Pet Store

Through the local Early Childhood PTA, I set up a field trip to the local pet store. This is one of the best field trips because the kids love to see the pets...and it's free. I had taken the boys to this last year, it was fun to see how much they've grown just since last year. It was also fun to see their little personalities.

Mikey was very intrigued with whatever animal the tour guide brought out. He loved holding the animals, and would ask questions about them. Roger would briefly look at whatever animal that was being shown, but then keep browsing at the animals in their cages. William was interested in the animal being shown, but would back up if the animal was presented to him personally.

William's favorite animal, the turtle. He calls turtles "Ninna Ninna Turtle" which translates to "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle".

Roger's favorite was a tie between the kittens and the fish... those were the ones he spent the most time looking at. He also did enjoy our tour gide's piercing. Our tour guide had a spike just below her bottom lip. I was a little embarrassed when he got close to see the animal in her hand then turned to her, pointed to her spike and asked what it was. She sucked it into her mouth, but he kept on asking and pointing, trying to touch her mouth.

Mikey's favorite was the snake. He loves snakes. He asked if I would buy him one...not right now (maybe never...they scare me).

Roger said to me, "Remember when you were outside and you found a snake". Yes, I remember, I was gardening and lifted up something to expose a snake. I started screaming, hoping that Todd would come rescue his damsel in distress, but of course he thought I was just playing around with the kids.

As I was buckling William in his seat, he said something about a snake. After repeating himself a couple of times, I was able to interpret what he was saying, "Snake scare me". Yep, he's my kid.

Interesting breakfast conversation

"I don't want my chin be scratchy" Mikey said in a demanding tone as he looked over at Todd. I didn't realize that Todd's chin was so scratchy, but oh well.
"When you get big like Daddy, you will get hair on your face, like Daddy." I said, may as well not lie to him.
"I don't want hair on my chin! I want a smooth chin!"
"Look, I shaved so that my chin isn't scratchy" Todd said as he had Mikey feel his chin.
Mikey looked at him and came back with, "No, I don't want a scratchy chin". Sorry bud.

Then I heard Roger saying something.
"Mom, you popped out three boys" he said as he held up three fingers "...Mikey...William...and Grant".
"What about you?" I asked.
"Nae popped me out"
"Oh, really...no, I popped you out"
"No, Nae did"
"No, Nae needs a husband to pop out a baby, she doesn't have a husband"
Roger thought for a second..."I'll find her a husband".

Happy St. Patti's Day

My mom's birthday is on St. Patrick's Day, so she claims that she is Irish. Todd is part Irish, so my children are also. I figure by default of both of my mom and Todd, I am some part Irish. So, I definitely had to sport the Irish Pride and go to Cleveland's St. Patrick's Day Parade.

I went with my friends Jenny, and Yvonne, along with her husband and all our children. Walking downtown we looked quite hilarious with one man, three women, and eight children. Todd got off earlier than expected and met us at the parade. It was good to have another set of hands, even though we did rely on Yvonne's eight year old girl, Jenna, a lot. She lent her sunglasses to Grant:

The best was when Jenna told us that she was 50% Irish and her brother Samuel was only 25%. If you know this family, it's even funnier because Samuel looks like he is adopted. He is very, VERY dark. We have all suspected that the milk man may have been involved... Jenna has just confirmed this belief.

The parade itself was not all that cool. It consisted of people just walking down the street. Very few floats, and whenever there were bands they would just march to their drums as they passed us. We did follow the Janning Tradition of getting a Shamrock shake from McDonalds.

As we were leaving the parade, we saw that someone was lying in the middle of the street. Todd ran over there and helped them until an ambulance arrived. We sat at the opposite corner watching. It was fun seeing my man in action, even though I could barely see him because he was behind a police car that was protecting them from being hit by a car, plus I couldn't take my eyes off my kids too much.

It was such a beautiful day, so we walked down to the dock of Lake Erie. We watched skaters perform at the skate park. We didn't want to stay too long for we feared that Roger would jump over the fence and start skating with them.

We went to the science museum. It was not busy at all, and the kids really enjoyed playing with everything.

Then we spent the remainder of the afternoon on a grassy hill (with bird poop all over). The kids had the greatest time just running up and down the hill. I tried to get a picture of my boys together, but this impossible feat still has not been done. I always have at least one kid causing a problem.

I'm not joking, it is difficult to get a decent picture... there's just too many kids to make sure each and everyone of them is cooperating, looking at the camera, and smiling! But we did finally get this:

Close enough.

