The McCauley Family

Kalyn is 8!

2011-04-18T07:44:00.000-07:00

I can't believe our sweet little girl is 8! We are so pround of her. We are so blessed with our children. Happy Birthday Kalyn!

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"....from here to there, funny things are everywhere!"

2011-03-02T12:32:00.000-08:00

This is another post of all the things we've been doing lately. Kalyn performed with her class at one of the PTC meetings. Her favorite song was, "Dirt You Made My Lunch".

She is right next to the microphone.

Logan has really enjoyed basketball and he does pretty good for his first team sport.

Logan has the ball.

Logan taking the shot. He has made a few baskets and his current goal is to get a "3-pointer".

Brayden and Madisen being goofy as I play with my new camera.

Logan and his dad testing the electromagnet they made for the science fair.

Kalyn and Dad getting ready to go to the Father/Daughter dance. Rob was reluctant to wear the Fedora hat, but when they got there he realized that all the dad's were wearing goofy hats. They had a great time.

Kalyn and Brayden participated in a local Junior Theater production on Pinnochio. Kalyn played Figaro and Brayden played a Hammerhead Shark.

Kalyn in the green room.

Brayden in the green room.

Both of the kids teachers came to watch them, but I only got pictures of Brayden's. Kalyn's A-Team came to watch her too. Of course grandparents came to show their support as well.

All my kids are so lucky to have such nice teachers this year.

"Figaro" on stage.

"Sharkie" on stage.

Kalyn and Brayden after one of the shows.

Bray was so exausted he fell asleep like this.

The kids have been celebrating Dr. Suess' Birthday all week and today was "dress as your favorite character" day. So Logan is the Grinch, Bray is the Cat in the Hat, and Kalyn is Cindy-Loo Who.

We sure have had alot of fun, but we are looking forward to a little break.

The McMonkeys

2011-02-08T17:54:00.000-08:00

I haven't posted in a while, but there actually has been alot going on. Christmas was good. New Years was good, but we were a little sick so we couldn't have our normal New Year's Eve party. Logan finished his Science Fair Project. He did a really good job. His project was "Messing with Magnetism"...something about an electromagnet getting stronger. I just helped with the poster. Rob helped Logan with the project.
Here is a picture:

Logan is in basketball and is doing really well. His team is 3 for 3 so far. Kalyn has been busy with her little social life and is working ongoing to her 4th birthday party since the middle of January. She and Brayden are in a Pinnochio play. Kalyn is Figaro (the cat) and Brayden is a shark. We spend most of our evenings at practice. Brayden is keeping busy here. I guess he wanted to see what he looked like blue.

My kids have always been talented in the climbing skill, but today Bray decided to challenge himself a little more.

Here is what they normally do:

And here is Brayden challenging his skills because it just wasn't challenging enough.
So this is what he did:

That's why there were footprints on the wall! I couldn't figure out why there were footprints all the way from the ceiling to the floor.

Family Photos 2010

2010-12-15T12:10:00.000-08:00

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Halloween 2010

2010-12-15T10:21:00.001-08:00

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Randomness

2010-11-24T15:02:00.000-08:00

I guess it's been a while since I've posted. Here is an update:

Brayden had been asking alot of questions about the snow and if it snowed in Bakersfield. I told him that it doesn't and so he made his own.

The good news is that the baby powder snow smelled so good...it was called calming lavender. I didn't get that mad as I was cleaning it up, it was very calming...and it even knocked his sister out.

Our neighbors had to move so they needed a home for their dog and I thought of the perfect place.

Can you see the resemblance? Although the black and white contrast on one of these subjects used to be... well ...more of a contrast than it is. They named him Izzy because he blended in with their furniture and couldn't find him very well...they would always ask "Where is he?"---Izzy. Since then they got all cream colored furniture so they could find him.

The kids school had a Grandparents Day and they had a really good time with their grandma.

Brayden shared his grandma with his sister and couple of his buddies Warren "Dub" and Johnathan.

Brayden was learning about the life cycle of a pumpkin at school and found this pumpkin in our garden....so he plucked it.

We also had a carnival, mother-son game nights at school, and went to Disneyland but I have no pictures of them...as both my cameras were not working well.

Then there was Halloween.

Kalyn and Madi were Halloween witches and Logan and Bray were Harry Potters.

Those are some cute kids!!!

Well now its November, and almost Thanksgiving. This year has gone by so fast!

WHOOO HOOO! Back to School!

2010-08-23T22:41:00.001-07:00

Today was the first day back to school...Yes!

Logan is in the 4th grade.

Kalyn is in the 2nd grade.

Brayden is in Kindergarten.

Madisen has the house to herself and her mom.

