Beautiful Day

Okay, so last Wednesday was Goober's 8th birthday!  I can't believe the kids is getting so big! We had a couple of small family parties for him over Memorial Day weekend since my sister Jo was in town and then on Monday Jer's sister was in town. It may not look like the kid got much celebrating, but he definitely got enough sugar for the birthday over the weekend! :D

Anywho, Wednesday was the first truly nice day we have had this spring yet so we joined friends for a picnic lunch at the park, which was fun despite the never ending windy wind o'Idaho.

After we got home from lunch Grandma S bought cupcakes from the Cocoa Bean for Goobers birthday (mmmmm they are SO GOOD! Better than that other place for sure. They look so good you doubt that they can possibly taste good... and then WHAM! A Miracle! Someone figured out how to make awesome looking, great tasting cupcakes!).

That evening we met up at another park with a couple of friends I hadn't seen in a VERY long time.

Ahren and Rachelle were some of my very best high school friends. We were almost always together, so not fair that they look just like they used to!!! :D It was great to see them though! And the kids had a blast playing too!

That picture is missing three of the kiddos ( four if you count Turbo who is hiding behind one of Ahren's girls in this picture lol) Missy made quick friends with Ahren's youngest daughter, and Ahren's 7 month old son isn't up for racing down hills quiiiiite yet ;)

 Here's one with all of us (Except Ahren's hubs who was taking the picture, thanks Aaron!) Sorry it's a little fuzzy, apparently I need to clean my camera's lens :P maybe they got one that wasn't fuzzified!?

Goober at School

So yesterday in Goobers "take home folder" I found some pictures of him that his teacher sent home. I think these are great! They also show how a Montessori school is different from a regular school so I'm posting them!

See the big smile above? Yeah, that's awesome for me to see! His work mat is behind him, I think he is working on his grammar, but I'm not sure cause the area of the classroom he is in focuses on math (which is his favorite subject).

Here Goober is sitting at his table with some other kids in his class. It looks like they are all supposed to be working on language and spelling. The kids are allowed to work in groups and help each other, everything is not based on grades but more on the fact that you are learning and working hard, even if you are learning from the other kids (which builds good teamwork skills and encourages kids to not be ashamed of asking for help if they need it even if the teacher is currently helping someone else)

We have parent teacher conferences this week, I'm excited to see how both of my kids are doing. :)

This is Goober reading during "Read aloud time". I thought it was "circle time", but Goober just informed me not. But because I know more about "circle time" I'm going to explain that! lol

They do circle time at the beginning of class, right before lunch, and at the end of the day. At the beginning of the day they go over roll (one of the kids takes roll), they go over what the weather is going to be like that day (again, another child is in charge of that), what the date is, and what the lesson plan is for the day.

Most of circle time is lead by a student, the only time it's not is when the kids are having a really hard day or the teacher does reading time (they have read Laura Inglis Wilder and after they were done they made bread as a class and talked about things that people used to do back when pioneers were coming to the west).

I love Goober's teacher, she is wonderful and does an excellent job working with him, and I SO love the school, it really is a Godsend for my kids.

Poor Sickos :(

So, as you know, last Friday Missy was sick. I mainly attributed it to something that was probably food related.

Yeah, that was a mistake I think.

Last night Goober came into my room around midnight to tell me he couldn't sleep and wasn't feeling well. So I took his temperature (it was a little high) and gave him some kids Motrin and some kids Pepto tablets and sent him back to bed hoping that would stave whatever it was off.

Within an hour I hear him yelling for me. As I go into his room he tells me that he puked, and then he continued to puke. I tried to mitigate some of the damage, thinking that since his bed was already a mess I just wanted him to keep the mess there.

I ran and got Jer (who was downstairs watching a movie) and we both went to work getting things cleaned up, which was a huge job because Goober sleeps on the top bunk and that is definitely not the best place to throw up at. I should have moved him to the bottom bunk when he started complaining about not feeling well. Live and learn I guess1!

I put Goober in the bath, and got Turbo a bed fixed up on the front room couch so that he could continue to sleep (thank goodness he wasn't sleeping in the line of fire!), then proceeded to take the bedding that Jer was stripping off of the boys beds and spraying the gunk off in the kitchen sink with the sprayer. Jer proceeded to use the carpet cleaning solution on the boys carpet and while I was throwing things into the washing machine he made the boys beds.

We decided that Goober should sleep on the bottom bunk in case he got hit with another bout of the stuff. Turbo slept the rest of the night on the couch.

