Living the Vegas Life

I just got back from Vegas.
And let me just say, I can't think of a better way to spend to start off my 30th year of life.

SITScation Totally Rocked!



I got to meet some pretty famous bloggers
Mama Kat, Summer, Heather, Tiffany, Connie, Angie, Rachel, Lolli, Shannon

And I spent the weekend having the time of my life.
I learned a lot,
talked a lot and barely stopped smiling.
But all I can show you of the weekend is this.


Because what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas!


But I have to tell you that I do have a slightest pang of guilt for having such a fabulous time in Vegas.
Because here at home, my children came down with the stomach flu.
And as children do when the are sick, they passed it onto their caregivers----my parents.
So not only did my parents have to chase after my crazy children all weekend, they had to do while worshiping the porcelain throne.

Safe Haven

So I am not here this weekend. I am off celebrating and having a really good time sans children. So I have given my blog over to one of my very good friends, Momma from Live. Laugh. Pull Your Hair Out. If you don't know her, you should. She is fabulous! One of my daily reads. I love the way that she looks at life and her photos are just awesome.
So with out further ado, here is what Momma has to say about childbirth and her safe haven.

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A wonderful gal asked me to guest post on her blog while she goes away and parties with other cool bloggers.

How dare she?

I thought about discussing these cool bloggers and how they are the "clique" that everyone wants to be friends with but no one measures up to. I also thought about bad-mouthing them all
while they are there and we are here at home eating bon-bons in front of the TV.

But that would be wrong.
So I give you this instead.

I have figured it all out.

After 30 agonizing months of pregnancy, many, many pounds of weight gain, hours and hours of painful labor and hormonal hell, I have figured it out.

I have figured out why I had two more children after having my first.

Sure they are cute, fun to dress up and make life worth living, but now I know why I went through the torture to get them here.

The hospital stay.

Yep, you you read that correctly.

I enjoyed being in the hospital.

A lot!

I call it my Safe Haven. My Comfy Place. My Retreat.

Think about it. You have just endured months and months carrying this beautiful babe and then very painfully delivered him/her and it is over.

Except now you have your healthy baby in the comfort of a hospital where the majority of people around you know all about babies.

They come and check on you every once in awhile.

Some chat. Some don't but that's OK because you enjoy looking at your beautiful baby more than talking to them anyways.

There is no cleaning to do.

No cooking.

No parenting other children.

No running errands.

No worrying about how you look.

All you have to do is admire your baby, watch some television, walk down to the kitchen area to grab some food and stay in your pyjamas all day. You have visitors coming to admire your newborn and some even bring gifts.

If you're lucky, some of those visitors will tell you how great you look.

Some won't.

But that's just fine, because you are in your Safe Haven. Life is good. All is well in your world.

Except for the sore boobs.

Bleeding body parts.

Uncontrollable tears.

and

No sleep.

But it is all worth it. Even after your hospital stay.

When my children are beating the crap out of each other and calling one another names I have never heard in all of my 34 years, I remember my Safe Haven and how much I enjoyed it.

Because I am never going back.

The Siren Song of Golf

When a person goes on vacation, there are lots of things that can make you happy.
Just being away from the pressures of everyday life is one.
Having someone wait on you hand a foot is another.
And having a chance to relax and do somethings that aren't normally part of the daily routine is probably the biggest lure of a vacation.

For me some of these activities include, reading a good book, going for a swim, getting a message or if I am really lucky just sitting and staring at the wall.

But for a man the activities of vacation are a little different. For a man (I am totally making a general assumption here) the most prized activity on a vacation would be a round of golf.

I am convinced that it is just in the male DNA to want to play golf.
Jeff is not a big golf player but that didn't stop Hayden from answering the call of the (putt putt) golf course.

He even wore the appropriate shorts for the occasion.

Now, golfing is not an easy sport to manage. Is it actually quite difficult to try and get that little white ball into that hole way down there.

And it is especially difficult when you are dealing with these 'handicaps'.

Your younger brothers who too can't resist the siren song of golf.

This post is part of Wordful Wednesday

Hosted by Angie

Who's the Naviagator Now?

When ever we take a trip, I am the driver and Jeff is the navigator. This suits me just fine because I am terrible at directions. I wouldn't know north if it came up and hit me in the face and if some one tells me to 'turn south', I usually give them a dumb-founded look and ask, "Would that be left or right?"

Jeff is really good at finding his way around and now with the added modern conveniences of GPS and a phone that is connected to the Internet at all times, there is no place that man can't find.