We have a new schedule. I drop off all the kids at 7:40 a.m. Brayden starts at 7:45and the other kids start at 7:55. I pick up Brayden at 11:10 unless it's Wednesday, then I pick him up at 10:45. I pick up Kalyn at 1:35 and Logan at 2:25. If it's Wednesday, then I pick both of them up at 1:35. Don't even get me started on minimum days! Got it? Good, cuz I don't!

So I asked them how their first day was.
Logan: "GREAT! I love my teacher and it's going to be an awesome year!" I'm glad Logan, that's great I said.

Kalyn: "SUPER! My teacher is so nice and she'll let me go to the bathroom whenever I need to!" That's really good Kalyn, I'm so glad that you're happy I said.

Brayden: "There is a stupid boy named Derrick and he called me a "dip face" and then wouldn't let me talk to my "girl friend"....Mom he's dumb! I do like Miss Key though". Ummm...Brayden, I'm glad you like your teacher?!? I said.

This is going to be.....a year!

What does a bead, toilet paper, and a penny all have in common?

2010-08-23T21:35:00.000-07:00

So our summer was interesting. We have had our share of sibling arguments, brotherly brawls, and creative curiosities. I've decided to tell you about the creative curiosities, because you probably have heard plenty of sibling arguments and been in your fair share of brotherly brawls.

One fine hot summer morning, I send Brayden off to summer school. The two older kids argue about watching another Barbie movie and Madi decides to help me vacuum with her nose. At least I hope she was at least trying to help. She comes to me and says, "My nose hurts!" Trying to get some cleaning done...I tell her to try and blow her nose. She starts to wimper and runs and hides. I thought that was a strange reaction from me telling her to blow her nose. I find where she is hinding and crying and asked her what was wrong. "My nose hurts!" "Madi, did you put something up your nose?" She starts pouring out the tears. I tried to get her to blow, but nothing was coming out. I could see an orange coned-shaped bead up her nose. Of course the pedi doctor was closed, so off to the ER I go. $100 later and lots of tears the bead come out. So I paid $100 for a bead that I already owned and they didn't even let me keep it. "Madi are you going to put things in your nose again?" ...."No".

Another fine hot summer morning, the older kids are again fighting only this time it was the Wii, and I hear another wimper. This time it was Brayden. He comes up to me and says, "Mom...I got something in my ear"..."uh yeah, Brayden it's called wax. Go get a Q-tip", I said. "No, Mom I have toilet paper in my ear!" "Brayden why did you put toilet paper in your ear?"..."Uh-e-uh.", he said. I looked and sure enough a tiny wad of toilet paper was in his ear, just far enough that if I tried to get it out, I would've shoved it in farther. So off to the doctor's office we go. I made him keep his head sideways the whole time so that gravity wouldn't make it go in further. $25 later and lots of giggling from all the staff (including the doctor)we left. That is some expensive t.p.! "Brayden, are you going to put things in your ear again?"..."No".

Yet another fine, but hot summer morning, the kids were watching another show, but there was no fighting over the tv this time, it was, "Who ate all the crackers?!?"..."Not me!...Yes you did!...No I didn't!...MOOOOMMMM!" I hear a sound like someone is choking and quickly ask, "Is everyone ok? Is anyone choking?"...."No..No...No..No." I think good...all four answered. Madi walks up to me and says, "Mom, I ate money." "What?!?" (hence the choking sound I heard) I quickly went to my wallet and took out a bunch of coins and told her to point to the type of coin she ate....of course she pointed to the quarter! Geez! (only I didn't say geez!) Called the doctor and went in. They said, "Well, there is nothing we can do, but we want an x-ray and you'll have to examine her bowel movements until it comes out." CRAP!!!! (Pun intended and I really did say that!). So I took her to get an x-ray and asked if they could tell what type of coin I was looking for, 'cause at this point who knows what I'm going to find!' They said that they couldn't tell. Thirty-six hours later, $225 out of pocket, and four rememberable experiences of bowel movement examinations later, out comes a bright and shiny penny!....A PENNY!!!! $225 for a penny!!!!...."Madi, are you going to put things that don't belong in your mouth anymore?"..."No".

UGH! School is finally here...... THANK...YOU!!!

Momma Mia!

2010-08-23T21:01:00.000-07:00

It seems this momma bird was having a challenging summer like I was. Her kids were fighting and knocking each other around, they weren't always being very obedient and didn't always stay where they were supposed to. POW! POP!

So I decided to help my fellow momma out. I built guard rails so the kids couldn't fall out anymore. Here is a video of her grounding them, for all the scary scenarios they put her through. A few weeks later the baby bird learned to fly and would hang outside our window as if to say "thanks for saving my life". You're very welcome...now come and help me!

Happy 4th of July!