When we were all done and Goober was tucked back into bed and had the "puke bowl" close at hand Jer tells me that he doesn't feel so hot either.

This morning was the first time since I've known Jer that he actually physically upchucked. Keep in mind that we have been married over nine years... ya, the man hated throwing up and would rather feel crappy for an extended period of time than do it.

Anyways, I really hope that this stuff passes quickly for the boys like it did for Missy and that somehow Turbo and I are able to avoid it.

Silly Kidlets

 Okay, I know I haven't posted in a while... but I was just uploading pictures to my computer and thought I would share... because I find some of them amusing. :)

Often, after Jer comes home from work, I will walk through the living room to something like this:

 I hit my "wall" at about 1-2pm and feel like I need a nap... he hits his right after dinner.

On this day Turbo was making a weird face... often. Jer and I were trying to figure out what was up with it.

 He would even do it upside down...

 Then Missy decided she wanted in on the action... and Turbo decided he wasn't done apparently.

Then it turned into the "Duck Face"

Jer and I got laughing pretty hard about this... you know how some girls pull this face thinking it's somehow sexy? Yeah? well... we don't get that and think it's absurd and a little atrocious looking.

The other night we went up to my parents house... the kids were having a lot of fun and at one point Jer used my parents washable markers to make a mark on Missy's face. Missy got upset and Jer had to show her that it washed off... then the boys saw it and decided they wanted to be "Spider man!"

Yeah, I'm starting to think that "washable markers" should also be called "face paint markers".

And here is Goober's "Serious" spidey pose...

And Turbos "spidey" pose...

Peace out. :)

Telling Stories

Goober decided to read a story to his siblings this morning! :) So glad his reading skillz are getting better and that he is getting more confident.

In other news: They were supposed to have school Monday and Tues but it's been canceled due to potential weather narstys...

Also... I made out like a bandit... you know that couponing thing? Ya well take THIS:

$25.90... oh, and I forgot to include a fifth bottle of dish soap in there... yup, once in a while I DO figure the stuff out. :)

Math!

Okay, I admit as a kid I did say I didn't like math... probably because all the other girls said they hated math. But honestly, I liked it. No one could mark an answer wrong if it was right... very black and white.

Goober likes math too. For homework each night we are supposed to do reading for 15 minutes and "math facts" for 5 minutes. I bought him a workbook because I'm bad at remembering to HAVE him do math, let alone think up things for him to do. I should have probably just bought him flashcards, but he really seems to enjoy his workbook.

This is the page he did today:

yes, it is counting by twos, but it's really BIG numbers (for him) and Jer and I were able to help the logic click for him as far as when to change the bigger numbers.

 999
 +_1
1000

with all of the "carry the one over here... and add it to here...."s

Now, I have to admit, I don't know where the rest of the worlds 7 year olds are at... but I was pleased he was able to figure it on his own after a bit! You should have seen him beaming! :)

I'm glad he likes math! I would hate to have to fight him not only on reading but math too...

Goober

Is growing and changing. In fact in the last month alone I have noticed a marked difference in how he approaches life. He thinks more... he considers.

Just the other day after I came home from my "Roomie Reunion" (which was great fun, by the way) my husband informed me that when Goober received some snacks to take home and enjoy, from Grandma and Grandpa J, he saved them for the next morning... and even then, only ate one and saved the rest for later in the weekend.

As he slowly went through the weekend his treats slowly disappeared, while his siblings ate theirs all with relish after only one night of sleep.

Just yesterday, after being outside mowing the lawn, I came inside to grab a grocery sack to gather some of the carrots that I have planted in the garden. They are, after all, getting quite big...

as I trudged up the stairs and into the kitchen, Goober popped out from the bottom of the stairs and exclaimed: "Mom! Your going to be so happy! I'm cleaning out the 'Little Room'!" Which is where we have been keeping all of our toys recently... under the stairs. In fact I've been thinking I really do need to go through it all because if I'm not careful we are going to end up with a load of spiders and their little families in there.

After he had finished and showed me his work (insisting that I "close my eyes" until I was right were I could see it all) I was really, really pleasantly surprised! He did a fabulous job! Before the cleaning has commenced, I (being an adult who didn't want to step on any toys) couldn't even get into the little room, and now the kids could play in their again if they wanted!

Goober was so proud! And so, of course, was I!

SCHOOL!!!

So Saturday was the schools openhouse :) And then today Goober and Lissy took off for the big first day!

