Overflowing with love.....

THIS is the story of how one mom alone with 6 kids can flood a hotel room.

The Possible Culprit #1-

Possible Culprit #2-

And considering one of them can't talk, we might NEVER know the REAL story.

But here's what I THINK happened.

We went down Friday night to stay in a hotel so I could go to the temple that night and Brooks could go the next morning.....

It was wonderful!

I hadn't been to the temple since November and it was much needed.

I went to the 7:45 session and got to the hotel around 10:00 because it was so nice to run into my friends there, the Hoytes.

2 of the kids (Emerson and Aleeya) were still awake and both wanted to sleep in my bed, I gave them a big fat NO because both of them COULD spring a leak, but I did snuggle them for a while. Brooks (the sucker) was asleep already and picked to snuggle Iris to bed instead of setting up the other port-a-crib......ha ha ha. Let's just say he had a horrible sleep. But I on the other hand, had my own bed.

But let's skip ahead to the flooding, right?

We woke up the next morning, ate breakfast and Brooks took off to go to the temple. The plan was for me and the kids to chill, play, watch cartoons until the pool opened at 10.

It was only 8:30 and I noticed the kleenex box being emptied over and over again by Iris in the bathroom. I went in there and found practically the whole box in the toilet.

So I scooped out all the kleenex and thought I was good to go, right?

Well, not ME.........but Aleeya. She ran in there to go poop.

I went in on the bed to feed Royce.

Next thing I hear is Aleeya saying,

"Mommy, I keep flushing and flushing and it's not going down."

I immediately thought that it was plugged so I told her to STOP flushing (so it wouldn't overflow) and to come out............because I was STILL feeding Royce and didn't really want to do the walk-around-feeding thing. I knew I would go check on it after he was done.

5 minutes later I heard a knock on the door.

Funny, because Brooks shouldn't be back until noon.

On my way over to the door I felt a SQUISH and then saw all the water. In the hallway of the room, on the couch/pull-out-bed cushions I put in the hall, into the closet and now it was coming out of the door into the hall. A housekeeper saw it and knocked on the door.

She left while I tried to move everything and be as helpful as I could while at the same time, keeping Iris from playing puddle-jump in the poopy water.

Next thing I know there's 3 or 4 people in there vacumning, drying, etc. I tried to be as helpful as I could. The man insisted I throw on gloves because it was "dirty water". (Does he REALLY think I've never dealt with poop accidents before?!?!)

I packed up all our things, the kids and they moved us to another room. Had we had the Yeti there, I would've just left the hotel to get out of the way, but Brooks had the van.

The boys were THRILLED to be in a king-size bed room to watch cartoons now

(notice they're STILL ready to go swimming and the pool STILL hasn't opened)

The general manager called me to apologize profusely. I told him what happened and kept apologizing myself, because afterall it WAS our fault! But he was just so nice and everyone there was as well. I really did just want to hide at times, but the humor of it kept me going, because seriously, this is definitely something that would happen to my family....it was probably just a matter of time, right?

The kids DID get their swim time in though......

(Camden and Emerson are just like me, going for the hot tub first! Isn't my Iris a dollface?)

And by the time Brooks got back from the temple around 12:30, and found his family in a DIFFERENT room, he just gave me a look like, "Um.......why are you in another room?" and I just smiled and said, "I'll explain in the car, let's get on out of here."

Apparently the whole morning exhausted everyone else too, because they all fell asleep on the way home.

(look at his little crossed legs)

And yes, we WERE happy to get home........ see?

The Jellybean Race

Every St. Patrick's Day since I can remember my family has had a Jellybean Race on St. Patrick's Day. The winner of that race gets to pick where the family eats out that night. It was always a HUGE treat, because being one of 8 children you can imagine we didn't go out to eat as much when all of us were still home. I can remember going out to eat while on vacation and before my brothers went on missions, but other then that, it was ALL ST. PATRICK'S DAY...... and I looked forward to it EVERY year.

The Rules?