We ended up getting home just in time for me to go to Young Women's that evening, so we didn't have our Corned Beef and cabbage...but don't worry, we enjoyed it for dinner the next day.

Bodies

Because of Todd's studies, Mikey is enthralled with studying the human body. Ask him where the spleen is, he'll tell you. It's really cute to see all this knowledge just penetrate into him. He loves it and Todd loves that Mikey is so interested in what Todd is doing professionally.

I'm still a little behind on getting my house all decorated (come on, let's see you do it with four kids), so I totally did not mind one bit hanging up body posters on Mikey's wall.

Then, and this part actually impresses myself because sometimes we forget that we are good moms, I got the wrapping paper out and turned it over. I had the boys lie on it so I could trace their bodies, then they colored the pictures of their bodies. (Mikey's body picture is the middle picture)

A little prayer

Roger's Prayer:

"Dear He'venly Father - Thank you for a day, thank you for a blessings, thank you for the eggs, thank you for momma ... she so beautiful..."

ahh, I love having little boys.

Happy Birthday Todd

Today is Todd's birthday!!!

I love that man and am so grateful to have him in my life and that my children are blessed to have him for their father. In celebration of his birthday, I'll share a story about my boys.

The other day I got some shaving cream and cookie sheets out for the boys to play with. I had read that it's good to give your kids different mediums to play with and experience, plus I thought it would be fun for them to draw in.
At first they were a little unsure of this stuff on theirs hands and arms. Mikey, who tends to be a bit OCD at times, finally declared, "It's okay if it gets on my shirt". Later that they were all in on playing. William started rubbing the shaving cream up his arms. They drew pictures in the shaving cream, and Mikey even spelled "Me". (He's been having a difficult time with his lower case "e", so I think this activity helped him through it)

After they were through I had them bring their pans to the sink and I wiped them down. Mikey grabbed the shaving cream and sprayed some more on his pan. He then told me that he was saving it for daddy. He wanted daddy to have some for his face. Well, okay. So instead of having me rinse off the pan, he made sure it was left on the counter for when daddy came home.

Later Todd came home while I was upstairs. He saw the pan, and assuming that the pan had whipped cream in it, stuck his finger in the white cream and ate some.

With children around, let us never assume.

Turns out Mikey is really good at pulling practical jokes.

Organic

A friend of mine had asked why I was against purchasing "Organic" food. I thought I would share with you my feelings on the subject.

There is nothing nutritionally different from "Organic" and "normal" food. When buying "Organic", you are not getting a special fruit or vegetable that is going to hold a magic element that will change your life. "Normal" food does contain more pesticides, but even then just trace amounts. These pesticides are not harmful to us, and therefore we should not react like they are.
"Organic" food is more expensive. Now to me, this is a turn off, but there have always been people that view themselves as elites. They have to have what normal people can't have or afford. Isn't it funny that you see so many of Hollywood people saying how they only eat "organic" food? Wouldn't you feel that you were better than everyone else if whenever anyone saw you they acted like they were seeing an immortal? So to me, the reason "organic" is viewed as special is because they pay more for it, and by paying more, they are proving to others and themselves that they deserve more than what the average person is getting.

I feel that using our resources and by supporting the genetically modified plant industry, we can take a step towards ending world hunger. Genetically modified foods not only can produce more food, but we can make the plants stronger against the harsh elements. If we can come to a point where most fruits and vegetables could be grown in the harshest of climates, food can be provided to everyone. Also, I quote Norman Ernest Borlaug, the American plant geneticist who won a Nobel Peace Prize who has this to say about the organic fad: "This shouldn't even be a debate. Even if you could use all the organic material you have – the animal manures, the human waste, the plant residues – and get them back on the soil, you couldn't feed more than four billion people." I just think "organic" is such a scam. It's a way for people to take away your money. But, there are people who need to feel superior to other people, and by purchasing the same food for more money is one way that they can get that feeling, good for them. The sad part is that there are normal people, who don't do any research, but because of all they hype believe that "organic" is better, so they are spending more money on the belief that they are getting something that is better for them and their children.
I do support purchasing food at your local farmer's market, or from local farms, I think it's great to support those hard working farmers and to help build the community up. For the most part when we have our own little gardens in our yard, they are "organic", and I see nothing wrong with that, I just really hate how "organic" has become this huge fad that is supposed to interpret that those who buy "organic" are more concerned about their bodies and their environment. Give me a break.
I do realize that there are a lot of people who disagree with me, but please do realize that this is my personal blog, not a news source, not a commercial website. Please keep your comments tasteful.
For a website with some info, go here