2010-07-13T11:33:00.000-07:00

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Madi's New Do

2010-07-13T10:27:00.000-07:00

Madi got bored one day and decided that since her brother had given her a haircut a couple of times that it was her turn. She walks out with a big smile and a clump of hair hanging from the back of her head. I went and looked and found A LOT of hair on the ground. The sad thing is her hair had just grown out long enough and the morning of her haircut I got to put her hair is one big pony tail. Oh well it'll grow, but until then she get to look like this:

Bray's B-Day!

2010-07-13T10:23:00.000-07:00

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New Family Photos

2010-05-29T12:03:00.000-07:00

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Turning Wheels and Little Deals

2010-05-26T16:08:00.000-07:00

See this little girl? She is 2 1/2. She loves her dolls. She likes to take her "kids" with her everywhere. We were recently on a weekend beach trip and she forgot her "kids". She was really concerned. She had to call her aunt "Lissa" to see if she would babysit and take care of her "kids" while she was gone. I guess being the fourth child, one doll isn't enough....she carries at least 3 with her (it's normal to her). She recently learned how to tell people how old she was when people would ask her, with her fingers.
In this picture she is holding a doll that belongs to her sister. She came to me and said, "Mama..Kalyn won't let me doll"...I said, "Kalyn won't let you have her doll?" She nodded. I told her that Kalyn bought that doll with her Christmas money. She said, "Switch?" I told her to ask her sister...she did and of course her sister said no. She thought a little more and said, "Two dollars?" Her sister decided to take her up on that offer and sold her the doll for $2.00.
A few things with this whole scenario:
1. It's a little troubling to me to know that my two -year old is already learning how to bargain
2. She's learned that you can buy almost anything with money
3. There needs to be a new chapter about bargaining toddlers written in parenting books
4. In the future, I hope Madi doesn't think you can buy people
5. HELP ME?!?!

It's Been a While

2010-05-24T14:38:00.002-07:00

It's been a while since I've written on here. Time got away from me and now it's been over 5 months. There has been so much happening. Instead of writing about everything I decided to create some photo albums. Enjoy them all. Hopefully, it won't take me as long to update next time.

Pismo Beach

2010-05-24T14:38:00.001-07:00

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Camping at the Cabin

2010-05-24T13:26:00.000-07:00

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Family Activities

2010-05-24T12:46:00.000-07:00

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2009-12-15T10:52:00.000-08:00

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October 14, 2009!!!!!

2009-10-14T21:05:00.000-07:00

After trying to wake some of the kids up all morning, they might have had a better idea...stay in bed! Today was one of those days! Everyday the schedule is the same...get up, get dressed, eat breakfast, etc. Today the kids decided to play, play, play, and some more play. So needless to say the morning did not start off very smooth at all. After asking (and some yelling) to get their clothes on and backpacks together, and lunchbags in backpacks, moods were not good...at all. Here is how my day went:
6:00 get up
6:30 ask kids to get up
7:00 yell at kids to get up
7:15 scream at kids to get up
8:20 Get to school (school starts at 8:20)
8:30 drop off Brayden at preschool(he didn't even hug me...he was mad at me) (me too)
8:40 drive to pick up stuff at scout office (Madi cried the whole time)
10:00 get to school to put up a sign for the teachers (Madi gets 4 cups of water, almost breaks the water fountain, and smashes her fingers in a bathroom door)
10:30 sign two checks (Madi takes the phone off the hook 4 times, sprays whiteboard cleaner twice, and sticks a key in the electrical socket twice)
11:30 pick up Brayden from preschool (he has green frosting-the kind that stains-all over his mouth and up his nose-which was very annoying to him and really let me know...shares a chocolate kiss with Madi (need I say more?))
12:00 fed kids and put Madi down for a nap (Brayden finds Airheads candy in our closet, licks them and pastes them on his wall, then finds stickers to finish off his masterpiece)
2:00 mom (thankfully) picks up Logan and Kalyn. (they immediately go clean their rooms as part of their punishment for their attitudes in the morning.)
3:30 help kids with homework (Brayden cut his and Madi's hair--of course more of Madi's than his)
3:35 notice Madi holding a pair of scissors...take them away. Find cut up homework (Brayden did this one).
3:40 find pile of hair...send kids outside.
3:50 check on kids..Madi's head is wet from dunking it in the dog's water bowl...
3:55 choose to not fight that battle
4:00 check to see if Rob is coming home soon, and continue to help with homework.
5:00 Rob comes home.
5:30 finish helping with homework, make dinner (Madi draws on tile).
6:30 eat dinner, and wonder why their is a puddle of water under Madi when I didn't give her anything to drink yet. No diaper...dang.
6:45 Rob leaves for scouts.
7:00 put kids in bath.
7:30 read story.
7:45 family prayer (pray tomorrow is better), put kids to bed.
8:30 Rob comes home.
9:00 write on blog, and go to bed.