-push a green jellybean from the starting line to the finish line

with just your nose. And your hands have to be behind your back. No pushing it with your head, sticking it up your nose, between your glasses (my personal favorite cheating trick when young) or in your mouth.

I ended up being one of the best in my family growing up.........okay, maybe me and my brother Matt, but still........ When I got married to Brooks, I did not like losing to him over and over and OVER again. Now that we have kids in the equation, it's a different story. Because WHO KNOWS WHERE THEY'LL PICK TO EAT and I'm the one that has to make it work in the budget! So in order to prevent any "mishaps" as in how Bronson originally wanted to take the whole family to Red Lobster (Ummmm, I don't think so)......I would casually ask the kids where they would go, IF they won.

Bronson said Red Lobster

Camden- Funnigans (it's a fun indoor slide place but you pay "concession" prices for their food and times that by 5 eating kids)

Emerson- Funnigans

Aleeya and Iris didn't really have a chance.........let's be honest.

I talked it over w/ Brooks before so we can rig the race. ;) We decided one of us had to win.

In the kids' heat, Camden won. He always does.

In the parent's heat...........I WON! I WON! I WON! I WON!!!! It's either because he let me win or I don't have the pregnancy holding me back as usual. I'm pretty sure it's the first reason though. (Camden whined all day before saying, "Daddy is going to win! I HATE when Daddy plays because he whacks it with his nose like a golf club!!!!")

So Camden and I played each other. I personally wanted to go to Golden Corral......just because it plain ROCKS and it's super easy with kids and half of mine eat free anyway. I tried to convince Camden that Golden Corral has a big ol' ice cream bar with gummi bears, jellybeans, brownies, etc. Because if he DID change his mind, then I would, you know...........well......let him win. But I still wasn't sure he was going to pick Golden Corral. So I beat him. Mean huh.

And...............he was just plain devastated and crying, and saying it wasn't fair because the big kids (meaning parents) will ALWAYS win! Then he told me how he REALLY wanted to go to Golden Corral. (ding ding ding, the MAGIC WORDS!). So I kindly talked with him and said, "Camden, you're right, it's not fair, so from now on, whoever wins the KIDS heat, gets to pick where we go eat." That seemed to make him feel better. Then I said. "So where do you want to eat Camden?" And he said:

Score.

The kids were awesome. Food was awesome (I seriously think their potroast is the best ever) and Bronson kept saying "I'm in paradise".

But before you think I'm a mean, conniving parent, in my defense, I must say,

MY DAY WILL COME.

My mom reminded me that when the kids started winning the race, she couldn't do anything about it, it was wherever they wanted to go.....period.

Then she brought up how I won one year when I was younger (seriously, didn't I just say I was AWESOME at it?!) I picked a nasty Chinese restaurant that EVERYONE hated.

But rules are rules...........

My "duct tape"

The girls bunkbed ladder has been making little nicks out of our wood floors. Everytime I would feed Royce in there I would keep thinking, "I REALLY need to pull out the felt, scissors, glue, etc. to put on the bottom of that ladder."

Well, I finally decided to do something about it......and no, I didn't want to get everything out yet, but I wanted the nick-ing to stop.

Royce decided to inspect my work

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaand, I don't think he's too impressed.

Infact, I think this is how most men would look at me at this point.

HOWEVER, if men can use duct tape to fix everything, I sure as heck can use DIAPERS to fix everything. Afterall, I always have them on hand and I'm kind of a master w/ them......

but I don't mean to brag. :)

I went to go see my friend's newborn baby the other night and came home thinking, "My BABY IS NO LONGER LITTLE!!!!!!" And this picture proves it.

Doesn't the Royce man look so grown-up?

I love those skinny little boys!

My camera stinks

On Saturday we went to the local baseball team's family Funfest where there were free blow-up toys, Merry-go-round, free FOOD, the kids could run the bases, free concessions, awesome weather and lunch for my kids (oh, did I repeat myself?)

