Noisy Crowd of Love

Time for a new post?!?

2009-01-02T12:48:00.002-05:00

I think a 2+ month vacation from blogging is long enough. I will give you a quick run down of our recent happenings.

What happens when you turn your head for two seconds?

First of all, your 20 month old gets into the cupboards and finds a new favorite snack. Anybody for marshmallow fluff?

Second of all, a collar bone is a reasonably easy bone to break. Jackson and Zach was playing around and fell onto the couch. Jackson's collar bone landed just the right way in order to fracture. Luckily it was just a hairline fracture and not displaced. There isn't much you can do for a collar bone, so the treatment was a simple wrap around his arm.

BTW this is what an accident waiting to happen looks like.

Picture taken moments before dismount on couch.

How do these lips...

Turn into these lips?

The weekend before Christmas, Dylan was riding his scooter and fell. It was a bloody mess, we decided he needed stitches. This picture doesn't actually do the injury any justice. Dylan needed 17 stitches.

This is Zach's homemade Santa suit. He took our puppy for a walk looking like this, saying HO, HO, HO. Austin was embarrassed. He got some laughs from neighbors.

The last thing keeping us busy is a leaky bathtub that resulted in some water damage. I repaired the leak and Casey and Blaine are in charge of repairing the water damage. Household repairs aren't really our speciality.

We were unable to get Christmas cards out this year but wanted to wish you all a Merry Christmas and a wonderful Happy New Year!!!

Surprise, Surprise, Surprise...NOT

2008-10-25T17:22:00.004-04:00

Since Jackson was born, Blaine and I have been very open about the fact that our family is not complete. We are now announcing that we are expecting NUMBER 6. Now let me answer a few questions. . .

1. This IS a planned pregnancy.

2. We are NOT trying for a girl.

3. We will be very pleased with either a boy or a girl. We are looking for healthy.

4. My amazing kids have kept this a secret for a month.

5. We are about 9 weeks along, which puts us at late May for delivery.

Feel free to answer the poll to the right, we would enjoy your input. Our favorite boy name we are considering is Pubert, I got that name from a good friend, what do you think?

2008-10-20T19:18:00.003-04:00

Some of you may have been wondering where the Bringhursts have been over the last five weeks, we are still here, not much has changed. In the last few weeks we have celebrated Blaine and Dylan's birthday. They share a birthday, it is always a lot of fun. This year we decided to head to NYC for a double header. Yankee game in the day and Broadway show at night. That was a very fun and very long day. For dinner we went to Bubba Gumps in Times Square. Bubba Gumps likes to celebrate special occasions with their patrons, the video below is Blaine and Dylan celebrating with our waiter, it was just a little embarrassing but they were both good sports.

Zach loves to get Jackson up in the morning, he loves to ride the horse with Jackson and sing to him. Luckily he let me record him, I think they are adorable.

Family Bike Ride

2008-09-14T08:49:00.003-04:00

Yesterday we decided to head out for a family bike ride. Last year we bought a five bike bike rack. There was a clerk at the bike shop that chuckled at it when he saw it. I told him I would have bought a seven bike bike rack if it existed. I'm not sure he knew another family as big as ours.

Back to yesterday, I loaded up the trailer and the tandem inside the truck and then loaded the other five bikes on the rack. Now we are ready to leave. As I was walking to the truck with our new adorable puppy, Moose, Blaine asked "What are we going to do with Him. I so casually said, "He's coming with us!" You could kind of tell that Blaine has never been in a car with a pup before, because he wasn't sure what to expect. Moose travels well, he likes to snuggle into your leg while laying on the seat.

We ended up biking seven miles. We took these pictures before and during our ride.
We took this picture on the trail. It was such a cute picture when I looked back to check on Jackson and Moose. Moose was asleep and Jackson was petting him.
We ususlly can't go anywhere without a little competition. This time we were riding for gold. There was two "races" the first was the tandem teams and Casey and Dylan won the gold medal Mom, "J", and Moose won the silver. For the solo riders, Blaine won gold, Austin won silver and Zach won the bronze. We had a great time and biking is a great way to build a strong family bond.

We added to our Family today!

2008-09-09T17:05:00.006-04:00

After four or more years of telling the boys they cannot have a puppy, Daddy finally gave the OK. I found out about Moose last week from a neighbor who's co-worker rescued Moose's mom a couple months ago. Moose's mom, Phoebe, is a Shiba Inu. When she was rescued she was due to have these five adorable pups. We aren't sure what the dad is but suspect Moose may have some Lab in him. I went last week to meet Moose and new he was meant for our family. Here are some pictures of Moose getting acclimated to our family and home.

Here is our first experience of home. We had just arrived home and it was pouring rain. We wanted Moose to potty outside before we took him inside.

Moose loves to lay on the cold tile.

Here is Casey just after he got home from school.

At the bus stop.

I kept the boys out of the loop so that I could surprise them at the bus stop. I captured Austin's reaction on video and a little of Zach's reaction.

Moose did really well last night. He cried for about 10 minutes before he settled in to sleep. I got up at 2am and took him out and then again at 5am. Luckily we haven't had an accident yet. Moose is well loved and we are thrilled to have him in our family.

Labor Day Weekend

2008-09-01T19:42:00.007-04:00

Last weekend we took the opportunity to enjoy nature and the beautiful scenery at Ricketts Glen. For those of you who have highly recommended it to us... Thank You. Jennifer and I always go to the campsite at check in and then the husbands come after they get off work. This time we got a little bit of a late start and then the rain came. Our planning didn't work out so well this time, we set camp in the dark and the rain. It rained all night which was actually kind of romantic. By morning the rain was gone and scenery was beautiful. We had a great time and Blaine spent his first consecutive three days in the woods. He is always a good sport. Here are a few pictures from our trip.

Before we left Dylan helped me make some cookies for our trip. He is always a very big helper.

This is everyone at the beginning of our hike. We figure it was about a five mile hike.

Zach and Casey

Jackson and Blaine

On the hike there were about 15 to 20 waterfalls. Here is a picture of one of them. All the kids and Dads had a good time climbing some of the waterfalls.

Blaine and Jackson

This next picture was taken on the trail. The tree's roots are coming out of the ground and are all intertwined with each other. I thought it was quite a spectacular view.

Jennifer and Randy

Casey braving the tree bridge.

This is me attempting a group picture on a 2 second timer.

Take One Take Two ( didn't even make the picture at all on this one)
Take Three

All the natives were very patient in my attempts to get a group picture.