But on the rare occasion he is not able to find his way, he will ask. Yes, that is right, he is not one of those men that fits into the stereotype that man can't or won't stop and ask for directions.

Well, at least he used to not fit into that stereotype.

I don't know what happened. Maybe it was the fact that on this trip he was driving. Maybe it was all the candy and pop we ate. Maybe it was the fact that the kids were really not cooperating with the whole sit quietly and watch the movie thing. But what whatever it was, on this trip he fit perfectly in that stereotype.

While we were driving up to a family reunion, Jeff realized that the map and directions that we had been given were wrong. We had been able to get to the city where the reunion was but we could not find the cabin that we were going to stay in.

But no problem, we would just use our GPS and 'the lady' would just lead us to the door step. But what we did not account for was the fact that we were so far north that the phone was unable to make a connection for the GPS to work.

Jeff tried to look up a Google map but again, the connection was not strong enough to give him what he needed. He then turned to the old fashioned paper map but the city was too small to be shown in the detail we needed.

I watched him struggle and mumble under his breath about how ridiculous this was and things should just work and so on and so forth.

I tried suggesting that we call the camp ground and get directions from them but my suggestion was met with a dirty look and a growl.

"Ok, fine," I said, "But can I at least drive to that you can concentrate on the map and not get us all in an accident?"

He gave me an exasperated look but agreed and pulled the van into a parking lot.

Once I was safely in the drivers seat, I waited for him to study the map. I listen to him mumble about how it if we turn south.... or maybe north.... I also looked back at the kids and saw them getting more and more restless with each passing minute.

Finally, Jeff said "Pull out and turn right." Such a good man, he know I can't turn south or north. "We need to look for Washington street, it should be about 3 miles." he continued.

I did as I was told and drove for well over 3 miles and looked for Washington street. "I don't think that was..."

"Yeah, I got that. Its not right. Let me just look." He growled at me as he buried his nose in the map.

I looked in the rear view mirror. I knew that we had only moments until a full blown tantrum was going to take place by all the kids. So I did what I had to do.

I quickly turned the wheel to the right and pulled into a gas station. I jumped out of the car, ran into the store and asked the attendant for directions.

And you know what, in about 8 minutes we were there. No map, No GPS, just friendly instructions from a real person.

As I parked the car and began to get out, I looked over at Jeff and said, "There that wasn't so bad now was it?"

Probably not the best thing to say judging from the look he gave me but I know that he is heart he was saying, "Yeah, you're right, honey. I so should have listened to you and stopped to ask for directions."

Toe Crusher

There are many, many wonderful things about childhood.

The joy, the innocence, the wonder.

Childhood is just awesome!

One of the greatest things about being a child is the ability to take a game that you don't know how to play or that is meant for older adults and making it your own.

I give you, Toe Crusher aka Shuffle Board.

Considered your toes warned.



This has been a post for Wordful Wednesday
Hosted by Angie

On the Road Again, I Can Wait to get on the Road Again.

This summer, more specifically this past month of July, we have been traveling.

Every single weekend of the month involved a trip some where. We did not leave our home state and some of the trips were just a day trip but each trip involved packing, planning and preparing.

I am sick and tired of traveling! I am not going to take my family anywhere for a long, long time. We are staying home!

Ok, maybe we will go somewhere but no where that involves me packing a suitcase or preparing a food basket.

That being said, I am trying to find the silver lining of all this traveling. I discovered that this summer's travels were a little bit easier than last summer's travels and I learned a few things about my family.

So without further ado here are the top 10 things I learned about us traveling all over our beautiful state.

10. Highchairs, portable or other wise are a thing of the past.

9. No more more worrying about how I am going to warm up a bottle.

8. Every member of the family is able to walk and is able to walk with someone while holding hands. And since, every member is able to walk this makes them more susceptible to falls and I really need to carry bandaids in my bag.

7. The children MUST watch a DVD while in the car. Failure to have the DVD player ready will result in much crying and protesting, the sound of which is enough to leave a ringing in my ears. Also when said, DVD fails in the middle of the trip, it makes me have a small panic attack and drive 30 minutes out of our way to find a store with the part to fix it.

6. There is no need to take special food for the kids. They can eat what is served or choose to go hungry.

5. Every waking second in my children's lives while at a lake must be spent in the water. Unlike last year, where they wouldn't touch it with a ten foot pole.