NONE of these pictures are awesome of the:

-kids not looking while riding the merry-go-round

-team mascot walking away "sad" after Aleeya refused to give him 5

-my kids sicker then dogs after eating concessions on empty bellies from the 10 hour throw-up bug that hit us with a MAAAAAD fury

but really, my camera won't take pictures when I hit the button anymore, so by the time it clicks everyone is all done saying cheese.

Buuuuuuuuuuuut, please note the top left picture of the boys by the camera, because that is a NEWS station camera and WE WERE ON THE NEWS!!!!!

Bummer deal that we didn't actually SEE it, but many people said they saw us (all 8 of us crammed in a camera shot, and me TRYING not to say the only reason we're here is for the food!). I tried to find it online, but the news guy said it's not available and sent me the "raw cut" that I can't save or post on here, but just trust me when I say we were on tv.

However, after seeing the "raw cut", I'm pretty sure Brooks was right......they SHOULD'VE put the microphone on him. Then he said, "But hey, at least you looked hot."

Awesome.

(NO WONDER THEY AREN'T SHOWING IT ONLINE!!!!)

He knows a lot about that

(Alright, who has the Cat in the Hat Theme song stuck in their head now?!!?)

This week they did Dr. Suess in preschool because last week the teacher was a little sick.

Emerson LOVED Tuesday's day and so for today he INSISTED on dressing up like the Cat in the Hat.......thanks to a white piece of paper, pins and red ribbon.

and since Bronson got that hat from school last week, it worked out great.

Can't you see how PLEASED he is with himself?

Oh, and don't you be fooled in thinking the other kids were dressing up too.....because they weren't. Emerson is the type that just doesn't care if he's the only one w/ Mom's eyeliner on his face in a public setting.

What a cute (and confident) cat!

Mini-Me

I ran to Walmart the other day by myself and walked around the store saying "hi", smiling at people, etc. Because you see, I didn't have any children w/ me to make sure they were acting appropriately. The thought entered my mind how easy it is to shop w/o kids. Then another thought entered that made me think how SAD when I won't have my babies piled in the cart w/ me at the store!!!!!

When I was little I ALWAYS asked to run w/ my dad to the store after I would get home from school. If you know my dad, you'll know he's a man of few words and me being a girl of MANY, you can imagine how quiet those store trips were. Still, they are some of my favorite memories w/ my dad as a young girl. I talked and talked and talked and I am pretty sure he was sitting there listening and caring....but w/ all the nonsense I would say, I don't know how ANYONE could handle that.

With that being said, meet Aleeya:

-sassy

-always, Always, ALWAYS talking
-loves to sing (whether she's on key or not), and has a song for everything

-has a come back for anything and insists of having the last word

-talks with her hands

-has coupons in ALL her purses

-pulls the FUNNIEST and most extreme expressions when she talks

-I have to BRIBE her to leave my side (I would never leave my mom alone either.......I get it! It's payback time for me)

-doesn't mind playing with the boys and getting dirty

-loves to boss everyone around her

-keeps talking whether the people around are listening or not

-talks to herself

Brooks says she's "Just like her mother". Okay, okay I can sort of see how our personalities might be the same!!!

However, recently she's added "witty" to her little list.

At the dinner table she was talking and talking and talking about nonsense things really (once again, like me), and Brooks just looked at me and said quietly, "Where's her 'off' button?!?"

Then he reached forward, poked her belly button and said, "OFF!"

Aleeya then looked down at her button, poked it once and said, "ON!" and kept talking like nothing ever happened.

(That's my girl!)

Oh, and another one of her greater talents is "shaking her boo-tay" (a phrase the boys learned on the bus and brought home to the whole family.....how grateful I am for the well-rounded education the bus provides)

Here is Iris and Aleeya, "Shaking their boo-tays" while I clean the kitchen.....and no, there was no music playing, she can shake it to anything.

As much as a handful as this girl can sometimes be, Brooks and I always say that we can't think of a more FUN child!!! I think we'll keep her.............. well, sometimes.

I'm so lucky

REALLY!!!!

I am usually a BIG advocate of smells and using my nose. So when I'm sick, it's just BITES for me when I can't taste/smell. I always say, "Heavenly Father was soooo nice when he gave me the sense of smell."