After today, if anyone has the nerve to say to me, "Oh, you don't work? You're just a stay-at-home mom?"...I would probably seriously consider smacking them and then offer to let them borrow my cute little twits for a while. They are very cute, sweet kids....but about every three days or so, we have a day like this one. All is quiet now (they better be sleeping), so I am going to bed! Good Night!

I'm HOT!

2009-10-01T17:14:00.001-07:00

A funny thing: I was rushed (as usual) to get the kids off to school, and didn't have time for makeup, etc. After I dropped the older two off, I took Brayden to his preschool. As I turn the corned my wheels squealed (I really wasn't going fast, the air in my tires is just low). Brayden says, "Mom, why is everyone looking at you? I know it's cuz you're hot!" I was laughing! At least I'm "hot" to my 4 year old...maybe he meant hot as in mad...never did clarify that one and don't really remember being mad, must be the "cute" version.;)

Update on McCauley Life

2009-10-01T16:47:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it's October! We are in full swing of school now and some of us are already looking forward to Thanksgiving break.:) Logan really likes his teacher and is doing well in school. Kalyn is still getting used to school all day and is really tired by Thursday(she has her night terrors when she gets really tired). Brayden likes the idea of going to school, but seems to be not that impressed. He does well and loves art, but he definitely looks forward to his days off. Madisen hasn't really had the chance to enjoy her one-on-one time with mom, as I spend almost every spare moment doing something with the PTC. It should die down once the jog-a-thon (tomorrow) and the carnival(next Friday) are over. Rob is very busy with work and blazer scouts. He has 10 now, and motivates them to pass off stuff with a nerf gun war at the end. He says that the age is challenging.
I turned ** a couple of weeks ago, and Logan turned 9 on Monday. Madisen is 2 tomorrow.
We went to the movie theater with a couple of Logans friends and some family to watch, "Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs". We then came back to our house and had cheesburgers and ice cream cones. We all had a good time.
We are just going to keep Madi's birthday simple. A little dinner and cake and ice cream tomorrow night. It should be nice and relaxing....yeah right my house is only nice and relaxing when everyone is asleep or we are away from it.:)

Brayden Picasso?... No Just Caillou

2009-09-12T21:51:00.000-07:00

Well, school has started and I took some pictures of the first day, but can't figure out how to get them off my camera. Logan is in the 3rd grade, Kalyn is in 1st grade, and Brayden is in preschool. They all like their teachers and are doing well. I went to pick up Brayden from his preschool the first day, and his teacher asked me where he had taken art lessons. Huh? I told her that he hasn't ever been in an art class, and wondered why she would ask that. She told me that he informed her that his picture was abstract. (OK, maybe she just misunderstood him). As we got in the car and started driving off, I asked Brayden what he told his teacher about his artwork. He said, "I told her it was abstract". I said, "Brayden, where did you learn the word abstract?" (I mean we study art at home and my child is a genius like Picasso). He replied, "Caillou". Dang, thought I was going to get the credit!:)

I signed myself up to work in the PTC and I'm finding it to be ALOT more work than I thought it would be. What was I thinking? Thankfully, I get to work with awesome people! We have a busy year ahead of us! It should be fun!

Madi, Madi, Madi!

2009-08-12T20:31:00.000-07:00

Madi decided to potty train herself recently...by that I mean she won't keep her diaper on and most of the time prefers to wear her birthday suit. The other day, I was folding some laundry and I hear..."Hewo!...Hewooooo!...Heeewoooo!"(hello) Madi was sitting on the toilet smiling and waiting for praise from her accomplishment. For someone her age she has a little attitude (it's kinda cute..at least right now). Brayden and Madisen have a love-hate relationship (pretty typical), but today they were cute. Brayden was playing dolls with her and they named their "kids", Noodles and Skittles. I went to the grocery store today and picked up Madi after getting her out of the car. Just as we start to walk in the store I fluffed her dress down and noticed that she was missing something. She had taken off her diaper before we left the house and was bare bottomed! I quickly turned around and took the kids back to the car to see if I had an extra diaper. I asked her, "Madi..where's your diaper?!" She laughed and giggled the whole way back to the car. Little stinker! On a good note she stayed dry the whole time! Madi, Madi, Madi! This is just one of four reasons I haven't had very much time to blog.

