Webelos Award

Kendall got his Webelos award for scouts this week. He's worked hard and had a lot of fun in the process.
I had to go up and have him pin the Mother's pin on me. I tried to hug him afterward, but he pulled away from me. I guess he's at the age now where it's embarrassing to hug your mom in public.

Silly, Crazy Kids!

Last night, the kids got really riled up for some reason. They were kind of crazy all weekend, so maybe it was just a carry over from that. We got some cute pictures and some really silly ones.
Here's a little update as well:
Kendall is still playing flag football and his last game was great! He had some really good plays and is enjoying it a lot. He is a good kid--really playing with his siblings and helping out a lot. Well...at least more than he used to.
Kristen finally got to take her earrings out and immediately lost the studs. With the help of magnets, combing through ever inch of her bedroom floor, we managed to find one of them, but the other one is still MIA. The store said that they'd replace it though. Phew!
Jarren is still building Lego Star Wars ships every single day. He's doing a lot of it on his own and has a great imagination. He gets his thrills from the building, not really the playing. He is improving leaps and bounds with his writing skills.
Jenna is obsessed with bears and dogs. And she still loves books, especially the Berenstain Bears. Papa Bear is her favorite character. She'll look at pictures of him and laugh and laugh. She just discovered some old baby toys the other day--one of them is a bear chew toy/rattle and it goes EVERYWHERE with her. She told me last night that it looks like Brother Bear because of its red shirt.

Crazy, Random Things

I got tagged and I get to come up with 7 crazy, random things about me that I am willing to admit. Then I get to tag people.

1. I hate driving next to a semi truck on the freeway. I will speed way up to get past it--going 15+ mph over the speed limit if I have to. I get so nervous of them moving over without seeing me, or if it's windy I get nervous that their trailer will sway into me.

2. (Monica, I'm exactly like you on this one)--I can't wear anything around my neck. Turtlenecks make me gag. Even if I wear a t-shirt with a neck that's too high, I feel like I'm dying. Anything (necklaces, shirts, etc) that touch above my collar bone do this to me.

3. When I sleep, I have to lay curled up on my left side with my right foot hooked out around the blankets so it's sticking out. Even when it's cold I do this. I feel like that's my "airway" when I sleep.

4. I always have to read at night before I go to sleep. It doesn't matter if it's only for 1 minute or 1 hour, it's just something I have to do--part of the routine I guess.

5. I hate to spend money. I used to have extreme panic attacks when I went to the store just to buy groceries (I do better with spending money on the necessities now). I hate spending money on myself and I hate spending money on the house. I want a beautifully decorated house, but I don't want to fork out the money to do it.

6. (Again, Monica, I'm like you. Wow! We have a lot in common.) I like to read about celebrities and the dumb things they do.

7. I hate to drive in the dark. I keep imagining things jumping out in the road in front of me and it's especially bad if it's raining/snowing. I can't see the lines and I just get too nervous.

I am tagging Jen, Teresa, Leslie, and Charisse (and anyone else who wants to do it).

Bat Girl and the Tooth Fairy

I never knew that Bat Girl (or Batman--whoever she's pretending to be) had curly hair, but this one does. Jenna had fun putting on this mask and posing (look at her hands). She likes Batman. Hmmm....she doesn't like princesses, except for Princess Leia (Star Wars), she hates wearing bows in her hair, and she loves dogs and bears instead of baby dolls. I think she's part tomboy--but not completely because she does love shoes and pink.

I had a meeting last night and came home to find Kristen looking like a rabbit. :) She lost 2 teeth! I guess Jon pulled one out and she got the other one out. She can make some crazy faces with those gaps. Does she remind anyone of "Bunny Face?"

Flag Football and Bad Mom

Kendall really enjoys football, but I get nervous having him do the full tackle. I think he's nervous for that. They start kids in tackle in 3rd grade here. So...we found the fun alternative of a flag football league. He can learn some of the rules of football, but not have the injuries associated with being tackled. He's had a lot of fun so far...one week down and three to go.

I think it was my sister who claimed to win the worst mom in the world award. I think you're not a mom if you don't have at least one "bad" thing happen to you. Last weekend, we went for a drive to a nearby canyon and came home after dark. I grabbed everyone's water bottles and came in the house. I had a message waiting, so I made a couple of calls and then asked Jon where Jenna was. He said he thought she was with me. I looked in all the usual spots where she puts herself to sleep when she's tired and she wasn't there. All of the sudden it hit me--she was still in the van! I went out and sure enough, she was. I felt AWFUL!!! She'd been out there for about 30 minutes in the pitch dark. She was sleeping, but as soon as I opened the door she woke up screaming that she was scared. At least it wasn't hot out there. Poor girl--I feel like I've traumatized her.

Bzzzz....

Jarren got his first bee sting last night. I think I'm semi-allergic to bees. When I get stung, I get really swollen in that spot and I also feel dizzy and nauseated. I stepped on a bee when I was 14 and my leg was swollen up to my knee and I couldn't wear a shoe for a week--my foot was purple and HUGE! Kendall and Kristen have been stung before, but it only hurts them for a few minutes and they're fine. Jarren has a pretty high pain tolerance, so I knew something was wrong when he was outside and started screaming hysterically. He got stung on his thumb and he was in pain. He had a lacy rash up to his elbow and his hand was swollen. I immediately put a paste of baking soda and water on it, but it was still swollen. I gave him some pain reliever but he was still in pain. He woke up this morning and said he feels better, but when he tries to move it, it's still hurting. Poor boy!

Tangle

I remember when I was 12, and at girls camp no less, I got a comb and started twirling my hair around it. Well...little did I know, it doesn't untangle. We tried and tried to get the comb out and couldn't, so I had to cut off a lock of my hair. I thought I'd warned my kids of the danger of twirling a comb in your hair, but sometimes I guess they just have to learn the hard way.

The other night, I was reading to the kids before bed and looked over at Kristen and she had a comb wrapped up in the front part of her hair. I said, "You'd better not have done what I think you did." She immediately tried to get it out and of course, couldn't. I tried and tried to untangle it and told her we'd probably have to cut it. Cutting it would've given her about 1/2 inch bangs (if even that long), so I really didn't want to do that if I could help it. I ended up cutting the comb so just the part with the hair in it was left and then I pulled and tugged and twisted until I miraculously got it out! It was a jumbled up tangle, but we put in some detangler and combed until it was smooth. Let me just say how glad I am we didn't have to cut it!!!