4. When we forget the pack-n-plays, the children can and do sleep just fine in a bed or on the floor.

3. When Claire is bored in the car, she will randomly say that different body parts are 'owie' in order to get attention.

2. When Hayden says that he has to go 'POOPY NOW', he really just has to go pee and we could have stopped at the side of the road instead of getting lost in some hick town that has only one-way streets and no entrance ramp to the highway.

1. A six pack of beer is not enough 'coping mechanism' for any road trip.

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Ok, so that is 2 days and 2 posts about travel. I got one more an then I will be done with this topic, maybe. Anyway, I don't know if you noticed or not but I have a new widget on my side bar. I have made the 'Buried with Children' community powered by BlogFrog.

I spent most of the day yesterday playing around with it and with the help of my friend Mama Kat, I have something set up over there. Also, SITS highlighted it this weekend. You can go here to read more about it.

So basically what it is, is a place for us to get to know each other better and discuss things, like this post. So come on over and lets chat.

A Fishing Tale

Hayden: Hey, Grandpa What ya doin?

Hayden: Fishing, huh? Can I try?

Fishing, Fishing, Oh, what fun it is.... wait, hang on.


I gotta pee.

Alright, all better. Now back to fishing, fishing.
Oh what fun it is..... fishing, fishing.
I think that I got one!


Claire: Look! Look! Hayden. There's a fishy!

Hayden: Look at my Fish!

Hayden: Do you want a turn now, Claire?

Claire: Oh I don't know. Isn't fishing just for boys?
Fine I'll try. Daddy help me?

Claire: Now, Jakey's turn.

Quinn: Look, Look! Look fishy.

Claire: Are you going to touch it, Quinn?
Quinn: No!
Claire: Me either, yucky fishy.

All: Let's just watch Grandpa fish.

Jake: I wonder where Nemo is?

Taking the Pile on the Road

We did some traveling for this Thanksgiving. This is not uncommon for us. We tend to spend Thanksgiving in Indiana. Jeff's extended family lives there. Jeff and I have been going to Indiana since our first Thanksgiving together. You could say its a tradition.

I was really glad that gas prices decided to cooperate with traveling. It was nice for a change not to hand over a small fortune to fill up the van.
When we were single, we would always spend the night but once kids came into the picture, it became a day trip. It is only a 3 hours drive so a day trip is totally doable. Its just that the day is spent mostly in the car and there is not a lot of time for anything else.

So this year, I decided that we would stay for a night or two. Going camping this summer has given me more confidence where overnight trips are concerned. Spending the night would give us more time with our family and spread the trip out. The kids wouldn't have to spend so much time in the car. And I thought that they would have no issues with sleeping. (Boy, was I wrong, more on that later.)

We really did have a great time. It was awesome to see everyone. If you want to see some pictures go and visit here. The Thanksgiving meal was great, even if the kids didn't eat it. I sure ate and I probably ate enough for each one of the kids and then some.

On Friday, we were able to leave the babies with Jeff's aunt and take Hayden to his very first move in the theater. We went and saw Madagascar 2. It was a really cute movie and Hayden really seemed to like it expect for the seat that kept trying to eat him.
Oh and there was the drama of me loosing my camera. It was not just the camera but a very full flash card that I had not yet downloaded unto the computer. I was just about ready to have a break down and start sobbing in the corner when Jeff said, "I found it!" I sucked back my tears, let out a huge sigh of relief and said many prayers of thanks.

So there was a lot of fun had by all but what there wasn't a lot of sleeping going on. We stayed for 2 nights and both nights were full of crying, wailing, coughing, vomiting, bad dreams and very little sleeping. But on the good side, it did make for a very quiet and peaceful ride home.

Good Times at Camp Henry Part VI: Odds and End

This is the series on our camp vacation
Part I
Part II
Part III
Part IV
You may have noticed that part V is missing. Well it is and I am sorry but I can't for the life of me remember what I wanted to write about. Oh well, maybe it will come to me later.

Well, that about wraps up our time at camp. Even though, there was a lot of planning and stress involved. It really was fun and I am glad that we went. We are going to make it a family vacation tradition. I am going to end with a few more photos. Enjoy!

Hayden found a new love, legos. He is already asking for Star Wars Lego sets for his birthday.

Jake just being Jake.

Claire once again playing in the dirt. She just loved to find rocks and sticks and bring them all to us to show us her treasures.

Chapel. What an awesome place to worship.

Hayden swinging with new friends.