But as of last night, I am WITHOUT my sense of smell. Not sure if it's because of allergies or not..... however, I consider myself pretty lucky this time. Why? Well for 2 reasons:

1) Iris pooped this morning RIGHT before I ran the boys to the bus stop. I didn't have time to change it before I loaded them in the car, so in she went, poopy diaper and all. The boys were complaining how "nasty" it smelled in the car, and there I was smiling. However, I wasn't smiling TOO big when I pulled her out and it oozed everywhere up her back, out her leg, and a pile in the carseat...........but I'll spare you the details.........actually, I didn't, I gave them all. But I'm lucky I didn't smell it as I cleaned it up, right?

2) I can't taste, so I just MIGHT be lucky enough to eat healthy for a few days and go w/o treats of all kinds. AND as an added bonus for my kids, they'll get to eat their own fruit snacks! (Note: I LOVE fruit snacks/Fruit by the Foot/Fruit Roll-ups of ALL kinds. Infact, my older kids never tried the red and purple fruit snacks until a good few years after I started letting them eat them......it ended when a BABYSITTER actually gave them all the fruit snacks in the bag w/o picking out the ones she likes!!!! The nerve.) This is good though, because I'm FAR away from my goal size right now and along with the kick-my-hiney gym classes now, I guess I mind as well throw in a good diet.........arg. But now that I can't TASTE, I'm FORCED to eat healthy foods so I don't "waste" the awesomely tasting sweet stuff............I mean, how LUCKY IS THAT?!?!?

"Cute"

Here is me speaking in "code" because I have other little eyes that read this blog, if you know what I mean, wink, wink, nudge, nudge.

Bronson just lost his two front teeth at the SAME TIME (with the help of a little whack during a basketball game to loosen the 2nd)!

Wow, can I just say I LOVE how "CUTE" he looks now!

(But his green eyes are AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!)

Guess I don't fit in

Have you noticed that some specific modes of transportation have clubs or cliques?

I don't think I've ever belonged to one. My "Shaggin' Wagon"that I had in high school wasn't really all that cool (to the outsiders, anyway, I thought it rocked).

However, when I bought the Yeti, I figured I've reached club status for SURE because there's PLENTY of those driving around!(here's a little reminder of what it looks like when we got it back in September):

(was Aleeya's mullet REALLY that bad!?!?! Ug.)

You may be wondering what I mean by "Club". Let me explain.

Haven't you noticed that when motorcycles pass each other on the road they ALWAYS wave or give a nod?

And I had a friend in high school that had a Jeep and whenever I drove w/ him he would wave to other jeeps (okay, just the lifting up of the hand off the steering wheel thing), and they would do the same.

So I decided to try it on the other 15 passenger drivers out on the road with me......just to see if there's some secret 15 passenger van club that I never knew about.

The first 15 passenger I passed, I waved, nothing happened......except they DID stare.

(I'm not sure if the fact that I had 6 kids in the back had something to do w/ it or not....)

Same thing with the next 4 vans I saw.

The 5th van (was actually a work van) DID wave to me though.....and I wished I hadn't waved because the guy kind of scared me......and I REALLY wished that red light wasn't so long to have been sitting there next to his van for so long. Yikes.

Time after time my experiment failed and there's no club afterall.........or if there IS a 15 passenger van club it's usually not made up of larger families with young kids.

Who needs THEM anyway.

Lunch Date

Since the weather has been so nice................................

We decided to drive over to Daddy's work (a few miles away) to eat lunch with him. The kiddos LOVE going there.

And yes, we DO have to park on the veeeeeery top of the parking lot because the Yeti doesn't really....well.....fit in the lower areas in those skinny slots.

(can you believe Royce is 3 months this week?!?!)

And what's REEEEEEEEEALLY cool is the Daddy's hospital has a park on the roof! The kids LOVE looking out all over the town.

And as an ADDED BONUS, some friends of our's (the Jacksons) were up there as well at the same time!!!! SCORE!