Take Four

We plum wore out the kids, this is Dylan at the evening campfire. And even Zach couldn't make it to bed...
On Saturday evening we had a spiritual visitor. You may think it is the Madonna, or some say it could be the face of Jesus. Look closely He/She is looking to the left and downward. The forehead is pronounced with eyes, nose, mouth, and chin.
On Monday we rented a petal boat, row boat, kayak, and canoe. It really was a ton of fun. This is all of us switching around out on the lake.

I love this picture of Jennifer rowing my husband.

Well this is our weekend, I would highly recommend Ricketts Glen. It is a great place for family bonding.

2008-08-25T11:08:00.008-04:00

We recently were able to go out west to visit family. The trip out there was a nightmare. We left Philly late after sitting on the plane for two hours. Finally got in the air and was still hoping to make our connection in Denver, we arrived about 20 minutes after our plane took off. It was already pushing 10pm and no more flights were leaving that night. Blaine got in line to get us scheduled for the next available flight by the time he was done it was LATE. We finally found a hotel that wasn't filled to capacity and laid our weary heads. The time was after 2am but coming from Philly it was after 4am. We were beat and our experience on Frontier airlines was not pleasant. We finally made it to Boise the next evening and our two day stay in Boise was reduced to 18 hours. When we arrived there luckily our luggage made it, but after 19 days we still are waiting for our three car seats to arrive.

While in Utah, I vaguely remember a wedding, Oh yes, I remember it was my brothers wedding. I was graced with his presence for all of about 45 min. and my kids barely got to see their uncle and new aunt for maybe 5 min. I have no evidence of this blessed event.

We then spent the next few days with Blaine's side of the family. I have great evidence of that.

Here is Casey and Jackson palling around.

I love this picture of the boys and two of their cousins

Here are most of the grand kids, we were still missing a few.

What is wrong with this picture, Sister hosts family gathering, Brothers torment Sister.

Actually it was very funny watching Blaine and his brothers bounce their sister.

Here is Blaine and I, his brother Barry and his wife Dani, next is his sister Janet and her husband Mark, and last but not least we have Bruce (this is where the name Jackson Bruce comes from) and his wife Sue.

Jackson Bruce

Very cute picture of Amy, Bruce and Sue's daughter

The family

Here is a cute pic of my niece and I.

Here is a pic of the girls, Blaine's sister Janet and the sisters-in-law.

While we were in Utah we were also able to see some wonderful friends. We always look forward to seeing our friends and family every year. I can hardly wait for next time.

Tagged

2008-07-25T18:10:00.005-04:00

I know it has been a long time since I have blogged. Yes I have many reasons. None of which I care to post on the Internet. As far as the tag goes...I was actually tagged about six months ago, but it was a verbal tag and I decided it didn't count. Then my niece tagged me about 2 1/2 months ago. That is almost how long it has been since my last post. So Nat this ones for you. I'm not a very interesting person so coming up with 6 interesting facts about myself is kind of hard for me. Here we go in no particular order.

Fact ONE: I love the theater-you know Broadway and off Broadway. These are the shows I have seen... in order of preference.

Wicked-with original cast
Wicked-with Blaine, this would be first but I really enjoyed Kristen Chenowith's performance
Wicked-with sister
Wicked-with friends

Phantom of the Opera-this was my first show ever on Broadway. It was a jaw-dropping experience for both of us. I have seen it three times.

Lion King

Mamma Mia

Hairspray

Tarzan

Billy Joel's Movin' out

Rockettes Christmas show

Beauty and and Beast

Les Mes

Chicago (don't recommend)

Contact (don't recommend) Loved the dancing but lots of cursing.

I am adding Mary Poppins to the list tomorrow. I hear this is a great one.
There might be more but this is what I can remember.

Fact TWO: Airy noise makes my skin crawl, I would rather hear fingernails on the chalkboard than hear the sound of the hairdryer, static, the nebulizer, or the fan in the car turned up higher than 2.

Fact THREE: If my calculations are correct, I have managed to bare five children, all boys, only spent a total of 17 hours and 40 minutes in labor, pushed about 8 1/2 pushes, for a grand total of 46 lbs and 13 oz. Here is the break down...

Casey 8lbs. 7oz.--7 labor hours- one push
Austin 9lbs. 5oz--2labor hours- one push
Zach 9lbs. 5oz--7labor hours-two pushes
Dylan 10lbs. 2oz--20 min labor--two pushes
Jackson 9lbs. 10oz. 1hour 20 min labor 2 1/2 pushes

Boy does Blaine ever have it easy!!!

Fact FOUR: Even though lots of people know about this one, I still have to put it in because it is unique. I was born with a wink jaw. If you haven't seen it, I am sure you will be looking for it at the next ward BBQ. Wink Jaw is my crazy eye. I have a nerve or muscle or something that links my jaw to my eye. The bottom line is that my eyelid goes up and down as my jaw opens and closes. Jaw open, eye wide open---Jaw closed, eye normal. This is a repetitious action as I chew my food or gum or just tease the kids around me. Maybe, just maybe I will record a demo...we'll see.

Fact FIVE: About twice a year I miss the country lifestyle that I was raised with. Growing up we had all the farm animals, usually raised for food. We had milking cows, one that liked to pin me up against the wall before a good milking. She didn't like me and I really didn't like her. One of our cows picked me up with her horn and threw me a good ten feet. I was real little, maybe like eight or something. That scared me. I have experienced a chicken harvest, it's a little bloody. The phrase running around like a chicken with it's head cut off is a literal phrase. Don't wish to do that again any time soon. My sisters and I would have to squish ((please say this next part in your best country accent now I would say squash), but back in the day of farmin' we were squishin' them buggers)), the potato bugs that were making home on the rows and rows of potato plants that Dad planted. The saddest time was when Dad took the pigs to be castrated. I didn't watch, but listening was bad enough. I was hiding on the floor of the pickup covering my ears trying not to hear the wretched sound of the little piggies squeal. There were always mega chores, chores and more chores. This is why I only miss that lifestyle twice a year. I have a cushy life compared to them country folk.

Fact SIX: I have drafty windows. You must be wondering why this is interesting. The reason they are drafty is because my walls and windows are bulging with testosterone. Right now I am typing and in the other room I have a 13 year old, and 10 year old and a 7 year old hootin' and hollerin' about something that just happened one the Yankee game. 40 minutes ago they were bragging about how the Yankee announcers are the best announcers and that all the others are just boring. last night I came home from my friends home and Casey, Austin and Blaine had all the MLB hats that Blaine has collected over the years, laid out perfectly on the dinning table in order of division and then ranking in each division. The plan is to put 30 nail holes in one of my walls and place the hats one them according to their current rank.

Now as one team takes the lead of their given division the caps will be readjusted. My initial reaction was NO WAY!!!

