My Heart Rate is Returning to Normal

And I can stop crying now.
I wasn't really crying.  Just on the inside.  A little.  On the 18th, I was driving to Cafe Rio to pick us up some yummy dinner and bring it home when I hear a noise.  I think, "Hey, it sounds like I have a flat tire."  So I pull over into a neighborhood, and sure enough, I have a flat tire!  The same tire as last time, too!  What is up with that?  I called Kurtis.  He said he would come help me right away.  He was supposed to go visit a family with his friend, but he called him to let him know I needed to be rescued.  I started jacking up the car, and tightening the lug nuts instead of loosening them.  There wasn't anything else I could do until he arrived, so I sat on the curb and waited.  When he came, he used his strong manliness to change my tire for me.  I do know how.  I really just have a hard time getting those stupid lug nuts off.  Apparently it helps if you loosen them instead of tighten them.  Also he told me to use the end of the wrench thingy instead of holding it in the middle.  Next time!  The next day (Saturday), we went to the tire store, and had to get two new tires.  I suppose it was time to rotate them anyway, so it worked out.  I just needed that extra expense like I need to wear spandex.
Then I took my car in to get registered on the 21st (Monday).  It did not pass the emissions test.  Really sucky.  The guy said nothing was coming out the exhaust pipe, and freaked me out by saying that if it wasn't coming out the back then it must be going inside my car.  So I drove with the windows down all the way after that.  We don't have air conditioning, so I'm pretty used to that any way.  He also said he couldn't find a hole in the exhaust pipe, either.  I paid the registration fee, and got a temporary sticker for the car, so I wouldn't get pulled over, and I called my brother to ask him what he thought.  He said that even if there was a hole in my exhaust system somewhere, it would still be coming out the tail pipe a little, and said he could come look at it Monday.  Sunday, I remembered I had to go to the big city so Riley could go get he stitches out from his fronectamy, any way, and I should just go to him after we were done.  He said that would work because he had the whole day off (after a class that got out at 8:40 in the morning).  He even offered to watch Zach and Kaleb so I wouldn't have to take them with us.  So nice.  So nice.  After the five minutes at the dentist's were over, Rodney checked out my car.  He said, "There is too something coming out the tail pipe.  I can feel it."  He also assured me that the only way exhaust would be coming inside the car is if we had taken it apart and put it back together wrong.  He said the pipes in my exhaust system were corroded and that it would cost about $500 to fix.  Yay!  I just happen to have $500 just lying around saying, "Spend me!  Please, please, PLEASE, spend me, now!"  He also told me I would probably have to leave it at the mechanic's place over night.  Great.  Because I love calling people, and asking them to take me places.  I only have one car.  :P
I made an appointment with Master Muffler this morning.  They told me the corrosion went from this part to that part, but I don't know what he was talking about, so I immediately forgot what he said.  But it was only $100, and they did it in half an hour!  That made me really, really happy because when I called them for an estimate, they said $420 depending on what needed to be done.  Whew!  I can breath again!  They fixed it, we passed inspection, and my car is now registered!  My boys were even good!   I am so glad that is over, but I really can't help but wonder:  What's next? 

Three For the Price of One!

Sunday, I went to my parent's house for Father's Day.  I was going to blog all about this sooner, but I left my camera at their house.  Bummer, bummer bummer.  I was going to blog about how Saturday, Kaleb and Riley put on their swimming suits and ran through the fun, silly sprinkler we bought them.  Then I was going to blog about Father's Day, and how awesome it was to go see my dad.  I really like giving people presents.  I really like watching their eyes light up when they see the awesome present I found for them.  It makes me happy.  Kurtis got the new Gorillaz album he'd been pining for since it came out and a previous Gorillaz album that he'd been pining for for years.  Every time we'd go to Walmart or Target, he would look for it.  Well, I found it.  So I am awesome.  I got my dad John Denver's greatest hits album, and Neil Diamond's greatest hits album.  He loves them.  He was pretty excited, and he doesn't really show much excitement very often.  Then I left my camera at their house, and I couldn't post all that awesomeness.  Emily tried to call me to let me know I'd left it, but I had left my phone at home, so I didn't get the message until I got home.  Devastation.  I love taking pictures and will often just take pictures just to take them.