And yes, I'm aware that these don't look much like "first day" pictures... I think it's the lack of backpacks, but HEY no backpacks means no daily homework... and I'm ALL FOR that! :)

And in other recent news, we are "trying out" a dog for a couple of days. Here, meet Whiskey... he's a mutt, but a pretty nice one and he isn't going to grow any more... I do have to brush him and if we keep him I'm going to have to cut his hair too. Sooooo we shall see....

Click, Take a Pic!

So Goober has finally bothered to figure out the Lincoln Logs... wondered when that would happen :)

Goober's Party

Wow, the one time I really think I might not have forgotten anything... I get to the bowling alley and... I don't have my wallet!!!! No kidding... so I ask two of Goober's friends mom's if it would be okay if I hurried and ran home and looked for it (they were awesome and totally cool with it)... seeing that the bowling alley wouldn't let the kids start bowling until I had paid for the party!

I ran home...

I looked...

I thought about where I saw it last...

I called the dollar store...

YAY! They had it! So I ran over there and picked it up, called the bowling alley who then let the kids start playing, and ran back to the bowling alley as speedily as possible...

Needless to say, I was late for my own kids party :(

Thank goodness Goober's friends parents are stellar and totally helpful and understanding! That and Goober seemed to have a good time, even if the party did run overtime...

One of these day's I might get it all right...

Maybe by the time they are in high school.

At least we didn't have a cake-wreck on top of it all!

HOLY CRAP! He's SEVEN!

That's it! He broke his promise!!!! He PROMISED me he wouldn't ever turn seven... and now he has! Sheesh! ;)

I can't believe that my Goober is seven. He is such an awesome kid! Riding a bike without training wheels, running here and there to friends houses going into the 2nd grade next fall! Kid, your making your mom feel OLD!

Boy do I adore you though... you truly changed my life and helped me to see how much greater it can be! I'm so glad I'm YOUR mom! Thanks for being such a great kid!

Look Mom!

The other day (about a week ago) Goober came home from playing with Mr. K (his best friend in the neighborhood) and said to me: "Mom, I can ride K's bike! And he doesn't have training wheels!"

So what did I do? I promptly took off the training wheels that were on his bike and sure enough... the kid can ride a bike without training wheels! I asked him if any adults had helped him and he said that K's next door neighbor had...

Thank You neighbor-lady! I really didn't mean to pawn that responsibility off on you! Really, he didn't have any inclination to ride his bike AT ALL last year... he wanted his razor scooter... anyhow! Thanks!

I think I may have to take her cookies or something...

End of School Program...

or as I see it "Our bribe to get you to vote FOR the bond", because, lets face it... elections were yesterday too.

That being said, Goober was so cute! He was so excited to see me, Missy, Turbo, Grandma J, AND Grandpa J there. You really should have seen his smile and how excitedly he waved. What a cutie!

PS Turbo was really pissed that Goober couldn't "Come wif us!". I had to put him down for a short nap as soon as we got home.

School!

Okay, so I know school is almost out for the summer, which I'm excited for as well and a little worried about lol have to find out when swim lessons are this summer!

This summer Goober will be in summer school for a month for Title 1 reading help. I know with the change in everyones schedule that I probably won't be so good at making sure he reads and I don't want him to loose all the progress he has made this year! My mom is awe-some and is willing to take him while we are out of town for a week this summer (really, could I ask for a better mom?! I don't think so!)

All this year Missy has totally resisted learning much (unfortunately) but it IS preschool, so at least that is some comfort... she refuses to learn how to spell her name (or work on it at all with me) and her teacher says she needs to work on using scissors. I'm hoping that bribery with gummy bears and some help from her older brother might help. Considering this, I'm also hoping that a different teaching method might help.

Recently it was advertised that there is going to be a new Montessori style charter school starting in our area. I applied for both of the older kids and got them both in! One of my friends husbands did the design on the building (it won't have grass on the top though) and I drove by the other day and the tractors are going, getting that baby up and ready to go come this fall. I'm excited, but I little worried because it will be it's first year running and of course everyone will be scrambling to get things into smooth running order... I hope everything falls into place quickly. I looked at the committees they still need help on and don't see that I'm qualified for where they need help. I think I will offer to be a willing body, even if it is just to run out and get coffee and donuts lol.

Anyhow, I'm looking forward to the changes!

Feeding Birds who Aren't Hungry.

This weekend the weather has been beautiful... so of course I told Jer we should go "Feed the ducks" at the river. Then I proceeded to scan pictures, because Turbo was taking a nap.