As I looked at their faces and could see that they could not understand my reaction I agreed to a wall that I only have to look at if I am making popcorn. I don't think it is natural for my seven year old to know the thousands of facts that he knows, the other two know even more. I am sitting here blogging and I look to my left and see this very cute picture of Casey and Austin and can't help but realize that I may have something to do with this obsession to sports.

So for now I will put up with my drafty windows and look forward to every Girls Night Out.

Now I am suppose to tag someone else but I am not going to. Most of my blogging friends have already done this. If I was going to tag somebody it would be Sue but she hasn't started blogging yet, not sure why, I know I would enjoy it.

Bored Stiff

2008-06-05T10:57:00.009-04:00

Dylan is so bored!! I was looking at the pictures on my memory stick and found many many pictures taken by Mr.D. Since he has completed preschool he is in constant need of special attention. This is like total over the top attention. I can't even walk into the next room without Dylan insisting on knowing the intent of my whereabouts. This first picture is just to show the humor that consumes Dylan. Got to love 'em.

Dylan's "personal" Photo Gallery

"The Body"

Eye

Foot

Arm

Buttocks

Stomach

Here is Dylan helping me with Jackson during breakfast. I love his feet in the picture.

"From the Den"

Looking Out

Looking In

Looking Up

Looking Down

A few self portraits are a must.

This is an attempt to copy another picture randomly placed on my camera. Dylan saw Amy's picture and decided to copy. Looks like I need to keep my camera on a shorter leash.

Yard Before's and After's

2008-06-04T17:26:00.008-04:00

Nearly two years ago we started construction on our home. We had a walk-out basement entrance put in and then finished our fabulous basement. Due to the construction our back yard was trashed. This time last year, you may recall, I had an eight week old baby and wasn't really physically ready to work in the yard. Our yard was completely the worst looking yard in the neighborhood. This spring I decided to take action. You may recall an earlier picture I posted of the kids playing in the yard. I hate to ask, but did you happen to notice how bad the yard looked? Here is the picture again to remind you all of the very patchy grass.

Before

After

(Look closely in the bottom left corner of the mulch and you will see where Dylan helped me plant some grass seed. I didn't realize until it was too late where exactly he was placing it) I like to look at HIS grass, it makes me smile)

(Below) This area is where the walkout basement was put in. A huge hole was dug out here for the walkout. Lots of big rocks and lots and lots of smaller rocks were all that remain here after the construction. Dylan has been a huge helper to me this spring. In this area he collected and removed 9 buckets of rocks. Removal was necessary for the proper planting of our new vegetation. We (I) planted a pretty Japanese Maple (in the rain). Then we planted some box elder and something else that flowers. Next, we throw down a little mulch (a lot of mulch if you ask Blaine and Randy) and wah-lah. In this comparison you can also see that the grass is starting to fill in a bit.

Before

After

On this side of the deck we didn't have a lot of rocks but we had a lot of weeds. The weeds are a bit hard to see but believe U-ME they're in there.

Before

After

Here is our garden. When I say "our" garden, I pretty much mean Dylan and I. He shows the most interest in the garden and we actually went to the store and together picked out the seeds that we would soon sow. I have a bit of a hard time eating the food I have grown after seeing all the dirt or maybe some bugs on it. I will try not to let that "bug" me too much this time around. Together, Dylan and I planted corn, pumpkins, cantaloupe, zucchini, and two varieties of tomatoes. One is grape tomatoes, those are my favorite.

Before

After

Memorial Weekend

2008-05-29T09:59:00.011-04:00

Ever year we try to take at least one camp outing. Blaine doesn't really enjoy camping but he is always good to go along. I just told Blaine that we will actually be going twice this year. He is a good sport. We went to Patapsco State Park in Maryland. The weather was perfect for camping. Cool at night but not too cold, and perfect temperatures in the day. The older boys worked on some scouting things such as fire preparation and proper pocket knife use. We went with our friends the L'Heureux's, it helps that he is the scout master. We even brought our flags to show respect to our nation and to those who serve.

While camping Jackson decided to finally try his walking legs. I say finally but I do admit that the baseball season has been really nice with Jackson not walking. He will usually just sit on my lap at the games. Here is some video with "J" sporting his walker.

First Jackson needed a little encouragement from his brothers. Now that is some support group!

Here is Jackson showing a little attitude. He is learning to hold his own.

Here is Jackson with just a little bit of success without the walker.

One of the best thing we brought on the trip was this little red ball. Between this ball and a soft baseball the kids were entertained for hours. We call this next piece...

"The Gallery of the Little Red Ball"

And of course Jackson's own little ball.

Sunday Morning we woke up to a surprise in Casey's shoe. If you know me very well at all you must know that this image puts a chill through my bones like a late December night. If you know Casey very well you know that this disgusts him almost as much as me. Needless to say he will never wear these shoes again! Luckily these are his old shoes and due to be discarded anyways.

We always take the nebulizer!!!

Here is Jackson's first taste of watermelon. He really likes it.

We went for a hike on Sunday. The weather was beautiful, the trail was 95% shaded by trees and Casey was in a good mood. That one is sometimes hit or miss. Along the trail was these thrones made for kings so we insisted in the dads taking time to relish the moment. Actually I think they welcomed the rest.

On the trail.

This picture I just had to throw in because I love the little look on his face sooo much.

I hope your Memorial weekend was as memorable as ours!

Comment of the Day

2008-05-23T08:12:00.003-04:00

Zach says to me this morning, "Mom, will you by me some axe?"

"chics dig it!"

It's a good thing these aren't regular comments from the lad.

Bird Update

2008-05-19T21:45:00.004-04:00

We had friends over tonight. I put them to work in the yard, and then we were enjoying a little refreshment that I made them provide. (This is why I don't have any friends). We started chatting about the birds in the vent. I decided to open the cabinet and realized that there was a stench that wasn't there just a few days ago. Now, today is Monday and it was just Friday that I posted and took the video of my vent. I asked Randy to pull out the towel from the vent. Things were just different than before so I certainly didn't want to pull out the towel.

Here is Randy getting ready to pull out the towel. We had realized that the whole nest and the birds had fallen down into the cabinet.

It turns out that there are three birds, here they come.

One bird escaped, I screamed and jumped and screamed some more. I think Jennifer might have screamed also but I am not quite sure about that. Crazy Bird decided to hide by Catheads scratching post. Good thing Cathead wasn't lingering by the post.

When Randy tried to get Crazy Bird, it flew behind the videos. After a couple minutes he was able to get the bird and take it to his siblings...

but first he gave Cathead a little looky Lu

Now I have three birds in a bucket hanging from a hook hoping that none of the neighborhood cats get to the bucket. Not sure if any of the little birds will survive. Will their Mommy and Daddy come back to them? Will they be able to spread their wings and soar to a higher level.

