The illegal haircuts

I could spit nails right about now. Hayleah came down stairs a little while ago, her favorite "baby" in her arms, crying. She explained to me, through those big crocodile tears she manages to produce at the least things, that Logan cut off her baby's hair. Sure enough, just moments later, he comes bounding down the stairs (scissors pointed up...ugh!) with the offending scissors in hand.

I wasn't very happy about what he'd done, obviously. I asked where the scissors came from. See, we're pretty careful to keep all the scissors put up above the stove where even I can barely reach them, so I was pretty surprised to learn he'd gotten hold of a pair. He told me Jo-Jo did it.

Of course. My most mischievous child. He goes through spurts where he's really good & doesn't get in to anything so I let down my guard a little bit. Until the next time, that is. And there always seems to be a next time. You'd think that by the age of 6 he'd have grown out of it by now, but no.

Anyway, I ask Jordan where they came from & he begins to studder, struggling to come up with a story fast enough. It didn't really matter where they came from at that point because that's when I noticed a nice chunk of Hayleah's hair that was considerable shorter than the rest.

#@%&***!#^$@#!?!?

I know this is bound to happen some time in almost every one's childhood (I'm pretty sure it happened more than once in mine....sorry about that Mom.....I was always pretty scissor happy; ask all my barbies :-O ) but I was hoping we'd manage to get by without it happening to my kids.

Not only did he cut Hayleah's hair but he got a chunk of Logan's too. Logan's isn't so bad because he kind of needed a haircut anyway. I guess Hayleah's isn't too bad either. He didn't cut it down to the scalp at least.

Ugh! Maybe I'll take pictures later when the kids wake up from their naps, so we can one day laugh about this. No laughing today though....only a lot of cleaning going on around here. :-/

What a deal!

Right now restaurant.com is running a deal where you can buy gift certificates to some of my favorite restaurants for CHEAP! I was able to get a $25 GC for only $3!!! The code to get the deal is DESSERT.

Such a bright, hopeful message

I know you can't regret what you never knew, but the message in this video is so inspiring & uplifting I know I would definitely have missed out on something great had I not taken the time to watch & listen.

Family Home Evening

It's something I struggle with, having FHE faithfully each week. I love it when it happens, though it never really just "happens", does it? I have no problems planning them. It's the follow-through that always gets me. Something seems to come up almost every week. I like to have them on Sunday nights but last night I was completely drained & felt like I'd been ran over by a truck. I think I was coming down with something, based on the all-over body aches I was having, but I popped 4 Infection Fighters (herbal miracle worker - it works every time!) & I feel better today.

I got a chance to have a lesson with Tyler after the other kids went to bed. It seems like all the FHE lessons are geared more towards the younger bunch in our family, so I don't think Ty gets much out of those lessons. This is why I like to have a separate lesson with him after the kids are all asleep & we have some time to talk.

We read Alma 40 & talked about spiritual death & what home means to us. We also got to talk about how being a forever family doesn't mean we'll always be together if we don't all make the choices to keep our baptismal & temple covenants....that just because we're sealed as a family doesn't mean we can automatically have those blessings if some of us don't live a life of righteousness in order to receive them. We talked about life choices & how the can affect us all in an eternal sense. It's really cool to talk to him about this kind of stuff because he's very well versed & knows almost all the scripture stories. He brings a fresh, new perspective to things & I really feel the Spirit when we take the time to have these lessons.

I love it when I find something we can connect on. Being 14, it seems to get harder & harder to find those subjects & moments, so when they come along I really enjoy them. And what a great thing to connect with! :)

Some Halloween pics

There were several Halloween events last week I was able to take pictures of the kids at.


The first was Trunk or Treat, held at the chapel. Only Ty, Jordan, Logan & I went since Hayleah was still sick with a cold. We had some delicious chili & lots of fun seeing all the different costumes. One of these years I'll actually plan ahead for myself & dress up. Kudos to the adults who did!

The rest are from Halloween night. Dave & I took Jordan, Logan & Hayleah out around our little neighborhood. There weren't too many houses with their lights on, so that was a good thing. I was worried about taking Hayleah out because I got rid of my stroller & I was afraid she'd get tired of walking while we were out & want to head back before everyone else was ready.

