convinced him that he wanted to ride his bike. Darin helped him get on and then the most amazing thing... Jag drove off into the sunset. Actually, Jag rode to get the mail for me, without help. That was it, he now rides his bike everywhere.

He can start off on his own. He is now really cool and can be seen standing in the saddle, or at least standing up while riding. Look mom, no butt.

Hurray Jag! That folks, is the way to teach a kid to ride a bike!

Naturals

Look at these boys! Don't they look like Professional ball players? They are (purely luck) both on the Naturals team. At first Davis was disappointed at the name and that it wasn't a real minor league team. After some research, he found that they are real, and probably quite popular in Northwest Arkansas.

This is the last time they will be white uniforms... a mom didn't think up that one.

Good Old Days

He's still got it! I love this skater boy.

Spring Training Part 3

Arizona Diamondbacks vs. LA Dodgers

We sat on the grass, right next to the field, just perfect for 4 little boys.

Davis caught a ball from the Dodgers...actually mom caught it and gave it to Davis, he was proud of me.

We were right by the ramp that the Diamondback players came out of. Christian got 10 signatures. "Excuse me, can you sign my ball, please?" What a kid.

Jag got a ball tossed by one of the Diamondback players...actually mom got that ball too and gave it to Jag. Then we got the pitcher to sign it.

Look who showed up! Finally home!
(Thankfully the mustache didn't make it past Louisiana.)

This was the end of the Spring Training. We have enjoyed the many, many hours sitting at the ball field. What little boy wouldn't think that was just great? This Mom thinks that it isn't too bad of a way to spend a day either.