Well, little did I know, at some point Jer snuck upstairs and cleaned out the freezer (which is where I chuck all the bread heals that no one in our family really wants to eat, so that at some point I can take the kids and feed it to the ducks.). He gathered all of the frozen bread heals into one bag and set them on the counter to thaw.

When Turbo got up Jer decided it was time to go, which I was glad for because I've been kind of mopey today (weird, I know, for a perfectly sunny day... I think it may have to do with the fact that this is the time of year I want to totally revamp the yard in about a bazillion ways then I realize that there is definitely not enough funds for that...), we loaded the kidlets into the van and off we went to "feed the ducks".

Well, the ducks really weren't that hungry (everyone else in town apparently had the same idea and the poor things were gorged)... but the kids still enjoyed huking small pieces of bread into the river and watching them either a) sink for the fish to eat, or b) the seagulls swoop down and scoop them up.

After the bread was gone we all just sat and watched the birds for a while.

Turbo wasn't terribly happy with trying to look at me with the bright sun in his eyes, but HEY, there was SUN! Yay!

Now I just have to figure out what I'm going to plant in my garden...

I Refuse to Shovel the Walks!

Usually I'm all for it, Usually I like the peace and quiet it brings...

Today I just want to give Old Man Winter the bird and walk off in a huff.

It snowed 4 inches last night, the wind is blowing and school has been canceled for three different districts in the area... it's the first "snow day" this school year and wouldn't you know it? I put away all the snow stuff last week. Grrrr.

Oh well, it will be nice to have Goober home and to have a reason to just sit around (outside of just being lazy lol).

In other news... I met my trainer this morning (yes I made it there, I was surprised I didn't get stuck) and she says that I have lost 6 inchs and 10 lbs in the last month!!! Wooooot! I'm leet!

Kid Foubles Conference Edition

Goober is throwing a paper airplane around the kitchen. He accidentally throws it into the back of Grandpa S's Head...

Me: Well, that plane wasn't piloted by Uchtdorf...

Btw Elder Uchtdorf is a member of the LDS Quorum of the Twelve who previously was a pilot and talks about his experiences often.

Goober: No, a dork isn't driving it!

Grandpa S (teasingly): But a dork threw it! :)

I told Goober he Needed to go to the Dentist Today...

his response? "ALRIGHT!!!!!"

He loves the dentist, and even though he was just there on Monday he was still excited to go.

He had to get 3 sealants on some of his new permanent teeth but did really well.

But he has one CRAZY tongue!

Spoiled

Recently we got a PS3... mainly because we didn't want to have to buy a Blueray, and new PS2 (ours died), and a Roku type box and spend a lot more money.

Today we went and traded in our old PS2 games and bought 2 new games for the PS3... one for the kids and I (that can play 4 people) and one for Jer...

Jer got home and fixed a couple of things with the TV (it is having issues, which makes me sad, but at least
Jer knew how to fix it without taking it to a "fix-it" place, which would cost a lot more and have the likelihood of braking it on the way to or from the place. )

Then spent some time teaching Goober how to play the new game... Little Big Planet.

They had fun, and I have to say, I think I'm going to enjoy this game myself!! :)

Sent home? Really?

Okay, so the last little while all of my kids have had a bit of a cough. With Missy and Turbo it was accompanied by a runny nose, but Goober hasn't struggled with that so much.

This morning Goober woke up with a cough (not surprised, didn't expect it to disappear over night) and we got ready for school.

I figured that I had woken up with a cough too, and had coughed for a short while (due to a dry throat) and then it died down somewhat... though didn't completely disappear. I figured Goober probably had the same issue. So I sent him out to the bus stop and proceeded to wait for my mom to show up to watch the other kids so I could go get my biweekly beating see my trainer.

After going to the gym to drip on the equipment a bit, I headed home and found my mom and kids gone... they had gone to pick up Goober from school.

Apparently the school called to ask someone to come get him because he has a cough.

Kinda odd really. I mean, I could see it if he was hacking up a lung, but he's not. And he had the same cough yesterday... and they didn't send him home then...

Anyhow, of course I let him stay home, though I wasn't so mean as to make him take a nap (which I would usually do if he were to stay home from school). I did tell him he couldn't play with friends today though... cause, you know, if the school sent him home maybe it's do to worrying about the other kids?

So he had a good day off playing with his siblings, playing on the wii, and watching movies... and occasionally coughing.

I wonder if they sent more than just him home today? Cause if they did, it was probably about half of the class...