I've Got Birds

2008-05-16T09:29:00.006-04:00

I've got birds, which I suppose is better than having pigs, or fleas, or crabs if you know what I mean. About a month ago I noticed birds flying into my external microwave vent on the side of my home. I initially thought a bird got trapped inside and was caught in the vent. My neighbor and I took the vent apart from the inside of the cabinet.

(This is why I couldn't stop them from the outside, I couldn't reach. The vent is above and between the two windows)

No birds were trapped, it was then that we realized they were building a nest. I tried to detour them but didn't have a ladder tall enough to reach the outside vent. Those little birds can build their homes FAST. After a couple days I decided they had already built their home and laid their eggs. Now those little eggs have hatched. All day long, all I hear in my kitchen is CHIRP CHIRP CHIRP CHIRP CHIRP CHIRP CHIRP CHIRP CHIRP CHIRP CHIRP CHIRP CHIRP, well you should get the picture by now. Just in case you don't get the picture, I took a little video for you to help you get the picture. It seriously is driving me crazy. If you are a bird expert, or just want to pretend to be, please advise, how much longer must I endure this nuisance.

May = Miracles

2008-05-13T23:08:00.004-04:00

This week we are remembering two anniversaries in our home. It was Friday the 13th 2005, Casey was hanging at the neighbors home after school when their six year old boy decided to show everyone his great golf swing. Seconds later Casey was standing, screaming and blood was everywhere. Turns out that Casey was standing too close and the boy and the club nailed him in the head on the back swing. The club fractured his upper orbital cavity and sinus cavity, you know your typical skull fracture. After three days at CHOP he was able to come home with us.
Next we have Zachary, four years ago on Saturday he almost literally hung himself to death. 3-1/2 years ago I wrote my thoughts and memories down. I titled the story Breathe Baby Breathe.

I wanted to write down my thoughts and memories of the single most frightening experience to ever happen to me. I think it is important to write these memories to remind myself to use humility and love in everyday life. This event has changed my daily thought process, I try to think of ways I can serve or love others the way my family was on this beautiful morning in May.

It was May 17, 2004, The day for me had actually started at 1:30 in the morning, I rarely have a problem sleeping, but this night I could not sleep at all. I got up and cut out paper camels for Austin’s kindergarten teacher and watched some of my favorite reruns on
“TV Land”. Around 4:30 I was finally able to close my eyes and get a little rest before getting the boys up and ready for school. After the boys were on the bus I returned home to start my daily requirements as a mother and vice president of household (I just gave myself this title, I think I like it).

I was dead tired and was moving in turtle mode, slowly but surely getting things done. One of the things Zach had requested was that he wanted a letter in the mail. He loves to run out to the mailbox and check the mail. I wrote him a simple but loving letter and put it in the mailbox addressed to Zach so we could retrieve it later. About 10:30 a.m. I decided to settle in on the couch and watch a little Blues Clues with Zach and Dylan. About 15 minutes into the show I decided to take Dylan upstairs to play and relax with him upstairs in my room. I left Zach on the couch safely watching the rest of the show. I knew I only had about an hour before I needed to get Austin from his kindergarten bus and would need to get lunch and some more chores done.

I was only upstairs a couple of minutes when the phone rang. Because of my restless night, I looked at the caller ID to determine if the call was necessary to take right now or if this person could be called back later. The decision was made; I could call her back later. It had happened before that when I decided to not answer the phone that one of the children in fact answered it for me. So, not wanting to talk I headed downstairs yelling “Zach don’t answer the phone”. I repeated this several times expecting an “OK, I won’t” which is something I had heard before. I walked into the kitchen area where I had mostly full vision of the living room where I had left Zach just a few minutes earlier. I could see his head as I walked closer and I continued to talk to him. It appeared that he was looking out the window. I said to him in a silly voice “Zachary, what are you doing”. There was no response. Just then, my vision cleared the end of the sofa; I could see that my precious Zachary was hanging by his neck and suspended three inches off the floor. I sprinted that last 15 feet as though I was running the 15 foot dash in the 2004 summer Olympics, a new event created in our honor.

Zach had climbed onto the back of the couch and walked across the window seal. He later told us that he was hanging onto the blind with his right hand and twirling the blind cords with his left hand. The wooden weight that is at the end of the cord, swung around his neck and then the weight wrapped around the part of the cord that goes back to the top of the blinds. He fell off the window seal and found himself too short to reach the ground. His face was blue, his body lifeless, and his breath gone.
When I saw Zach, my body shifted into turbo and instincts took over. I scooped him unto my left arm and untangled the cord with my right; all the time repeating “breathe Baby breathe”. I dialed 911 and placed my hand on his chest praying to find a heart beat. Immediately I felt the beat, beat, beating of his little heart. It seamed to take forever for the operator to pick up the phone. Finally I was able to tell them where to respond and what had happened. All the while I didn’t know if my little boy had any breath in his body. At last, a gasp of air, it must have been about 20 seconds from the time I released the cord to his first gasp of air, but it seamed forever. The response team arrived and we soon learned that our little boy would be air lifted by helicopter to the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP). I would not be able to go with him.

It crossed my mind that I should inform Blaine of this horrible event, this is the worst phone call I have ever had to make. We were kept at our home for a little investigation and a little dusting for prints in the window seal. After about an hour we were able to make the 45 minute drive to the hospital. On our way we received a phone call telling us that Zach would be just fine. As we arrived at CHOP we were greeted by our wonderful Bishop Low, he had arrived to the hospital about 45 minutes to an hour before us. My visiting teacher, who is also Zach’s sunbeam teacher and her husband were also waiting at the hospital, and our good friend Jeff Bell arrived minutes after us.

We were so impressed by the overwhelming response from our ward family. One of the ER nurses also commented how impressed she was to see so many people from our church. Zach ended up spending two days in the hospital He needed an MRI to determine if the tissue that supports his vertebrae was damaged at all. We finally received the results and he was able to take his neck brace off. A few hours later we got to take him home.
Some of the things I most learned from this isn’t necessarily about tying up the blind cord or taking for granted the safety of my children. It is about the love we received from our ward family and our neighbors. To remember how I felt when people reached out to us in times of need. I learned that I need to humble myself before the Lord feels the need to do so. Even though the trauma didn’t last that long (meaning it was only a matter of hours before we knew Zach would be fine), the thoughts and the feelings and the reminders that I need to do better to those around me will last a very long time.

This is not a good picture but if you look closely you can see a red line on his neck where the cord was.

2008-05-08T21:22:00.007-04:00

Spring time always brings the songs of little birds (like the ones in my microwave vent) and the songs of little boys. Last Friday was May Day celebration and Dylan's preschool. They always put on a fun program for the parents. On our way to the school I asked Dylan if he was going to sing real loud so that I could hear him, He told me that he is shy but he would see what he could do. If you know Dylan you know that he is not shy.

