Utah Trip

Those of you who really know me...laugh all you want...and those of you who don't, well you can laugh with them! We went to Utah over spring break with all 5 kids (under age 8, 2 w/ special needs and 3 in diapers)! Yes we are crazy and yes we won't be doing that again any time soon!!! (Sorry Chris and Tiff - we do love you guys!) Anyways, Landon's mom called to give me some tips for the long car ride (14 hours), since she made it twice a year,every year for 16 years with her boys. (Hope I'm right on the math there) She suggested having something 'new and fun' to throw back at them every hour...THANK YOU MOM for this advice, it saved the trip! The kids did amazing...only 2 kids whined only 2 times the ENTIRE trip. Seriously amazing - I don't think my sister and I ever traveled that well(what do you think Sony?). So here are pictures of how I organized it all and the charts to help motivate their GOOD behaviors (Thank you Alishia). You may read this and laugh all you want,yes I know I'm OCD, but it worked like a charm!
We had I spy books,Car Battleship, Road Bingo (from momsminivan.com), stamps, markers, leappad books, sticker books, suckers,special prizes, and treasure box for good behavior!

Utah Pictures

Precious Brother's

We took the kids to the Salt Lake Visitor's Center during Spring Break. When we walked up the ramp towards the statue of Christ, Weston pointed to it and said,"Big Jesus!" James knelt beside him and explained, as only a 7 year old can, who Jesus is and how he watches over us! What a precious experience to see their sweet testimonies emerging at such a young age.

I should be posting our spring break pictures...BUT(T)...check out my sassy jeans!

What do you think?

My mom came and rescued me with the kids today so I could go to a meeting. It was a VERY long day and as I was venting to her (as only a daughter can to a mother) - she interupts and says,"turn around" - now I was thinking I had something stuck on the back of my jeans...you know I have 5 kids...and then she says,"where did you get those jeans?"
"Kohls" I answered.
"Well you should go right now and get another pair or two because they make your butt look great!" - have I told you I love my Mother!!!
So what do YOU think of my TooSuperLow Boot Cut 524 Levis' ?
By the way...Thanks mom for getting me another 2 pair!

Blakes' First Hair Cut

So I know he is only 5 1/2 months old...but I hated the "comb over". Blake only had a few long hairs and they just had to be cut!! Here's my boy on 3/16/09.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Porter got this cool hat at school...Weston confiscated it and looks so cute. The kids are having a great day and LOVE pinching everyone who doesn't have green on today...so you have been warned!

Bringing the Zoo TO the Zoo...

How we managed to keep track of them all, I'm not sure :)

Our set of triplets...

Such sweet boys


My Monkey's looking at the monkey's


I wanna walk with my sister...it's time to go home!
We had a great time and the kids did really well. It was a fun day out with friends. When I talked to my mom when I got home...at first she said,"Why didn't you invite me?" and then when I told her how all of us went with 8 kids under 8 years old...
My Mom said "Thanks for leaving me home!" Now on for some well deserved rest!

The BEST brownies EVER

SO I was at Alishias' and had the BEST brownies ever. Since this post is G-rated I'll spare the details...let just say YES YES YES...the BEST ever! MMMMMMMMMMM such wonderful memories of those Brownies! So without furthur ado...here is the recipe . Thanks to Alishia and family!

Peanutty Buckeye Bars

Ingredients
1 19.5-ounce package brownie mix
2 eggs
1/3 cup cooking oil
1 cup chopped peanuts
1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup peanut butter
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a 13x9x2-inch baking pan; set aside. In a large bowl, combine brownie mix, eggs, and oil. Beat with an electric mixer on medium speed until combined. Stir in peanuts. Remove half of the brownie mixture and set aside. Spread the remaining brownie mixture evenly into prepared pan.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together sweetened condensed milk and peanut butter until smooth. Spread evenly over brownie mixture in pan. Separate the remaining brownie mixture into pieces, flatten them with your fingers, and place them on top of the brownie mixture in pan.
3. Bake in the preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes or until top is set and edges are lightly browned. Cool completely in pan on a wire rack. Cut into bars. Makes 32 bars.
4. To Store: Layer cookies between waxed paper in an airtight container; cover. Store at room temperature for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months.