2009-07-22T09:26:00.001-07:00

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Camping 2009

2009-07-16T08:34:00.001-07:00

My family finally got back from a 5 day/4 night hiking trip up to Sweed Lake in the Dinky Creek Reservoir. They had lots of fun (at least they were dirty like they had fun). Brayden got to go this year and he turned 4 during the campout. He was very excited. They hiked 4.5 miles each way and no one had to be carried. Brayden only had to carry his sleeping bag, but everyone else was loaded up. Rob said his pack was 75 lbs. I told him if he changed his backpacking trip to "camping" in a hotel I would totally go. I don't mind getting dirty as long as I have a bed, shower, and a toilet. Madi and I stayed home and hung out. We missed everyone lots. I kept busy by cleaning the house and believe it or not it stayed clean for more than 5 minutes! It was nice. We actually had time to be bored, that was nice too.

2009-06-02T09:05:00.000-07:00

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What do cupcakes, Lysol, and stamps have in common?

2009-05-13T06:30:00.000-07:00

I know we all have those days where you think everything is fine, but then you take a second look and notice that it's not quite what you thought. Keeping up with my kids is sometimes a challenge for me. Sometimes I hear the "quiet" and panic and run around looking for them to see what they are doing. Sometimes they are just reading or looking at a book quietly in the corner of a room. Sometimes...not.

Brayden asked me if I would make cupcakes last night. I thought it was a good idea since we hadn't had any sweets since oh...noon! (it was really more like 4 days). I start baking away and when I finish, I notice that it's one of those "quiet" moments. Hoping that it's one of those innocent moments. ring, ring, ring,"Rob do we have a college fund for Brayden and Madi?...No why?...Cause if we did, we need to use their money to pay for a maid to help me clean up their messes. Once they stop making messes, then we will start saving for their future." In the short amount of time that I was baking those darn cupcakes I found post-it notes all over the floor, a roll of stamps adhered to the tile under the table, crushed up crackers in the carpet, a string of toilet paper hanging out of the toilet and then leading the way to one of the culprit's room, a little girl with rather stiff hair, and a little boy that smells like Lysol spray.

"Brayden, (aka: Mr. Whatdidido) why do you smell like Lysol spray?" "I didn't put it on my armpits!" Oh yes he did! I asked him why he would do that and he said he wanted to put on the stuff daddy uses. I guess I need to have a talk with Rob and let him know that Lysol is for sanitizing not for perspiring. Minimally to at least let him know that he shouldn't use aerosol spray..cuz it's bad for the environment.

Brayden, why does Madi(aka: Miss Whomeimjustababy) have such stiff hair? "She wanted spikeys like Daddy!" (Umm am I the only one that's noticed that Rob's is a little lacking in that department?)

My kids are up, so I better go watch them and their "quiet" moments.

P.S. I have such a caring family. My uncle Tom noticed that I had no tread on my tires. Tom, I got new tires, new brakes, I even got them aligned! Thanks for caring about us!

2009-04-21T09:37:00.001-07:00

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LA Examiner-Holidays

2009-04-17T21:17:00.000-07:00

Some of you might be wondering what that blue button is on the left. Well, this week I accepted a job as an examiner for and online newspaper. It's called Examiner.com and I write for Los Angeles about different holidays. It's pretty fun but somewhat time consuming...mainly just because I'm still trying to get used to their publishing program and trying to find pictures to use legally. I'm sure it will get easier the more I write. So far we've celebrated National High Five Day and Cheese Ball Day. So check it out and tell your friends...who doesn't need something to celebrate every once in a while.

Vacation for Everyone!

2009-04-06T08:27:00.000-07:00

Okay, cleaned up the spill and am ready to vent. Why is it that 99% of the time when I have to wake up the kids for school they take their sweet time and dill dally?It usually ends up with me yelling at them to hussle. We all end up in a mood for the day. Then the teacher says, "Have a great vacation!", and we all say yeah! They are thinking: non-stop cartoon watching, endless time to play video games, lots of time outside, and no homework. I'm thinking: don't have to wake them up "early", don't have to drive 8 times back and forth to school, don't have to go to the endless activities we signed up for, and no homework. Yeah for VACATION! Why in the heck do they think it's okay to voluntarily get up before 7a.m. and make breakfast in bed for themselves, and worse wake me up before I have to (when Madi gets up)? They are up, dressed, and fed before 7a.m., and all without my help. Why do they toy with me? I think I might just drop them off at school and see what happens, after all it's my vacation too, right?
Does anyone have velcro in large quantities? So, I go to clean up their breakfast making efforts and Brayden takes some child size scissors out of the drawer. He comes up to me and says, "Madi needed a haircut". Busy cleaning and not really paying that much attention (maybe due to the lack of sleep),I said that I know her hair is kind of fluffy and resembles a seeded dandelion, but that it will grow. Then I play back what he said in my mind, NEEDED a haircut. Holy cow! He gave her a trim. At least he told me right? I just found a little clump of hair. It could've been alot worse. So it is 8:50 a.m. and only 8 more days of vacation left...help me...please....anyone there?!

Our March Madness!