Tonight Austin graced us with his trumpet talent. The fourth grade band played three songs. He is hard to see on the stage but he is so handsome. He had a crisp white shirt and black pinstripe pants. What a good looking kid.

2008-05-06T15:57:00.005-04:00

To all my loyal readers, yes both of you, things have been crazy around here. Between baseball, music, yard work, etc. I have had very little time to sit and type some words down on my blog. Spring is crazy!!

I bring these next thoughts to you with permission from my teenager. At first he did not agree for me to blog about this subject. I proposed an arm wrestling match and if I won then I could blog at my free will. My first greatest feat of the week is that I am still stronger than said teenager. Hooray!!! My second greatest feat of the week is this...

I taught my teenager to shave!

Now you may ask, what kind of mustache can a 13 year old actually have. Not quite like the one pictured above, but enough to see the fuzz and tell a difference when it was gone. Now he may not need to shave for several weeks but that is ok he is only thirteen.

So here is Casey, 13 years, four months and 26 days old but who's counting. How time does pass quickly. T0 all you moms wishing those little ones older, take a moment and appreciate the NOW. Before you know it your little ones will be shaving daily and will THINK that they are all grown up.

2008-04-12T22:51:00.010-04:00

It is baseball season. Today we watched four games, yes four games. It started at 10am with Dylan's T-Ball game. He played great and even got one out. At 1pm Austin had a game. They, however, did not win. He was bummed about that. Next was Zachary's game at 3:30. He actually had to leave a little early to experience his first 15 minutes of fame. We headed straight for Citizens Bank Field, where the Phillies play, for game four.

Phillies+Phriends=Phun

When was your 15 minutes of fame?

How old were you when you had your 15 minutes of fame. Well, actually I am still waiting for mine but Zach and Austin got to experience their "once in a lifetime" 15 minutes of fame today, Saturday, at the Philadelphia Phillies game. Thanks to Daddio's job the boys got to participate in a history making moment.

Austin, 10, was invited to hand Jimmy Rollins his hard earned and well deserved 2007 NL MVP trophy. He held the trophy for a two or three minute accomplishment read, and then presented J.R. the large trophy. When Austin stepped forward to hand the trophy over he extended the trophy and almost dropped it. Jimmy's response was "whoa". Kind of funny to hear Austin tell the story.

Zach, 7 was invited to throw the first pitch at the game. He went out on the field exuding confidence and excitement. He winds up, and the pitch, STIIIIIRRRIIIKKKEEE. Zachary gets this cute little smile when he is excited about what he is doing or has done. He came walking off the field sporting that very smile.

2008-04-07T20:52:00.008-04:00

"COUNT OFF"

"Count off".....ONE......TWO........ THREE................................ FOUR, FIVE!!!

If you ever have the opportunity to ride in the Bringhurst's car the above sentence is the first thing you will probably hear. It is mostly a joke because generally we know if all kids are accounted for. I yell "Count Off", and then the boys respond. Casey is always ONE, Austin, TWO, Zachary THREE, Dylan FOUR and then all the kiddios yell FIVE, it is a rule that they cannot yell five unless they are looking at Jackson.

"YOU HAVE FIVE?"

AWE, YES, Nearly everywhere we go we get the attention of those around us. We have five kids; not only do we have five kids but they are ALL boys. The most common responses are...

"You have how many?" (My favorite answer is "only five")

"Oh, still trying for that girl" (almost in a sad voice)

"Are you going to try again for a girl" (whatever)

" Do you wish you had a girl" (You know, I do have this boy thing down pretty good by now, a girl could complicate things. That being said, should it ever happen, I would be up for the task).

Now, I do think some people (especially on the east coast) wonder why anyone in their right mind would ever choose to have such a large family. Well, I have a very good reason. BASEBALL; baseball, you say? Yes baseball, how could brothers go out into the backyard and have a game of baseball if they don't have any brothers to have a game of baseball with. Yesterday I looked into the backyard and I see our catcher, Dylan giving the pitcher Austin a sign, or in other words calling the pitch. We have our batter and then of course a fielder. Jackson needs to grow a bit more before he can go out and play.

I love this picture of Dylan catching, he did a decent job at it too.

Our baby is ONE!!!

2008-04-03T21:35:00.008-04:00

Where does the time go. Last week we celebrated Jackson Bruce's 1st birthday. The day we got home from Hawaii we unpacked the luggage, hung a few streamers and had a little partay. Thankfully I have the most wonderful friend in the whole world. She purchased some necessary 1st birthday plates, napkins and streamers. You can't celebrate a 1st without these things. She also baked both his cakes (one for him and one for the rest of us).

First we opened a few gifts. Jackson enjoyed the paper.

Here is Jackson's cute little cake

Now it is time to dive right in. This will be the only time you will be allowed to eat cake this way.

How quickly they do go from Here to...

Here

How much does a gallon of milk cost in Hawaii?

2008-03-18T03:55:00.002-04:00

Well, after two days in S. Cal. we have successfully and finally made it to our beautiful state of Hawaii. The family is adjusting well to the time zone difference. We are six hours after our beloved east coast. I think the stop in California was a great plan to help everyone adjust better.

"I must memorize this map of Disneyland"

"I knew I could do it"

While in Cal. we spent a day and a half in the great Land of Disney. We had a blast. Here are a few pictures of us at Disney. Jackson was able to go on Pirates, Peter Pan, Snow White and Pinocchio. Pinocchio was his least favorite.

This is what a man in need of a vacation looks like on vacation.

Look how well behaved my kids are on these sacred temple grounds.

Today, Saturday, we headed over to the other side of the island. Our plan was to visit the temple grounds and then go the the Polynesian Cultural Center. As we arrived at the temple we reminded our boys of the reverence they should show and the nature of the sacred grounds. They were a little warm and the wind was blowing the water from the water fountain onto the sidewalk, so I told them they could stand in the misty water and cool off for a moment. Blaine and I began to visit with a sister missionary, as I turned to check on my children Zach had the whole top of his head in the water and Dylan was on his way in. I even think that Austin's judgement was impaired on this one. So much for our little talk just moments before.

We later headed for the Polynesian Cultural Center, we enjoyed a canoe ride, They also enjoyed a ride on this floating plywood. Just like a bunch of boys tormenting girls, they were rocking back and forth and nearly tipped this makeshift boat over. I was on edge the entire time.

I love this picture of Dylan. He turns to me and says "Mom, I'm just like the man on this picture". I think he makes a great imitator.

