Caleb's Birthday Week

Caleb had a week of birthday celebrating this year.  His best friend's birthday is just 10 days before his, so we decided to do a joint birthday party in the middle of their birthdays.  His friend chose to have a water party where they played with sprinklers, slip-n-slides and squirt guns.  Then Caleb picked a Build-A-Bear party.  So they had two birthday parties in one day.  After Build-A-Bear, we had a "teddy bear picnic" at McDonald's.  It was a fun (but long) day of celebrating.  

Lydia helped make shark cupcakes for the party.  We volunteered to bring cupcakes since Caleb is allergic to nuts.  That way we knew they'd be safe.  I like this new tradition of having the kids do all the work for birthday parties.  :)

At the joint party:

The birthday boys - Caleb and his BFF

 Then we headed to Build-A-Bear.  Caleb picked a blue bear and dressed it in a dragon shirt and pants that had dragon flames on them.  Because of this outfit, he named his bear Flames. 

Playing in the germ-infested McDonald's Play Place.  I can't stand this place, but the kids thought it was great, so I took them... and cringed the whole time.  And washed them down the minute we got home.    

 Yet another celebration on his real birthday day.  First, eating a chocolate muffin for breakfast on the traditional Green Birthday Plate. Later that day, his BFF invited him to McDonald's (again) for lunch.

 Caleb picked his birthday dinner: bean and bacon soup and bread with nothing on it. (Weird.  I think plain bread sounds icky, but that's what he wanted).  He's having a picnic on a sheet in the living room.  Kinda tricky to eat soup on  a sheet, but whatever.  And we had chocolate teddy bear cupcakes.  (He loves bears if you haven't guessed.  Just like his mommy.)

 Katie loves parties and insisted that she sit by Caleb.

Now my "baby" is FIVE.  Happy Birthday Caleb!!

Random stuff

Katie and daddy.

A gross picture, but I had to share Blake's 45 chigger bites.  Yes that's FORTY FIVE on one foot (we counted them, twice).  He went hiking and got 8 ticks and 45 chigger bites.  I told him he's crazy, and amazingly he believed me and isn't going back to that place to hike.  For anyone not from KS, chiggers are like one hundred times worse than mosquito bites.  They itch like crazy and last for a month.  Poor Blake!   :(

I posted a picture like this of Anna and Katie.  Now Lydia is almost as tall as Katie.

 2 silly girls.  Katie and Lydia are so funny together.  They make each other laugh.

  

Caleb had surgery today to remove an old ear tube.  Normally they fall out on their own, but this time Caleb's didn't.  After 3 years, they have to take them out.  It wasn't a big procedure, but he still had to be put under.  The nurse asked me if I'm a nurse because I was so relaxed about it and knew what I was talking about.  Nope, I just have 7 (sickly) kids, and we've been through 7 sets of tubes and on major reconstructive ear surgery.  This was surgery number 9 for ears.  It didn't phase me... or Caleb.  He was calm and happy as can be.  

Anna's Locker and Nathan's New Job

 We got Anna's locker decorated.  Wow, that was a bigger project than I imagined.  It almost made Nathan late for work.  I don't know if I mentioned Nathan got a job so I'll add that here.  Nathan got a job!  He's working at a strings store that rents orchestra instruments.  And it's only a little over a mile from home.  His hours are good and they're really laid back employers.  It's pretty much a PERFECT job for Nathan!   He plays the viola and writes symphonies, so he knows a lot about stringed instruments.  He also got to use his Spanish the other day.  (He's taking Spanish 4/AP Spanish this year).  A family came in and  wanted to rend an instrument, but asked if they could have someone who spoke Spanish.  Nathan was the only one.   It's kinda funny since he was still learning how to write up contracts in English and then had to do one in Spanish, but he did great!  And the boss was really impressed.  WTG Nathan!