As it turns out, I had reason to be concerned but it wound up being Logan who was tired of it all before everyone else. I ended up taking him back home while Dave took Jordan & Hayleah to the rest of the houses in our area. Hayleah absolutely loved it & was not ready to be finished when it was time. She wouldn't let anyone carry her candy bag....she was very much in to the whole thing. :)

Jordan was such a good big brother the whole time we were out. He was constantly holding Hayleah's hand & leading her to each house. SO sweet!!

Tyler, his friend Randy & I went to the Adventure Dome after everyone returned from Trick or Treating around the neighborhood. They had several haunted houses & the kids could ride all the rides too. The boys had a great time & we wound up staying until it closed at midnight. I was wiped out by the time we left. Ty dressed up as a basketball player that night, as you can see from one of the only photos I was able to get him to stand still for. He doesn't like having his picture taken. I don't know where he gets that from. ;)

Our president elect

It's something I thought would happen but I still didn't want it. It's too bad but I guess we just make the best of it & hope for the best.

The Dentist

Jo, Logan & Hayleah had dentist appointments today. Logan was mad at me for something & kept repeating that he didn't like the dentist, over & over, on the way there (this somehow punishes me in his mind, I think) until Jo started saying how much he loved going to the dentist. He even made a song out of it, in his own creative little way. Logan enjoyed it so much he joined in & for a little bit "loved" the dentist, too. Too funny!

Once we got there they did fine (the waiting room is a kids paradise; train tables, video games, big screen TV's playing fun kid movies, etc.) until we were called back. Jo did great the whole time & let them take x-rays & do a cleaning on him.

Logan cried the moment he sat in the big chair but I was able to distract him fairly easily until he was a little more comfortable with being there. Eventually he was proud to show off his teeth to both the assistant & later the dentist, giving them no problems at all. He wasn't down with a cleaning, though. Still, it's a huge step from 6 mo. ago when he screamed his head off & refused to even sit still or open his mouth.

Hayleah loved sitting in the chair & watching her brothers calmly have their teeth "counted"....until it was her turn, that is. She screamed & wailed like someone was torturing her. I'm used to this, since she does it every night as I brush her teeth. She just does not like anyone messing with her mouth. Six months ago Logan acted just like she does when it's my turn to brush her teeth but he does fine now, so I have hopes she'll eventually stop giving me such a hard time about it.

The best part of all of it is each one of them were cavity-free (!!!!!!!!!!!!) & they got to spin the "cavity-free wheel" to win a prize. They really liked that. Hopefully the next visit will go smooth for everyone. This office is really great & they are so good with the kids.

Ty has his appointment on Wednesday. I'm crossing my everything in the hopes that he can have an equally great check up!

Time change = weather change + a new Bishop

I think it's finally time to suck the air out of all the space saver bags in my room that are holding the kids' summer clothes. I've been putting clothes in, as they make their way through the laundry, for about a month. They keep making their way out of the bags because it's been so nice outside.

Today we had a high in the low-to-mid 70's. Nice. I love fall. It's my absolute favorite time of year. Though we don't get all the beautifully colored trees here in Vegas, we do get great weather. This fall has been unusually nice. Usually it's pretty cold the night of Trunk or Treat but this year it was in the low 80's!

The kids get to break out their little jackets & are starting to want to keep their clothes on when they go outside (this is very rare for them....I run a nudist colony here, dontcha know ;) ), & lately they aren't putting up too much of a fight when I tell them to wear shoes outside.

So I have a few guesses who I think our next Bishop will be. If I started a pool, taking faux bets on who's the next Bish, would I need to repent for it afterwards? LOL Kidding.

I think it's either going to be Bro. Combs or Bro. Taylor. The thought came to me a few weeks ago that Bro. Combs would be the next Bishop before I knew our current Bishop would be moving on soon, so that's why I think it might be him. And Justin Taylor seems destined to be a Bishop. If not this time around, some time in the future. I don't know very many of the husbands in the ward, but I've had some experience with Justin through Tyler & he's such a great person.

Should I even be saying all of this?

Will I be eating my foot soon?

We shall see....