The Sand Box

Landon had the brilliant idea to do a built in snadbox in our backyard when we built our house 8 years ago. The kids have so much fun in it...castles, tunnels, dump trucks, burried treasure....but it also has the joy of sand in the hair, eyes, clothes; leaves, dead bugs, debrie... YET even though I've wanted to fill it in tons of times...this is WHY we don't! How many kids can you fit in the samd box?

Facebook

So Alishia invited me to do facebook and now that I'm on there I can't believe how many people have a facebook account! How fun to be able to connect with so many of my friends and family and be able to see how they are...I love blogging first and foremost, but I think I found a new fun toy to play with :) Happy Facebook everyone!

Ruthie with NO training wheels

Ruthie is finally riding with no training wheels! Landon worked with her today and she just got it. We are so proud of our little 5 year old.

The Little Black Boots

These little black boots were made for wearin' and that's just what I've done, you'd never know the story of how I finally got them on!
So 1 1/2 years ago my friends talked me into buying these black boots! "They're so cute","you have to have these"," It's about time you got something trendy" (yada yada yada) SO giving into peer pressure I bought these sassy things and promised to wear them the next day (what can I say, my friends know me well) The next day was church and as I got ready and pulled out my fun little boots I saw that the security ink tag was still on one of the boots. I got reamed that day for not wearing them and had to promise to get that tag removed so I COULD wear them...well over a year and a half later - when all my cute friends have been wearing their boots- I finally thought I've got to get this tag off.
The problem was I couldn't find my receipt and I didn't want the store to think I was stealing them..."Hi could you remove the tag so I can wear my boots?"
So my friends hubby was teasing me about not wearing my boots and I said "I'll wear them if you can get this tag off." So Sunday morning it came off - with a little effort and one blow torched tag later :) (Thanks Bryan)
So here are my little black boots and oh how I wish I would've gotten to wear them sooner. Well, better late than never!!!

Weston's Diagnosis

So today we had a wonderful blessing! We found an amazing doctor that we were able to get Weston in to see at very last minute notice. The drive was about an hour long (Union Hills / 51 North) Insurance does NOT cover the cost ($$$), I went with the 2 kids (by myself)...2 hours and LOTS of paper work later. We realized we found the perfect Doctor for our boys!!! Dr. Cindy Schneider is a D.A.N. doctor. Defeat Autism Now. I took Weston to see her to talk about all of the therapies he is receiving and possible treatments and diagnosis for him...Recap - On Sat. the 21st I noticed Weston was walking funny so I took off his clothes and let him run around in his diaper, so I could figure out what was going on... well his little ankles were rolling in just like Porter's did at that age. I was VERY shocked and wondered how long it had been this way. So Monday the 23rd I had him evaluated by a PT and was told he needed Orthodics to correct his pronation. We saw the DR. Tuesday and she told us Weston was FTT (Failure to Thrive) and hadn't gained any weight in 6 months(even with me sitting for at least an hour for every meal to get him to eat!!) and did in fact need the leg braces (eventhough he has been walking since 10 months) - By this point we were highly suspecting a Mitochondrial Disorder,(and still are) which is what Porter has as well...So today we saw Dr. Schneider and after 2 hours and a very educational appointment for ME... Weston has been diagnosed with Autism. While a lot of mom's would be shocked by this, we are just so grateful to have the help, love and support that we so desperately need to work our hardest to help him reach his goals and achieve the milestones set before him. Autism is VERY common. Some kids have GREAT eye contact and some social skills while others are very closed off from the rest of the world. This affects 1 in 150 kids!1 IN 150!!! Click Here for more info... So while we have a very long road ahead of us, I am so thankful for my angels who watch over me and teach me continually how to be a better Mother (Nurse, Therapist, Doctor, File Clerk, Advocate, Lawyer, Teacher...) It's a tough job and I pray I'll have everything I need to be bale to do it, but I GET TO DO IT!

Laundry Laundry Laundry

So last week was so busy with doctors appointments and meetings for Weston that the house was neglected...as was the laundry. SO, 15 loads and an entire day later..this is some of the laundry I got folded and put away, along with 6 beds with clean sheets and all the towels and rags! I even managed to get a shower in there too! It feels good to be clean :)