2009-04-06T07:35:00.000-07:00

Oh my gosh! I completely missed blogging in March! Where to start!? I have some cute pictures to share, but can't figure out how to get them off the camera (new camera). We have been relatively well. No one has been sick...knock on wood. Logan and Kalyn participated in Jump Rope for Heart for school and had a good time. They are both doing really well in school. Brayden and Madisen keep us busy. Brayden loves to make us laugh, and Madi has migrated to become queen destroyer of things...speaking of I must hurry with this (she spilled a thing of juice and is now playng with the phone). I had gall bladder surgery...doing well...Heavenly Father thought I should be back to normal 5 days after, with a dead frog incident(blech) and an overflowed toilet. Oh we also, made an ER trip this month and I was diagnosed with sleep apnea. Gotta go, but at least I've blogged!

Sock Hop

2009-02-23T09:58:00.000-08:00

Kalyn and Rob going to the Father/Daughter "Sock Hop" at her school.

What have we been up to?

2009-02-23T08:31:00.000-08:00

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The Storm Is Finally Passing

2009-02-01T18:21:00.000-08:00

Part two of the Ford saga.

We took the Ford in and they kept it for two days and put 30 miles on it but couldn't find the problem. They told me to call them when it happened again and they would send a mechanic to where I was and try to diagnose it. The next day....(The kids think the car is mad at me and doesn't like me anymore)I go to get a prescription filled and the car wouldn't let me drive it AGAIN! I call the mechanics and sure enough they came! Get this, they drove me and my kids home and took my car to the shop. We thought that was so nice of them. They found the problem and $700 later it was "fixed". So far so good. Nothing major since then, just a flat tire and we are starting a round of the flu, but that is minor. I think the "storm" is passing. Compared to everyone else's problems it was more like a large "black cloud". It was a very expensive "cloud", but at least it's leaving. Tired of dancing.
We got to go to the temple yesterday and it was so nice. Of course it has been a while since we went (like 2 years) so we got lost, but eventually found it (L.A. traffic!). Life is good and I am ready to dance again, but only if I need too.

The Freakin' Ford and the Daring/Darling Duo!

2009-01-16T12:07:00.000-08:00

I am learning how to "dance in the rain". This blog entry is my attempt at dancing. (See quote on left.)

We have been having some problems with our Ford lately. At first we thought it was the battery, so we got it replaced under warranty. Then it still wasn't working well. Then we thought it was the alternator. We had it tested and Auto Zone said it was bad. We went to Ford (it's under warranty) and they said the alternator was fine and that it was some overloaded wiring, blah, blah, blah. We paid our $90 and Rob asked them to pinpoint the problem and he would look at it. He played around with some fuses and it started working again. I thought it would be a good time to go to Cost-co and get the "4 things" I thought we so desperately needed. Those 4 things always cost alot. I came out to the car and started it and it wouldn't keep running, so I couldn't drive it to go home. I called Rob and asked him to come and rescue me. During normal years, January would be "cold", but it was 70 degrees that day! So to keep the things that I bought from Cost-co somewhat frozen I had to keep the car on in park and rev the engine so my ac would work and my stuff wouldn't melt. Rob rescued me (he somehow figured out how to keep it going during the stoplights) and I took the things home and put them in the freezer.

As the kids were getting resettled.. I heard a flushing sound and then a..... MOOOMMMM!!!!' Now normally I wouldn't rush, but the tone in the voice was one of panic. I came in to see the "Daring Duo" staring up at me with their big blue eyes and lovely toilet water filling around their toes. Let me introduce you to them:

Mr. "Whatdidido"

Miss "Whomei'mjustababy"

Cute aren't they?

Now back to the story. You know the flushing sound. I asked ever so calmly, of course,"Oh sweet, little, and darling children of mine...what happend?" Mr. Whatdidido said, "Miss Whomei'mjustababy put a pencil in the toilet and I flushed it." As I ever-so-swiftly turned the toilet water off I asked, "Now, Mr. Whatdidido, haven't we learned our lesson from the box of band-aids and the bar of soap...that nothing goes in the toilet except #1, #2, and toilet paper?" Silence. "Oh sweet husband of mine can you fix our toilet with your newly discovered talent?" "Sure Sugar lips." So he went out to his ever-so-organized garage and grabbed one of our wax rings (since we buy them by the case now) and an auger. He starts working on it, when to our surprise only half of it comes out....the auger that is. "Sugar lips you better find a toilet that you want me to go and buy". So I scurry off to research on the computer the toilets with the biggest pipes plug thingys and the biggest "bulk removal" holes. My sweet husband came back with a toilet and a logo on it that claims that it can flush a "bucket of golf balls". "That should do it!", he says. A 10 cent pencil cost us $300.