Today, was Emily's friend's wedding reception, and she promised me she would bring it.  She's so awesome, because now, I have my camera back!  It was so fun to see some friends at the reception (remember Joel and Spencer?)  They were there.  And Emily's friend Alayna.  Alayna and Spencer are dating now, and I take complete credit for it.  I really do.  That's a story for another blog, though, and I will only blog about it if you leave a comment asking me to.  Muwahahahha!  I was thinking I would see how it all plays out, and tell the story later.  Like in 3 or 4 years.... ;)

It's good to have my friend back.  Because yesterday, Kristie colored my hair.  All my blond highlights are gone, and replaced with just red.  Dark red where my previous red was, and red red where the highlights were.  I love it!  It's so much fun.  Now, because I couldn't blog like 3 or 4 different times in the last five days, I have a slew of pictures for you.  Enjoy!

The wacky caterpillar sprinkler.

My kids act like they don't know what to do when we tell them to run through the sprinklers.  I mean, really?  What could be more basic than that?  So Kurtis thought he should just put them in the water rather than having them run along the edge, not getting wet.  What's the point if you don't get wet!?

Riley finally got the idea, and ran through it a couple of times.

Then laying in the sun.  Just like we did when we were kids.

Gorillaz!  These are very enjoyable albums, and I really like them.  Happy Father's Day, Love Muffin! :D

My dad!  See the excitement on his face!  He loves them.

Spencer and Joel.  What a beautiful wedding!

Freaking awesome cake.

Freaking awesome cake topper.  Where was this when I was getting married?

I love this picture of the bride.  She's so beautiful.

Emily and Alayna!  They're so cute!

My new 'do! Look how it shines!

Seeing Red

Zachary went to the doctor this morning, and got a new cast!  This will be his last one, and then he will get to wear a walking boot.  I am very excited about this.  The doctor said he wouldn't have to wear it at night, and he could take it off to take a bath!  I am most excited about this because it's not like they wash him before putting on the next cast.  They just air it out for a second while they x-ray him and get the new cast ready.  Ew.  It's gross.  After his appointment, he was playing the computer, and I said, "Oh, I need to take a picture of your new cast."  He says, "Okay."  and sticks his leg out, continuing to play.  When he gets his cast off, Kurtis has come up with a new rule.  No more computer until they learn to ride a bike!  None of them know how to do this!  It's amazing to me their lack of motivation for this.   I don't understand it.  Maybe it would help if I actually had a bike too.  They don't believe me when I tell them I actually, in fact, do know how to ride a bike.  They are just too expensive! :P

It's red!

This game requires such concentration.