Sunday we made our way to Maui, we checked into the condo and relaxed the rest on the evening. Today, Monday, we played in the pool. Then we headed to a nice bay to snorkel a bit and to get a few rays. We are having a great time here. We miss all of our wonderful friends. We also bumped into a friend of Casey's from school. There family was seated at the table next to us at dinner tonight. It sure is a small world.

By the way, a gallon of milk costs $9.19. We only bought one.

Creating My Own Sweet Escape

2008-03-12T06:40:00.000-04:00

To all of you that I could not fit into my luggage...I will think of you when I'm not sunbathing or riding the rides at Disney, or surfing, or eating, or sleeping, or relaxing (maybe we could say relazing), or eating, or playing or eating fresh pineapple, or snorkeling, did I mention anything about eating good food.

WHAT AM I???

2008-03-11T07:25:00.004-04:00

"My baker had great intentions, but I didn't quite turn out the way I was suppose to. So, what do you think I am." First person to guess me correctly just might get a prize. Here are a few clues to help you out. I might be a dessert. I might have blueberries baked inside. I might be thick and substantial. I might have a beautiful crumb topping. I might be a main course at your last Sunday dinner.

For those of you interested, when I photo shopped this picture I used...

J/K- that would really be bad if this was a photo shopped picture.

Dylan and I just hung out today

2008-03-10T14:09:00.004-04:00

Sometimes Dylan and I just like to hang out all day long. Today he was so excited to show me his new way of hanging out. You would think that after 5 boys that I would be completely comfortable seeing Dylan's acrobatic display. I have to admit that it did make me a bit on edge. He was thrilled. I enjoyed sharing in his excitement.

Why is it that I always get phone calls when I want to video?

Towels to Towers

2008-02-29T09:20:00.003-05:00

This is what happens when you ask your seven year old to help put the groceries away.

Zach was asked to put the paper towels in the cupboard but of course he had to build his tower first. I would love to see the thought process of my boys. Who new that a few rolls of paper towels could make such a wonderful tower.

Take the Challenge

2008-02-23T20:40:00.000-05:00

My friend was telling me of a Guinness World Record contest that she saw on TV. The record was set for eating mini powdered donuts. Three donuts in one minute, I know it doesn't sound like much. On the show that she saw there was a new record set at five donuts. Some of the rules are, no licking lips and no drinks. We thought we would give it a try.

I should forewarn you if you don't know about my eye. I have this crazy wink jaw thing. When I eat, chew gum, yawn, basically anything that causes my jaw to stretch open, well then my eyelid also stretches open. Sounds bizarre I know but I was born with it and the next thing you want to know is if it bothers me. No it doesn't. Actually it use to make me money. My dad would pay me if I would show his friends. The pay was minimal but it was a living for a five year old. Someday I will give a full demonstration.

As I prepare this blog and the videos I was remembering all the things my friend Amy jokes about, so maybe this was all a big joke. Nevertheless we had fun eating powdered donuts.

"The Rules"

Part One

Part Two

Part Three

Part Four

Now because I fell off my chair, licked my lips and basically hosed the contest we had to do it again. So, here is take two.

"Take Two"

Part One

Part Two

Our Anniversary Week

2008-02-19T17:19:00.006-05:00

This song "I can hear the Bells" is from the movie Hairspray. The words of this song is about how Blaine and I came to be.

Have you ever been set up on a blind date? I was once...I will never do that again...Well actually that's because I ended up marrying that blind date. Here is our story.

I had a friend named Melissa, she worked for Blaine. One day she called me and asked if I would go out with her boss, Blaine. Well, it had been a bit since I had been on a date so honestly my first thoughts were "great free dinner". So, Blaine didn't want to seem desperate so he waited a couple weeks to call. I am glad I didn't starve in those two weeks. He finally called and we set up a dinner date then a movie. He had about four first dates set up over those couple weeks so he was going to impress the ladies. Blaine had gone out and purchased a shiny white 1996 Convertible Mustang GT, and yes it had to be a GT. It was a sweet ride and he knew it.

We headed to Olive Garden for dinner, I had soup, salad, bread sticks. To this day that is my favorite meal at the Olive Garden. We chatted and had great conversation. Then the moment happened .........he asked me "what things do you enjoy"? My first response would change the rest of our lives. I answered "I really enjoy baseball". The man's eyes lit up with great interest, he continued. "Do you have a favorite team?" I responded, "I really like New York." If you know Blaine you can imagine the thrill that was racing thru his body. He had one more question to ask. "Which NY team?" I thought for a moment, and then with some hesitation, because I could tell there was a right and a wrong answer here, I answered slowly "the Mets". WRONG ANSWER. This man is a true Yankee fan through and through. I was easily converted. It took all Blaine's strength to keep from proposing right there on the spot.

After dinner, we headed to the movie theater. We were in my neck of the woods so he was relying on me to get us around town. I must have been nervous because I was giving poor directions. I think I might have even got us on the Belt Route headed the wrong way or something. Maybe I just wanted to take that GT for a spin. We finally made it to the theater and chose to see Multiplicity. I love that show and we still make reference to some of the things #4 says in the show. Don't know what I'm talking about? Rent the movie, it is funny.

After the movie he took me home. We chatted for a bit in the car and there was NO yada-yada-yada. He walked me to the door, shook my hand and said good night.

We knew just a few weeks into our dating that we would be getting married, however it wasn't for six more months that we actually tied the knot.

Then

Now

A request from Grandma

2008-02-13T11:36:00.010-05:00

Grandma and Grandpa haven't seen the kids in several months and probably wouldn't recognize "J" if he walked pass them on the street. Actually he isn't walking yet so that would be quite a surprise. So here are a few pictures of the boys including our fast growing Jackson Bruce. Zach and his friend from school Jack

Jackson

a picture of me in our junk car in Vegas

Casey and Dylan

Dylan, Zach, Austin, and Jackson

Jackson sporting the toothy look

Jackson showing off his new Old Navy swim clothes

This is Jackson "talking" or you could call it singing

I Have The Most Thoughtful Husband

2008-02-10T17:00:00.000-05:00

I went shopping on Saturday. I don't enjoy shopping unless I am going for a distinct purpose. I have to know what I am getting and have a really good idea of where I will get it.

We are taking a trip next month and I wanted my boys to have an extra swimsuit I also wanted to get them the UV rash guard swim shirts. Old Navy has matching shirt, shorts and flip flops. No they are not called thongs anymore.

We were a little crunched on time so I took the younger boys shopping while Blaine would take Austin shopping after his music lesson. Zach and Dylan chose their suits and I picked out two adorable outfits for J-Bear.