Hayden and Claire walking to breakfast. This is one of my favorite pictures. He really is such a good big brother.

Lastly, here is a good Haydenism story. It was late and hot and we were trying to get Hayden in the shower so that he could go to bed. I made the comment, "Boy, I can't wait to take a shower."
To which Hayden replied, "Yeah, Mom you smell kinda dirty."
Well that right, there pretty much sums up camp.

Good Times at Camp Henry Part IV: Carnival Night

This is the series on our camp vacation
Part I
Part II
Part III

So each night at camp, after dinner there is a special themed activity; kick ball, talent show, camp fire with s'mores, and a carnival. We could not participate in many because our kids go to be very early. Especially at camp, by 7PM they were done and we were done with them.
But one day, Hayden did actually took a nap so we were able to go to the Carnival (after the babies were sleeping, of course).
It was so much fun and if you ask Hayden what his favorite thing about camp was, he always says the carnival.

First stop, getting a tattoo. It really didn't hurt, he informed me.

Here he is with his purple frog tattoo.
Next...

Getting a balloon animal.

Hayden wanted a purple little doggie. This doggie was a prize possession. He cared for him, fed him, kept him clean by taking him in the shower, and carried him around in a back-pack to 'keep him safe from the babies'. It was all going so well until he slept with him, and the doggie popped. It was very sad. Those few hours they shared together meant the world to Hayden.
Moving on, next...

Noodle Golf.

Yeah, he was not very impressed with this game.

But he did win big. Here we are at the prize table. I do have to say, this was the most difficult activity of them all. Hayden was to choose 2 prizes and oh the choices; 2 Turtles, 2 Fish, a turtle and a fish, stickers, 2 rings, 2 bracelets, stamps, kazoos, sand toys, well you get the idea. It was a very difficult choice.

And we are done. Out like a light as soon as the head touched the pilliow.

Up Next: Family Stories

Good Times at Camp Henry Part III: Little Owies

This is the series on our camp vacation
Part I
Part II

So it was bound to happen. There is uneven ground everywhere and you almost cannot walk with out tripping over something. Plus all my children are related to me which means they all inherited the clumsy gene in some form or another.
We had lots of falls and skinned knees, a first for the babies. Hayden and I, on the other hand, managed to stay injury free. Jeff was most please with this accomplishment, especially knowing my history.

Jake fell on a step and got a good scrape on his cheek. It turned a nasty blue/yellow color by the end of the week.

Claire tripped and skinned her knee. Here she is getting her very first band-aid. Hayden was totally jealous and constantly commented that he needed one.

Quinn fell not once but twice skinning both knees. They were not band-aid worthy and I really don't have a picture of them. So, I know this is not a great picture of him but its what I have.

Up Next: Carnival

Good Times at Camp Henry Part II: Swimming

This is my series on our camp vacation. Here is Part I

So like any good camp, Camp Henry is on a lake. But there was only one problem, the lake front was closed until 1PM. This is all fine and good except in Hayden's world. He just did not understand why he could not spend every waking minute in the lake?
He did adjust and by the last day, miracles of all miracles, he did not want to go swimming. He found a new love, the craft cabin.
The babies, from past experience, do not like lakes. Pools, they have no problem with but there is something about a lake.
So this trip, I got smart. I bought them water shoes, for $3 a pair (thank you Target), and I bought an inflatable little pool, (clearance price of $5, I just love end of summer sales.). It worked great!
They were much more willing to walk around on the beach and in the lake with the water shoes on and they loved playing in the pool. Well all expect Quinn, sometimes there is just no pleasing that kid. He is just not happy unless he is the thorn attached to my side.
Actually, by the end of the trip Claire really got into the swimming thing. We put a little life jacket on her and she just bobbed around in the water, having the best time.

Hayden playing on the beach, making a home for the dinosaurs he either found or took from another kid. All I know is that they just appeared and I did not pack them

I am such a sucker when he asks to take a picture of his things so that I can put is 'on my computer page.' Here are the dinosaurs in their home.

Claire with one of the many 'little baby sitters' that adopted her and God love them, they were really a big help.

Playing in the little pool. Jake splashing away and having a great time. Quinn clinging to me and crying away.

See, I told you Hayden got dirty. This was actually Jeff's idea. He told Hayden to go in the water and then roll around in the sand like a cat. Of course, Hayden jumped at the chance to be covered in sand and not get in trouble. We are still trying to get all the sand out of his hair and other crevices.

Up next: all our little owies.