I've Been To the Dentist A Thousand Times, So I Know the Drill

Today kind of sucked.  It was fine at the beginning.  Just your average everyday kind of day.  Monday is laundry day, so I got that going.  Then, around 2:15 in the afternoon, I loaded the kids in the car and took everyone to the DENTIST!  I had to get a cavity filled, and Riley needed a fronectamy.  I couldn't (well, okay, I didn't) find a babysitter for Zach and Kaleb, so I grabbed the laptop, and some movies for them to watch while they waited for us to be done.  Kurtis came later also because his crown on his implant was loose, and needed to be fixed. 
When I got there, I set up the laptop, and the boys watched Robin Hood (the Disney one with the foxes and animals).  They called me back, and got me in the rubber mask when low and behold, Kaleb comes to visit me!  Yay.  He was supposed to stay in the waiting room, and watch the movie.  But could I yell at him in my position?  Not really.  I tried.  He just said, "What?" a lot, and also said what is on your face?  Then Riley came back, too.  Great.  Not long after that, they put Riley in a chair to get him ready (Phew!).  Finally they started working on me, but Kaleb wandered around, saying hi to everyone.  Kurtis got put in a chair pretty soon after that, and so Kaleb would move from chair to chair, checking everyone out.  Zach stayed put until the movie was over, but when it was over, he came to visit too.  The whole family was there.  It was a joyous occasion.  While the dentist was putting my filling in, he says to me, "Your kids are so cute.  They're like little Keebler elves.  You just want to put little hats on them."  I've never heard that one before, but alright.  At least he made me laugh.
My dentist's office is great.  Because when I apologized for my children wandering everywhere, they said, "No, we love children here."  They are waaaay too nice.  Way too nice.
For the rest of the evening, the left side of my face was numb up to my eye.  Seriously.  It did something to my eye.  And Riley's bleeding is finally starting to go away.  Poor child.  He had to have three stitches.  Dr. Vargo said some kids have to have six, so three is good.  When we got home, he had tears in his eyes and a sad look on his face.  "Mom," he said.  "It hurts."  I gave him some ibuprofen.  He got to have a smoothie for dinner (no biting allowed).  And five minutes ago, he said his pain level was zero.  I'm so glad.   Oh, and Kurtis?  We were done, so we left him at the dentist office.  The kids were so sad to leave.  But his crown isn't fixed.  They re-cemented the old crown, but it was still rattling.  They tried to take it off so they could fix the abutment (All Kurtis knows is it goes between the crown and the implant).  But they couldn't get it off without destroying it, so right now, he has a healing cap on it.  And a great big gap where a tooth should be.

If You Can't Make One, Just Draw It On Your Face!

So Kurtis says to me, "Go look at your son." 

"What?  Why?"  He had this look on his face that made me very unsure of what I was going to see when I laid my eyes on him.  I was apprehensive.  Did I really want to see this?

"Just go look at him." 

"Which one?"

"Kaleb."

I go upstairs to see what the big deal is.  He's in the bathroom, and I say to him, "Dad says I need to look at you.  What did you do?"

He turns his face to me, and this is what I saw:

"What the heck!?  Why did you do that?"  I asked.  I really was not pleased.

"Because I thought it would be awesome!" was his reply.

"And was it?" I asked, somewhat sternly.

"Yes!"

I guess I really can't argue with that.  "I'm getting my camera.  You wash your hands and come downstairs."

And for some reason, this kid, who hates getting his picture taken, got really excited about it.  He posed with a ninja sword, and thought he was awesome.  So I just let him be awesome.  Now, tomorrow, when he has to leave the house, I will be removing it.  Hopefully.

It looks like a superhero mask of some sort to me.

Seriously? He's Five! Why Does He Care?

Sunday morning, as we were getting ready for church, Kaleb comes into my bathroom with tears in his eyes and says, "Mom, my hair looks stupid!"  It did not.  He had a few curls sticking straight up, but he looked fine.  I think I laughed.  I probably shouldn't have.  He is very sensitive about his hair for some reason.  So I finished up what I was doing, and combed his hair.  Then I asked him if he would like a hair cut so his hair doesn't do that any more.  He said he did, and I finally got around to calling Kristie Tuesday or Wednesday.  The appointment was for Friday.  I was supposed to get my hair colored (Kristie makes fun of me when I say  dyed), too, but I got food poisoning at about three in the morning, so I stayed in bed while Kurtis took all the boys to get their hairs cut.  Here is the before and after for my little hair conscientious guy.

I made his hair stick up here on purpose.  He has crazy hair like his dad.

He is much happier with his new look.  Although, he did tell me he wanted a mo hawk, but Aunt Kristie would not let him get one.  He he. :)

There's A Grim Reaper On My Couch!

Yesterday, I came upstairs after using my computer and saw this:

He was just sitting there on the couch, enjoying Veggie Tales.  I thought it was pretty darn funny, and couldn't resist taking a few pictures. 