Now to get our sweet, little, and darling children to bed, when what do we see? A big and beautiful, mural drawn by Mr. Whatdidido. It was all over the wall and the windowsill. I just have to say, I LOVE THE MAGIC ERASER! As I was nearing completion of clean-up duty, I hear a crash. Miss Whomei'mjustababy comes running in with front of our stereo. "Oh sweet husband of mine will you please remove the stereo that we NEVER use, to your ever-so-organized garage?" "Sure sugar lips."

The next day we went to church, since our Ford was on the fritz, a friend of ours took some of our kids, so that we could all fit into our FIT! The rest of the day we relaxed, and I went to a meeting. After I got back I said, "Oh sweet husband of mine, let's go take the Ford to the dealership tonight so we won't have to wake the kids up so early in the morning". "Sure Sugar lips." So our friend came over to watch our kids and we went on our merry way. We get parked and Rob gets out to fill out the envelope to leave our key, when a man rushes out of the building and runs straight over to me. After hearing a loud, buzzing sound, He says, "Do you work here?" (after I realize he wasn't coming to me to rob me and he was Ford's cleaning crew, I answered)"No." "Does he work here? (pointing to Rob)" "No, we are just dropping off our car". "The smoke alarm is going off and I don't know the code...do you know the phone number to the fire department?" " No, but I'm sure there is a phone book in the building" (I know I'm so helpful). Just then we are surrounded by 5 fire trucks of all shapes and sizes, 1 police car, and 1 helicopter. They all look at me and I point to the man (cleaning crew)."Oh SWEET HUSBAND of mine, we need to go! Maybe we should move our car." "Too late Sugar lips the key is already in the box". "Ohh...PLEASE don't let my ever-so-reliable Ford burn to ashes!" As soon as Rob got in the car, we sped off. (We didn't want to be involved with this incident when it wasn't necessary, of course.)

Our car still isn't fixed. I used it everyday this week to drop off and pick up my sweet, little, and darling kids from school. It strangely worked long enough until the last kid was home and then it would putter into our driveway and die for the rest of the day. It did this for 3 days until yesterday. I had one measly little errand to run and as we got in it to come home it died in the middle of the parking lot. Without the engine working, the power steering doesn't work so I asked Logan to put his foot on the gas (while in neutral) and steer the car to a parking spot while I pushed. He couldn't reach the pedals. Heavenly Father loved me so much and saw how frustrated I was, so I tried again and it worked just long enough to get it into a parking spot. I called Rob, "Oh sweet husband of mine YOUR car died again and I'm stuck in a PARKING LOT! Please come rescue us again". "Sure Sugar lips."

Part 2 of this saga to be continued....

The Stewart Annual Christmas Pagent

2008-12-23T08:30:00.000-08:00

Every year Grandma and Grandpa Stewart have a Chirstmas Pagent at their home. This year there was 47 family members that came. Lots of little ones and lots of chaos. I laughed as I caught one of my sister-in-laws taking a big breath before she went in. I told her that in a few more years she would be used to it. This is Brayden as a shepherd. What a goof!

These are the shepards, Brayden is in the red and white stiped robe. We get everything from the traditional lambs and staffs as props and and sometimes dart guns. Logan is in the background with one of his cousins (Jason). He is a wise "guy" with his "gold". The other two cousins are Skylar and J.J.

Logan is a wise"guy".

This is Kalyn and Madisen as angels. What cute smiles. Bayley is the other angel (cousin).

Kalyn's School Performance

2008-12-23T08:04:00.000-08:00

Kalyn had a performance at school with her Kindergarten class. She knew every word and did a great job. This is a picture of the kids after the performance. Ally was able to come too.

Kalyn showing me the ornament she made for us.

This was the group of Kindergarteners (120 in all).

Thank goodness Kalyn was in front.

This little random picture is of Madi and Bray enjoying juice and a pop tart one morning.

Christmas Performance with Tavaci

2008-12-14T15:10:00.000-08:00

Logan and Kalyn at their Christmas performance. They did a wonderful job and we are very proud of them. They also did a little skit that I can't figure out how to put on here and Logan did a little solo, of course I forgot to record it. They were so happy that some family and friends were able to come and watch them. They sang lots of songs and we all had a good time.

Visit to Santa

2008-12-14T14:02:00.000-08:00

This was at our ward Christmas party. Madisen was a little mad about Santa holding her and Brayden just wanted the candy canes you get from him. Logan and Kalyn were excited though.

Dang It!