Blaine later took Austin so that he could pick out his own suit. They came home and Blaine says to me "Hun" (he calls me this sometimes), "why don't you look in the bag to see what Austin pick out". I opened the bag and pulled out this plaid pink and white sun dress. Now, I quickly realize that this is a very kind gesture by my husband. I knew that Austin would not ever pick something like this out for himself. Blaine was trying to purchase something for me that I can use at the beach on our trip. Blaine sometimes has these spontanious acts of kindness. Usually he does a really good job.

Here is where the problem lies. Blaine picked out a size 10 for me. Yes everyone, I am a perfect 10. However, the 10 must be picked out from the womens department. Yes, my thoughtful husband picked out for me a girls size 10. I could see right away that there was no way I could ever fit into this dress. I was worried about hurting his feelings so I smiled and started to pull it over my head. That is as far as the dress went. Plain and simple I have not been a girls size 10 for 25 years. I thanked him for his efforts but I will be returning the dress.

Here is the dress. It's cute... for a 10 year old.

These boys aren't quite sure what to do with a pink dress in their hands.

Taking time for Me

2008-02-01T13:41:00.000-05:00

As many of you know, I enjoy a girls weekend a couple times a year. I was planning on attending Womens Conference (WC) in Provo in late April but when I was calendaring with Blaine, He realized he needed to be in Minneapolis the same days. I had been looking forward to WC for over a year so you can imagine the disappointment I must have had. My adoring husband quickly asked "Is there anything else you would like to do". This can be a loaded question.

My friend and I quickly checked online for any near "Time Out for Women" Events. Well we found one in Las Vegas. Now, if you are not geographically challenged you know that Las Vegas isn't really near Philly. Never the less, we booked the flight, bought tickets for a show (Mamma Mia), and yesterday we boarded that flight. I like to statagize when booking flights. For instance, when traveling with a party of two I like to book seat A and seat C keeping the middle seat open in hopes that it would remain vacant, cuz you know anybody in their right mind will switch for either window or isle seat. This flight was packed tight.

This cute girl, probably in her early 20's approches us, we ask her if she would mind sitting in the isle, she is thrilled. We begin to settle into our seats when all of a sudden this big largely unattractive man plops into the seat beside me. Giving that girl the isle seat gave her great leverage to trade places with this other dude so she could sit by her loved one, what ever.

Would you like to know what our new neighbor packed for this trip. First of all, his walkman. Yes Casey, people still use walkman CD players. Second thing Mr. Plop brought was his air guitar, this man even had room to pack his air drums. About 60% of our flight we were forced to jam out. He would rock back and forth to the music in his head forcing our entire row to literally rock back and forth. I could go into greater depth about how this man jiggled and wiggled and leaned and rubbed and scratched, yes he scratched. I was entirely grossed out on this flight but enough is enough. I love that word, enough, which by the way could be another post "favorite words".

So here we are in Las Vegas. Did I mention that the "Time Out for Women" event that we flew out here for was cancelled. Yes, due to the death of our beloved prophet the event was rescheduled for September. So we are here in Vegas for three days and our only scheduled activity is Sat. night, Mamma Mia. I hope we will be able to find something to do. We'll see.

Preoccupied by eBay

2008-01-25T20:30:00.000-05:00

I have been a little preoccupied by eBay. I am in the midst of selling my first eBay items. It is a little nerve racking and my blogging time has been diverted by eBay. I know it isn't fair, first I'm blogging loyal and then just a little eBay temptation takes me away. Somewhere in there I think I was able to squeeze in a little mothering and wifely responsibilities. I posted some eBay related videos for your viewing pleasure. My auction ends Sunday, wish me luck.

A Taste of Winter

2008-01-17T17:06:00.001-05:00

We are finally getting our first taste of winter. The boys were so excited to come home from school today so they could play in the snow. Here is a picture of Dylan, truly getting his first "taste" of winter.

Zachary, Austin, Dylan
The boys building their snow fort.Here is a picture of my boys "PRETENDING" to throw a snowball at me. I told them to pick up a snowball and pretend to throw it at me. Funny how the only one that heard the pretend word (Maybe that was the problem, maybe I pretended to say the word pretend) was the five year old. Dylan's snowball is still in his hand. Zach's snowball hit me in the stomach...
And where did Austin's snowball hit, you ask? You see I usually would be able to dodge these bullets, but because I was taking a picture and wasn't expecting them to actually throw the snowballs I was caught off guard. SMACK right in the middle of my eye, my eyelid was open and now I have permanent damage that lasted about 15 minutes. I grabbed my eye and said ouch (very calmly I might add), my boys were laughing so hard that they forgot to inquire just how injured I was. Austin finally came to see me and he asked "Mom, are you alright" my reply was

"I will be... but could you pleeeeeeease quit laughing ".

(I must be a secure woman to post a picture of myself that looks like this.)

As you can see it was my right eye that was hit. It has now been an hour or so. The final report is this...All is well, my eye has stopped watering, maybe just a little scratchy. I hope you enjoyed your afternoon as much as I did.

Can you Dance?

2008-01-10T11:12:00.000-05:00

Here is a little taste of the Bringhursts living life. The boys bought this game Dancing with the Stars for me. The game is for the wii. We have a lot of fun with it even Blaine will dance. I thought I would share a few videos that we took. (Ignore the phone, I did)

You have to notice Dylan doing "The Robot"

The results are in ...

The guys get together for Halo, how about us girls get together for a

You + Me = Wii potluck lunch.

Thursday January 17, 2008 11:00am

Winter at the Bringhurst's home

2008-01-03T11:34:00.000-05:00

I love winter time, playing in the snow. Making snowmen or snow-women sometimes. Sledding down icy hills, hitting the jump at the bottom to see how much air one can get. Warming up with a hot cup of cocoa and a dabble of whip cream. Don't forget the smell of pine in the air. I love it!!

Thanks Amy, Nate and Nick for the pic

But lately this is what we have to work with. It is dry and cold. We have only received a trace of snow this winter so far. I do however get to enjoy my neighbors pines that they had planted a couple years ago.

a swing set that is just too cold to let the kids play on.

And many breathing treatments every day, If it's not

Jackson Bruce...

Then it is Dylan

They get anywhere from 4 to 6 treatments each per day when they are in a flare.

Each treatment takes about 10 to 15 minutes
The machine is quite annoying here is a 5 sec sample

to those of you who know me very well, you know that I cannot stand annoying buzzy noises such as the hair dryer, the fan in the car cannot be above 2, and this machine about does me in. (Don't get me wrong I am thankful for this machine, remember, Favorite thing--modern medicine from previous post)

So as much as I enjoy this time of year, I must say I am looking forward to SPRING!!!

So for now I will pretend it is spring, Happy Spring to all of you that would like to pretend with me.