He tells me this is what he wants to be for Halloween.  I don't mind.  I don't have to buy a costume. :)

New Cast

Zachary went to the doctor yesterday.  Dr. Warby had to take his cast off.  The saw was a little bit scary for Zach.  He held my hand, and said, "Whoa!" when it felt like the saw would go through to his leg.  But he only saws through the hard part of the cast and cuts the soft insides of it with scissors.  His x-rays show that his bones are healing nicely, but he isn't quite healed yet (it's only been two weeks).  He got a new cast on.  He chose green this time.  He was telling Kurtis all about it last night and said, "This time, the x-rays didn't hurt, and it only hurt a little bit when he was putting my cast on."  Zach was trying to help his dad feel better.  He's such a sweetheart.  I brought the kids with me this time rather than leaving them with my friend, and Riley had to ask what everything was, and what it was for.  The doctor put the first layers of the cast on, and they aren't green, it's only the last layer that has the color, and he kept saying, "That's not green!"  The doctor would say, "What?  It looks green to everyone else.  Aren't you eating your vegetables?"  And Riley told him he only eats vegetables once a month (which isn't true).  It was pretty funny.

 

He got one of those sticky hands at school today, and wanted it in the picture.  That's the weird thingy on his cast.

Playgrounds and Dragons

Memorial Day was a fun day for us.  Kurtis didn't have to go to work, so that is always a bonus.  The kids didn't have school either, so we decided to do something together.  We decided to go on a picnic in the park.  Kaleb was so happy.  So was Riley.  He started yelling, "Yay! I can run around and be loud!"  Or something like that.  It was pretty funny.  Zach was indifferent.  He didn't think there would be much for him to do there.  Kurtis made us sandwiches while I worked on the potato salad for later, and then we were off!
We ate our lunch of turkey or roast beef sandwiches with lettuce, tomatoes, and avocados.  Mmmm.  We love avocados.  Then Kaleb and Riley went off to the playground.  Kurtis got out the soccer ball, and we tried to convince Zach that he should hurry up and eat his sandwich, so he could go play too.  He just looked at me with such contempt.  "I can't play soccer!  I don't like using my crutches on the grass!"  Well, I promised he could kick the ball with his crutches, and that we would go easy on him.  He didn't go for it at first.  He finished his sandwich, and finally joined in.  He actually did have fun!  I told him he didn't have to give everything up just because he broke his leg.  After the park, we went to see a movie called How to Train Your Dragon.  We absolutely loved it!  It was such a fun adventure.  Riley wants a pet dragon now, and is pretty bummed that he can't have one in real life.  They thought it was pretty cool that we let them get popcorn and candy too.  That's not going to happen for a long time again. :P  Then we went to our friend's house for a BBQ!  We had fun grilling up steaks for Kurtis and the boys (I still don't like steak).  Kurtis ended up eating 3 steaks because Riley and Kaleb either didn't eat theirs or ate very little.  I told him he was going to have a hear attack.  The kids played video games and the adults chatted with one another.  It was fun to meet some new people and spend time with my friend, Amy.  You rock, Lady!  Thanks for inviting us.  When we got home, I realized summer vacation hadn't started yet, so it was back to making the boys make their lunch for tomorrow, and getting them in their pajamas for bed.  Ah, the grind.  It would be so nice to simply live a life of leisure where I could do whatever I wanted.  But I live in reality.  And that's just where I want to be.

Riley seems to want a career in modeling.  He jumped up there and said, "Mom!  Take my picture!"

Kurtis - a Creative Zen advertisment.

Making faces.

Playing in the sand is fun!

Riley, attempting to push himself on the swing.  A task he deems impossible, and I am the worst mom ever for telling him that he is old enough to push himself on a swing!

Zachary, kicking the ball.

His "You were right, Mom." face.

Our mountains.

Oh, wait.  We were way too zoomed in.  Let's try again.

That's better!  Sneaky Dad!

Zach took some pictures.  He's my budding photographer.  "Mom! Get back in the picture!"

There is a ramp up the playground equipment.

Kaleb doesn't like to have his picture taken.

But I managed to get this one!  I love that smile!

Riley is a little backwards sometimes.