OK, now back to Anna's locker.  She picked mustaches and pink for her theme.  We had a super fun time shopping for and decorating her locker!!  And we both love how it turned out.  Who would have thought that it would take over an hour to decorate a locker?!

Death

How's that for a title?  This post is about Death.  Before you worry or think we're morbid, let me tell you that Death is a penguin... Caleb's penguin.  So Lydia bought a stuffed elephant with her birthday money from Grandma.  

This elephant was pre-named Peanut.  (For the record, she changed the elephant's name to Sir Weston Dallington, and the chihuahua she named Italy).   Anyway, as I'm sure you know, Caleb has a severe peanut allergy.  So I jokingly said to Lydia that calling it Peanut was like calling it Death.  Caleb found that hilarious to name a stuffed animal Death.  He said in a sweet, squeaky little voice, "Hello, my name is" [changes voice to deep and evil sounding] "DEATH!"  Then he would burst into fits of laughter.  Caleb decided to get a stuffed penguin and he named it Death.

Chapter 2.  Death's wing started to rip.  So the kids told me I had to do surgery on Death.  (More jokes and laughter came from this whole scenario).  I made it into a big ordeal with the kids acting as nurses.  It worked out well since Caleb had surgery scheduled for the next week.  So it was kinda like acting out surgery so he would know what to expect.  We even gave Death some goldfish crackers and Sprite in the "recovery room".  The only bandage we could find was a giant one and covered his whole body.  The kids left it on for days, and then had Death do physical therapy once he was healed.  Only my kids would think (or even KNOW) about doing physical therapy on a stuffed animal.  We had a whole lot of fun.  Here's Death recovering.  (See all the possible jokes?  Death... recovering? HAHA!!)

And Caleb's response to a Death joke:

He loves Death.  (Bwahaha, another Death joke!!)

First Day of School 2013

Nathan, 12th grade - a Senior

Michael, 11th grade - a Junior

Katie, 9th grade - a Freshman

Yes, we now have THREE kids in high school!  Crazy!

This picture is fun because it shows the amazing height difference between Katie and Michael.

Anna, 7th grade - the Lone middle schooler this year.

Lydia, 5th grade

Elizabeth, 2nd grade

And let's not forget Caleb who wanted in on the pictures... with his bear!

Here we go, another year begins.  Homework, activities, crazy schedules, early morning seminary, lots of fun and no sleep.  Woohoo, bring it on!

Sick again

Big surprise, I know.  It seems that every time there is a big break in my blog, it's because we are battling some illness.  This time it was Hand Foot and Mouth disease that spread through the family for more than 2 weeks.  Katie got it first.  Once I knew she had it, I was SO CAREFUL to push hand washing, even more than normal.  But I think everyone else was exposed long before we knew she had it.  We've never had HFM before and oh my gosh, it was miserable!!!  Poor Katie didn't eat or drink for 5 days.  And wasn't herself for another week.  Just this last week she has finally been feeling better and is laughing and joking with us.  It's so nice to have the real Katie back!  Then Elizabeth and Caleb got it.  Both had only a few blisters, but higher fevers, so I guess their body fought it off better.  Lydia got it and was as miserable as Katie was.  She had to write me notes on her iPod because it hurt so bad to talk.  :( Nathan got it after we thought everyone was better.  He wouldn't/couldn't talk either.  We all drank a lot of Slurpees during this time.  That was seriously the ONLY thing they could eat or drink for day!  And the only thing that even remotely gave them some relief.

This is probably gross to most, but I just have to post these pictures because I couldn't believe these awful blisters.  All the kids got them on their tongue, sides of their cheeks, throat, and on their hands and feet.   Ignore Katie's blue tongue in the third picture.  She had just had a blue slurpee.

OUCH, huh?!!!

And just as they were all getting better, I got a kidney infection.   I NEVER get fevers, and if I do, they're NEVER high.  The last time I had a fever was in 2009.  I had a fever for 5 days... and it was high!  (102) No fun!!  Got antibiotics, finally feeling better.  Yay!