25 interesting facts about me

1. I want to plant a garden and be able to grow anything.
2. The first flowers I ever planted from seeds were eaten by deer once they blossomed.
3. I love to cook, especially things that I've tasted in restaurants. I will try to mimic what I've eaten, sometimes it's a hit, sometimes it's a miss.
4. I value being responsible very highly. I allow others to slack at it, but will not allow myself.
5. I hardly ever go shopping, and when I do I spend a lot of money, (grocery shopping or Wal-mart, or Costco). It's too tough going shopping with four kids, and when I get the chance, I stock up so I won't have to go for awhile.
6. We go through 4 gallons of milk a week.
7. Breakfast is our big meal here. I love making breakfast, and hardly ever have cereal.
8. My dream (and goal) is to have a farm/ranch in the Kirtland, Ohio area
9. I love working with the Young Women.
10. I think I was born 200 years too late
11. Which is probably why I am so conservative
12. I love studying and learning about LDS Church history
13. Another reason I feel I was born too late
14. Even though someday I want a girl, I love being the only girl in our house
15. My hands are always cold. It's miserable, and can make shaking hands with someone kind of awkward. But the worst part is trying to soothe my babies with my ice-cold fingertips. I usually try to warm them up, but that's not always effective or time doesn't permit.
16. I have never taken any of my children to the ER, when I finally need to, I will be the only mother who isn't quite sure of what to do, while
17. My husband is going to be an ER doctor.
18. Since cleaning up my son's hot chocolate throw-up, I cannot drink hot chocolate, even the smell makes my stomach churn, especially the carmel or vanilla flavors.
19. I hate it when dogs or cats lick me, yet
20. I have a dog
21. I have been able to keep 4 children, 1 dog, and 1 husband alive while my house plants are hanging on the edge
22. I have a "hippy" gene that runs through me (home birth), yet
23. I am AGAINST buying organic food (unless it's at a farmers market or such)
24. I got my bachelors degree in Microbiology, because of this, I should be afraid of touching almost anything for fear of getting infected by some organism, but
25. I also studied immunology, so I am very confident of our bodies abilities to defend and heal .

Bad News

Last week, this guy

decided that he had had enough of just sitting around. Now he is crawling.

Dang it!

1-866-VOTE

I have never actually watched American Idol, but this season is different. I actually know someone in the top 36 contestants - and she's performing tonight for your vote!
Her name is Taylor Vaifanua. She is from my hometown, but also she and her family are family friends of ours. We have known them since I can remember. She's a cute girl who has had a lot of experience from all over the world. Her family moved to Western Samoa and lived there for 6 years, and she's lived in Iowa for several years. When Todd & I were first married, we spent our first summer together working with her dad & family helping them get their business set up. She was such a cute and sweet little girl, and knowing her family, I'm sure she's continued being that way.
I am asking you to watch American Idol tonight, even if it's your first time, and at the end of the show, pick up your phone and VOTE for TAYLOR.
If you've never seen it before, you may enjoy it. I've had fun watching it, but maybe it's more because I get to hang out with friends. BTW, if you're interested in watching it with us, I'm sure Melissa wouldn't mind - as long as we keep the volume down since her kids are in bed by this point (good mom, I know).

LeNae was here

Mikey was in his toy room erasing the white board when I heard him yell out, "Nae not here". Ummm, okay. Not sure what brought that about. LeNae actually was home, but I knew she was studying and didn't want the boys to bother her, so I didn't answer. The conversation continued.

"Mom, Nae and you have the same Mommy?" (This has been something we have been discussing lately)

"Yes, Nae & I have the same Mommy."

"Grandma Patti, she's your sister" (he said in a joking manner).

"No, Grandma Patti is Nae and mine Mommy"

"Nae's your sister?"

"Yep, Nae's my sister"

There was a pause, then Mikey came out of the toy room and approached me. "Mom, sisters don't have husbands?"

Hahaha.... funny how that reasoning led to that. I told him that Nae doesn't have a husband right now, but one day, she will.

Twenty minutes later I went to talk to LeNae about something. Mikey had followed me into her room, and seeing that she was home, exclaimed, "Nae! You are here!!" Ummm...okay. Not sure what all the excitement was for, but hey, LeNae is really exciting.

It wasn't until later that I realized what the excitement was for. Mikey had erased this from off the white board:

It's very important that the white board tells the truth.