New Years Eve

2008-01-01T01:40:00.000-05:00

So Blaine and I decided to have a few people over for New Years Eve, We had a great time and hope our guests did as well. At one point or another in the evening we had ten Families/Couples over.

Yes, We are the wild and crazy hosts.

Here are a few of our guests

The Carrs

The Broadbents

The Maxwells
Amy and her sister Amanda

The L'Heureuxs

The Johnsons

The Orrs

The gals remaining at 12:01

We played a few games and had a few prizes, our first winner was Daegan.

Good job "D"

Winner #2, Nate Johnson (is that seriously a bingo card, but wait is that an eagles jersey in the background, you'll have to wait to see who wins that)

Winner #3, Greg Carr, He was loving that gift card inside.

A couple pals tooting their horns

Here are some snap shots of the evening, thanks for the pose A.O.

Trust me she is sober!

Kevin, you are the best bingo caller I have ever seen! Kevin, Greg, and Emily F.

Connie and Emily M

"The Teenagers" Casey and Nick
Connie, Emily, Austen, and Val

And the winner is. . . . . . . . .

Amy Orr gets the Eagles Jersey for being our first Karaoke participant, I gave the guys first dibs.

Here are both my Laundry Girls, Look at those socks, I think they even share laundry now.

Thanks to all our wonderful friends who spent their New Years Eve with Us, We hope you enjoyed yourselves.

Finding my way out of Blah-land

2007-12-20T11:56:00.000-05:00

On occasion, I have days where for some reason I feel blah. Today is one of those days. I am OK sharing this because I know it is normal and you must feel this way sometimes too. So today I wanted to focus on some of my favorite things, people, places.

I will start with

favorite places,

New York City and Central Park

Beautiful Hawaii, We will think of you all when we are there in March.

Niagara Falls, from a birds eye view

Italy with my Love

Arches Nat'l Park, UT

The Carribean

Favorite Things

Brotherly Love...

Bubble Baths

Beautiful Temples

Love being snowed in

Our Service Men

Our Ancestors
The opportunity to send my kids to four different states in the blink of an eye, just kidding, I love family vacations

Baby Mozarts

Beautiful Friendships...

Modern Medicine
This is a picture of Casey when he got hit in the head with a golf club.

This is a picture of Jackson when he was in the hospital with respiratory problems.

Love the Snow Angel
An occasional fishing trip

Love Making Memories

Flying People

Favorite People

Of Course my first pick, Blaine, my forever companion

My sisters

I only have a picture of one sister, but I love both

Blaine's Family

My Family -minus one bro but he looks just like the bro in the blue shirt (twins)

I bet you all knew the L'Heureux family would make the cut

Reba, she puts on a pretty good show

Just so you all know, I DON'T like being this BIG!

Wow, I feel better, that was very therapeutic. You should try it sometime when you are in blah-land. Now you know me a little bit better. Any surprises???

Disclaimer: If you think you should have made the cut, well you are right I just didn't have a picture of you. Lots of Love!!

Meet Dylan

2007-12-18T14:40:00.000-05:00

These pictures sum up Dylan and his cute little personality better than most words. He always keeps us on our toes.

My son the Hornet Hero

2007-12-13T16:27:00.000-05:00

So my distinguished honors son, now thir"TEEN" calls me from school and says "Mom, I shot a Hornet on the bus, can you come get me at the Eighth Grade Center." My first thought was what a nice boy, he is keeping some kid that is deathly allergic to bees, wasps and hornets safe. We have taught him well. He may not like spiders but those flying pests, he is all over them. Then I quickly realize that he is a seventh grader. (The bus picks 7th graders up first and then goes to the 8th grade center to get the eighth graders). The quick thinking, intuitive mother that I am realized that shooting a hornet must be a bad thing. I immediately said, "Did you get kicked off the bus?" He sheepishly answered with a yes. Well, when talking to middle schoolers, a hornet is a tightly folded piece of paper, shot through the air at high velocity or maybe it is with great force with a rubber band. In other words IT'S A WEAPON!!! I had a fifteen minute drive to the school which allowed time for me to determine the proper way to handle the situation. As I arrived, there was a mom leaving the school yelling very loudly at her son, I knew that wasn't the answer. I entered the school and was greeted by the 8th grade Vice Principal. We chatted a moment and the accused was released into my custody.

My solution was this, He (the accused nameless teenager) was to sit down and compile two apology letters, one to the bus driver and one to his principal and vice principal. These letters were to be delivered promptly the next morning. His Vice Principal was so impressed that she allowed him and his once clean record to get away with a two week seat assignment in the front of the bus. A few extra assignments around the home also. Not too bad if you ask me. I think he learned his lesson.

Decorating for Christmas 2007

2007-12-05T13:01:00.000-05:00

Work Party Followup

2007-12-05T12:43:00.000-05:00

Blaine didn't like that I used the word breasts before so here is my official apology retraction letter/blog. Anyways I didn't go with the sweater with the bow on the br#*sts. (I hope everyone knows what that means). I went with the ivory sweater, plum pants and the black high-heeled boots. The outfit looked pretty good. We arrived a comfortable 5 minutes late. (At a party like this, its OK to be a few minutes late). We stayed for about three hours then went home. This work party had everything a good work party needs to be called good. A beginning and a reasonable ending. Good fortune to all of you who still have your company work party to attend this christmas season.

Laundry Day

2007-12-04T14:32:00.000-05:00

So, I asked this girl if she wanted to come to my house and do her laundry. Just to be nice. Because I'm a nice person. She lives in some apartments with not so nice laundry facilities. I thought it was going to be a one time deal. I was wrong. How so I tell her that I don't want her to get used to using my washer and dryer. She brings her kids over (her baby cries all the time) and eats my food. I make her chicken ceasar salad for lunch. (I grow my own lettuce so this is kinda a big deal) Plus, I get cinnabons. I know....she is needy. Even though she is pretty funny...... and quite good looking. I had plans today to look for a sweater with a bow across the breasts. I guess that will have to wait until tomorrow. Unless her friend decides to come and do her laundry too. Yes, there are two of them. Oh well, she graduates and moves in May. I guess I will just have to put up with it until then. I do love her though!

The Work Christmas Party

2007-11-30T19:21:00.000-05:00

So tonight is the big annual work Christmas party! What should I wear. The black sweater, the ivory sweater, the white sweater with the big red bow across the breasts. Black pants, white pants, plum pants?!? I am supposed to leave in one hour, feed the kids, clean a bathroom or two, and prepare for the commute into the city. Wish me luck and I will fill you in on the party later.

Yes or No?

2007-11-30T17:08:00.001-05:00

So, Dylan was asked if he had a girlfriend. Do you think the answer is yes or no?