I'm HOT!

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

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

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!

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.

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Camping 2009

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.

Make a Smilebox photobook

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

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!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

LA Examiner-Holidays

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!

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!

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

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

What have we been up to?

Make a Smilebox slideshow

The Storm Is Finally Passing

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.