2008-11-20T14:27:00.000-08:00

My cousin put a story of her son on her blog concerning the elections, and that reminded me of something my son said. Most of you probably know that Prop 8 was a big thing here in California...still is. For a few months I was able to help with the various phases of polling and informing people of what prop. 8 was about. He would see the sign out front on our yard and would make sure and point out every "Yes on 8 sign". He would always tell me "8" would win in the election. I asked him if he knew what prop. 8 was, and he told me that it was to protect traditional marriage (it said that on the sign). I told him he was right. I didn't need to go into anymore detail, so I didn't. He comes up to me late on election night and tells me to wake him up and tell him who had won the presidency. I told him and he said, "Dang it! Grrr..Now we will have to pay higher taxes! Dang it, dang it dang it!" The funny thing is that we haven't talked with him about the president at all, it must be all the Glenn Beck that Rob watches. He was very aware of the elections this year.
Kalyn said a funny thing the other day. Earlier this year she got her ears pierced. She asked me if boys could get their ears pierced too. I said that some boys do, but it really should be for girls only. As I was dropping off my son at school one morning, a little boy opened the door for Logan (we have a valet program) and he had big, bright diamond earrings in his ears. She asked me, "Mom was that a boy or a girl?" I said, "A boy. Why?" "Why does he have earrings?" I told her that maybe he didn't know he was a boy, or that maybe he thought it was cool. She replied, "or maybe he just likes the bling bling".

Bakersfield Pageant Performance

2008-11-09T08:25:00.000-08:00

Logan and Kalyn getting ready for their Tavaci performance at the Bakersfield Pageant. I took some video of their performances, but I have to figure out how to put it in this blog.

THE BIG BAPTISM DAY!

2008-11-06T11:00:00.001-08:00

We have been looking forward to this day for a long time. Logan was so excited. I am so grateful for these pictures that Carolyn (Rob's Mom) took for us. About 15 minutes into the baptisms for the stake Madisen got the flu.....bad. I barely made if for the baptism and totally missed the confirmation. She was so sick. He was baptized and confirmed and even though I missed it (which I'm sad about) he is happy.

Logan's Baptism Day!

2008-11-06T11:00:00.000-08:00

Logan getting ready to be baptized by his dad.

Logan with family members after they confirmed him.

Kalyn at Spring Fest '08

2008-11-06T10:57:00.000-08:00

Kalyn getting ready to do a running/jumping thing.

Kalyn on the bars.

Kalyn showing off her medal.

Logan performing at Spring Fest '08

2008-11-06T10:54:00.000-08:00

Logan getting ready to do a handstand.

Logan jumping high.

Logan's coach posing in his picture.

Combined Birthday Party

2008-10-14T16:50:00.000-07:00

Logan blowing out his candles on his 8th birthday.

Madisen staring at hers.

Madisen

Kalyn, Brayden, and Madisen

First Day of School

2008-10-14T16:26:00.000-07:00

The first day of 2nd grade for Logan.

The first day of Kindergarten for Kalyn. Brayden is excited too!

The attitude.

The just kidding I'm excited smile.

Camping 2008

2008-10-14T16:13:00.000-07:00

Rob, Logan, and Kalyn went on their annual camping trip with a couple of his uncles and their families.

The scenery at the Dinky Creek Reservoir.

The kids and Rob.

Brayden's 3rd Birthday Party

2008-10-14T15:42:00.000-07:00

Logan plays the games at the party.

For the past 8 years I have made every cake for every child
so I challenged Rob to make a cake for Brayden. He did pretty good.

Rob shows all the kids how to play one of the games.

Brayden blows out his candles.

My Little Twitlets

2008-10-14T09:14:00.000-07:00

We are the McCauley Family and we have four wonderful and very busy children, whom I lovingly call my little twitlets. Twitlet derived from the word TWIT--a person who is behaving in a way that is twitish. My children are little so they are TWITlets. From the outside looking in we seem pretty simple. If you look at us from a distance you might think "what a nice and happy family". From the inside out we are crazy and chaotic, anything but simple unless it is bedtime. Take for instance the family picture on this website. Nice picture right? As with any picture it speaks a thousand words. So here they are.
As with most things there were many challenges. The first challenge being to try and find a time to get the picture taken when someone wasn't sick or had head wounds or bruises. The second challenge was to find somewhat matching clothes that didn't have stains or spit up on. The third challenge was to try and keep all the carefully combed hair looking decent and the matching, unstained clothes ON the kids. The fourth challenge was getting to the photography studio. We open the door to let the kids out, and they are crying because so-in-so hit them in the eye, we see that they spilled water on their shirts (of which they absolutely promised that they would be careful with), and hairdo's are dishevelled. So we get to the studio and "check in" and notice that there are three families ahead of us even though we made an appointment and asked for the first appointment of the day. It turned out okay, the hour waiting for our turn gave us time to fix the hair, and let the tears and spilled water dry. Finally it's our turn and after some stern persuasion and bubblegum bribery we get some smiles...all so you could enjoy this picture of our family. See I told you we were nice. Anyways maybe you can now understand why I call them my little TWITLETS.